Nakakaantig ang kuwento ng pagpupunyagi ng law student na si Jules Millanar na maagang naulila sa magulang ngunit ngayon ay isa na siya sa 3,962 aspiring lawyers na pumasa sa 2024 Bar Examinations.
Sa Facebook post ni Jules nitong Linggo, Disyembre 15, inilahad niya kung paano niya nalampasan ang malaking dagok na dumating hindi lang sa kaniya kundi pati sa dalawa pa niyang kapatid.
“For those who might not know, I was orphaned at the early age of 15. We lost our mother in 2011, and just over a year later, my father tragically joined her. Our eldest sister was only 17, barely an adult herself, while our youngest was just 12. We were still kids who desperately needed parents, but life doesn’t wait for anyone to grow up,” saad ni Jules.
Ayon sa kaniya, pumanaw daw ang nanay niya dahil sa colon cancer samantalang ang tatay naman niya ay inatake sa puso.
Visually impaired mula sa Naga, pasado sa LET!
“He was pleading for his life, but even prayers that fierce went unanswered,” lahad niya. “I remember my world collapsing after receiving the news. We were still grieving the loss of our mother, and just a little over a year later, we lost our father too.
Dagdag pa niya, “I thought it was over for us siblings—our lives, our dreams, everything. Relatives turned their backs on us. We were minors, which made us a burden—a liability. We were left to fend for ourselves, just the three of us against the world.
Noong panahong ‘yon—ayon kay Jules, ang mayroon lang daw silang magkakapatid ay insurance mula sa kanilang ama ngunit hindi raw ito sapat.
Kaya tila nawalan na ng silbi pa ang buhay para kay Jules. May mga araw daw na parang ayaw na niyang umiral pa.
“But I knew that if I gave in to despair, my sisters wouldn’t just have to bury another family member,” pasubali niya. “They’d also inherit a heartbreak so deep it would scar them forever.”
Dahil dito, napilitan siyang magpatuloy hindi dahil nagkaroon siya ng pag-asa kundi dahil sa obligasyon.
Aniya, “My only goal was to survive long enough to see my sisters become independent, maybe save enough money to fund my own funeral, and quietly slip out of this world that had taken so much from me.”
Kaya naman nang lumabas ang resulta ng bar exam at nakita ni Jules ang pangalan niya sa mga nakapasa, nadurog siya.
“Not from joy,” sabi niya, “but from pain, anger, suffering, and years of bottled-up grief. I never got the chance to properly grieve for my parents because I had to pretend to be strong for my siblings.”
Sa pagkakataong ‘yon, tila nanumbalik daw sa alaala ni Jules ang araw na sila ay nasa ospital at sinabi ng doktor na hindi na nito masasagip pa ang kanilang ina.
“And then, just as cruelly, the memory shifted to our small, dimly lit home, where my father’s coworkers sat us down and told us he was gone too. That he had died, leaving us with nothing but the crushing silence,” dugtong pa ni Jules.
Ngunit sa gitna ng tagumpay na ito, hindi nakalimutan ni Jules na pasalamatan ang mga tao na kahit hindi nila kadugo ay nag-abot ng tulong sa kanilang magkakapatid.
“All I can say is thank you. If there were a million ways to express it, I would paint it across the sky or whisper it to the wind,” sulat niya.
Sa huli, hinangad ni Jules sa mga nagbasa ng post na sana ay hindi maranasan ng mga ito ang naranasan nila. Pero kung sakali man daw na malagay din ang mga ito sa parehong sitwasyon, matagpuan sana ng mga ito ang lakas para lumaban at bumangon kahit parang imposible.
Sa kasalukuyan, habang isinusulat ang artikulong ito, umabot na sa mahigit 8.8k reactions at 2.3k shares ang naturang post.
Pagbati, Jules!
