Lucero, Dariel Luis D.

Stem-107 10-25-2022

"Dealing With It"

Ladies and gentlemen, have you played cards? Any games of cards? ... (Find a
volunteer.) Great, now I ask you this because my speech will revolve heavily
around this concept of playing cards. During the 7-minute speech I prepared for
you, I will do my best to try and explain how I play my cards and how I wrap my
head around the unexpected situations to "DEAL WITH IT". For those of you who
does not know how to play cards or only play simple card games, here is a rough
explanation of what is commonly seen when you are playing cards:

Firstly, you have a dealer, who will be represented by the universe. The dealer will
give you, the player, your cards, whatever they may be, good and/or bad. The
dealer doesn’t care what card you get; they simply give it to you. It is now up to
you to use it properly.

Secondly, you have the cards given to you by the dealer. Now these cards will
stand for random events, skills, or characters in your life. For example, the
universe gave you the ability to study at a prestigious university. The knowledge
you get from that university becomes a card that you can now play. Have you ever
heard of the saying, "Play your cards right" It essentially means properly utilizing
or using the "cards" you have, your skillset, knowledge, and connections according
to the situation.

Thirdly, the player is you, the one who holds the cards and the one who plays
"THE GAMBLE OF LIFE!" Now, as the player, remember that you have the
power to control the cards. The power to write and make your own path.

Let me ask you all a question. A simple question about how you play any kind of
game. Do you evaluate the grounds and get a feel of how others play? Do you just
go "YOLO!" and play randomly? Excellent... fantastic... Now let me tell you how I
play. First, I look at the situation and ask how this decision will change my life. Is
this the right path? And do I want this? I then assess what the cards dealt to me are.
Afterwards, I think to myself, "How do I want this to go?" "What are the possible
consequences?" Then I consider the people around me, and if I really don’t know
what to do, I consult and ask them what they think about the situation before
deciding, especially if it will affect the course of my life.

Now let me tell you a little story of mine. A little while after my graduation, I was
asked "Ano na?" or "What now?" This is a card that was drawn and is dealt to all
the incoming students. As I said before, how do I play? Right... I first assess the
question or card that was dealt to me before asking myself questions like "what are
my choices" as well as "what do I want?". Then I look at the cards I already have. I
have an ESC Discount voucher from the government. I went to a science school for
2 years. I have a stable average grade and am generally "good." Now I will
evaluate these new draws, which stand for possible school candidates. I will look at
them one-by-one to see their pros and cons. The first school has a guaranteed
discount with family members but was rather far and, given that we will revert to
the face-to-face classes, it instantly became the last choice. Then there was my old
school with more discounts but offers a separate set of strands, which doesn’t
Lucero, Dariel Luis D. Stem-107 10-25-2022

interest me in the least. Plus, the distance is large. Now the last choice is this
school near our home, which gives added discounts if I pass a test. Now I look
back to the questions I asked myself: "How can I help my family?" "Which school
is more convenient for us or for me?" I then go ahead to ask my parents what they
think. They suggested that I play the third card, which seemed like unfamiliar
territory. But considering that the school is near to our home and offers discounts, I
evaluated the waters to see if I’m fit for it. I inquired about the offers they are
giving; I went back home and ran them over to my family, who then told me to
take the scholarship exam. I was a bit late and was underinformed about the time
and date of the exam, but I made it there, and during the exam I was confident
about my English and logic proficiency because it’s already in my mind, but the
math... oh the math... I was quite literally gambling my answers there. After a
nerve-racking month, the results arrived via e-mail, and I was shocked to see what
was written on the card I drew, and it was! drum roll please... a pass! I am now
qualified for the discount. I told my parents after composing myself, and we agreed
to "play" the third card. And now I’m here speaking in front of you, trying not to
look silly while doing my best to merge the topics of cards and my way of coping
with such events.

Now why do you all think I’m sharing this story? How does it help? This mindset
helped me keep my mind clear because, based on the story, I’m going to a new
chapter of my life and this change would most likely confuse me since I can be
such a scatter brain occasionally. This mindset also helped me see my assets, like
checking my items and equipment in a video game. I can properly see how I can
use or utilize my past experiences and past knowledge to help me and my family
the most.

Now to end this quite lengthy speech, I would like to give you all a quote I took a
liking to.

"Sucking at something is the first step to being sort of good at something." This is
a quote from a cartoon I used to watch as a child way back when, and this helped
me build my mindset that everyone sucks at something they are doing for the first
time, the mentality of "I must keep on trying even if I suck". This is also true in
any game. For example, when we all tried our first MOBA game, we probably died
a lot, but that’s fine because we learned to be wary of the damned mini map as well
as the pings and warnings your teammates sent you, and now we don't die as much
as before and are quite good at playing (just don’t play too much).

And with that, I end my speech. This is Dariel Lucero saying I’m no snob. I don’t
bite. I may look intimidating, but that is mostly because I have low social skills, so
try to talk to me please.

bows properly before running off try’ na hide my embarrassment.