NAME: LONGARES, CHRISTINE S.

DATE: Friday, September 30, 2022

GRADE & SECTION: 11-STEM- YA-2 DEADLINE: Sunday, October 2, 2022

The Phenomenology of Victory

Victory is defined by the dictionary as the achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor
against odds or difficulties. As a pupil, I am a melancholic one. If I were a first-year student again and
someone asked me the meaning of victory, I think the only meaning of victory is to have the highest score
on an exam. However, as night falls, I always find myself reflecting on what I have accomplished over
the years. The nights of 2022 always make me think that life is and will always be difficult. To attain
victory, I always consider the perspective of other people. It's like if someone praised me, I would already
be content with that. But, whenever I face that situation over and over again, it makes me wonder ‘what is
victory’ itself? Victory occurs in everything that I am doing. I figure out that even if I am doing nothing, I
have still attained victory itself. Being safe, having shelter, having a healthy body, even when I am
currently thinking it is a victory. Everything that I think is a victory itself. I remember a time when I was
only a first-year student. I studied all night just to get the highest score on an exam, and the time I
achieved the highest score among my fellow schoolmates, my family congratulated me. But... after that
escapade, I didn't get content with the things I attained. Even though I was a greedy kid, I still attained the
quality of having the courage and passion to listen, especially to my friend. When I became a sophomore,
I lost all of the motivation inside my body. I find out that my father is taking drugs. At that time, my
mother was working abroad as a domestic helper. My older brother is not studying anymore. The dog
that's been with me for 6 years died. I discovered the reason why my mother's money is always gone
before the end of the month; it was wasted by my father, the primary reason why I'm studying. Because of
that, my brother and I, including my father, always ended up feeling starving before the end of the month.
We don’t own a house. We always end up in a situation where my father is fighting with the owner of the
house, and in the end, we are forced to move out of the house. My mother's salary is delayed because of
that, and there was a time when I heard them fighting regarding the financial status of the family and the
usual reason why the money is always washed out. I was depressed. Even though I'm not the one who’s
working abroad, it still hurts me that my mother’s hardship is wasted. All of the things that happened
resulted in me having no friends. I experienced a moment when I saw my close friend inside the school
when I was a 2nd-year high schooler. She just stares at me as if we had never met. That incident
traumatized and triggered me to never be friends with others since I know that it was my fault since we
never talked after the school year ended. Despite the situation, my father changed. He cut the connections
with his old friends, got a job, and is now giving us monthly support like my mother. My depression and
anxiety, which have stuck with me all these years, are fading. And also, I already have friends now. My
friends are kind and understanding. On top of that, I turned into an introverted person, and I think that is
always the personality that God gifted me with. I fell in love with the books over and over again. They
also upgraded my power, which is to never give up. The things I learned yesterday will always be the
ones that will build the "me" in the future. Finally, despite everything that has happened to me over the
years, I have realized that victory is like a concealed weapon. Victory is in every person in this world, and
the only person who can reveal it is ourselves.