"I travelled down a dark hallway extending to as far as I could see. My only possessions are a piece of paper a pen and a torch to guide me through the darkness that consumed most of my vision. Stones would rattle and the Earth would quake but I held onto the pillars that stood side by side at the walls for support. At first I had no idea what I was travelling for. But then as I went along, I realized something. And it all became clear. And that is what I will be sharing with you today."
Honored Guest Mr. Silvano Pinca, To our Municipal Mayor - Honorable Madeliene Mendoza-Ong, To our principal Mr. Henry Loverita, to the head of the Related Subjects Department Mrs Ana Muncada, To the head of the Vocational Subjects Department Mrs. Yasmin Dulay, teachers, faculty members, parents, batchmates and visitors, good evening.
Speaking in front of people is not my forte but somehow I have mustered the courage to speak in behalf of our batch. And it is a privilege to do so.
The story I imparted to you was a figment of my imagination and symbolize us in many ways. We are the travelers through that dark hallway which is the path that we chose to tread. And in it, we pursue our dreams despite the darkness, the uncertainty it.
Our possessions, the piece of paper, symbolizes our unwritten history and the ink of the pen are our experiences and knowledge that we have acquired through the years which we will use to put our mark on history.
The torch symbolizes our teachers for they became that beam of light– emitting rays for us to see and to know the things we were ignorant of.
The quakes and disturbances are the distractions and troubles, or it may be the challenges that we face. Yet the walls and pillars will always be there.
The walls symbolize our friends who stand together for us, and the pillars symbolize our parents for they are that stronghold that stands firm, the pillars that lead the path to our destination.
Someone told me that graduation was both the beginning and the end. Two nights before our graduation, our English teacher told me that. Because I, for one, had trouble making this speech, was lost for words and needed help.
When I sat down to ponder that, I thought "Anano liwat an meaning siton?". After giving it much thought, I realized that as we travel through that path that we trod it may not be clear to us yet, but soon enough we will see the light – we will see success.
Graduation truly is the beginning and the end. For we must part here. Though I regretfully say that our High School life has ended, I am deeply happy that we will push on to the next level. Kahit na we will part ways – go to different colleges, masaya ako dahil we have spent our High School life together, did crazy stuff together, laughed, cried… and we will cherish every bit of it. Im sure ganoon din kayo. Like a seed that withers first before it sprouts – we must leave the comforts of high school to explore the new phase, the fresh new start. And there we will bloom. That is our neww beginning. Pero kahit ganoon, even if we leave this school, we will take its memories with us, in the heart and in the mind.
To our parents, who loved us despite our imperfections, and striving hard to provide for us despite the rise and fall of the economy, salamat po. We owe to you what we are right now. Thank you for the discipline that you showed us, that we may be better persons in the future. Ma, Pa, thank you po for everything. We hope that this milestone in our life might somehow be enough to make up for all those things.
To all the brothers and sisters out there, especially to mine, Kuya, thank you for being the role model that brothers and sisters truly are. Thank you for helping us with our assignments and putting up with our childishness and naughtiness.
To our teachers, - kay Maam Marilou po, Ma'am, you have been there to support our endeavors kahit hindi na kami under sayo. You have been both our mentor and our friend. To ma'am Claribelle, ma'am, thank you for making our class worth attending. We enjoyed every minute of it. To Sir Ronaldo and Sir Semeon, thank you for the true to life examples and life's lessons that we get from you. To Sir Abad Adora, Sir, thank you for instilling in us the discipline and the tips in preparation for our college life. To ma'am Sally, our Tita Sally, thank you po for being that cheerful Tita during scouting that we look up to. To ma'am Ellalyn and ma'am Gladys, we love you po. Thank you for showing us the fighting spirit. To ma'am Mary Joy, we will never forget our classes in Biology. To ma'am Abegail, thank you for being that teacher who introduced us to the world of words. And to all our other teachers, our deepest thanks and gratitude. You will forever be a part of our lives.
To God almighty, we owe to you our life. We would never have achieved this without You.
To my classmates and batch mates, well, WE MADE IT! Thank you for all the memories. I will never forget the best parts of the four year stay in our Alma Mater.
Ghandi once said, and I quote, "You can be the change you wish to see in the world." Hence, I hope that I would find you here, after many fruitful years, in our hometown, making the change that we are capable of doing – being the persons that we are capable of being.
Thank You and Mabuhay tayong lahat!
