Her eyes were filled with water from the heavy rain drops of life's joy and pain. Overwhelmed, she tried to hold up the tears in the corners of her eyes. Wishing time would stop and save her from the rush of emotions that was about to trample her defenses. But instead of fighting back the tears, she surrendered and let the rain fall down on her cheeks, on her face.
As the tears poured out, shame and guilt were nowhere to be found. Instead, she was freed, she was at peace, she had joy.
Tears persistently trailed down on her cheeks as she stood up in front of her class. Shocked, her students asked, "Are you okay, miss? Why miss?" Concern was evident on their faces. She was too stunned to even give them a response.
"Please, give me a minute." She pleaded and turned her back from them.
Inside the room safe from the eyes of the young ones, she wept and wept as she completely surrendered to the raging time of loneliness. As if that loneliness demanded to be felt, to be released. She thought to herself now was not the right time, "Damn it!"
Yet, it was the perfect time, not according to her, but according to the One greater than anyone. "Probably, now is the time to be lonely," she thought to herself again.
A few moments passed, she returned to where the young ones were.
"Are you okay, miss?" They asked again, once she made it to where they were.
She replied, "Yes. I'm okay, maybe I just missed home."
"Aww, miss..." Some gently interjected, as they group and side hugged her.
"You okay, miss?" Some asked again.
K to 12 Graduates: Molded
through a Resilient Educational Foundation
(Gradweyt ng K to 12: Hinubog ng matatag na Edukasyon)
A pleasant and blessed afternoon to all.
I want to take this opportunity to honor each one of
you who have gathered for this special event, to our:
School Division Office Representatives,
Principal,
Teachers,
Canteen/Utility/Security Guard Personnel,
Parents and guardians, and
Students, the Completers of this Moving Up Ceremony.
This memorable day is possible because of the small and big contributions of everyone, and I am so glad to be part of this unforgettable event in the lives of our children--your children.
Just to give you a bit of an addition to my introduction and why I am here.
I am Arlene Cahanap Manocot, an alumna of Applied Academics for Excellence Annex I Aplaya National High School. I am a second child. My father is a welder, "vulcanizer", and tricycle driver. My mother is a vendor and was a street sweeper. I come from a humble background.
I was a shy and timid student back when I was in high
school. My shyness was worse during my first and second years, I was a novice in
recitation and reporting in front of the class. It was a huge dilemma for me
back then, but I guess even now.
I can still remember some of the things I did because
of this ‘shyness’.
·
Pretended
to sleep because I did not want to participate in the recitation and to report
in front of the class – 1st yr.
·
Monologue
incident – 2nd yr.
I must say that high school life is one of the
unforgettable times of our lives, and I know that most people here would
agree, right?
I was in 3rd and 4th year when I
made the decision that I need to improve, I must overcome my fear of recitation
and reporting. I was barely coping back then, but now that I realized it I am
pretty satisfied with the progress I had made during those last two years in my
high school days. I was able to stand in front and report to the class while my
hands were shaking and feeling numb at the same time, my voice also cracked. I
clearly remember embarrassing and small victories in my life as a high school
student, such nostalgia. Indeed, high school life is a thrilling rollercoaster
ride.
And after 17 years… who would have thought?
That the timid and shy student back then would be a teacher, writer, and business owner.
This Moving Up Ceremony with the theme K to
12 Graduates: Molded through a Resilient Educational Foundation (Gradweyt ng K
to 12: Hinubog ng Matatag na Edukasyon) signifies the hardships and
success of all the people gathered around here. This is victory!
Resilient, Education, and Foundation are the keywords that we
can identify in the theme of this year’s Moving Up Ceremony.
Parents/Guardians. You are
the Foundation.
Family is the basic unit of the society. It is where it all began. Learning starts at home. It is the core foundation of every person. The collective atmosphere of a community is directly related to the condition at home. Parents play an essential role in molding the future of our students.
One of the hardest jobs on earth is being a parent, a job that does not even pay you. It is the most demanding job a human being could ever sign up for. It is not monetary compensated, but you do it any and every way you can.
And you remain to be a strong ‘foundation’ for your
children, the future of the next generation. I could only hope and pray that
you as parents and guardians train up your children in the way they should go;
even when they are old they will not depart from it.
School. You deliver free and
affordable quality Education.
Education is a great equalizer, no doubt about that.
For a person like me, who come from a not well-off family, I am grateful to the
Department of Education and PUP Santa Rosa Campus and Santa Mesa Campus for
delivering free and affordable quality education, and to my parents for sending
me to school even though I did not want to.
But the school has to be reminded that the learning
process is not limited to the four corners of a classroom. These students
can also learn from others not only from their teachers. There is a vast of unlimited
knowledge, skills, and abilities to learn out there. Be more open to possibilities
that they have to engage in an independent and collaborative learning process
where they can be themselves, free from unnecessary restrictions unless it is
for their safety.
