Twelve years na rin ang dumaan nang una akong pumasok sa USI. Hindi pa nga USI ang pangalan nito noon. Dati, Colegio de Sta. Isabel o CSI ang tawag dito. Labingdalawang mahahabang taon na ang dumaan mula noong araw na nag-umpisa akong mangarap. Labingdalawang taon na ang dumaan mula noong napagdesisyunan ng mga magulang kong i-enrol ako sa USI.
Pa'no nga ba sinusukat at High School. Nagsimula tayo sa pagbibilang ng oras habang bagot na bagot tayong naghihintay para sa time. Sunod nating binilang ang mga araw, buwan at quarters at inabangan ang mga sem break, at christmas at summer vacation. Hanggang sa naging taon ang mga ito at ang huli nating inabangan ay ang Graduation. Lahat tayo, excited na matapos na ang madugong tests sa Trigonometry, ang walang kamatayang dula sa Filipino at and kinatatakutang Oral Defense sa English. Hangga't maaari, gusto natin, walang pasok. Pero ngayong tapos na natin ang high school, parang biglang NAKAKAMISS.
Salutatory Speech, Address of Gratitude
It was twelve years ago when most of us first arrived here in USI. Twelve years have long gone by since the day we started dreaming. Twelve long years have already passed since the moment we decided to become a member of a new family.
How do we really measure our stay in high school? In the beginning, we measured by the different class periods. Then we started measuring in days, quarters, semesters and years. We were so excited to finish our schooling that we wanted to rush time. But is time really the right measure to be used?
We were children when we first entered high school. It seems like only yesterday that we were little freshmen trying to make new friends and looking generally clueless to our older sisters. Then from being clueless freshmen, we became sophisticated Sophomores and thought that we had everything figured out. We had this mentality that the world is ours for the taking. By the time we reached our third year in high school, we were already confident enough that we are ready to take on the challenge to take over the graduating seniors. We were ready to somehow “rule” the school.
And now, here we stand. Our rule as seniors is finally over. We are ready to graduate and move forward in our lives. We began high school as children, and now, we are ready to leave as mature people. Each and everyone of us is now a step closer to the destination we founded on our aspirations. We are now closer to the future we visualized back when we were younger. Today, we stand closer to our dreams.
There are a lot of things I would find hard to forget. I would surely miss saying, “Colegio po” to the tricycle driver; “Bulastog po Kuya” to the sweet treats staff; “Sa 15 man pong crinkles” to the canteen personnel; and “Dai pa man po baga 5:30. 5 minutes pa po Kuya” to the guards patrolling the campus. And I can’t help wondering, if even after graaduation, I would still be able to say these words.
In my twelve years here in USI, I have made a lot of promises. I would miss promising my teachers I would pass my project before 5 in the afternoon because I left it. But the truth is, I just forgot that today is the deadline. I would miss promising my English teacher, I would finish one color in SRA by the end of the month. I would miss promising my co-debaters and writers that I would attend the next meeting. I would miss the persons who remained patient with me despite all of these broken promises.
All of us are able to finally finish Basic Education. We worked so hard to get to this point, but we didn’t do this all by ourselves. In the twelve years that we struggled and strived, a lot of people stayed with us. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to them.
To my parents, thank you for being always there for me. Thank you for all the things you have done just to support my education. Thank you for making feel that I am worth all of your sacrifices. You did not mind the hardships life laid out in front of you. You continued to encourage me to reach for my dreams. With you by my side, I knew I would never be alone. Because of you, my dreams and aspirations did not seem too far for me to reach. You were my inspiration. The recognition I am receiving today is the fruit of your hard work and perseverance. I love you, Mama and Papa.
To my classmates, friends and my best friend, I’m sorry if I won’t be able to mention your names in my speech. Even so, I would want you to know that I am truly thankful that I have met all of you. You are all dear to me. Now we are in a race against time. We are about to end our high school life and whether we like it or not, there is a possibility for us to part. I am going to miss all of you. In the period of time that we have been together, I have felt accepted, respected and loved. I love you so much that there's a part of me that can't let go. It’s really hard for me to say goodbye, but we have to grow and see the world out there. We may not be together, but we would stay in each other's memories forever. I would never forget you. I would never forget those times we laughed at each other’s jokes, those times we went to Mcdo for lunch, those times we teased each other about our crushes, the surprises we prepared for each other, those times we played and fooled around and the times we shared stories about falling in love. I love you, forever and always and I hope that our friendship will never end. I’m lucky to have friends like you. You would always be my roses that I’d never get tired of taking care of. I will never regret the day I said “Hello”, because without that day, I know my life would be incomplete. I would never get tired of repeating that word, even for a million times, knowing that that’s the word that brought you into my life.
To the administrators, thank you for keeping USI a conducive venue for learning. Thank you for maintaining discipline among the students. Thank you for inculcating in us the Vincentian values that would truly help us in our journey outside this institution.
To our teachers, thank you for unselfishly devoting your time, talent and knowledge with us. Yes, we are aware that it is your job to do these things but I believe that what you did for us went beyond the call of duty. You patiently explained to us the lessons we found hard to understand. You chose to stay with us and help us with our problems when you could have stayed at home and rest. You taught us a lot of important facts. You fed both our brains and our hearts.
To the personnel, staff, janitors, and guards, thank you for keeping the university safe and clean. We know that we are careless and tactless sometimes but you remained patient with us. Thank you for devoting your time and effort to making USI a better place for us.
To my dear Alma Mater, thank you for giving me the strength to push through. USI honed my talents and made me feel better about myself. My second home taught me a lot of things; from reading words and counting numbers to the values of patience, initiative and excellence. Thank you for being my home for twelve years.
And above all, I thank God for making all these things possible. I thank God for giving me the ability to think and act. I thank Him for giving me skills and talents and for giving me people to help me develop them. I thank God for being with each of us every step of the way.
As you can see, there is at least a dozen people supporting us in at least a dozen ways. The best way we can show our gratitude is by making the most of every opportunity that we encounter. With these people, we have somehow reached our full potential. Imagine if every individual lived up to his or her own potential. Think about how amazing that would be, and how much better off the world would be.
Let us go back to my question earlier. How do we measure our stay in high school? Is it by the number of years we solved problems on Trigonometry? Is it by the number of years it took us to finish SRA? Or is it by the number of quarters we discussed Balancing Equations? I know, as I look at you today, that I would be measuring in a different way. High school is measured by friendships I have enjoyed in the last four years. I was very close with some of you, casual with some but I know that I would cherish each and every one of you fondly. High school will be measured through the wonderful memories we shared with each other.
After graduation, most of us will go to college, and some will go directly to the work force. We would be taking different paths. Someday, some of us will become nurses, engineers, teachers or investigators. But all of us will always have that voice within us telling us to look back to the memories we had in high school. Today, we approach a new stage of our lives. Today, we are moving on but we are not moving away.
Adieu Seniors!
