Thursday, November 5, 2026

From Childhood Dreams to a Life of Gratitude-An Update

From Childhood Dreams to a Life of Gratitude-An Update-Part 4 of 10

The Japanese Bridge of Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

When I was growing up in the small town of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippines, in the mid-1940s, I had several dreams and goals in life.

Looking back now, I realize that my childhood dreams were actually quite simple.

One of my earliest dreams began after I watched a movie made in the United States. I wanted to see America, not necessarily to live there, but simply to visit and, most of all, play in the snow.

That dream came true in 1960 when I immigrated to the United States.

At that time, I could hardly have imagined how dramatically that journey would change my life.

Another dream was to someday have a home surrounded by fruit trees, flowers, and orchids. I wanted a place where I could enjoy nature and have a little piece of paradise of my own.

That dream became a reality in 1996 when my wife and I built our retirement home in Boac, Marinduque.

Then there was another childhood dream that may sound unusual.

I wanted to build a Japanese bridge across a creek.

I don't remember exactly why I became fascinated by Japanese bridges as a young boy. Perhaps it was something I had seen in a picture or movie. But the image stayed with me.

Years later, when we constructed our beach house in 1998, I finally had the opportunity to make that childhood dream come true.

We built a Japanese bridge across a small creek populated with tilapia and other fish. Every time I crossed that bridge, I was reminded of the little boy from Barotac Viejo who had once dreamed about building one.

There was also another dream.

As a child, I never dreamed of becoming wealthy. I simply wanted to earn enough money to live comfortably and take care of my family.

That dream was fulfilled in an unexpected way. After immigrating to the United States, I pursued my education and eventually completed my Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 1964.

Earning my Ph.D. was probably the most important educational goal I had ever set for myself.

For a young immigrant who had grown up in a small Philippine town, completing a doctorate in the United States was something I could hardly have imagined when I was a boy.

But perhaps my most ambitious childhood dream was to someday own a home with a circular driveway and a fountain in the center.

That dream was never completely fulfilled. However, I came close.

When we built the Conference Hall in 2000, it included the circular driveway I had always envisioned. We had originally planned to put a fountain in the center, but practical considerations and limited funds forced us to postpone that part of the dream.

And, as I often joke, the fountain may still be possible, if I ever win the Lotto or hit the jackpot at a casino!

But as I look back on my life today, I realize something important:

Perhaps we don't need to fulfill every dream to have a fulfilling life.

Some dreams come true exactly as we imagined them.

Others take a completely different path. And some remain unfinished.

What matters is the journey—and the memories we make along the way.

Today, I have another goal in life.💚

I want to see my youngest granddaughter graduate from college. This came true last May when she graduated with Bachelor Science Degree from George Washington University.💚 This week, she started Graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

That is a very different kind of dream from the ones I had as a young boy. It is no longer about what I want to accomplish for myself. It is about watching the next generation of our family reach their own dreams.

When I think about my life from a small town in Iloilo, to the United States, to my career and education, and eventually back to the Philippines to build a retirement home and a beach resort, I realize how many of my childhood dreams have actually come true.

I never became rich in the conventional sense.

But I became rich in experiences, family, friendships, memories, and blessings.

And perhaps that is a much greater kind of wealth.

Today, I am especially grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to experience so much more than that young boy from Barotac Viejo could have imagined.

I have learned that dreams do not always come true according to our timetable or in the way we originally imagined. Sometimes, life gives us something even better.

So, as I look back, I can only say:

Thank You, Lord, for all Your blessings and for helping me fulfill most of my dreams and goals in life.

Lord, without You, I am nothing. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of all:

Dream when you are young. Work toward those dreams. Be grateful for what you receive. And never forget the One who made the journey possible.

For additional details about my childhood memories during the Japanese-American War in the Philippines (1941–1945), please visit my blog, The Intellectual Migrant.

My Reel of the Day: Getting Old:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1702870767601186

No comments:

About Me

David B. Katague is an online memoirist and cultural essayist whose writing has appeared on HubPages and Blogger since 2007. His work reflects a sustained interest in Filipino heritage, family history, senior living, art, community life, and the cultural meaning found in everyday experience. Through memoir, reflection, and essay, he explores the personal and historical dimensions of identity, memory, and belonging. His writing seeks to preserve lived experience while offering thoughtful commentary on the traditions, values, and social realities that shape individual and collective life. As a Filipino-American writer, he brings a distinctive cultural perspective to his work, drawing on personal experience and careful observation to create writing that is both reflective and engaging. His online essays and memoir pieces continue to document a lifelong commitment to storytelling, cultural understanding, and the written record of experience.

Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Thursday, November 5, 2026