When I am still in elementary my mother was my first teacher, literally. She spent 15 years of her life teaching the kindergarten students. I can still recall the presents and gifts of all my classmates for her and she, as beautiful as ever with good speaking and literally skills always the host or emcee for all school activities.
I am not studious then, I am a kid, the eldest of three daughters. I like to paint flowers and to play with my best friend, Perla. We also cooked then, or more likely she cooked and I watched and eat after. My childhood days were filled with memories and yes, a lot of naughtiness. My father told me to be strong for all problems while my mom inspired me of her leadership skills.
I love to dance and with all the extra curricular activities even in singing contest I joined, though without any prize after, I am still happy because I tried. I don’t even feel embarrassed that time, it even gave me confidence and will to succeed. My parents were always taught us to behave, to respect elders and to do everything we want. I am the proudest daughter and I knew from the start that because my dad always a chess champion, I know that he is different. Graduation day, I’m not even an honor student or even best in dancing though I know I am good at it.
High School in Canossa was a different game, new school, new classmates and new policy. It was more like a disciplinary place than a place of knowledge for me. I will never forget the “keep right” attitude every time were going up or down using the stairs. In my third year, I realized that need to study, for me then if others can why can’t I? I decided to treat all exams as a challenge and would love to be an “achiever”. An achiever is a rank of an honor student where the lowest final grade is 85. I started to focus but still, looks like my effort was not yet enough, got a lowest final grade of 83.
I wanted to write in High School, though I am not that confident about my literally skills, I know I can, back then, I tried and one of my article got published in our school newspaper which right now, I forgot the title and even the whole article topic. My mind back then were full of everything, I have different kinds of friends, different in a sense that I could be with the much younger group of students or I could be with the graduating students, I can blend in. Graduation Day and my parents were all happy and yes I am not even an achiever then.
College, I really like to become a journalist. My parents doesn’t want me to enroll in Manila, they said there were many crimes, I might do drugs, get raped etc etc. In other words they enrolled me at Colegio De San Juan De Letran and yes still here in Laguna. I took an Engineering course, far from what I truly like to get. I had lots of genius classmates, I can still remember my Janitor seatmate and yes, even he was always absent, he still got the perfect score…in Math. There’s also Juliet, more like Senator Miriam Santiago to me, same accent, same way of talking and yes, I am calling her a robot most of the time. They were very studious and even after class I could see them studying. I am amazed with their skills.
One by one, like from 40 students in my Engineering classes, it became lower per semester. I don’t know if they cannot really comprehend or understand the lessons or was it because of the increasing tuition fees. A lot of my friends transferred to other schools or took Management in Commerce instead. They said that Engineering was not for them, for me I am thinking otherwise, as long as one is focus, no matter how difficult the subject or exam, she can survived and one thing also is I am not into leaving something that I actually chose already, I like to finish and I am determined to finished in this course and so I did. I even got the highest score in our subject Feasibility Study in which I am the one who chose the topic which was the “Cement Fiber Board” and even got exempted to many exams because of my way of oral reporting, maybe my professors were impressed, for all the reasons, all I could say is, I did and exerted an effort for everything. Well looks like I am starting to bloom.
After how many years, I decided that I would like to pursue a degree in Masters. I enrolled under the program Masters in Management major in Engineering Management. I am very confident then because of all the experiences I had from being an entrepreneur, project engineer and been to places where a lot of my classmates I am sure never been before. I was elected in the Graduate School Organization as Secretary and Public Relation Officer for two consecutive terms. Got more 1.00 flat grades to almost all of my subjects and even got the only student with flat 1.00 in some of the subjects. I am determined to become a Magna Cum Laude. I realized one thing, through experience and effort, one could achieved everything her heart desires. There were lot’s of events that the school administrators praised me for what I did like helping the Ondoy victims last time. I am very happy then and school was my stress free place. I am always looking forward to go to school. Right now I only have two minor subjects to accomplished to graduate. I know I am a late bloomer but with time and as long as one is alive, you could do things impossible.
My parents didn’t push me to study hard but to be satisfied for what God gave us. They always like us to be thankful and to be grateful that we have means to survive and to be satisfied for all the blessings. My parents taught us to always do the right thing even others aren’t. They are very confident with us. They know that with the help of God, we could achieve things. My dad is not really a religious person. He even didn’t go to church. My mom helped a lot of student priest and always go to church every Sunday, she told me that she wanted to be a nun before, till the time she met my father. Why I am telling these? This is to tell to all the parents that being good in school doesn’t mean always that one will be successful. Everyone grows and becoming a mature person, with the realization of so many things and wisdom plus guidance from the parents, a child can achieve everything. It is not about the participation in school that counts but the participation outside the school which we all called…Reality.
As much as I wanted to be an honor student back then in Elementary, High School or even in College, I am not and will never be, there’s no time machine then and yes I know till now and will never have? But everything is changing even a person can change. Through experience and the lessons learned outside and inside the school, it all comes up to knowledge. It gave us power, the experiences gave us good decision and the trials we had or having will make us all strong. Knowledge is power and that is not only coming from a formal school.
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