“My thesis… comes out after my seven proposals were rejected. As they say, the beginning is always the hardest, I am honestly unprepared for the topic that was approved, but I am determined to complete it successfully.”
-Micaela S. Cruz
Before Harry Potter was famous, JK Rowling had to deal with numerous rejections from 12 publishers. It took 3 tries for Pia Wurtzbach to win the crown of Miss Universe Philippines. Generations had passed and it was until the modern era when Vincent van Gogh’s work were appreciated by the entire world. All of which have one peculiar similarity, that a failure is not an end but perhaps an opportunity for a brand-new beginning. As Maya Angelou once said, “we may have encountered many defeats, but we must not be defeated.”
At a young age, Micaela S. Cruz has been exposed to the artistic field with the influence of her father who was a self-taught artist and former band drummer of Alamid. Out of four siblings aside from their youngest, Mica was one of the few who showed interest and portrayed artistic talents. Her architectural journey started on the day of her college application. According to her, “I never knew architecture, until I (had) to put 3 (options) of courses when I applied in college.” As someone who was venturing the artistic fields, Cruz was never intending to take the path of architecture. Like most art enthusiast, she wanted to take the path where her artistry would flourish, she intends to take Fine Arts. However, with various circumstances and with the opinion of her family this idea was left aside so she took the next best thing, Architecture. “I wanted to take up Fine Arts, but my mom won’t allow me, so I took a course somehow close to it which also includes drawing, that’s how I end up with Architecture” Micaela shared.
Like any other architecture student, her academic career was not easy. With the great demands and high standards of some professors in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, she had to face numerous defeats in the academic battlefield. Her ideas were somehow insufficient or unqualified for their thesis. However, she never lost hope and vigor to accomplish her degree, she continued to fight and stood up every time she fell on the ground for every failed proposal. Finally, on her seventh try she succeeded and was accepted. “My thesis, People’s Wonderful Diversity: A Medical Resort for people with Physical and Intellectual Disability, comes out after my seven proposals were rejected. As they say, the beginning is always the hardest, I am honestly unprepared for the topic that was approved, but I am determined to complete it successfully,” Micaela inspiringly sharing her experience.
Even so, being accepted was just the beginning of yet another laborious journey. However, with her undying perseverance and unquestionable determination she made things possible. She was aware of this journey she was about to take and understands the consequences and what is at stake. According to her, “You can’t always hit the right word, the right planning or the right design for what you are trying to create”. As an aspiring architect she was already used to the hard work and realizes that the architectural way is, according to her, a cycle of making and breaking. “Revisions after revisions will always come, but at the end of the day, you will understand that that’s the beauty of breaking,” Cruz added. Her experiences in the academe made her resilient and aware of the challenges and recognizes that these obstacles, failures and defeats she experienced along her journey are just tools of opportunity to improve for the better and later achieve her best potential, which she did when she received the award of Top 1 Architectural thesis in the College of Architecture and Fine Arts last 2018. “Because you will be able (to), or you will be forced (to), and (be) determined more to make something better from what you have taught is the best that you can make,” Micaela further explains her excruciating architectural experience.
Working on something that she was unprepared of and was not expecting to work on would be really frustrating for some people, but Micaela is not just some people. Her character and vigor make her unique among others when it comes to being fazed by the challenges. Also, as everyone would say, behind every successful person is a supportive family. With the aid of her sister who was taking a special education program in college back then, her motivation emerged. “I asked my sister …. for the possible centers that I could visit to better understand the subject that I will be working on,” Cruz explained. Micaela’s research journey which started from an idea out of necessity became a dream of inspiration. She visited various centers for the deaf, blind, occupational therapy centers and even various hospitals around Quezon City. Her immersive ventures enabled her to be more empathic towards the people of concern of her study. She interviewed numerous therapists, doctors, parents, and even real-life individuals who has special needs to better understand their life stories and the struggles they go through. Mica enthusiastically explained that “as I saw how they live and cope given their disabilities, I became more inspired to create and design a building or them”.
Even with the numerous defeats and various breaking point, Micaela showed how important character is in facing the fights we take on our lives. Also, we all know that architecture is not a joke and that it takes courage when working with real life problems. Additionally, the academic pressure to pass and make something great could make us stale, and bland. But with all her experiences and regardless of the pressure she receives her character became more defined as she stayed kind and sympathetic towards the people she is studying about. As she was inspired by the people she met, she became an inspiration to us all by creating something meaningful. “When we heard the word disabled, we usually think that those are people who cannot walk, cannot see or hear well. But I find that, the real disability or the real disabled people are those people who cannot find joy in life, who cannot see the beauty of life and those people who cannot hear why they are given this life,” Micaela inspiring other architectural enthusiasts.
Micaela’s journey is both an example and an inspiration for everyone, architecture student or not, for she showed us how some defeats are meant to happen so we would be able to find our true destiny and how an idea can grow from a mere necessity into something that could create meaningful impact in the lives of people.
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