I could only hope and pray that in the near future, the
Philippine educational system will cater to the ultimate essential learning
needs of our Filipino students.
Students. You be Resilient.
Resilient, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is
the ability to recover from or adjust easily
to misfortune or change. But most of the time it is not easy. It is hard,
difficult, and sometimes even impossible.
In real life, pain is inevitable. Failure is waiting
for you. Rejection is just there waiting beside Failure smiling at you. That is
part of life and we have to learn to accept that.
So, students, our dear completers, do not be afraid
to:
Make friends, surround yourself with wise and good
people.
Make mistakes but make sure to own up to your
mistakes.
Take risks but be ready for the consequences.
Dream big but handle rejections well.
Forgive or forget, then move on.
Embrace the process. Be patient. Enjoy the season of
waiting.
Celebrate little and grand victories.
Heal from your past and traumas.
Keep moving forward.
Be humble. Honor your father and mother.
Life is not easy, again. But I welcome you to the next
chapter of your life.
Congratulations to all the completers! May you never
give up on your dreams!
Live life with a purpose!
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13 ESV
For He knows
That I have come to know
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
What if people stay, does it mean there is still love?
Questions after questions only lead to more questions.
Sometimes love can be the most confusing abstract idea we can ever deal with, but there are also times when love, and its power, is the only thing that can provide clarity.
ChooseLiving is making choices. We are constantly choosing and choosing, either we are doing it consciously or not. Life is a choice. Cliché as it may sound, it is a fact. Making choices is one of the building blocks of one’s human life. We experience domino effect every time we choose. Consequences are the results of our choices. Good choices may lead to good consequences and bad choices may lead to bad consequences.
Logically speaking, having the right wisdom is an advantage in making good choices. We made wrong choices and suffered bad consequences. I made ones and I welcomed regret along with the pain attached to it. We made right choices and enjoyed good consequences. I made good ones I guess and I was at ease with joy or sometimes I doubted if I deserve the joy from those good consequences.
Is there any love among the choices we have made in our lives so far? Are we motivated by love every single time we make a choice?
Know love and choose love, always, and I am aware how hard to choose it always.
StayWe have no choice over consequences, but we have control over our choices. Consequences are about to befall upon us even if we try to avoid them or put a barricade around us. They are the results of our choices. Whether we prefer to run away or face the consequence, the end game is that it will only run after us. It will never stop chasing after us. So face and deal with it. Stay, never leave. Once we know the true meaning of love, stay, and stay in love.
Stay. Stay, and accept the consequences of our own choices. Stay, and learn from the consequences of our own choices. Stay, and believe that the wrong choices we made are not that hopeless.
There is hope, so stay. Please stay. Do not leave.
Are we to stay or leave?
You should stay. We should stay. Never leave. Please.
Everything is unclear if we do not have the knowledge of the certainties. Life itself is full of ambiguity, full of questions. No one can be certain of the future if we put our belief into something that is as temporal as this world that we live in. We make choices every day, and sometimes I think it makes more sense to choose to leave this world, rather than to stay. Sometimes, there is that strong desire within us that engulfs our whole being to no longer want to stay, to choose to leave and never to stay.
Sounds like running someone wants to badly run away. Do we? Do I? Do I badly want to run away? To choose leaving, rather than staying. But I should stay, we should stay, and never forget that we are chosen. He stays with us in love. Love chooses, love stays. He chooses and He definitely stays.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Ephesians 1:4 ESV
I ask myself: Do I have the slightest authority or even the right to write a post about something under the context of Love Listens, Love Obeys?
I do listen. I do obey. But to what extent? Am I doing enough for love? Love in all its forms: Agape, Storge, Philia, and (never mind) Eros.
Love listens
- Eros (never mind) is romantic love.
- Storge is love between family members.
- Philia is brotherly or sisterly love, or love in friendship.
- Agape is the unconditional love or the love that God has for us.
- First, Eros is not the only kind of love to be pursued in this world. It is never the end goal of life’s purpose. Romantic love is good but it should never pressure anyone to be in a romantic relationship that supposed to lead the involved persons into marriage.
- Second, Storge and Philia are related and shared the same context to the second commandment: to love your neighbor as yourself, and it is succeeded by the first and greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
- Lastly, God’s love for us or Agape serves as a reminder of the greatest blessing He has given to mankind and that is grace, the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
Love obeys
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I wonder if I am listening and obeying enough to prove my love. Am I enough or am I putting too much pressure on myself and doubting my worth? I am caught up with the idea of not being and not doing enough for love: my love for God, for my family, my friends, and my work.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Love hurts. Love waits. Every 'no' is God's redirection towards His best for me.