Thanks to everyone who submitted a story to Elance’s International Freelancers Day contest. They were truly heartfelt and incredible.
First and foremost, let’s point out that everyone was a winner. Not only did your submission earn you Connects, but it also won our hearts (and the hearts of fellow Elancers who drew inspiration from the story). So much, in fact, that we raised the number of prizes available to award! Now, on to the winners:
Grand Prize Winner (Apple iPad 3 + $100 iTunes Gift Certificate + 12-month Elance Premium Membership):
Karsyn F, Elance username Sytten. Here is Karsyn's story:
"My name is Karsyn and here is my Elance story… Here in the Philippines, It’s very hard to find a job, especially if you have not finished your studies. Just like me it’s hard for me to find a good job because I never had the opportunity to finish my studies. I grew up in difficult life, day by day working first so I can eat and so I can help my mom who is sick and help my nephew to go school so they can study. We live in the mountains, no electricity and away from civilization. All day I dream to have a good house for us to live in. Six months ago, I decided to leave our home and find a job to help my family, and dream to buy a generator that we can use in our house to put a light at night. At that time I found a job, I worked as a front liner ( I do Xerox copy, and printing some rush id) even if it give me small wages I attended this, but almost every day always bad things I hear from the owner.
So I decided not to go to work and take the two weeks’ salary that I worked. The owner gives me 1,890 pesos, then I send all this funds to my mom so they can buy food. While I have no job I begged a friend to stay on their house while I'm looking for a new job. My friend had a laptop and an internet connection. I joined on facebook and I contact my former classmate who offer a rent to own house that has its own electric meter and water and it’s near on schools. In that time, I tell to myself that I need to make a way to get money to pay the down payment of that house. My friend where I lived suggests to me to find an online job that can help me and then I found Elance.
August 2012, I sign up on Elance, I send application on some jobs that suit me or I must say some job I can do like data entry. And someone trust me and hire me and give me job.
I worked as an online data entry operator and was paid $15 if I completed a file, those files need to finish before the week end. But because I really need money, I work to finish those files in little of time. My boss here in Elance ask me how I can finish those file in a little time. I tell to my boss about my dream, my dream to earn $300 which I can used to pay the down payment in the house I dream for my family. My boss here in Elance gave me more and more work.
September 14, 2012 I withdraw $300 on Elance, that is my first salary here, and the first time I held my hard-earned money. At that time I give the down payment to the owner of the rent to own house. After I pay the down payment, We started to paint the house and moved. And this following day, my family working now to transfer all of my nephew on school near on the new house we have.
I will not stop looking and finding job here in Elance, because Elance is the one who give light into my life. And will be the one who will help me to fulfill all my dreams for myself and for my family.
Thanks Elance!!"
Inspiring, eh? We hope you’re inspired too. That’s the sort of story that makes it easy to hop in the shower and come to work at Elance every morning. Want more? Well, you're in luck. We're awarding two runner-up prizes, featured below:
Second Place Winner (Kindle Fire HD + $100 Amazon Gift Certificate + 12-month Elance Premium Membership). Congratulations Daniel Borba and Becca Faith Heyman:
Check out Daniel Borba's fun and inspiring video below:
And check out Becca Faith Heyman's story below:
"Whoever first called New York City a “concrete jungle” was being more literal than he knew.
Sure, the soil might be cement, and roving bands of feral animals are actually yellow cabs, but the city’s similarity to overgrown wilds goes far deeper. In New York, natural selection plays out in every possible venue; from the subway to the boardroom to the chicest new restaurant—Assert your territory! Get a seat!—everyone is just trying to carve out a niche, find some breathing space, catch a glimpse of the sunlight beyond the canopy.
My husband and I have always been a couple from a different breed.
Don’t get me wrong—we love New York. We love the thrum of energy pulsating through the streets, the everywhere culture, the people-watching that can’t be beat. New Yorkers have city pride unmatched by any other place in the world—or so our pride would have us believe.
But in 2010, it became clear to us that living in NYC had become a matter of survival. My husband was working tireless hours at a thankless job. I was hustling to establish myself as a yoga instructor. All our money went to rent on our run-down Brooklyn apartment. It seemed half our lives were spent commuting—two transfers and the occasional bus just to get onto the island. We were tired all the time, and a bit listless. We were stuck.
By then I’d been on Elance for a little under a year. Like everyone else, I had started with piecemeal jobs for too little pay and gradually worked my way up. It was an incredible blessing to feel a direct link between my efforts and their results; not to mention, I had wanted to be a book editor since forever and was, incredibly, living my childhood dream.
My Elance success gave me the confidence and courage to sit down with my husband (then fiancé) and tell the truth: New York was killing us. We weren’t living, we were just…existing. We weren’t happy. It was time for a change.
A handful of months later, we had packed up that dilapidated apartment, put most of our belongings in storage, and moved into a house on Long Beach Island. We woke each morning to sunrises over the Atlantic; we watched storms roll in from the horizon; we let the sea air fill our lungs and drank good wine while our toes buried themselves in the sand.
And I worked.
At a kitchen table facing nothing but dunes and vast saltwater, I nurtured my Elance business and watched it thrive. We spent six months traveling around the East Coast, considering various living options and job opportunities, always returning to our temporary home by the sea. The whole time, I stayed connected to my clients via a beat-up laptop and a smartphone.
Today I am writing from a decidedly un-jungle-like suburb of Boston. We're married now. We have a cat. I have not been on a subway for…well, in a mercifully long time.
Elance gave me freedom. It helped—and continues to help—me be a more compassionate, flexible, supportive partner to my wonderful husband, because I can remain productive and engaged in my work wherever life takes us.
And who knows? Maybe a real jungle is next…"
Third Place Winner ($200 Amazon Gift Certificate + 6-month Elance Premium Membership). A tip of the cap to Emmanuel Marquez:
Nice job everyone, well said. Since we've received so many great stories, we've also increased the number of finalists (each a proud winner of a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate + 3-month Elance Premium Membership). To read the inspiring stories of the other finalists, visit our first blog post and second blog post on the contest, and the Elance Facebook page.
And here is the list of the additional winners. We'll be reaching out to all of the winners directly to award your prize. Thanks a million and congratulations to them and everyone.
NewtonPL
Subhash Sree
Vanessanoheart
Daniel Futerman
EdenCamacho
Martynas Petkevicius
Irameshp
CornatzerC
Med4You
Mara Gillott
Mike Barnes
Richard Thomas Reilly
YourDesignGuyDave
The Rabbiter
PauletticusJ
Fjmckay
TheoDi
EdenCamacho
Epapas
mrsfhughbanks07
Knstrickland
Mike Rob