Before she was a well-established Filipina Worker who had it all together, Miss Rosie had a simple but colorful life in the Philippines. Back home in the Philippines, Miss Rosie had split her life 3 ways. The biggest chunk was devoted to God, the next was to her 3 young children, and the rest was for her job. As a single mother, she found herself working tirelessly to provide the best that she can for her 3 kids as she navigated her way around the busy and dangerous streets of Manila through her lonesome commutes. She separated from her husband when her children were still young, with her youngest only being 2 years old at the time. There was still support from her parents as they lived together with Miss Rosie and her siblings in their big family home with her kids. She never really relied on too much support from anyone as she is very independent. With her kids in mind, she was determined to find success not just for herself, but for her family as well. She is an independent workaholic who would stop at nothing to give her family the world and more.
Miss Rosie was employed by Avon Manufacturing as the executive secretary for the Materials Director-a great boss and mentor who taught her to be efficient and proactive as the liaison to other bosses in the company. She would excel in her work because as a single-parent, she dreamed of not only a happy future for herself with a lovely house with a massive garden filled with roses with a blurry figure of a mystery man at the end of that garden dream, but also a successful future for her children. Miss Rosie would share these anecdotes of the garden and the mystery man of her dreams with her friend at work, Esther nearly every day. After listening to Miss Rosie’s hopes and dreams being laid out, she gave her the idea of applying for a US Visa and possibly achieving her dreams in the states. As someone who was unsure about everything in her life except for the dreams she has for her family, this idea seemed really amazing; A fresh start in a foreign country that could give you the opportunities to gain all that you’ve dreamed of. Miss Rosie applied for the Visa but unfortunately she got denied. Not letting her spirits get deterred, she applied once more but another rejection was behind the doors of opportunity. After a third failed attempt at a visa, Miss Rosie threw away her passport as she sulked and fell into a depressive and frustrating limbo for months. After months of wandering with no clear signs of how to achieve her dreams, she would go through the motions of her mundane daily life. After realizing the mistake that she made by throwing her passport away, she requested a new one claiming that she lost her old passport. When she got her passport, her friends urged her to try for the visa again. “Who knows,” they claimed. The worst that could happen, already happened. Luckily for this dreamer, she finally struck big after months of heartbreak and denial-she got approved for a US Visa on her 4th attempt. Funnily enough, the same month that her Visa got approved, her place of employment was moved from Libis, which was merely a 30 minute commute, to Laguna, which would have been over 2 hours of commuting. The stars had aligned and Miss Rosie was ready to reach for them as she prepared for her stay in the USA.
Her preparation was supported by Tonet Rivera, her boss back in Avon. Tonet helped her retire early and reap the benefits from working at the company. She received a lumpsum in benefits. With this money, she was able to make the trip to the States.
Miss Rosie stayed with her father and sister who had been living together at the time. She made the most out of the visit-spending quality time with her family, going out to places she’s never been before, and rekindling the spark with family- even though she missed her kids back home. While she was at home with her sister, she received an invitation out of the blue; it was from her ex husband’s family. She had been close with the family, even back in the Philippines, so she would take this offer to visit them. At the house of her sister-in-law, she bonded with her and her husband-exchanging laughs and stories- when her sister-in-law’s husband had the bright idea to set Miss Rosie up with his co-worker, Dave, who was a seafarer like her sister-in-law’s husband. When she met Dave, she thought that he was the kindest man with the purest of hearts and it just so happened that they were each other’s types too! “The man of my dreams” Miss Rosie thought to herself in excitement. After months of courtships and dating, Miss Rosie had to break the news that she had to go back to the Philippines for her kids. Dismayed but not deterred, Dave immediately offered to marry her right there. Miss Rosie had fallen in love with Dave and accepted the proposal right then but she is a devoted mother to her kids. She needed to get home and see them again.
As Miss Rosie went back home, Dave gave her some gift money to take home for the kids, promising to take care of her and her children while he waited for the love of his life to come back to him. She did not spend these as her pride won’t allow this. They became penpals for months but their love was unwavered and they were committed to each other. At some point, they both couldn’t take it anymore and Miss Rosie decided to go back to Dave, but this time it was finally permanent.
Miss Rosie built a beautiful and fulfilling life with Dave in a home where they rented and then eventually owned. They sent money to the Philippines regularly, while also saving up enough to buy the things that they wanted-like a car- that Miss Rosie could only dream of back in the Philippines. Though in 2009, after being together for 10 beautiful years, Dave unfortunately passed away, leaving Miss Rosie with the same familiar feelings that she once felt, loneliness and uncertainty. Somehow, she still found the strength to move on and even persevere with her life. She took on 3 jobs to fill up all her time and give most of the money she had earned to her family back home in the Philippines. Now that Miss Rosie is turning 80, it can be objectively be said that she has brought success to her family. Nearly all of her grandchildren have graduated with only 2 more left to go-and they’re on track to do so in the next 6 years.
In the end, Miss Rosie’s story has been full of ups and downs. After surviving the busy streets of Metro Manila as a single parent, she found a loving husband in a different country, earned opportunities to help her kids, and she built a fulfilling life in the states off of pure hard work. Her story is an inspiring one filled with sacrifices and hardships but her grit and passion can not be reiterated enough. She is a Filipina Superstar!
