My Last Money and My Lucky Charm…

By: Hershey Jean San Andres

As the eldest in the family and a breadwinner, I made it a point that I should always have money, that I should always have something to give when my younger siblings or my parents ask, so I became a workaholic. I did multiple jobs in a day and accepted different side hustles but it’s still not enough.

When my father died, I didn’t know what to do, I didn't have any savings, same goes with my siblings. We live paycheck to paycheck, our salary is just enough for rent, bills, food, and school needs. We can’t even afford a casket. Fortunately, in the city where my father was born (Pasig City), the local government gives free burial services including a casket. At that moment, I told myself, I would triple what I currently do to earn. After working as a call center agent from 3 am to 12 noon, I would go home to change clothes and then go to my side hustle as a boudoir photography subject or sometimes as a car show model and stay up until midnight. I wear skimpy clothes, sometimes just plaster and I don’t care what other people think, all I know is that I need to earn extra. I was so tired physically and mentally but I can’t stop. After all the hard work, I was able to secure a house, of course with the help of my siblings as well. It’s not big to fit all of us but it’s enough, at least we’re no longer renting. We no longer have to worry about being kicked out by the landlord because we can’t pay the rent.

Fast forward to 2020, pandemic time, lockdown started, I lost my job and no side hustles too. I only got 5000 pesos, our last money. And I know, I can’t be in that “last money” situation, I have responsibilities plus it’s pandemic time, and the demand for basic needs gets high. So, I used that last money, I did “Buy and Sell” - alcohol, dishwashing liquid, and anything I could sell. Then from buying and selling dishwashing liquids, I learned how to create my own. We turned it into a small business, we used Jarlo’s parents’ house garage as our store space to save on paying rent and it was doing pretty well in the beginning, we already have a good number of resellers but life is indeed a roller coaster, we started losing the business when the garage caught fire and his parents needed the space for their frame business.

I went back to working as a call center agent but pay isn’t enough. The hassle of commuting to and from the office is also not my cup of tea. My sister, Cecil, introduced Summit to me. She’s working as a virtual assistant and told me how much she earns and how working from home changes her life. I wanted it too so I sent my application. I got hired, passed the training, and was the first one in our wave to have a client, it was a Cloud 9 experience for me as someone who doesn’t have VA experience yet I got hired. At that moment, I realized that Summit hires beyond what’s in your resume, they look at what you can offer, how passionate you are, and how dedicated you are.

When I became a virtual assistant, my life started to get better. I enjoyed the perks of working from home or working anywhere for as long as you do your job well. I was able to secure a kind and very generous client whom I had for almost 3 years now and praying to have him longer. I now have more time for myself and my family. I never thought that I would be able to provide for my younger siblings' needs yet still have some left for savings.

Because of Summit and my client, I was able to send one of my brothers to college and support the other one who just graduated from Senior high. I was able to save and help my partner pay the deposit for our new home and its renovation and avail, not secondhand or preloved but new furniture. As I open my fridge, it’s no longer what we jokingly called a “swimming pool”, a fridge full of pitchers of water for I am now able to do the grocery without worrying much and fill my fridge with food and stuff that we love. But aside from the financial aspect, the very thing that I’m thankful for the opportunity that Summit and my client gave me, is the fact that I was able to relax and rest at home while working, it’s the very thing doctors told me to have or to do so I can bear a child – to rest physically, mentally and emotionally – and that’s what happened, I’m not that mentally stressed at work anymore as compared to before, my body is not tired anymore because of commuting and I believe that those contributed a lot for me to have a good well-being, and atlas, I bore a child.

I guess Summit and my client are both my lucky charm, when I became their VA, everything fell into place. Whatever happens in the future, I will always look back and be thankful and grateful to Summit and my beloved client (N.I.).