Two and a half years ago, I was intensely deliberating if I should buy the bus ticket to see my pregnant wife. She was in South Dakota while I temporarily lived in the graduate school’s dorm in Fairfield Iowa. At that time, after completing the foundational academic courses, I fortunately became eligible to seek employment under CPT (Curriculum Practical Training) terms. I was hopeful. However, I knew that it might take several months to really land a job, more so knowing that I only hold a nonresident visa. With no source of livelihood yet, that bus ticket was ultimately a luxury to afford, nonetheless. I was expecting that the hospital bills would continue deluging their way to dig the remainders of our moribund financial means. Looking at the ultrasound photos of my beautiful daughter, in her yet primordial form, I told myself “I will be by their side! Bahala na!”. It’s a Filipino way of saying “I am taking the chance so let it be!”. Now, I work in Cambri