Inspiring Lives: Beyond Circumstances

This is the life story of Ara Anjel Christy Layon, known simply as Ara to her friends. The circumstances of her birth are influential to what she is today, and sway her ambitions for the future.

Her mother grew up in Manila, When yet a teen-ager who loves to dance, she decided to apply as a performer for Japan, much to the chagrin of her elder sister. Instead of allowing her to leave for abroad, she was brought to Cebu where they started a new life together.

After some time of adjustment, she met a man who fell in love with her and soon their relationship became more serious. She got pregnant and initially thought of aborting the baby to be able to continue with her studies. However, the man owed up to his obligation and they got married, him at 23 years of age and her at 21 and also 3 months along the way.

The household Ara was born into was not one of affection or happiness. Young and inexperienced as they were, the couple went into a stage of turmoil when they would quarrel and sometimes hurt each other.

Small misunderstandings grew into big ones - at one point driving the mother to attempt to commit suicide; only the timely arrival of a grandmother prevented her from stabbing herself. That incident caused a deep trauma to the child Ara that she afterwards avoided getting close to her father.

Realizing the emotional wound he had inflicted on her daughter, the father tried to change himself and looked for a better job. The situation improved somewhat for the following ten years, until the company the father worked for, ceased operations and closed.

Faced with a growing family, the parents reverted to the squabbles and fights of an earlier period together. To Ara's disappointment and vocal grievance to her father, he stopped the children from schooling. She totally blamed him for their miserable condition.

A ray of sunshine came at this time in the form of scholarship which she applied for with the Commission of Higher Education. She passed the entrance examination in Nursing at the Cebu City Medical Center, but unable to sustain all her needs, she stopped altogether.

She presently works as a babysitter and as tutor of two pupils, laboring hard to save enough to continue with her studies. To be a Nursing student is still her principal ambition, and she has another scholarship grant awarded to her. She likewise dreams of maybe someday becoming a chef or a fashion designer, so she can make her mother proud.

Her feelings about having personal relationships with a man still suffers from the image she has of her father and his attitude towards their family This is the reason why she is wary and not trusting of men in general. Unless more attractive circumstances intervene in her life, she will continue to hope, one day at a time.