Special greetings to our highly respected administration, faculty and staff throughout the years, of our

beloved school, dear parents and guardians, alumni, and of course the very people to whom this very
day has been greatly anticipated by, the Marian graduates of the school year 2019-2020. A pleasant day
to all of you! Today is indeed the day we have all been waiting for. The day when we finally get to say we
did it. Our Virtual Moving Up Ceremony!

As we commemorate today, you all are probably in each of your lovely homes, wondering and thinking
what or how our moving up could have been if this global change did not happen, we could have sung
our song, we practiced a lot and some even had bets on who would cry and not, we all were so excited,
but it did. The pandemic did happen and it still is. The world we assumed would welcome us with open
arms, has changed in ways we could have never imagined or adequately prepared for. Many of us are
frustrated due to cancelled ceremonies, celebrations, and traditions. Others, including myself, are
suffering immensely from the loss of loved ones, financial instability, and the uncertainty of the future.
We were forced to immediately learn the larger life lessons of “nothing is promised” and the
“uncertainty of tomorrow.” We have been through a lot and don’t you think that just speaks a lot about
us?

Nothing is ever impossible if you have faith in yourself. So being the pioneer batch to enter senior high
school virtually, let us not be afraid of what awaits us. Let us always be optimistic about the future. Don’t
be afraid of something. You know what you are doing is for the greater good so stop doubting yourself.
Trust and show the best in you.

Like the foundress of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, Mother Ignacia Del Espiritu Santo, she gave up
everything to seek God and answer His calling. Blessed Mary when she was given the honor to birth
Jesus, she also accepted God’s calling. Jesus, God’s very Son, He followed The father’s will and died on
the cross. If we strive to achieve things that are in accordance to His will, everything will be possible.

Let me share an excerpt from a written speech by Cara Ober. “The world is a mess right now, but you are
not. You are living through an unprecedented tragedy that requires more creativity, more empathy, and
more courage than past generations have required. Be kind. Believe in yourself and your goals for the
future, but figure out how to craft a vision that benefits everyone around you. Celebrate your
accomplishments. Give a virtual speech. Hug your parents. Look around at this broken world and pay
attention because it needs you. Write thank you letters to everyone who has increased your brain
capacity and intellectual prowess.”

So, on behalf of your batch of grade 10 completers for the school year 2019-2020, I welcome you all to
this very exciting moving up ceremony, let this day remind us, that all the hard work, sacrifices of all the
people that we have been with all these years, our parents, guardians, the efforts we poured on
everything we ever did, to be closer to achieving our dreams, it all paid off. Let this day be a reminder
that we have to be kind especially to ourselves, yes, we have to do everything for our dreams but we
need time to have a break, celebrate friends, families, acquaintances, victories, assess what we have
done right and our progress no matter how small or big because only then can we recover the will to
keep going. This is the time to just be grateful for even the smallest to the biggest things in life that we
should be grateful for.

Remember the part when I said that I thought we were lucky? Well, I still think we are. We are lucky that
we met the people that we had met throughout our days in junior high school. You all know who you are
but I do hope you also know how great you all are. From the very first day we entered the school
premises to the last day of school, at some point there, you entered our lives. We are lucky with each
other. A month or two after our last day of going to school, many of us said that we never knew it was
going to be the last time that we all get to be together as JHS students, “Wala man lay closure”. We all
thought we were going back to school after two weeks huh? God knew we could make it so He gave us
this passing challenge. Maybe after this, you could call your friends congratulate each other, past
teachers, the staff we all love, message them some words of gratitude and everything you would like to
tell them because just like Joshua and Julia in Paubaya, we now have a chance to get that closure we
wanted and needed through this ceremony.

Welcome once again and May God Bless us in our journey as we walk through life, our everyday
endeavors, and as we write our destiny!