* Note: I haven't translated the Cebuano words to English... Please bear with them...hehehe
Maalaala Mo Kaya, last Friday, featured the story of 2Lt. Ariel Toledo, the PMA Class Mandala Valedictorian who is currently fighting his battle with cholangiocarcinoma - a type of cancer that is not responsive to both chemo and radiotherapy. His story, i should say, is that of a typical Filipino success story -- simple man, dreams big, strives hard, inspires others, encounters trials, gets help from people who loves him, finds meaning in life amidst difficulties, and all those sort of stuff... I really admire how his girlfriend loves and cares for him. As in! Unconditional talaga. i'm pretty sure it was his gf's idea that his life story be featured on MMK in order to raise the extremely large amount of money needed for his transplant as it is the only option for his cancer --and it's not even a guaranteed treatment.
anyway, let's go to my friendster version of application form. Application form was the title of that episode, by the way. he took the PMa entrance exam twice but still failed which almost made him give up. his girlfriend gave him the third application form and encouraged him to try again. finally, he passed the exam. now, let's really go to my version....
ok... that's me looking at the PMA Cadetship Application Form. This was taken about a year ago. I asked this application form from a cadet during the Class Maragtas Silent Drill Exhibition in dgte last year.
What?!? si rhea, mag-PMA? That's absolutely crazy! Yeah right! And i was already a bsn graduate (ready to review for the board exam) at that time when i told this really crazy idea to my family and close friends. i thought it wasn't crazy at first. i was really keen on studying in PMA..what would i lose? i'll take the entrance exam on august 27 and NLE is on december pa. well, i might not even pass the entrance exam...hahaha.. and if i manage to pass the exam, what about the physical exam and PFT? i wish! and if i really would manage to meet all the requirements, endure the beast barracks, and be recognized as a plebe -- i know i would lose nothing (except for my hair..hehe). i'd gain valuable lessons in life pa and experience moments that i could never find in any part of the world or buy with all the money in the world..hay kadramahan to..i'd be really happy even if i get discharged after only a month of being a plebe.then i'd go back to my nursing career..hehe..as if nothing happened. :p
they said i was crazy and oh-so-stupid...they said the crazy idea will just pass off. it's just due to the recent maragtas silent drill and the influence of SENAFTIV (this is according to my father...hehe) on me. i don't think so... it actually runs in the blood. my father applied in pma but did not meet the height requirement..hehe. my sister would have been a pmaer too if she did not get the SGV scholarship. well, it doesn't really run in the blood--it's in the upbringing i guess. my father used to tell us stories about his father who was in the army. he has high regard for men and women in the military. and take note, when i was still in high school, he encouraged me to study in PMA because many women excel in there na (not that he'd also want me to excel there..hahaha..wishful thinking ra na). it was i who was afraid of his idea at that time. i could still remember how i laughed at that idea..how i thought of the reaction of my classmates and of course, our commandant, sir paters..Miss ****! Do not slouch!!!! hahaha..wla pa ko karecover at that time sa CAT, sa PMA pa kaya?!?!
but that's one reason too... if i'd study in pma, there's really no room for me to slouch. ma-poised na ko..hehehe. and those other things about rifle and marching drills...well, i guess a month or two in pma would enable me to execute those drills even while i sleep...hehe..
going back to my application form, i filled it up minus the thumb mark. a first class cadet (now a 2lt) told me that it's just a waste of time for me to study in pma. sayang ang nursing daw. i also did some deep contemplation and allowed reality to slap me hard. continue with my nursing career! i know there are a lot of people who'd be really happy to be in my position (that is having a bsn degree---just a few exams more and they'd be flying their way to US). the cadet also told me taht many of the cadets even want to take up nursing..that's interesting. why not establish a study exchange program? impossible, of course.
so i did not file my application form. i smile when i think about it right now. but the military idea is still in my system...i don't know why! i can't help it! even before i realized i wanted to study in pma, i already wanted to become a military nurse. mheling, in one of her testimonials (dated april 2006, i guess) in friendster, called me lt.col. hehehe..i'd be very much happy even with the rank of a 2lt. grrgrrr... I CAN'T HELP IT! i want to experience being in the military..on a second thought, im afraid it's not just experience-- it's to BE in the military.
i know it's quite hard to be in the military world as opposed to the civilian world where one can do all the things he/she wants. it's hard to "obey first before you complain." i know that it would not be easy for me to enter the military. i qualify all the "papers" requirements but i don't know if i can pass the medical exam or the physical fitness tests..i'll work on it after i'm done with my volunteer duty. and even if i do qualify, would my mother really allow me? we have been discussing about the nurse corps things since december pa, until now she's still apprehensive. she has always been against the idea of her children being away from home. everytime the topic about me entering the nurse corps is brought up, i always end up convincing her, and she, discouraging me. i even got the feeling she's hoping i won't be accepted...
