To be honest, the past few days have not been very easy. It is so difficult to find a job that you really want. I thought that if you have done extraordinarily well in college, you will be guaranteed with a good job. I always had to deal with competition and bureaucracy (which is usually true in the HR level). Until now, I am still waiting for a company to call and say "hey, you're hired!"

I am feeling tired, though not really depressed since I'm generally positive that I will be given the chance to be part of the world of work in the very near future.

This afternoon, around 2:30 PM, I received a Chikka text message from a certain Dred Ople.

Hi Earl, this is Dred Ople, Managing Editor of Starfish Magazine. Please check www.starfishmagazine.com for the top 20 finalists. Thanks.

I joined the essay writing competition of Starfish Magazine, the publication arm of Ayala Young Leaders, last November 2006. According to the guidelines, the top 20 finalists will be notified on February 2007. The expected month of announcement had passsed, and nothing happened. I thought I never made it to the top 20, until this afternoon.

Out of curiosity, I replied to Dred and asked if I made it to the top 20 and to the top 10. She replied:

Yes, you are one of the top 20. The top 10 and top 3 will be announced on the 27th of July, will send invites to your school so block off your sked then, including your parents, congrats!

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