amorloveI’m Anina Ponce, a simple college student who is studying Bachelor of Science in Architecture at a local University in Cebu City.

I recently turned 18 on the 22nd of January. I am the type of teenager who goes to school, studies hard, and just has fun. However, at the end of the semester, before the summer started, my sister recommended that I try applying to 51Talk. I felt excited because I used to find ways of making money online in the past. Thank God I got in, although I never thought that I’d be hired. It was my first serious job, and I’m so grateful to have been accepted.

My journey started last April 10. I was also taking summer classes, so my life was “student in the morning and teacher in the evening”. At first, I had a hard time adjusting and managing my time. My summer classes were from 8 AM – 6 PM. I opened lesson slots from 7:30 PM – 11:00 PM. I only had an hour and 30 minutes for travel time and dinner. Since I went home during rush hour, I sometimes got stuck in traffic and went without dinner.

During those times, I could feel my body was so physically drained. I could not help taking naps during my morning classes at school. To make it more complicated, plates and homework piled up.

I may have been physically tired, but I never let that show to my students. I always put my heart into my teaching since I knew how it feels to have the passion for learning yet have an awful teacher. Happily, most 51Talk students I have handled were attentive, enthusiastic, and respectful. Some students were so nice that they always booked me a couple of times. However, I have also handled students who could test anyone’s patience. I just kept calm and tried to understand them. After all, we can’t please everybody.

Being a 51Talk home-based educator challenged me to become more responsible and organized about time. It made me more aware about how tough it is to earn a living and how our loved ones sacrifice so much to make it possible. Talking to different Chinese people feels like I’m also living in China. I have fun meeting different types of people of different ages. Some of them were kind enough to say “Welcome to China!”, and taught me some Chinese words. No matter how young or old you are, it is an honor to share knowledge with other people. Most of all, what really matters is when you are able to inspire and to touch their hearts which enable them to learn English with love and perseverance.

* To date, 51Talk has over 4,000 online ESL teachers all over the Philippines. To know how to be a Home-Based e-Educator, visit 51Talk.com/ph.