Woman fulfills dream of becoming a registered nurse after failing licensure exam 6 times

Never say die, indeed! A woman is now a registered nurse after failing the licensure exam six times.

As seen in Katrina Son's report on "24 Oras," Monday, Ma. Ernida Peralta couldn't help but scream, cry, and jump out of joy upon seeing her name in the list of passers last July.

According to Peralta, the result was surreal because finally, she passed on her seventh attempt.

"It pays po lahat ng sacrifices kasi ang tagal ko siyang inantay," she said. "Sabi ko, 'Lord gusto ko siyang makuha para mairegalo ko sa kanila, para pang palit sa mga sacrifices nila noon nung maliliit pa kami.'"

["All the sacrifices paid off because I waited for it for a long time. I said, 'Lord, I want to get this so I can give it to them as a present, as exchange for their sacrifices from when we were young.'"]

Becoming a nurse has always been Peralta's dream. Unfortunately, she had to stop going to school because of her family's hardships.

When she started a family herself, her husband encouraged her to pursue her dream again.

"Paano ko bubuuin 'yung pangarap ng mga anak ko kung sarili kong pangarap hindi ko mabuo? Ngayon, nakuha ko na siya so nagsisikap ako ngayon para sa pamilya ko," she said.

["How can I fulfill my children's dreams if I can't fulfill mine? Now I achieved it, so now I'm working hard for my family."]

Peralta graduated from college in 2013 and has since taken the board exam yearly. At one point, she thought the profession wasn't for her because of numerous failures.

Thankfully, she did not let those get in the way. Now, Peralta only believes that dreams do come true as long as there's perseverance and faith.

"Kung nasa puso po talaga natin 'yung eagerness na makuha 'yung isang bagay, 'wag nating sukuan. Kung madapa tayo, bangon lang ulit. Okay lang umiyak. Okay lang ma-disappoint pero 'wag susuko," she said.

["If the eagerness to get one thing is in our hearts, we shouldn't give up on it. If we fall, just stand back up. It's okay to cry and be disappointed, but don't give up."]

—Franchesca Viernes/MGP, GMA News