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When I was a Kid, I wanted to be ……

When I was a wee kid (wee … coz I only bloated at age 12 … probably from some kind of allergic reaction … yeah right…haha), I wanted to be a doctor. I really wanted to be like my pediatrician since I thought… “This is so cool, all you have to do is listen to heartbeats, poke kids with a needle and hey! I’m going to have a refrigerator full of lollipops!” Until I found out you would have to be dealing with “booboos” … “blood” blech .. the wretched idea of looking at it made me back out of that “ambition” I then I wanted to become a priest … haha! Yeah yeah… As a child, weren’t you intrigued by the idea that you would be handing out that thing that looked like domino (round) cookies? Oh man… I would get a pack of “dominoes” from our sari-sari store and I’d ask my sister and my younger cousin to take turns in forming a line and opening their mouths to receive the “host” until we consume the whole pack. Of course, later on I understood that primarily you had to be a guy to become a priest and that that there were so much meaning to the host rather than just a cookie (believe it or not, I only fully understood the meaning of the Holy Eucharist just a few years ago….. this topic is for another lengthy blog in the future). So moving on…. “Since I can’t be a priest … can I be a nun then?” Then I saw the Carmelite nuns singing behind what seemed to be prison bars… no … I can’t be one (but seriously, now that I think of it … at my age now… I can be …. Hmmmm…… NAAAAH. I always tell my Tita Madz (madz for madre) every time she asks me to join her congregation, “I think the best way I can give my full service is through my current profession, besides, if I join the convent, do you think there would be enough sane nuns after my training?” I wanted to be a scientist … rather .. I wanted to be like “Wile E Cayote…genius”, mixing chemicals and other liquid substances (cartoon age) and get that “poof” effect every time. Of course, I would use my mom and dad’s perfume from their “comoda” or “tocador” and mix it with my Johnsons Baby Cologne. I therefore conclude, the formula “Gucci + Johnsons Baby Cologne” does not give you that “poof” effect but it will give you that “whapak …spank in the hiney” effect by dear old mumsy. So, on to the next dream please …. In relation to my previous “scientist” ambition of mixing things up, I also wanted to become a Cook/Chef …. Need I say more about my current condition? My dad then got me a bike … and so I wanted to be a … “Free styling stunt gal” (yes, I haven’t heard of the term of “extreme sports” then but that’s what I felt like doing that time) Of course, after getting way to many scratches, after flying off from the bike way too many times and after being chased by bad ‘ole dogs in the neighborhood, I finally decided to quit it and turn to my next ambition…. (I can never survive being on just two wheels… for those who knew me circa end of 2005 …. Remember my accident? Yeah, the one that left me with a big scar on my knee? My so called asset? Char… hahaha) Being a cop … of course, I came after a boy sibling, so you can just imagine the influence… anyway, I wanted to chase robbers and slap on the hand cuffs on them ….. (hmmm… slapping on hand cuffs isn’t such a bad idea at this age isn’t it? Hahahaha!) By high school my mom asked me to take up summer art workshops and was I ever thankful that she did. I later on realized I liked the feeling of “creating” something and so, for the next five summer vacations, I took up painting and art lessons. I wanted to paint. I wanted to take up fine arts for college. I had my heart set on it, not thinking my mom wanted it to be only a hobby for me but not my “be all and end all”. Then my mom put some sense into my head with just one line. She said “Will it pay the rent?” Then I understood, I was enjoying it because I was painting on my spare time, on vacation. But if it would mean that I would have to depend on it for my living, it then becomes a stressful task. I would have to push myself to come up with the next masterpiece or push myself to sell my work. It won’t be fun, it won’t be the same feeling. So yes, I studied something else in college. (But intriguing … if Pygmalion’s Galatea came to life … can I make my own Statue of David and plead to give it life too? Pretty please?) I always enjoyed the feeling that my dad was the boss in the bank and that he had a nice car, good pay and got to meet cool people… and so I wanted to be a “manager” … I took up business management …. But eventually, it became too boring for me, something was amiss … so I shifted to Accountancy (Yeah, good idea, at least when I die I would have the title “CPA” after my name and not just “R.I.P.”). Accountancy for a couple of years wasn’t at all that bad. I learned a lot, I enjoyed balancing the figures (the only figure I couldn’t balance was my own figure) but then I was attracted to this new course, “Information Management.” It sounded … hmmm …. “Intellectually stimulating.” I’ve always enjoyed computers way back in high school (I was the “word star and lotus 123 wiz” then … remember? “CD dot … CD dot dot.” haha). So, I enjoyed the course, I then realized ….. I wanted to become a “SYSTEMS ANALYST…list list list… *echo*” So, here I am now … a systems analyst (information management + accounting) who paints on her spare time (artist), who wants to take care of her parents (doctor), who would want to experiment and mix things (cook and scientist), who loves computers and gadgets (programmer), who loves to run a team of motivated individuals (manager), who loves God so much (Priest/Nun) who enjoys every bit of spice and variety that life can bring (biker… hahaha) and as for the hand cuffs………….. *wink wink*

About The Author

Stephanie

Stephanie Caragos is the President & CEO of the 19 year running IT Company, Syntactics, Inc. and is the founder of letIThelp.org, a program and initiative that envisions in helping young Filipinos hone their skills in IT and increase their chances of getting stable and profitable jobs. She is also the founder of Syntactics PINK (Promoting Innovation Networking and Knowledge) for women to encourage and empower more women in IT and to encourage the younger generation of women take up STEM. She is a speaker and mentor in various Startup, Online Marketing, Web, ICT and ICT businesses related seminars and talks and works tirelessly in finding innovative ways of marketing online for clients. She is also a staunch supporter of Filipino Small and Medium Enterprises as she continues to develop products and services that would benefit SMEs as well as help them increase their success rate in using technology in business. Stephanie is currently the president of the CDO ICT Business Council and works with the members and stakeholders in the city in promoting ICT to support more startups and create more jobs in the city. She also currently serves as a director for the Eisenhower Fellowship Association of the Philippines. She has completed her Eisenhower Fellowship and was awarded as the Douglas Dillon Named Fellow for the year 2016 and recently completed her term as National President for the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines last 2017.

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