From stuck to motivated: how I overcame self-doubt and found my purpose.

I did not know how I would get here, yet I always somehow knew that I would arrive. A child of working-class parents, I grew up in a modest 2-bedroom apartment in what most would consider a low-income neighborhood, 20 minutes from the US-Mexico border. Hailing from the Midwest on my father’s side and the Philippines on my mother’s side, the simple fact of living in Southern California was, for us, a luxury.  

As a child I was tenacious in my pursuit of education thanks to my father, a military veteran, instilling in me an insatiable drive to reach my full potential. My desire to learn did not go unnoticed and thanks to my first mentor, an extremely caring grade school teacher, I was exposed to opportunities not normally available to families like ours. 

Suddenly, I was doing things that hadn’t been done before in my family, like attending an elite private high school and eventually an elite private university. When I stepped foot on Stanford’s campus at 18 years old in 2006, I had no idea what to expect. I quickly realized that just because I had “made it" to college, it was not guaranteed that I would succeed. I stayed up late many nights in my dorm room wondering if "they," the admissions officers, had made a mistake. I thought to myself, “maybe I’m not meant to be here; maybe I can’t do this." 

Somehow despite feeling like a fish out of water and forever a few steps behind my peers, I ended up graduating on time, and securing a respectable position in Human Resources at Oracle, a major Tech company in Silicon Valley. For all intents and purposes, I had made it, but not without many sleepless nights, constantly questioning myself, and feeling anxious over the fact that I hadn’t a true plan or direction.  

Looking back on those years now I know that I suffered needlessly. Perhaps out of shame or timidity I did not seek help or guidance for many years. The Imposter Syndrome I had first encountered in college had followed me into my professional life. I wish someone had told me then what I know now: that there’s no reason to do it alone.  

For me it’s been a bumpy, often frustrating journey of trial and error, but I’ve come out on the other side, not exactly anywhere I could have predicted, but happy and fulfilled. The journey was hard (and still is sometimes) but being all that I know I can be is simply worth it. That’s how and why I figured out that my biggest joy in life is helping others reach their full potential with much less self-doubt and fear than I personally experienced.  

It’s highly uncommon, maybe impossible, for anyone’s academic, career, or life journey to be without difficulties; however, my goal through my career coaching and consulting business is to give my clients the support they need to confidently plan and achieve their goals. Everyone has a unique path and I wholeheartedly believe that if one believes in themselves, puts in the work, and seeks guidance as needed, anyone can lead a life of fulfillment and purpose. Yes, including you! This is your sign that it’s time to throw your insecurities to the wayside, lock in and start doing. You got this; I promise.