Kung makakausap ni Annedel Q. Ortiz, a.k.a. Annie, ang kanyang 18-year-old self, sasabihin niya rito na hindi siya makapaniwala sa kanyang na-achieve within five years.
Top 10 si Annie sa rating na 88.20% sa November 2022 Nursing Licensure Examination.
Produkto ng University of Santo Tomas ang 23-year-old na taga-Antipolo City at nagtapos noong June 2022 bilang cum laude.
Nakakuwentuhan si Annie ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) noong December 1 sa pamamagitan ng Facebook Messenger.
Pagbabahagi niya, “I only have one sibling and I’m the youngest. My parents are both OFWs.”
Pagtuntong niya sa senior high school, undecided siya kung ano ang kukuning kurso.
“Ang options na ibinigay ko sa sarili ko ay either maging engineer ako or mag-medical-field course.”
Sa mga colleges na kinuhanan niya ng entrance exam ay puro engineering course ang inilagay niyang first option.
“Sa UST lang po yung first option ko yung nursing as a last-minute switch.
"Second option ko yun originally, pero we were informed na puwede daw i-switch yung first and second option courses sa application.
“I felt that passing the USTET was a sign na yun ang kailangan kong kunin na course kasi yun lang yung nag-apply ako na different sa ibang colleges.
“So when the results came out and I saw na I passed my USTET, I decided to pursue nursing.”
MALUNGKOT ANG MAGING ANAK NG OFW
Isa sa mga pagsubok na dinanas ni Annie sa kolehiyo ay ang pakiramdam na lagi siyang nag-iisa.
“Since my parents worked abroad, matagal ko po silang hindi nakakasama and minsan di ko rin sila makausap because I would be busy studying for my exams or quizzes.”
Hindi na rin niya magawang umuwi sa kanilang bahay sa Antipolo pag weekends at namamalagi na lang siya sa dorm.
“Kasi I felt like I needed to study so that I could maintain my grades.
“Nursing itself was very hard, so there were nights when I would only have two to three hours of sleep because I would stay up at night to study.”
Gayunpaman, ayon kay Annie, ay fluctuating pa rin ang kanyang grades. “But I did not let it get to a point where I would fail a subject.”
Nakatulong sa kanya na ma-cope ang challenges sa pamamagitan ng kanyang “great support system,” na kinabibilangan ng kanyang dorm-mates, classmates, friends, at pamilya.
At hindi rin niya kinaligtaang i-enjoy ang kanyang college life.
Aniya, “So I made sure I would still take breaks and have fun. My friends and I would take trips outside Manila just to study or unwind, or we would look for places nearby to try out new food or find nice views.”
NATAKOT SA BOARD EXAM
Inamin naman ni Annie na dalawang buwan bago ang board exam ay nakaramdam siya ng takot at napahagulgol.
“I doubted myself a lot during the past months. I felt like I wouldn’t have enough time to study for boards because I kept losing focus.
“My study schedule kept changing because I couldn’t keep up with myself and resorted to self-reviewing because I couldn’t keep up with my review center.”
Ibinahagi rin niya ang naging karanasan nang kumuha na ng board exam.
“I felt like I focused too much on complicated diseases, so, yung mga basic concepts ay hindi ko masyadong inaral.
“Some questions were too difficult to answer, but I still tried my best to recall everything that I studied and provide the best reasonable answer.”
Aminado rin siyang medyo nahirapan sa exam. “Kasi siyempre, andun po yung kaba and fear na baka makalimutan ko yung mga inaral ko.
“Pag nae-encounter ko yung questions na di ko alam ang sagot, I tried my best to eliminate options and provide the best answer instead.”
KAYA NIYANG MAG-TOP
Kuwento pa ni Annie, binibiro mismo niya ang sarili noon na magiging board topnotcher siya.
“I always believed na there is always someone who is better and smarter than me, but despite that, I would write ‘topnotcher’ in my reviewers, sa manila paper na nakadikit sa walls ko, and would tell myself na kaya ko.”
Nalaman niya ang resulta mula sa isang kaibigan na topnotcher din.
“Hindi po ako nakapaniwala agad kasi akala ko nagbibiro lang siya.”
Hindi rin niya agad nakita ang name niya sa list of topnotchers, “kaya akala ko, na-misread lang niya ang name ko sa list.
“When I found my name, I felt a sense of relief and napaiyak ako kasi the long wait was finally over—and I was able to prove to myself na kaya ko!”
Inaalay ni Annie ang tagumpay sa kanyang parents at kapatid.
“They made sure I was comfortable and that I had everything I needed all throughout.
“This success is also for my friends and family who believed and supported me since the beginning.
“Para rin po ito kina St. Jude, Santa Clara, at kay Padre Pio na pinagkuhanan ko ng lakas during my journey sa board exams.”
Sa ngayon ay plano muna ni Annie na magpahinga at maglaan ng oras sa kanyang pamilya at makipag-bonding sa mga kaibigan.
“Hopefully, by next year, I’ll be working in a hospital na po.”
Ang payo niya sa mga kukuha ng nursing, magkaroon ng ang mga ito ng good support system gaya ng ginawa niya.
“Nursing won’t be easy and you will need someone to share the burden with or a shoulder to cry on.
“When it comes to studying, set a schedule for your studies, and don’t forget to take breaks. Take some time to go out with family and friends and spend time with them.”
At ang pinakamahalaga aniya, ang tiwala sa sarili.
“I was once told, ‘Walang imposible sa taong naniniwala na kaya niya.’ And it stuck with me ever since.
“Believe in yourself and you will be able to do anything, even if you think you can’t.”
At kung sakali ngang makakaharap ni Annie ang kanyang 18-year-old self, ito ang sasabihin niya rito: “Here I am standing strong.”