so anyway I’m sure as you pulled in
through you pee today you saw the rows
of growing sunflowers it’s tradition for
of course the University of the
Philippines to present these through the
fresh batch of graduates each year each
year as a parting gift I’m happy to say
that this year one of those sunflowers
is for me yay I’m graduating I cannot
let you think it’s a big deal
I’m sure got that you have like 30 other
friends who probably have their grand
fakes as their profile pictures on
Facebook nipa well it’s a really big
deal for me
that’s a I didn’t graduate grade school
and I didn’t go to high school so this
diploma that I’m gonna get in June is
the first diploma ever in my life I’m
sure you’re wondering how that happened
how is that possible well I’m going to
have to start at the very beginning
that’s me I don’t know if you recognize
the uniform but I won’t say the school I
was an average student I went to an
all-girls Catholic school it was kind of
elite I was you know unremarkable
I got neither a snore apps or C’s I
hated doing my homework
I never reviewed for my quarterly exams
it was I wasn’t really just you know
your average student there was nothing
special about me but then life happened
and something very interesting happened
what started out as a life of lavish and
comfort for me my family my kids
eventually turned out into nightmare of
nothingness I won’t go into the details
of the telenovela but bad decisions were
made and so when I say life of
nothingness
absolutely nothing we went bankrupt so
and then my husband had to go so I was
left to tend for you know for four kids
and I had two other people in the family
at that time there was no money
absolutely no money no bank accounts no
savings not even for an it sure we
didn’t have any furniture no beds no
Christmas trees nothing so I was left
with a certain you know decision to make
certain priorities as to how am I going
to live my life and take care of my kids
so I had no money for education I had to
look for a job which took me away most
of the time from my kids and so Mika had
to tend on her own educational her own
educational system of homeschooling and
she also did it for her siblings it was
a it was not a very you know good time
in our lives but looking back and seeing
where I am right now I’d go through it
again after seeing my kids but at that
time it was a very very difficult
journey for all of us as a family
to make things simple we always told
people at your home school but we didn’t
have an affiliate school we didn’t have
money for a shooter the truth was that
we were out of school youth and for the
first two years we were doing nothing
but just bumming around I kept in touch
with one friend from that’s great school
I think she’s in that picture also I
kept in touch with her and sometimes we
would text each other and you know she
would ask she’d tell me about her day
she would say we’re learning polynomials
today and I would think oh my gosh I
don’t know what that is
you know what I better go find out what
that is so I’d go to our library I’d
find an algebra book and I teach myself
my friend would come back and say oh you
know we learned about biology today and
then I run into the library and I pick
up the biology book this went on and on
until I realized I was finishing the
entire library and I realized that I was
learning on my own I was giving myself
an education I encouraged my siblings to
do the same thing I taught them how to
read how to add how to divide subtract
multiply this was even more difficult
for my younger two siblings because they
had no formal schooling whatsoever
my second sister finished grade two and
as my mom mentioned I finished grade
five but other than that we really did
not have any formal schooling bit of
trivia above myself I’m a huge nerd I
promise this is related
I’m a huge nerd I love Star Wars I love
Lord of the Rings this got me into some
online fan groups I swear this is
related github what happened with these
online fan groups with that I got
introduced into a whole spectrum of
people while my batch mates were
wondering who they’re going to take to
prom wondering how to talk to boys or
something I was talking with businessmen
doctors lawyers
yupi professors artists writers
performers and these people were
treating me as a cohort they were
addressing me on a very level they were
my best friends from there
they gave me my first jobs little
writing assignments here and there or if
they had big events and they needed a
runner or an assistant they’d let me do
it
of course I was hungry to learn so I
accepted these jobs and eventually I
actually got a sales and marketing job
at an IT company just because I knew
these people of course
and I met new people throughout my life
there’s always that one question that
came back to haunt me because when you
would meet someone new and you start a
conversation they would always ask hey
where’d you go to school
and I say oh I didn’t and if you like
aha funny and then I actually got tired
of explaining myself and I thought you
know what maybe I should sing about
going back to school and you know as
time went on my batch mates I realized
for graduating and they hadn’t heard
