"The Ball Is Round"

My husband and I came to the US in January of 2002. We were both born and raised in the Philippines. Though we had family elsewhere in America, they were far from where we lived. I was hired to work as an RN in a small community hospital in WA State. When we came here, I still had to take the WA State Board on Nursing Licensure exam. I worked as a nurse's aid the first 4 months while reviewing for Boards. My husband was not employed yet, so we were depending on my salary as a nurse's aid. The first few moths were rough. I remembered walking a few blocks to get to the hospital. We did not own any vehicles nor has any idea how to even get one with the little amount that I make monthly. Some days a kind co-worker would offer to give me a ride home, but most days (or nights) I worked to work. That was extremely hard, especially since it was in the middle of winter, and we were not used to the cold weather. We lived in a low-income apartment and I remembered looking out the window and seeing the beautiful homes up on the hill from across street, thinking how close they were, but somehow so far too. My scheduled time to take boards seemed even farther away. I used to dread the winter time because all I remembered was walking in the cold and being so far away from our family. I remembered the days when homesickness and loneliness would hit so hard that I question my self in deciding to come here. After I passed the boards in May, things started getting better. By then my husband found a job, we moved to a bigger apartment, and bought our first car. Things got even better when we built our first home and started our family. Now we have two beautiful kids and moved into our dream house. I have been in the states for over 20 years. I don't take anything for granted because I remember the hardships we went through to get where we are now. So to anyone who is reading this and just starting your life- keep going! As they say in the Philippines, "the ball is round"... life, sometimes it's hard and kicks you in the butt, BUT it does get better. Just keep pushing.