Teacher-Turned-Waiter in Kuwait: “It’s OK to Swallow Your Pride for Your Dreams”

He’s a Licensed Professional Teacher and had always been an achiever in life, but netizen “JM Papa” felt bad when he became a waiter in Kuwait. He didn’t feel that it was the kind of job he should be doing, considering his profession.

But as his life became better, financially, and he was able to buy his family a house of their dreams in a subdivision, he realized that there are times in life when you just have to swallow your pride to achieve your dreams!

JM Papa shares how he had been a consistent 100% university scholar, government scholar, and active college student who participated in so many activities. It was in 2015 when he graduated from no less than the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, with a degree in Secondary Education major in English.

Photo credit: JM Papa / Facebook

It seemed that his future was already mapped out for him, but instead of practicing his profession as everyone expected, he found himself serving Arabs as a waiter in a casual-dining restaurant in the Middle East.

From a high-achieving individual to a waiter. When I started working as a waiter, my co-workers were always questioning my decision. You could’ve been teaching in a public school in the PH but why did you choose to be a waiter in Kuwait. It’s solely because of my dream not only for myself but most especially for my family,” he mused.

He felt bad about not being able to practice his profession but he would soon have a high regard for waiters, especially after he was able to build a house for his family and got various savings and insurances from his earnings. With the waiter’s salary being double that of what teachers receive in the Philippines, he was able to achieve his dreams sooner than expected.

Yet he still felt bad about himself, losing confidence.

Photo credit: JM Papa / Facebook

This experience truly humbled me, unfortunately, to the extent that I’m not confident enough to apply for a higher & better position than a waiter. Tbh, it crashed all the confidence I’ve gathered from my achievements ‘cause I was barely recognized by our company as a good employee. I didn’t even get a promotion in 3 years of working so smart & hard. I felt untrusted and like incapable of being a manager,” the former teacher lamented.

But he eventually found his confidence again to apply as Human Resource Coordinator in a prestigious general trading & construction company in Kuwait – and he got the job! He’s finally feeling better about himself and prouder of what he had become.

It’s not bad at all to sometimes swallow your pride for your dreams…” he shared.

2 Comments

  1. To JM Papa…Congratulations! You’ve done it man. But I believe you deserve a higher position in the company…as your boss’ replacement maybe?

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