nice grad fix and everything and I was
like you know what maybe I want that too
maybe I’m going to make this decision
I’m going to go back to school so one
day literally one day I walk into Devon
and I said well a pause on high school
diploma how do I go to college and it
was so funny because they couldn’t even
grasp my situation the first thing they
said was back at them the lingam of
English look at modern comics Alita it’s
like they couldn’t fathom that I taught
myself or they couldn’t fathom that I
educated myself or that I learned how to
speak or be literate through any other
means other than my high school other
than a high school experience they
directed me towards the house which is
the alternative learning system exam
now the off schedule is a little weird
because it happened for the later part
of the year when all of the entrance
exams are done already and then they
release the salt the results months
later so I thought so I’d have to wait
two more years just for this I mean okay
maybe this is too much trouble and I
thought I was inpatient now so maybe
this is too much trouble and I already
have a job
don’t people go to college to get the
job so why am I doing this and I thought
you know what I’m going to apply to one
cool and if I don’t get in maybe I just
won’t go for it
but guess what I pass I passed you P and
at the age of 23 I had my second first
day of school I think that as a parent I
don’t know if some of your parents
already but as a parent there is no
greater honor and you know pride that
you know you feel fun seeing your
children your daughter and your son
graduate with diploma you know it’s it’s
like an achievement that you also give
yourself but for me personally speaking
there are no words to describe what I
feel the pride that I have upon seeing
Mika and even with my three other kids
her sister is on her second degree also
here in UB she’s in fine arts
she finished you pou and she’s taking
Fine Arts my son the brother just is now
in you pou as well and the sister is
also applying for you pou after she
takes her out so this is something that
they did on their own all I all I could
do at the time when I was trying to make
ends meet you know trying to look for
money for food every day payment for
rent we didn’t have a house we didn’t
own a house I mean we had the house but
we were renting and utilities water
electricity all that it and I was you
know I had a very menial job so my pay
wasn’t even enough so that alone seeing
the four of them strive especially with
Mika there are no words no words so that
alone is already an achievement that you
know I feel like it’s something that
will make her go through life no fears
no no apprehensions as to what she can
achieve for herself which I think
personally if there
is something that I can you know
whatever little advice that I can give
you is that
never underestimate yourselves never you
know your ideas never underestimate your
ideas no matter how small or how
unimportant it may be you have an idea
one day if you have to write it down
write it down and your interests your
talents your skills what are you good at
do it
make yourselves happy with what you are
doing right now even while you’re while
you’re studying so that you know life
doesn’t just become like a routine you
know you’re striving to go to where if
you want yourselves to be after 10 years
but you know persevere and never
undermine your abilities as a person at
the same time do not also undermine your
weaknesses because once you understand
your witnesses then all the more you
will see your strengths as a person and
you know knowing this knowing these
talents knowing this shortcomings that
you have in yourselves as persons you
can make the right choices for yourself
so for you to be happy so it’s you know
you don’t get to a point where you’re
tired and you don’t want to go on life
is not that way life is beautiful
you should make happy choices you should
be happy you know every day and look
forward to something every day learn
something new you know I’m sure it’s
something that you read every day but
for somebody who’s gone through what I
have gone through this is something that
is very important if I could go back to
your ages now you know I I would have
made better choices but I did not so as
a parent I’m very very proud of my kids
and standing before you right now I’m
not really used to talking too much
tutto to to people all I can say is that
um if you make the right choices
then that will be a pedal to catapult
you to the road that you want to take
later on to you know whatever however
you want to live your lives later on and
always remember that at the end of the
day you can always ask yourselves did I
make the right choice today no matter
how small the choice is and I’m a better
person today than when I woke up this
morning just a piece of advice from me
so as a mature student my college life
was a little different of course there
was a time when life caught up it was
hard to balance work and studies but
there are also some very very very good
advantages I was older and I was wiser I
knew the value of every single day in
this university I knew the value of
