The Warrior Princess
By: Racquel Sarah A. Castro
As a person with a disability, society would limit you with their standards. But I think God instilled in me the heart of a warrior. Like a wounded one, she would be keeping her poise alive even if there were predicaments and judgments that prevented her from winning. I am His warrior princess; ready for battle but has the meekness of a dove.
Not every time you would win your battles; a warrior would still get up and prepare for another chance to win. That’s what I am; a princess that always gets up in spite of and despite the challenges and hardships that life throws at me.
Life threw so many mishaps, discouragements and failures but I have God as my number one supporter. If I were asked if I could choose to be a normal girl, I would not trade the life I had even though there were thorns to surpass and walls to climb. I am Racquel and I live with cerebral palsy.
Allow me to inform you of little facts about cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a collection of problems that impact a person’s ability to move, balance, and maintain their posture. The most prevalent motor disability in children is cerebral palsy (CP). Cerebral refers to the brain. Palsy refers to muscle weakness or difficulty with movement.
You know what set me apart from others; I have supportive family and friends to turn to whenever there were rough roads in my life. They were my forever beacons; lighting every path in the distance. I think I was made by God to illuminate His possibilities, opportunities, blessings, and love.
My story is a beautiful narrative of hope, faith, perseverance, love, and triumph. But judgments, unemployment, and discrimination were just a few of the obstacles I had to overcome. My life has been littered with detours. It taught me lessons that I will never forget. It molded me into the person I am today. When I was in elementary school, I was called a variety of names, including crippled… autistic… Later in college, I took a difficult detour, losing my chance to be a Cum Laude. After college, I took a number of detours, including overcoming unemployment and working as a freelancer for nearly ten years.
God puts you in situations you don’t want to be in; molding your character, perseverance, patience, and persistence. I think God has a purpose of not giving me what I ask for to trust Him fully. As a newly graduate, I was confident enough to face every interviewee. I always ended up shaken. “We regret to inform you that . . .” I’ve read that several times and I quit. Yes, I quitted and tried online freelancing.
It led me in helping students on their thesis; Yes, I became a thesis consultant while I worked as a freelance programmer. While working, I emerged myself in the ministry by being the available minister for our church, JCRBCC. From being just a follower, God called me to lead the Young Adult Ministry. I handled different events including a concert, an outreach program, and the like. Neither did I know that it would prepare me for a job in the local and international arena. Everything has its own time I guess.
Encouragement makes a difference when you act and be inspired through it. Through encouragement, I jumped to another industry; publishing. I learned the basics of writing romance through workshops handled by Mina V. Esguerra. I met like-minded individuals that later became friends. I became an author of ten published books.
Someone had faith in me. That’s Mrs. Lourdes E. Dimaguila, the wife of our City Mayor. I worked for the City Government of Binan for four years. The City Government of Binan had been my stepping stone because it led me to endless opportunities. One of them was the Rural Impact Sourcing Technical Training where I became the poster girl of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). I had to say that without my four-year stint in the local government, I would not be where I am now. I became the social media expert for a lot of local organizations, lawyers, businessmen and women.
Aside from that, I became a motivational speaker because of DICT. From Laguna, I would travel to Clark Pampanga to be an inspiration to many people. Every DJT class, they would play my video. Even Senator Angara recognized me in his column. I also had a chance to travel alone to Cebu City for a conference.
I had to do gigs or freelance work because of Daddy. That was my reason back then; to support his dialysis sessions with my siblings. We were financially shaken but it was God who provided through people. A little backgrounder: my Father was an Electrical Engineer and a pastor too. Through the impact of his ministry, we survived his 15 hospitalizations. He was and forever will be our hero.
Learning never stops. The Local Government Unit of BInan gave me a scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree. I felt so blessed with these opportunities to learn again. I took up Master of Science in Information Technology.
I created two projects for the City of Binan. The Binan Freelancing Webinar Series by Digital Goals seeks to introduce freelancing to our people. The other is an analytics platform for the City of Binan, which focuses on making it simple to gather, transform, and turn data into an asset for the city.
Every blessing will be just an inch to testing. January 13, 2020, one of the saddest days of our lives; Dad succumbed a day after the Taal Volcano eruption. I was there when he had his last breath. “Time of Death . . . ” Thought I was in a television series at that time, we were the protagonists. As the first born child, I kept my grief aside to support Mom. But when I was alone, tears ran down my face. Like a true warrior, I cried but I got up and fought again.
After that, the pandemic came and we were grateful that Dad’s death was a blessing in disguise. We cannot imagine our life in and out of the hospital. Truly, God’s rejection was considered as his protection in some ways.
