Mapa

Graduation

"Lourdes Shamira D. Tracivia with high honors"

Finally. Graduate na ako ng college. Sobrang proud ako sa sarili ko. Kinaya ko lahat ng pagsubok. Kahit minsan gusto ko nalang sumuko, nag patuloy pa rin ako. Dumating pa yung araw na walang naniniwala sakin. Hindi ko alam gagawin ko kaya ako nalang naniwala sa sarili ko. Lahat ng puyat naging worth it. Yung iyak ko dahil sa thesis naging worth it. Isa yon sa nagpatibay sakin. Isa yon sa naging way para magpatuloy ako. Ang naging inspirasyon ko ay walang iba kundi ang magulang ko. Alam ko lahat ng hirap nila mapag aral lang ako. Sa wakas napagtapos na nila ang nag iisa nilang anak. Hawak ko na ang diploma na matagal nilang hinihintay. Unti unti akong babawi kila mama.

"Congratulations, Lourdes. Our representative for every tournament or special event. The person who made all of us proud. The reason why our school always has trophies and gold medals. Thank you so much, Lourdes. Again, we're proud of you."

Habang sinasabi yan ng principal namin naiiyak ako. Sinasabitan nila ako ng medal. Andaming certificates hindi ko na mahawakan. Kailangan ko pa mag speech. Huling speech ko na to.

"Hi everyone, I don't know what to say. I'm so happy right now. Thank you so much for appreciating my hard work. I had a lot of friends. I will miss this whole school. To my friends, thank you for making my college life easier. Thank you for helping me even though you're busy. You made me the happiest person. To my teachers, thank you for understanding my situation. Sorry, if I failed as your student. Sorry, for being absent and don't have a valid excuse. Thank you for your hard work, teachers. To our principal, thank you for treating me well. You're my partner every time I have a tournament or championship. You know how much I tried every game. You know how tired I am. Every time I lose, you're the person who always reminds me that I'm the winner for you. You see me win and lose. Thank you so much! Again to all students who are having a hard time today on their study, someday you'll be successful. Someday you'll say "finally, I'm done". You might have breakdowns during the thesis but I want you to know that I also experience that kind of pain. We will be successful maybe not today but someday. Hoping that you'll take care of the trophies and medals that I got. Thank you for those happy memories. I'm gonna visit this soon. Thank you and good bye!"

Pagkatapos non bumaba nako sa stage. Aantayin ko nalang matapos yung graduation. Habang naglalakad ako pabalik sa pwesto ko may nag abot sakin ng letter. Hindi ko siya kilala. Tinanggap ko yon. Nung nakabalik ako sa pwesto ko agad kong binasa yung message.

Hi binibini, congratulations! I want you to know that I admire you so much. You've been my crush since my first year. You're pretty, talented and smart. So proud of you, binibini! Goodluck on your new journey. Also every time I saw you I fell in love again and again. Every time you smile I also smile. Do you still remember the boy that sat beside you during the valentine's day event? The one who asked for a picture. That's me. I want a picture of me and you at that time. I turned that picture into a polaroid then I put it on the back of my phone. That's our first picture. You're so kind. I got butterflies for the first time. Sad to say you need to go.

Napalingon ako sa nagbigay. Nakatingin siya sakin. Obviously, nagkatinginan kami. He smiled. I wanna hug him and say thank you for admiring me. I can't believe that someone will admire me. I'm just a normal student.

Congratulations to all graduates!

I hugged my friends. Magkakahiwalay na kaming lahat. Yung iba sa probinsya na mag aaral. Yung iba sa ibang bansa na kasi andon yung magulang. I understand their situation. I will miss them so much.

Lourdes, I'm inviting you to join our party in the principal office after this graduation. We prepared something for you.

They are the best. Did I deserve them? I love them so much, especially our principal.

Naisipan ko ng pumunta sa principal office. Andaming nagbibigay sakin ng letters at flowers. Every section meron akong natatanggap. Hindi na ako magtataka kasi every section naman may kaibigan ako. Naisipan ko din puntahan yung lalaki na nag aadmire sakin.

"Hi, thank you for admiring me. Let's take a picture together" I said.

"Omg! You're so pretty" he said.

Phone niya ang gagamitin namin pang picture. I saw our photo on his phone case. I saw his lockscreen wallpaper. I'm his wallpaper.

"Thank you so much!" I said after we took a photo.

"Thank you, binibini"

I got butterflies whenever someone called me binibini. I smiled at him and waved to say goodbye. I went to the principal office and I saw their efforts. They had simple appreciation gifts for me. I saw my pictures during the tournaments and championships. They printed all of them. Even our teacher's day special. A lot of memories that made me the happiest person. I heard the door open. I hugged all the teachers. The last person I hugged is our principal. She's the best principal I've ever had. We had a party celebration.

"Congratulations once again, Lourdes. We will miss you. Please don't forget us. We know you'll be successful someday"

Pagkatapos non nagpicture kami. Last picture kasama sila. After that I need to say goodbye. We also have a celebration with my family. I waved and said I love you.

My journey as a student is finally done. I'm done with my schoolworks. Before I finished this study I had a lot of breakdowns. I suffered from depression and anxiety. I got issues. I forgot to take care of my mental health. My elementary journey was fun. I enjoyed my life at that time. Then I started my journey as a high school student. The pressure I got whenever we had a presentation. Time management. I realize a lot of things. This journey made me realize that people are temporary. People who say they won't leave you will leave because you changed yourself. They will leave you when you are at your lowest. Trust issues may develop. Today, I only have 4 friends. I trust them with all of my heart. I promised myself once one of them leaves me I won't have a friend anymore. I love them like my sister. They are my strength. I can't imagine myself without them. They are the ones who believe in me. My achievement will be their achievement also. Behind my success in life there are 4 people who made it happen. This time I need to focus on myself. I don't have anyone whenever I'm in a bad situation. 2 of them will study in their province while the other half will study abroad. It's for their good. We can update each other by messenger. The lesson I learned in my whole journey is that no matter how long it is, someday it will be worth it. Good things take time. Just be patient and focus on your goal in life.