You'd think that the American Dream is full of wonderful stories -- about how a regular citizen created a multi–million dollar company like Walmart, or how a hotdog stand grew into a 70-year Los Angeles cultural icon like Pink’s Hotdogs, or maybe even how a young girl flies from a small Tennessee town to pursue her dreams as a Hollywood actress like Meagan Fox.
 
This story is not any of those. It is actually a story of a Filipino boy who came from a good family and reached for his dreams. You might ask what dreams could these be? Could it be the dream of becoming a world-renowned director? Or to become a professional baseball player?

Not really.
 
Most people think of the U.S.A. as a vacation destination. Especially growing up in the confines of Ateneo, (which sometimes “shelters” the thinking of people) most kids really don’t see the reality of life that it is in fact very HARD. I never in my life imagined of thinking about how much I had to make to be able to pay for rent, car, insurance, electricity bill, water bill, sewer bill, internet bill, buying food(it is actually expensive!) and the like.

But like most growing pains, you realize it, when it essentially affects your life. I am a firm believer of the saying: “The best mentor is experience” and you can never understand the brutality of this until you are forced to live on crackers and water for a time being. And then suddenly, after all the hardships there is a light that brings you towards starting a real future in getting a decent job. Getting a job is not easy, especially in this down economy. But I did find one that brought enough to the table with a little something on the side.

A typical day for me is to wake up do all my bathroom business, and then dress up to go to work, while preparing the weekend before all my “baon” for the week. Yes, no yayas to help this time or to call upon when you want specifically a pancake with bacon  for breakfast, and then going to a resto in Katipunan for a lunch break. Work is where I bring out my skills to further my development as a person. And then after work, mellow down at my girlfriend’s house to a movie or tv series, or on other days workout to get back in to at least 20% of what I used to look like when I was still considered an athlete. Then at the end of the day, sleeping to the sound of my dog snoring, or my pet rabbit munching on a carrot. 

Living here exposes you to new things that you may have not experienced before. Investing in essentials to survival such as plates, utensils, pots and pans, a queen size bed and more makes you also learn that money does not grow from trees, but it really does come from hard work, budgeting, and a lot of planning. “Where do I want to be in the next 5 years? Or what do I really want to do with my life?” are questions you ask yourself to formulate a greater goal for your life.  Contrary to what I think about Ateneo a few seconds ago, I do owe my character to this beloved school. It made me contemplate, question, and also find the truth about myself because of the best education it has bestowed upon me for the 19 years of my school life.  
 
You might think, why on earth did I forego my life in Manila to experience all these hardships that I wouldn’t have needed to experience? The answer is that I had a dream. I had a dream to become something more than being the son of a very good businessman, nor being a boy that had fairly more than enough means to survive with his family, but the dream of becoming a REAL man.

In one year, your eyes get opened to the viciousness of the real world, you also understand the value of money and how it may not be the most important thing in the world it is vital to a person’s existence in society, and you realize how important your family is to you. And that my friend is the real American Dream.