Struggle is real: The 21st century Athena

Athena is a god of war with a sense of moral rights and is confident, practical, and clever. She is always ready to fight as she always brings her sword and prepares to take it out on her side to fight for fairness and justice. Karylle Giner reflects herself as the goddess of war as she sees college in a time of pandemics with endless war and full of expectations from the people.

It was four in the afternoon; she woke up as if it were morning to prepare herself for work and school, which had become her routine for about a year. Pandemic became her breaking point since she didn't pass two schools, her mom lost her job, and the nagging she always got from her parents. That is why she decided to get a job while getting a degree since being a breadwinner; you need to sacrifice happiness.

"Maybe people say my job (BPO employee) is exhausting, and that's true, but this has become my escape from the world I've been in—that place (work) has become my comfort from the problem that I am facing," she says. As she walks toward the mirror, she realizes how much she has become from being a fragile young girl to a confident and wiser woman.

She begins her day at the BPO company every evening at seven and waits for a jeepney.

Balancing work and school amid the pandemic is hard since being a psychology major that needs 100% focus, she can't do that because of her work that starts in the evening and ends with a bright sun flashing on her skin.

"Every environment is toxic, but one thing I learn is to adapt quickly, be wiser enough, and that toxic environment becomes healthy for me because I have fun doing my job rather than school," she stated. She acknowledged that her enthusiasm for education is waning. Her classmates, who are constantly there for her, are the only thing that keeps her going.

Furthermore, having both jobs deprives you of the one essential thing in our health—sleep. For her, it's nothing because she is eager to help her parents and little sister.

Living in both settings gave her the impression that she had evolved from a student to a more mature worker. Karylle is aware of herself, but being a provider is not easy, unlike being a student who lives on a silver spoon that doesn't need to experience all of this.

A 20-year-old girl believed that a pandemic was a blessing in disguise. She realized it gave her an opportunity and a challenge to unleash her inner extrovert skills for survival. She becomes the modern Athena that is never scared to face the battlefields.

"When you want to be like me, a working student, not only think twice but many times because once you enter this world, you must be fully ready and determined," she says to the young people who want to be like her. Her phone lit up; there was a beautiful statue of Athena with a sword and a full gear on her lock screen. Adulthood is a scary part of being a human. You will experience massive challenges that will help to build yourself.

Moreover, she said that she is successful not on tangible things like money but in herself. She created the woman that she wanted to portray. "Success is about being content with what God gives you, making yourself proud, being a provider and a friend," she says while reminiscing about her old self.

Karylle and Goddess Athena are similar; they exemplify how intertwined intelligence and bravery are. By adopting a tactical plan, intelligent judgment, and the assurance that you can win your battle, by using those words in actions.