To suppress the pain, I made myself distracted. I joined any webinars that came my way. In August 2020, I came across She Loves Data through a dear friend, Sheryll Lou. Then I became unstoppable. I became their website designer; transitioning from the old website to the new and improved one. I received an international certification for Dashboard Specialist from TIBCO, She Loves Data, and Singapore Management University in December 2020. I became their website coordinator and the chapter lead of their Manila Chapter. Aside from that, her group won in the recently concluded You Are What You Eat Datathon sponsored by She Loves Data and MSD.
In addition, I am the social media manager for Soroptimist International of Alabang, the Go Forward Binan Foundation, and the Binan City Fitness Club. My interest in data analytics prompted me to become a volunteer for an international organization called She Loves Data. I am now the website coordinator and co-leader of its Manila Chapter. I am also a member of the Philippines Analytics Association and JCI Binan Inc.
I was honored as a 1075 Tagumpay at Kagitingan Icon and have been asked by several groups and government agencies to speak about my determination to succeed in my area.
On my journey, I came across FOPSCO and I didn’t know that I had found a home. They really supported me in every endeavor I have faced. They gave me a lot of opportunities to lead. When they organized POFCON with me, I didn’t know that God had prepared another door for me; an opportunity of being part of DICT. I met my constant supporter in FOPSCO. Mark has been there ever since I persistently asked him to be my guest on my Youtube channel. He and the rest of my FOPSCO family like Dennis, Racqs, CJ, Jehan, Sherls, Roche and my ninong Jay supported me in all my endeavors.
I was also part of JCI Binan; the best part of my JCI journey was meeting advocates like me that would uplift our country with volunteerism in their hearts. I also wished that I could lead the local organization soon.
Now I work for the national agency where I discovered my calling in communication management. I guess God prepared me for this job. I enjoyed being a leader and at the same time helping Filipinos realize their dreams through ICT Industry Development. Being new in the team was not a problem at all. The senior staff guided us through tough times especially during events. I handled communications; from email, social media, writing PRs, and the like. I enjoyed being in control of some of our projects. I thank God for my work.
I was skeptical when Mommy Glo offered the CVAP scholarship. But I joined to aid my fellow persons with disabilities. My main purpose was to open doors for them to see that they could accomplish it because I had done it.
I had no idea I’d end up with a family. When the training began, I found I could do more. I can act (which was my childhood ambition), I can dub…
Unlike other training programs, the Certified Voice Artist Program provided me with several opportunities to explore. I am now the website’s editor-in-chief, an upcoming radio program tech director and host, a motivational speaker, and a better person. CVAP helped mold me into the finest version of myself.
Thank you to Sir Pocholo DE Leon Gonzales, our voice master, for the numerous possibilities he selflessly provided to my sector, the PWD sector. I give thanks to the Lord for CVAP.
A leader is once a follower inspired by his/her mentor. He/she may possess several things about his/her leader. The impact of leadership is important in being successful; I want to say that the leadership of Mayor Dimaguila, Jana Marle Zizkova, Roche Rivera, Pocholo Gonzales, and Director Emmy Delfin had an impact on my current role as the communication lead of our department. I think leadership is and always will be my calling.
As an IT specialist and consultant, I worked with individuals to determine their IT direction: where they wanted to go and how they could achieve their objectives. In addition, I designed my career path around two areas: web development and data analytics. As an author, I’ve produced stories that will educate, entertain, and inspire you to believe that being an inspiration is a decision.
My ambitions include starting a family, traveling abroad, and finishing my Master’s degree before starting my PhD. Until you act on it, it will remain a dream. Become a goal digger. You’ll never know what opportunity would give you a greater purpose in your life.
Others can follow my road because I open doors for them. I believe I was born to lead. In my journey, I hope to encourage every person with a disability in making their uniqueness unleash their capabilities and change their lives gradually. I want to provide children with as many opportunities as possible to discover that they must empower themselves rather than rely on dole-outs.
Do you think miracles happen? Will you thank God for what you have after hearing my story? Assist me in allowing the unheard to enter. Let’s join forces to motivate others.
A warrior princess is someone who could inspire others to join her for battle. Whether it would be a mental or social battle, a warrior princess stands on the ground with her wisdom, faith and love for his brethren, family, and God.
Be your very own warrior and fight your life’s battle with the One who will always win, God. Because with Him, anything is possible. Join me and let’s change the world.
I think, I am bound for the single-blessedness; though I have a lil hope pa because I am clinging to God’s promise. God promised that He will give the desires of my heart. Maybe in God’s perfect time, He will answer.
Racquel Sarah 