03.22.09
Valedictory Address
(This is the original transcription of the speech that I made and delivered during our high school graduation last March 2005. Be amazed and irritated at the same time by a composition of a 16-year-old student.)
To be or not to be…
For a decade and one cycle of our pursuit for wisdom, this becomes our learning battlecry. Yes, education is exciting. It is like going into a battle. We are challenged but we survived the quest.
I once stood here before some four years ago but I have not remembered if I felt the same as I do at this very moment. What I am sure of is that I am deeply grateful to my parents, Alma Mater, teachers and classmates for reaching this far. After several long years of labor, we are here to take pride of this achievement.
I have spent so any nights burning the midnight oil. But a unique feeling of restlessness occurred to me that night after I was proclaimed valedictorian. The hardships, the fighting spirit, all these went flashing through my mind. The enormous feeling of being overwhelmed silenced my mouth - my mouth, which used to deliver the truth, my mouth which had either broken you or made you.
My beloved teachers and fellow graduates, almost every single day, you are hearing from me, but perhaps this will be the last time that you will.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are living our lives in different ways. And I have not lived mine the way typical teenagers had lived theirs. Sometimes I could be the person who would rather choose the road less traveled. Less play and more work. Yes in the beginning I would call it hard work but after some time, after understanding the reason behind exerting efforts to the limits of one’s capabilities I formulated then that endurance and determination are siblings of education.
Often times, younger children ask me if we are rich. I answer them, “No, we are not. But someday we will be.” And then I begin to wonder what kind of riches they are pertaining to.
When it comes to money, they say I don’t look poor. I dress adequately; I have a lot of possessions. But I am poor. I don’t own a big amount of money but the difference comes when I spend wisely whatever I have. My parents did not raise me immediately buying what I want. They taught me restraint and careful examination.
There are times when I have nothing in my pocket, I want to cry wishing that if I could only sell all my medals to buy milk for my younger brother or to pay for this college admission form that I have to submit. How I wanted to study in the biggest universities outside, but we are not equipped with the money. But despite experiencing the bite of poverty, I can still find the beauty of life. I can still face the world smiling for our principal always reminded us that everyday is a miracle. We can eat. We never begged for food, we never walked barefooted.
Yes we are rich - rich in experience, rich in friends, rich in accepting the reality. And I made a compromise to myself, “Many people who are successful today experienced hardships which are so much greater than what I am experiencing now.” And so I welcome whatever life is offering me. As what the language of the practical is, “Live with your means.” Why would we keep on pushing ourselves on something if we cannot afford to have it at the moment? But hope is something that no one can take away from me. I may not be able to go to famous universities, but I assure that I will always strive for my best academically. I may not have the latest cellular phone model but I have the greatest friends. I cannot always surf what they call Encarta, but I have met the greatest books. I may not be wearing the most expensive dress but I feel comfortable with this cap and gown. I don’t have golden necklace like what you have now, but I feel more at ease with this medal. We don’t have our own house, but I have my family with me, complete. While you have your cars, your houses, and your companies as your riches, I have my family, my friends, my honor and my education as mine.
Though I did not live my years the way other teenagers did, I have not grown any regret for I have enjoyed my life the way I wanted it to be. Life for me is not a party wherein we can enjoy as much as we want, indulge and be merry. But for me it is a field of justice where people get what they deserve, where everything happens for a reason, where people work in order to succeed.
My fellow graduates, the only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary. Success isn’t like the sun which is sure to rise in the East. But as it is written in the Holy Scriptures, “Nothing is impossible when we believe. And after believing comes our decision. To be or not to be.
You and I were pained from failures and sufferings, from challenges and rejections. There were times when things were as good as quitting but we moved on for there are matters more beautiful and rewarding than giving up. If we had not fought for what we think is best for us, we may not be present on this momentous day to take pride of this achievement. The road to our ideals might be drawn-out and the light might have pierced as loud but the pang seasoned us to believe in ourselves. Though painful it may be, it brings forth the best in us. There is pain in growth and we had had ourselves changed through the course of time. We grew and develop just like a seed from tree with the principles, goals and mission of Immaculate Heart of Mary School of Values.
We traveled a long, long journey and reached one of the conquests of life. Through our time together, in the lengthy cruise, we have picked up many beautiful gems that we will treasure. We have experienced the true essence of life and realized so many things that move us to be better and do better in all our undertaking. This moment is our triumph. Let us not only be informed and formed but be transformed with ideals, aspirations, emotions and most of all, our values in life.
Today is the culmination of our victory yet this isn’t the end of the odyssey. Our tale has reached its finis - how shall we phrase the end of this is the challenge left to us graduates.
We hope that we continue and spread the learnings and teachings our Mother Virgin Mary has shown us. Let us reach for our wagon as we enter new phase of our life. Let us prove that we possess the strength of mind, heart and soul and graciously accept the challenge to be men and women of the world.
Dear graduates please rise once again and give a big round of applause to the administration and staff of IHMLCSV. Give a round of applause also to our dear parents, friends and guests. Please sit down. Thank you very much. At this point, it is my honor and privilege to call two persons very dear to my heart, Engr. and Mrs. Fernando Balita. Ladies and gentlemen, my parents!
To be or not to be… that is the question - let us contine our voyage. Sail our ship on a distant sea. Fear not the storm for the light of Immaculate Education would not cease to shine. This is the opportune time for all of us to put ourselves to our best. Let us take advantage of the opportunities to be good and do good. Everything is for real now. As we leave the egress of our dear Alma Mater, let us be what we want to become.
