Fall down seven times, stand up eight!
This 24-year-old engineering graduate from Bataan did not allow one failure to knock her down, but instead, found a new path for a better future.
Jenalyn Serrano Garcia is a product of pandemic graduation. She finished her degree in civil engineering at the Bataan Peninsula State University on August 4, 2020.
Afterwards, she decided to save some money for the upcoming board exam. She decided to accept different photography gigs during the pandemic, where she would earn around P30,000 to P60,000 per month.
“Bale nung 2021 November hanggang 2022 May, 6 months po nagpunta kami ng Baguio for review, ginamit ko ‘yung pera na inipon ko sa photography tapos ayun po, hindi po pinalad, hindi po nakapasa sa board, medyo nastress,” Jenalyn told The Philippine STAR.
During that time, she only had P15,000 from her previous freelance job. Jenalyn said that when she went home to their province, she was thinking of a business that would help her ease her mind while earning some money.
“Ayoko ko po na dumadaan ‘yung araw na hindi ako productive. Gusto ko po kahit papaano sa online, may pagkakakitaan. habang nagiintay po kung ano pong talagang gusto kong gawin,” she shared.
“Nanood po ako ng tiktok tas nakita ko po, pwede na po mag live selling tas nakita ko po sobrang dami po ng naglilive selling kahit hindi seller, pwede maglive sell tapos po pinag-aralan ko ‘yung tiktok kung pano po nangyayari ‘yun,” she added.
Jenalyn then started conducting live-selling for a couple of hours every day. In just three weeks, she was able to buy a second-hand car!
Through her incentives and commissions in conducting live-selling on a social media app, she was also able to buy a motorcycle and own a lot. She eventually became the breadwinner in the family.
In 2022, she launched her own clothing shop. “Sobrang nakakatuwa lang po kasi wala po akong nilabas na puhunan, wala po akong nilabas na kapital. from live-live lang po, Tas ngayon may sarili na po akong shop.”
For now, Jenalyn wants to focus on her newly established business and in the future, plans to take the board exams.
“Lahat ng failure may dahilan, may kapalit. Ganun po, ‘yung failure niyo po may kapalit hindi lang puro fail lang tapos wag po kayo magstop na mag-isip kung ano ‘yung pwedeng pagkakitaan ganyan tas magpray lang po kasi pinagpray ko lang din po ‘yun eh,” Jenalyn noted.
Jenalyn hopes that through her story, fellow board passers would also not give up on their dreams despite failing on their first try.
“Advice ko lang po sa iba, wag po nilang isipin na imposible kasi kahit po imposible kapag gusto niyo po talaga, pag ‘yung alam po ni Lord na ‘yung pera, gagamitin sa magandang paraan, sa hindi sa masama parang ibibigay po sa ‘yo ni Lord. Pag para sa ‘yo, para sa ‘yo. Wag po silang panghinaan ng loob, dahil feeling nila wala ng pag-asa, meron na po kasi kagaya ko po nakailang failure po ako tas lahat ng failure may kapalit,” she said.