"kung magsakit ka, kinsa may mobantay nimo? sus! sige ra ba gud kang gilabdan ug ulo ug gi sip-on (allergic rhinitis)..."
"nah! o, naa na poy sunog sa manila..."
"unya kung i-assign ka sa mindanao?" (hehe..more exciting!)
"apply nlang sa medical or holy child or teletech...malipay pa kaayo ko..."
the list goes on...
bitaw sa? the list against me entering the nurse corps is sooooo long. but i don't know why. im quite determined in joining the nurse corps. again, i know it's hard.but i've got a good feeling i'll be satisfied when i'll be commissioned in the nurse corps. there are actually a lot of benefits, not just monetary, but those kinds of "benefits" that, i must say again, one cannot find in any part of the world or buy with all the riches in the world. i just hope that i get accepted...waaahhh. i did not apply in medical center or holy child hospital (because there is a 1-2 yr contract) so that i could join next year's batch in the nurse corps. i would have been earning now with my friends. i would not be here right now ranting about it on friendster. i would not be an idler, as someone would put it, right now. i would be helping my family instead of being pabigat. i would not be making my mother worry about me every time i bring up the nurse corps stuff. i would not feel guilty for being such a disobedient daughter. i would not have to worry or wonder if i can really take the pressure of being in the military - a nurse and a soldier at the same time. (although, i always keep in mind that no one person was born a soldier - not even Sun Tzu, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim- or a nurse - not even Florence Nightingale or Clara Barton..everything can be learned..hehe). i would not have to worry if i'll be accepted and the effect it would have on me if i won't be accepted. but that's it!
I can't help it. These realities are slapping me really hard. yet, i continue to be 'anesthetized" from these painful realities. im beginning to sense taht im becoming really selfish..oh well, but this is my life too. it's now or never. i ain't gonna live forever just to try out on everything people would tell me. i want to be a military nurse!laugh at me..btw, i remember someone's look on her face when she knew i'll be applying in the NCAFP..hehehe..she said, "ha?! magmilitary nurse ka? mahinhin man ka?" you can say that again..mahinhin ba talaga ako? hehe.. *rolls eyes*
ok, so i'm applying this september or october together with my batchmate in highschool and college..ayay..kamahal sa plete paingon manila..huhuhu..but mao lagi na..we don't want to wonder for the rest of our lives..what if? what if? what if?.. if we are not really destined to become military nurses, then no matter what we do, we will never become mil nurses. but if we really are destined, then no matter what other people do to stop us, we will still become military nurses...hehehe (sounds familiar gyud...)
Posted on Friendster last June 22, 2007
12 comments:
Hi rhea, i'm butch, the reason why i reply to your message or story is because the last sentence of your message captured my attention,
BTW, your story was so wonderfully told, i am also aspiring to study in PMA, not bec. i want to be a soldier but bec. of the priviledge of studying for free and the opportunuty to study at west point also, i want to test my self kung kaya ko ba yung physical training sa PMA, i dreamed a lot for my self in studying at PMA ang taas ng dream ko, diko na nga maabot eh, he he he, pero sa kabila ng lahat ang sakit ng naranasan ko bec. of this dream... iyak na ako, hu hu hu, seriously, nag take ako ng PMA exam since i graduated high school until i graduated college, three times na akong nag exam and failed padin ako,sa kagustuhan kong makapasok sa PMA i prayed a lot na sana makapasa na pero nabigo ako ng nabigo, sabi ng isang friend ko, pag daw three times mo ng sinubukan ang isang bagay tapos di mo nakuha or dika nag succeed ay hindi para sayo, lalo akong nalung kot nung narinig ko ito kase lalong nag discourage sa akin para makapasa sa exam ng PMA, pero i always prayed at di parin ako nawawalan ng pag-asa kase talagang gustong gusto kong maka pag-aral sa PMA na itong kagustuhan kong ito ay parang pagkauhaw ko sa tubig na gustong gusto ko ng uminom, i hope i will pass the exam this time na kase last chance ko na to... tnx 4 d message and dont give up your dreams.
