Hey, I got my Permanent Residency and this is what it means to me…

My first attempt to go to Australia includes memories that involved failures and pain, failures and pain, failures and pain.

It was another Saturday morning, I was having breakfast while messaging my friend. I got up, washed the dishes, went back to my room and got ready to go to the gym when my phone beeped and I saw an email with the subject “IMMI GRANT.” I was able to jump, tear up, and laugh at the same time. I remember being happy… very happy.

Now, you might think permanent residency is not a big deal because thousands of people qualify for that every year. Well, I don’t care the slightest – it is such a big deal for me. Why? Read on…

My first attempt to go to Australia included memories that involved failures and pain, failures and pain, failures and pain.

Back in 2012, I remember crying over an email that said I didn’t qualify for the scholarship that could have been my road in this country. I qualified for the course but was not good enough for the scholarship and there is no way I can afford it. My colleague, who happened to be there, comforted me at my lowest and I trusted her enough to see me at my most vulnerable. Fast forward, I came to know that she told everyone else at work about the incident; not caring how I will feel about it. That was just not fair at all.

They told me congratulations and I answered back with a resignation letter.

Fast forward – I went to Dubai and worked as a Charge Nurse in a well-established government hospital and one of the goals is to save enough for my Australia application. I was the youngest in my ward and I had to take charge of senior nurses and coordinate with doctors. I was called names, laughed at, shouted at, and they managed to speak every offending phrases they can, such as “your degree is plastic” and “you do not know anything.” Then I went on and published a summary guide of all the Ministry of Health policies that they used for their accreditation, taught them about basics of research, conducted lectures on pain management, and above all, showed them how a professional should talk. They told me congratulations and I answered back with a resignation letter.

 

While I was having a rollercoaster ride at work, I had to attend to several family matters. I was trying to save enough money to fund my application for Australia but every time, my money is spent to more urgent matters. That went on for years and it was so frustrating that I am earning so much but is unable to save anything for my dream. I remember asking if I can pursue my Australian dream and was requested to defer it for another year and another year and another year.

One day, I stopped asking, I stopped begging. I told them – I told them I can definitely do more and I am pursuing my dream. In a short time, I tried to save as much as I can from my salary.

Fast forward to Australia. The immigration rules were fast changing – in a nutshell, the points to qualify for PR is just getting more impossible by the day. Everyone, no matter how experienced, is not receiving invitations and to my dismay, I even lost significant PR points. I had to step back and re-examine my strategies. I had to remind myself of my five-year journey in Dubai to reach this point and the only emotion I choose to feel is motivation. I had to remind myself to approach things like how a researcher would approach his research question – objectively. I wrote everything down and took every bit of effort to tick off every step it takes towards my goal. Then today happened – finally, FINALLY.

It maybe is just a paper to a lot of people. But there are also types of people like me who worked hard for many things in my life and the sacrifices we made, make us see and appreciate things in a different light. If there is any takeaway in my little story is that to never allow people to postpone your dreams for theirs. There will be a time in your life that you have to put yourself first and that is not selfishness.

I am not perfect and I am not making myself a hero in this story but those events are a big part of me. And my journey is just starting here but this new chapter gives me enough velocity to just accelerate and accelerate and accelerate…

There will be a time in your life that you have to put yourself first and that is not selfishness.