Our school principal ____________, teachers, Honored guest, friends, students and most of all, our

graduates, Good afternoon!

Dear graduates, looking at you now I can imagine how much you struggled and waited for this
very moment and I applaud you for coming this far. This very day is the start of a wider and bigger
adventure and I can’t wait for all of you to experience it.

This afternoon, I am very much pleasured and honored to be a speaker in this very important
occasion, and furthermore being able to reminisce the memories I had in this institution. It was
short but I experienced a lot.

All of us has childhood dreams. Mga handom nga gusto naton matuman sang kita mga bata,
sang kita Wala pa it gina problema Kung di diin na man kita na hampang sa hapon ukon anu
naman nga pa gwa sa tv Aton lantawon. But you see, we grow up and sometimes, or most often
than not, those childhood dreams we planned, those goals we set are replaced with
responsibilities or if not, crushed by life challenges we never really expected because in the first
place, we have the mind of a child back then, innocence and ever dreaming.

Pero amo na ang importante, that we dream.

All of our plans in life starts in that very dream we had back in our childhood. When I was a kid
just like you, at your age, I also had dreams that I want to pursue when I grow up. Sang una
hambal ni mama ma nurse ako, ma med tech, ma apply custom Kag damu pa. I know all of us is
familiar with this situation where our parents is the one that plans our future. It might be a little too
much but now that I’m an adult myself I realized that this things that they do for us is for our own
good.

When I went to college I told my father that I’ll take up agriculture but that didn’t happened
because to whatever reason that I don’t remember I ended up taking Bachelor in Elementary
Education in West Visayas State University. My college days were normal and fun sometimes.
Wala ko ka board sang una. Gauli uli ko sa dri sa Aton everyday with only an 150 allowance dala
na plete, panyaga, kag snacks. I did some side jobs like doing reports and power point
presentation for extra income and it really helped me sa akun mga gastuhan sa school and I
sometimes help my father in paying my tuition.

Kang nag fourth year na ako, it was very hectic. May internship,practice teaching and of course
the dreadful thesis. Kis a lang gid ko gahibi all my life, pero sa thesis lang gid nag tulo gid ang
luha ko. Grabe gid ya ka budlay pero worth it sya because I learned a lot with that experience. I
had the opportunity to learn how to manage my time, finances and work with other people in
order to finish our thesis before the deadline. Budlay most of the time and of course there are
instances that giving up had crossed my mind but in the end, gin make sure ko to always think
about my goal and how near I am na in graduating. That’s why, with a handful of motivation and
support from people around me, naka graduate gid man, and to be honest, graduating cum laude
was just a cherry on top.

If you think college was the end of my struggles, I realized that after stepping out the four corners
of my classroom was only the start of so much more. Syempre, kinahanglan ko ipasa akon board
examination. It was another roller coaster ride of emotion. Of self doubt and insecurities Kung
kaya ko gid man I one take and Akon teacher’s board. Plus pa nga the pressure is high since I
graduated with Latin honors. It was a tough time indeed but what I learned from that is when in
doubt, always remember that you are not fighting alone. God will always be with you all the way
and once you belief sa iya plans, miracles and more will happened.

I passed my teacher’s board in one take and that was one of the best moment in my life and up to
this date, I treasure is just like it was just yesterday.

Fast forward to the present, I was once again lost during that gap time. I was finally eligible to
work, a young adult at that and something in me was so eager to land a job so that I can
somehow give back to my parents for all the sacrifices they endured for my education.

But decision making was harder this time around. I was in the middle of the phase of
independence and everything was almost New pa. India pa ako sanay nga indi na ako
estudyante. Indi na ako ka pangayo balon kay mama kag papa and to be honest, it was hard.

I tried working sa school.I did some tutoring for kids, I worked sa St. Paul School for ———
months peroI realized that I wasn’t where I wanted to be. Teaching is good. I get to share my
knowledge to my students but I know it’s not for me. So I searched for other jobs, other career
and a different field to use my capabilities and I ended up applying sa BFP. It was different and it’s
not where I planed to be but I entered anyways.

The training was hard. Grabe ang sakit physically and mentally. Everyday is new and the
challenges are getting harder. It was really tiring and draining but I didn’t gave up. When you grow
older and you need to make decisions, these decisions will not only affect you, it will affect all the
people around you and that’s why even how hard it was, I didn’t gave up. I didn’t stop. And here I
am now, standing in front of you. I went through long sleepless nights in college, I experienced
very hard times when I graduated, even after I passed the board exam. Life is hard. It’s not always
how you wanted it to be. It’s not always what you dreamt of. But as we grow older, we get to
dream new dreams, set new plans and take new journeys.

Our dreams when we are still a child might waver, it might not be what we will be pag daku natun,
but base sa akun experiences, the path that we will take is not just our choice. We should always
remember that our life is given and decided mainly by our Lord. Mag daku kamu, basi malost tract
man kamu. Basi mamangkot man kamu if kung dapat amu gid man ni or amu to,or kung anu gid
man dapat ang imuwas ubrahun pero always remember to seek the help of our Lord for He is the
only way that we will never be lost.

My dear graduates, always remember that elementary education is considered as the strongest
foundation that molds us to what we may become in the future. Everything starts here. So you
need to thank your teachers who helped shape you in your school age. It’s because of them, their
guidance and teachings that made you a better student.(let’s give them a round of applause) Also,
to the parents I sincerely congratulate you for doing a great job in raising your children and
sending them to school. Parenting is not an easy job, I know that because I grew up watching my
parents work hard for the three of us and I am so amazed on how all of you are able to juggle
work and child care. You really deserve a big round of applause as well.

So graduates, I wish you all luck in the chooser path you take. It will not be easy pero if you work
hard,study hard and pray harder, I promise that it will be worth it.

There’s a saying: Chances and opportunities are like streams of water under a bridge, a bridge
where you are situated. Once is passes by, it will never come back. So try your best to grab it, to
catch it. But of course try not to discount God’s plan for you. Because God said, that He makes
all things beautiful in its time, in His time. In other words dear graduates, success will be achieved
through hard work and prayers. Never ever gid forget to pray, in bad or good times.