Just Because You Are

Chapter 2 - The Detour

"Do the things you believe in, in the name of love. And know that, you aren't alone. We all have doubts and fears.”
- Carole King

“Thank you, Lord!” Raffie exclaimed, as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up excitedly from her seat.

After almost fifteen hours of flight time from London Heathrow Airport, then to Abu Dhabi and finally to NAIA via the Etihad Airways, she finally felt so relaxed and at peace.

Actually, she was quite comfortable in her private area all throughout the duration of the flight, but somehow there was this unexplainable anxiety repeatedly flowing through her thoughts. Well, she was still feeling the same mixed emotions she had the other day when Vince dropped her off the airport, but as soon as she arrived in her homeland she could not help but feel especially serene and composed.

‘There’s no place like home, indeed!’ she thought with a wide smile as she got her bags and put on her beige hat.  She then walked out of the Diamond First Class suite and flashed a sweet smile at the flight attendant who was standing by the sliding door.

“This is it, Raffie…brace yourself for a career detour,” she whispered to herself as she walked along the immigration lanes and passed by the clearing customs, then proceeded towards the baggage claim area of Terminal 1.

Four years ago, it was her Mommy and Daddy who had almost decided to make a “career detour” by giving up their teaching profession in UP just to accompany her to London.

Mr. and Mrs. Legazpi did not want Raffie, their only child, to leave the country without them. They were anxious about the thought of their daughter living in a distant country all by herself.

But Raffie is not only impulsive in making decisions. She is also quite resolute and determined once she has made up her mind about something. So she did everything she could just to prove her parents that she was capable of taking care of herself while pursuing her dreams. She was thankful that her Daddy and Mommy finally released their blessing to her.

She had long been dreaming of finding her niche in the West End Theater, and so when she got the opportunity to teach in a small music school for children in London right after graduating from her Master’s degree in Music, she immediately decided to get the job, optimistic that it would eventually bring her to the kind of career she wanted to establish.

And she was right.

Her hard efforts and determination paid off after a few months since she started teaching. She became part of the Imperial Repertory Society. In fact, she was the only Asian performer in the group…now that was certainly a big deal for her.

During her four years of living in West Hampstead, London, she learned to live independently …to experience a lifestyle which was far too different from what she had been used to for almost twenty-one years of staying with her parents. But she survived, and she was quite glad that her parents were very supportive about the giant leap of faith that she had taken.

Now, she was going to take another leap of faith, and she was still unsure how her decision could affect her career. All she knew was that she would still survive.

They will survive.

Her dad will survive.

‘I trust in you, Lord…I trust in you for everything,’ Raffie prayed.