My respect to our school president, DR. PACIENCIA M.

MALAZARTE, ma’am , to the vice- president for

administration, DR. RIO S. CONSIGNA, to the vice president for ACADEMICS at the same time our senior
high school principal, sir ANREY G. ANTIQUINA. Beloved guests, supportive parents, teachers, faculty and
staffs, friends and to my co-students of Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig. Best Morning!

I’ve been told it takes a lot of hours to achieve mastery of a skill, more so to achieve perfection.

Ladies and gentlemen, students, staffs, and teachers, I stand before you today, not because I achieved
perfection, but because I took in the many HOURS of hard work and dedication towards a path of
success. A path I chose myself.

But it wasn’t easy. The old me would’ve never found himself up here, because the old me loved to waste
time, loved to procrastinate, and loved to indulge in bad habits. However, looking back, I can definitely
say that I am no longer the person that I was before.

I used to let my books sleep in my bag, while I was wide awake chasing temporary antidotes to my
boredom. School did not motivate me. My interests were anywhere but my studies.

While my classmates bore the pressure of heavens, I slept in cotton clouds. While my friends were
tangled in their nerves, I snuggled in a blanket of my own apathy, not a worry about projects or due
dates. If I had failed, it would’ve all been the same to me because I couldn’t care less.

I cared so little for my studies that I would sometimes cut classes just so I could waste my time at an
internet café and lose hours upon hours to DOTA. I’m sure many of you can relate.

My grades struggled along with my teachers. I’d get a failing grade of 74, but my teachers, much to their
inconvenience, would give me a second chance to comply. I would, but only enough so I could make it to
8th grade.

I was walking on thin ice, but somehow I managed to delude myself into thinking the ice was thick
enough for me to get across without facing the cold harsh truth of reality.

Until one day that ice broke and suddenly I was flailing for my life, drowning in cold waters, reaching for
a sun that was beginning to fade.

My best friend, my confidant, my number one supporter, and the one who made me feel important, The
person who used to send me to school, cook my breakfast, my lunch, and dinner. The person who would
hug me in times of my battles and defeats. The person who’ve been with me since day one, my stage-
person, my best friend and most all my FATHER was taken away from me.

And just like that, the world was dark and I was freezing. Who else was gonna be there for me now?
Who else was going to be my sun?

Well… despite going through depressing changes, I found myself beginning to care. It was at this
moment I began paying attention to classes, taking notes, and actually taking interest in learning.

When the pandemic hit, I pinned myself to my studies and saw myself slowly improve. I applied self-
discipline and my grades were no longer struggling.
However, I was still very much a procrastinator. I was a fan of “AYY UGMA NLANG” “ PWEDE PA
UGMA?” “AY MAHANGYO RAMAN SIGURO SI SIRR?” and from modular learning, I was introduced to
those who were similar to me.

I met the

1 the WALANG AMBAG - the person who is always active in the GC, pero walang maiiambag na idea
SAgroup task.

2 the Motivator - the epitome of “SIGEH RA UY DUGAY PA BITAW ANG DEADLINE” UGMA SA RAKAN
NATO TAPUSON”

3 the PABUHI OR KAPWA - yung naghihintay lng mga sagot sa GC.

Lastly, the FAMOUS TIKTOKERIST - yung may pa entry na tiktok pero wala pang sagot sa module.

Modular learning was a rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs with people of all kinds of quirks, all of
us just hanging on for dear life.

But with all that said, modular learning made me realize that school was not just a matter of
intelligence. It’s also a matter of hard work and discipline.

Anyone can call themselves intelligent but can they back it up with consistent hard work?

Intelligence is a product of hard work, just like with everything else.

Success, realized dreams, medals, certificates, titles, all that can be credited to plain hard work. You
wanna achieve something? In the words of Kim Kardashian, “Get off your butt and work.” You wanna
take on scholarships? Burn that midnight oil and work. You wanna see your name on honors lists? Do
like Rihanna and work, work, work, work, WORK.

Trust me, hard work pays off. To end this I would like to leave this quote from the famous late actor
Eddie Garcia “What you can do today, do it now, so you can do something else tomorrow.” Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you!