I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. My first business venture was in elementary school, collecting "Salagubang" or beetles in a big jar. I would then roam around the streets to sell it to other little kids for 5 or 10 pesos. Why did I sell insects you ask? because you can tie a thread on their wings and fly them like a kite. As days went by, other rival kids started doing the same, which decreased my sales and saturated the market. My next business was Iced-pops, also known as Iced candy in my country. Fruit Iced candy was already sold in my street. So I made chocolate-flavored Iced candy. It was made of brewed cacao tablets, water (because we did not have milk), and sugar. I already knew my market because I played with the kids I was selling to.

                   Fast forward to my 20s and I'm in the healthcare field in the US. Going to class from 8 am to 1 pm, then head to work from 5 am-7 am. My older sister and I took turns napping as the other one drove. The burnout did not stop because there was more work and more degrees to get. I gave myself permission to have a childlike viewpoint on what I wanted to achieve and it reminded me of the younger me who was fine with being different.