Hi butch! i don't know if you'll be able to read my comment/reply to your comment but im hoping you will. i have no other way of replying to you eh..anyway, thanks for reading my lengthy post. actually, i derived the last 2 sentences of my post from one of the media statements of sen. antonio trillanes (that's why i wrote at the last part, "sounds familiar gyud). I think his original statement was, "if i am not destined to become a senator, then no matter what i do, i will never become one. but if i am destined to become a senator, then no matter what other people do, i will still become a senator." well, im hoping you will be able to pass the PMAEE this coming August. just exert some extra effort in reviewing the important pointers for the exam. I wish you good luck..and God bless on your exam...Continue to reach for your dreams too...
hi rhea, tnx for replying to my message,sana magdilang anghel ka sa sinabi mo, thank you so much, likewise... GODBLESS!!!
i just have to reply to your comment here (again..). i really hope you could pass the exam. i know it would really make you happy. pls let me know if you passed the exam ha...hehehe
hi rhea, tnx again for the reply...
yes you'r definitly right, sobrang saya ko na nun at sana with god's permission i can pass, i'm afraid baka hindi na ako makakapasa, i dont have really enough time to review,may work na kase ako tapos night shift pa and in the morning puro tulog nalang ako para makabawi sa puyat, im afraid and nervous sa result ng exam ko nito, pero mag-eexam padin ako coz. i dont want to loose this last chance, ayaw ko namang pagsisihan in the end pag di ako nag take ng exam at least i can say to my self na i did all my best kahit di me pumasa... sure...ipapaalam ko agad kahit bagsak man ako. he he he.. salamat ulit, take care!!!!
hi butch! it's been a while since i haven't updated this blog..i don't know if you will be able to read my comment but sige lang, comment lang ako dito.hehe..anyway, malapit na pala ang PMAEE..basta, i wish you good luck sa exam and don't forget to seek His guidance..i'll include you na rin sa prayers ko..hehe..feeling close..i know kaya mo yan if you'll just exert extra effort..God bless! basta, let me know if you passed the exam ha..Go! go! go!
salamat for the reply and salamat for the prayers, at sa pag-eencourage, i appreciate it...
i'm really hoping to pass coz. its my last chance na... i'll let you know what will be the result... ask ko lang kung may alam kaba na mabisang reviewer for the PMAEE? tnx tnx tnx ng marami... godbless!!!
hi butch..i don't know of any pmaee reviewer, i don't think there's one also..hehe..anyway, suggest ko lang tong site na to:
Click here to visit the site
just click the admission exams link sa site (yong nasa left side)..you'll find a lot of simple and easy resources there to help you recall the basic pointers of PMAEE..di ba the basic areas covered in the pmaee are: Algebra and geometry; reading, composition, comprehension; verbal and numerical reasoning; and pattern analysis ..dun mo lang i-base yong mga irereview mo if you have limited time to review..20 days to go nalang and it's your big day..hehe..
basta just spend some of your time to review the basic stuff..mostly they were discussed in high school..well, im not really sure though coz i haven't really tried taking the exam..another tip: just try to recall the common questions that almost always came out from the previous Pma exams you took..ano ba ang common themes? and try to recall those questions you had hard time answering and take time to look for their answers..yon lang tips ko..i hope they help..and don't forget to pray..
God bless sa exam! ;)
Hello Rhea. I am a US Army Nurse Corps Officer currently working in the Philippines as a critical care flight nurse. I would like to know if you ever commissioned as an AFP Nurse Corps Officer and if so would like the opportunity to exchange ideas/participate in any local training while I am here. Thanks.
CPT Caraballo
hi,rhea..tnx for info,hope to see u in person...nurse din ako.aspiring to be a nurse corp ds 2012.
hi, rhea.Just want to share.. :) My name is Richell. i am also a nurse (batch 2008). I have always wanted to be a Military Nurse. Since I became a RN, I tried hospital based, and now I'm in community nursing. I'm enjoying whatever comes my way, but then, my dream of becoming a Military Nurse haunts me! I have these times that I feel like I'm supposed to be somewhere else.. I am enjoying but not fully satisfied until, I guess, I have fulfilled my dream of becoming a Military Nurse.. hopefully soon :)
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