every single lecture Tehama and a half
on top hello physics 10 the bath
I knew the value of every single lecture
I knew the value of every single peso
that was spent on my tuition because
after all I was paying for part of it I
knew that I wanted to study in a course
that I wanted not a course that I needed
or not a course that would just give me
money it’s five years of your life here
in the university why not study
something that you truly want
Philippines Society has this sort of
notion that you know you have to stay in
school so that you can get good grades
so that you can go to a good college so
that you can get the Diploma so that you
can have a good job so that you can have
a good life
but is it really like that is it really
a cause and effect kind of thing because
in this linear sort of setup we forget
the very essence of education and we
forget the very essence of learning
suddenly it’s all about getting a
diploma to get the job it’s not about
learning we forget that it’s not that
simple it’s a lot more complex than that
after all we do have billionaire
billionaires who haven’t graduated high
school and we have class
torian’s who have mediocre jobs my
experience has taught me a few things
one is that learning can’t be quantified
when I introduced no idea how to write a
research paper or a thesis but I did
know how to talk I knew that I could
talk my way into anything I knew how to
pitch and these were skills that no high
school experience would have ever given
me it was more important because I had
these skills that I could use in real
life but maybe that’s what it’s about
it’s about taking the skills that you
learn here and using them in your lives
if say for example a sculptor were to
take an engineering class and he fails
epically his professor wants to disown
him and tells him to drop out or
something but what if because of that
engineering class he develops an
interest in nuts and bolts and screws
and then makes a grand sculpture out of
them would you say that that class is
entirely useless
maybe not learning it’s constant it’s
free-flowing and it doesn’t exactly have
to boil down to a letter like an A or an
F or a grade or a number like a goon or
single another is that learning takes
time different amounts of time for
different people when you’re 17 or 18
you don’t exactly know who you are yet
and you don’t exactly know what you want
and yet it’s at this point when we’re
making a life-changing decision you’re
choosing your course in college you’re
choosing how to spend the next 4 5 or
maybe 6 years of your life it’s not it’s
a big big deal what if teenagers were
allowed to experience life first what if
you were allowed to find out what it is
you really want what it was like what if
you allowed to find out what is you
really want to fight for what your
strengths are what your weaknesses are
for you actually dedicate five years of
your life into one field of study don’t
you think that maybe your college
experiences would be a little different
don’t you think that maybe
you’d get more out of it if it was that
way last is that there is no time limit
in learning my story isn’t amazing you
hear you know you go online and you hear
stories all the time you hear about
somebody who maybe took 45 years to
finish law school and then on the other
end you hear about somebody who
completed their PhD in two years or
something if you you normally think that
the one who completed it in two years is
a genius but whoever said it was a
competition it shouldn’t matter how long
it takes you to get to where you want to
go whether it takes you 45 years or
whether it takes you two years suppose
you get there and it shouldn’t matter
how long it takes you as long as every
single day that you’re on your journey
you’re making that conscious decision to
keep going you’re making that conscious
decision to be present and to excel in
every single day anyway I may not have
had a prom or I may not have been like
class valedictorian or I may not have
been the president of some org in some
high school group but I did have
possibly the education that I could have
ever received and all because I didn’t
have one at all I had experiences that
no formal education could have ever
taught me and it all started because I
had that conscious desire to learn I had
that choice to excel every single day
that I picked up a book from a library
or every single day that I was here in
yippee I chose to excel to be excellent
every single day to be excellent to
other people and to get to take that
excellent and apply it in the world
around me it’s all about creating
excellence on your own terms it’s all
about learning all the time on your own
terms and while I may
have had an educational background that
portion is still blank on my resume this
is my version of excellence and because
we are in U P this is my version of
honor and excellence thank you very much
through you pee today you saw the rows
of growing sunflowers it’s tradition for
of course the University of the
Philippines to present these through the
fresh batch of graduates each year each
year as a parting gift I’m happy to say
that this year one of those sunflowers
is for me yay I’m graduating I cannot
