Mas nakaluluwag na ngayon sa buhay si Butch Warren M. Hojas, 32, topnotcher sa October 2022 certified public accountant (CPA) licensure exam.
Malayo na sa nakagisnan niyang buhay noong bata.
Si Butch ay naging construction worker sa loob ng maraming taon noon.
Tinatayang 11 years din siyang tumigil sa pag-aaral bago nagdesisyong magkolehiyo.
Dalawang buwan matapos mag-graduate, nag-take na siya agad ng board exam.
Nag-Top 10 pa siya at nakakuha ng 87.50 average.
“I have a pretty much stable job now, but I am still in the discovery stage in my professional career,” mensahe niya sa PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal).
“I haven't quite decided yet on what do I really want to do as a CPA.
“Looking back, I can definitely say that there is a drastic change in my life.
“As a CPA, it feels like I can do anything I want. The moment I passed the board, it felt like the future looked brighter more than ever.
Dagdag pa ni Butch, hindi naman mahalaga sa kanya na makilalang dating construction worker na naging topnotcher.
“All I did was to redeem myself for all the wrong decisions I've made in the past, try not to fail again, and to make everyone who helped and believed in me proud,” hayag niya.
Ano ang maling desisyong tinutukoy niya?
“Pinabayaan ko lang po yung pag-aaral ko dati,” sagot niya.
Read: Meet Butch Warren Hojas: Construction worker na cum laude at board topnotcher
HARDSHIPS IN CHILDHOOD
Maagang naulila sa ina si Butch at kanyang mga kapatid.
“Patay na po mother ko nung Grade 5 pa lang ako. Tapos yung erpat ko po walang pormal na trabaho kahit nung bata pa kami,” ani Butch.
Gayunpaman, sinikap ng kanyang ama na may maipakain sa kanila sa pamamagitan ng kanyang side hustles.
Kahit si Butch, piniling magtrabaho na lang nang makatapos ng high school.
“After high school stop na ako. Nag-construction…”
Kasunod nito ay naging overseas Filipino worker siya at nagtrabaho bilang industrial painter sa Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates sa loob ng apat na taon.
Gayunpaman, nararamdaman ni Butch na may kulang sa kanya.
Aniya sa PEP.ph, “Even though I was earning quite enough money abroad, I was still not satisfied. I felt the emptiness there and was never happy.
“I thought that life there was not for me. So, I decided to finish college hoping that life would be better.”
Umuwi siya ng Pilipinas at nagdesisyong mag-aral sa kolehiyo noong 2018 o 11 years matapos niyang magtapos sa high school.
Ang ginamit niyang pagpapa-aral sa sarili ay ang kanyang naipon sa pagiging OFW.
Subalit tumama ang pandemya. Naubos ang ipon ni Butch. Labis siyang nahirapan sa kanyang huling year sa kolehiyo.
“Akala ko mapapatigil pa nga ako kasi nabuntis ko pa yung misis ko,” sundot niya.
Nangutang si Butch para hindi matigil sa pag-aaral.
FINALLY ACHIEVING SUCCESS
Nagtapos siya ng Accountancy sa University of the Visayas – Cebu City noong August 25, 2022 at nag-take ng board pagsapit ng October 2022.
At lumabas nga ang resulta ng board at nag-Top 10 si Butch.
Bukod sa pagiging employed, nabayaran na rin ni Butch kanyang mga utang.
“Sa awa ng Diyos, bayad na po lahat,” aniya.
Proud din si Butch na sabihing ang tatlo niyang kapatid ay nakapagtapos na rin sa college.
Kung may nais mang ibahagi si Butch sa kanyang kuwento, ito ay may kanya-kanyang timeline ang success ng tao.
Sabi niya, “Maybe they can learn that success is not a race nor a competition that whoever gets there first, wins.
“I was already 32 when I became a CPA, but that does not in any way negate or lessens the impact of that success.
“When you have a dream, make sure to do everything you can to achieve it, no matter how hard it is to get there.
“After all, it won't be fulfilling anyway if it is too easy to make it.”