Today, we, the graduating batch of 2019-20 are celebrating one of our glorious moments in our
academic life. And behind this proud moment are the supports and guidance from a lot of respectable
people. To our District Supervisor,
, our School Principal, Mrs. Rocella R. Puerto,
Department Heads, faculty staffs, teachers, parents, friends and guests, a blessed day to all of you, and
to my fellow graduates, Congratulations!
I am proud of myself. I am proud of you my fellow graduates. And, we should be proud of
ourselves.
Six years of high school is not an easy journey for all of us. And yet, here we are proudly
standing at the end of this old chapter of our lives. Today, we say goodbye to the stage of high school as
we start to take a step into another phase and onto our lives’ next level. Let us proudly celebrate the
borne fruit of our hard work, determination, passion, and dedication that we have poured into this
education of ours. I am very proud of the process we have gone through, this glory that we have
achieved now, and the person that we have become.
I am very thankful for having this chance of speaking up on behalf of my fellow graduates. It is
my privilege. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge every person that has become the
backbone of this success:
To our parents who have carried us on their backs in order for us to keep soaring high, our
success is yours. Day and night, you never stopped caring for us. You have endured everything for us.
Kada tulo sa inyong mga singot kay maoy nagtibis sa among kaugmaon aron kami mulambo. Kung unsa
may among naabot karon, resulta ni sa inyong walay hunong nga paghago ug trabaho para lang
masuportahan among pagskuyla. Your sweats were water to our dreams, nourishing us in order for us to
grow. You are the reason we are here today. We love you. Ma, Pa, I love you.
To our teachers who were very patient in lighting up our way and paving up the road for us to
travel, thank you very much. You were our ladder, our stepping stone, and our wings. You were our
inspiration and you’ll always be.
Let me also take this opportunity to mention my dear friends who have seen my smiles and
tears throughout these years. To my past classmates in junior high, my UAFC family, my classmates now
in senior high, the so-called “Guardians of the Garbage”, my School Journalism family, the Horizon, my
co-student officers from the SSG and BKD Organization, and to my best friends, thank you for never
leaving my side. You were always there to congratulate me in my glorious moments and comfort me in
my dark times. All of the laughs, tears, yeheys, the lunch and snacks, all of the moments we shared
together will always be with me. As we go on our different paths, we will also meet new people along
the way. But I hope that we would never forget the memories that we made with our high school
friends. No, this is not a goodbye, let us all meet again someday when we all become successful, when
we have created our own family, and remember these precious times together.
And also to you my fellow graduates thank you for being part of my high school journey. Batch
mates, I may not know all of your names and some of you might not also know me personally but I’m
happy that we have gone through this together. We have finally completed a whole six years of high
school. You were with me when I first enrolled for senior high, you were with me when I attended the
flag ceremony every morning and the flag retreat every Friday afternoon. We have bought lunch
together from the canteen and sometimes from the stalls outside the school. We attended the career
guidance together, we took the same tests, did the same activities and now we are also together in our
very own graduation rites. Because of some unfortunate reasons, we may not be together literally as we
are only attending this virtual graduation in our own respective homes but you are with me now in the
spirit of friendship and camaraderie. This pandemic has denied us the opportunity to wear our togas and
the dangling medals that are the proofs of our achievement. It’s like the world does not want to see us
walking towards the stage and display our beautiful and proud smiles. But this does not mean that our
efforts were pointless. You have done a great job surviving until now. Let us be proud of what we have
achieved. Let’s show the world that we are worthy of these medals and certificates, that we have a
purpose in this society, and soon we will fulfil that purpose.
As we all move on to the next chapter of our educational journey, I hope that we’ll all continue
on pursuing our dreams. Let us all fight the prejudice, judgements, and struggles that we may encounter
along the way. Let us remember to walk at our own pace because although life is a journey, it is never
and will never be a race. We will all get there someday. We may face some obstacles, road blocks and
dead ends throughout our journey but let us also remember that we can always make new roads, open
new doors, and clear new paths. In these trying times, I hope that we will all stay safe and away from
the danger of this pandemic. This too shall pass. We will get through this. We will do this our own way.
We will all achieve our dreams. Say it together with me: “we will be successful in God’s grace!”