let you think it’s a big deal
I’m sure got that you have like 30 other
friends who probably have their grand
fakes as their profile pictures on
Facebook nipa well it’s a really big
deal for me
that’s a I didn’t graduate grade school
and I didn’t go to high school so this
diploma that I’m gonna get in June is
the first diploma ever in my life I’m
sure you’re wondering how that happened
how is that possible well I’m going to
have to start at the very beginning
that’s me I don’t know if you recognize
the uniform but I won’t say the school I
was an average student I went to an
all-girls Catholic school it was kind of
elite I was you know unremarkable
I got neither a snore apps or C’s I
hated doing my homework
I never reviewed for my quarterly exams
it was I wasn’t really just you know
your average student there was nothing
special about me but then life happened
and something very interesting happened
what started out as a life of lavish and
comfort for me my family my kids
eventually turned out into nightmare of
nothingness I won’t go into the details
of the telenovela but bad decisions were
made and so when I say life of
nothingness
absolutely nothing we went bankrupt so
and then my husband had to go so I was
left to tend for you know for four kids
and I had two other people in the family
at that time there was no money
absolutely no money no bank accounts no
savings not even for an it sure we
didn’t have any furniture no beds no
Christmas trees nothing so I was left
with a certain you know decision to make
certain priorities as to how am I going
to live my life and take care of my kids
so I had no money for education I had to
look for a job which took me away most
of the time from my kids and so Mika had
to tend on her own educational her own
educational system of homeschooling and
she also did it for her siblings it was
a it was not a very you know good time
in our lives but looking back and seeing
where I am right now I’d go through it
again after seeing my kids but at that
time it was a very very difficult
journey for all of us as a family
to make things simple we always told
people at your home school but we didn’t
have an affiliate school we didn’t have
money for a shooter the truth was that
we were out of school youth and for the
first two years we were doing nothing
but just bumming around I kept in touch
with one friend from that’s great school
I think she’s in that picture also I
kept in touch with her and sometimes we
would text each other and you know she
would ask she’d tell me about her day
she would say we’re learning polynomials
today and I would think oh my gosh I
don’t know what that is
you know what I better go find out what
that is so I’d go to our library I’d
find an algebra book and I teach myself
my friend would come back and say oh you
know we learned about biology today and
then I run into the library and I pick
up the biology book this went on and on
until I realized I was finishing the
entire library and I realized that I was
learning on my own I was giving myself
an education I encouraged my siblings to
do the same thing I taught them how to
read how to add how to divide subtract
multiply this was even more difficult
for my younger two siblings because they
had no formal schooling whatsoever
my second sister finished grade two and
as my mom mentioned I finished grade
five but other than that we really did
not have any formal schooling bit of
trivia above myself I’m a huge nerd I
promise this is related
I’m a huge nerd I love Star Wars I love
Lord of the Rings this got me into some
online fan groups I swear this is
related github what happened with these
online fan groups with that I got
introduced into a whole spectrum of
people while my batch mates were
wondering who they’re going to take to
prom wondering how to talk to boys or
something I was talking with businessmen
doctors lawyers
yupi professors artists writers
performers and these people were
treating me as a cohort they were
addressing me on a very level they were
my best friends from there
they gave me my first jobs little
writing assignments here and there or if
they had big events and they needed a
runner or an assistant they’d let me do
it
of course I was hungry to learn so I
accepted these jobs and eventually I
actually got a sales and marketing job
at an IT company just because I knew
these people of course
and I met new people throughout my life
there’s always that one question that
came back to haunt me because when you
would meet someone new and you start a
conversation they would always ask hey
where’d you go to school
and I say oh I didn’t and if you like
aha funny and then I actually got tired
of explaining myself and I thought you
know what maybe I should sing about
going back to school and you know as
time went on my batch mates I realized
for graduating and they hadn’t heard
nice grad fix and everything and I was
like you know what maybe I want that too
maybe I’m going to make this decision
I’m going to go back to school so one
day literally one day I walk into Devon
and I said well a pause on high school
diploma how do I go to college and it
was so funny because they couldn’t even
grasp my situation the first thing they
said was back at them the lingam of
English look at modern comics Alita it’s
like they couldn’t fathom that I taught
myself or they couldn’t fathom that I
educated myself or that I learned how to
speak or be literate through any other
means other than my high school other
than a high school experience they
directed me towards the house which is
the alternative learning system exam
now the off schedule is a little weird
because it happened for the later part
of the year when all of the entrance
exams are done already and then they
release the salt the results months
later so I thought so I’d have to wait
two more years just for this I mean okay
maybe this is too much trouble and I
thought I was inpatient now so maybe
this is too much trouble and I already
have a job
don’t people go to college to get the
job so why am I doing this and I thought
you know what I’m going to apply to one
cool and if I don’t get in maybe I just
won’t go for it
but guess what I pass I passed you P and
at the age of 23 I had my second first
day of school I think that as a parent I
don’t know if some of your parents
already but as a parent there is no
greater honor and you know pride that
you know you feel fun seeing your
children your daughter and your son
graduate with diploma you know it’s it’s
like an achievement that you also give
yourself but for me personally speaking
there are no words to describe what I
feel the pride that I have upon seeing
Mika and even with my three other kids
her sister is on her second degree also
here in UB she’s in fine arts
she finished you pou and she’s taking
Fine Arts my son the brother just is now
in you pou as well and the sister is
also applying for you pou after she
takes her out so this is something that
they did on their own all I all I could
do at the time when I was trying to make
ends meet you know trying to look for
money for food every day payment for
rent we didn’t have a house we didn’t
own a house I mean we had the house but
we were renting and utilities water
electricity all that it and I was you
know I had a very menial job so my pay
wasn’t even enough so that alone seeing
the four of them strive especially with
Mika there are no words no words so that
alone is already an achievement that you
know I feel like it’s something that
will make her go through life no fears
no no apprehensions as to what she can
achieve for herself which I think
personally if there
is something that I can you know
whatever little advice that I can give
you is that
never underestimate yourselves never you
know your ideas never underestimate your
ideas no matter how small or how
unimportant it may be you have an idea
one day if you have to write it down
write it down and your interests your
talents your skills what are you good at
do it
make yourselves happy with what you are
doing right now even while you’re while
you’re studying so that you know life
doesn’t just become like a routine you
know you’re striving to go to where if
you want yourselves to be after 10 years
but you know persevere and never
undermine your abilities as a person at
the same time do not also undermine your
weaknesses because once you understand
your witnesses then all the more you
will see your strengths as a person and
you know knowing this knowing these
talents knowing this shortcomings that
you have in yourselves as persons you
can make the right choices for yourself
so for you to be happy so it’s you know
you don’t get to a point where you’re
tired and you don’t want to go on life
is not that way life is beautiful
you should make happy choices you should
be happy you know every day and look
forward to something every day learn
something new you know I’m sure it’s
something that you read every day but
for somebody who’s gone through what I
have gone through this is something that
is very important if I could go back to
your ages now you know I I would have
made better choices but I did not so as
a parent I’m very very proud of my kids
and standing before you right now I’m
not really used to talking too much
tutto to to people all I can say is that
um if you make the right choices
then that will be a pedal to catapult
you to the road that you want to take
later on to you know whatever however
you want to live your lives later on and
always remember that at the end of the
day you can always ask yourselves did I
make the right choice today no matter
how small the choice is and I’m a better
person today than when I woke up this
morning just a piece of advice from me
so as a mature student my college life
was a little different of course there
was a time when life caught up it was
hard to balance work and studies but
there are also some very very very good
advantages I was older and I was wiser I
knew the value of every single day in
this university I knew the value of
every single lecture Tehama and a half
on top hello physics 10 the bath
I knew the value of every single lecture
I knew the value of every single peso
that was spent on my tuition because
after all I was paying for part of it I
knew that I wanted to study in a course
that I wanted not a course that I needed
or not a course that would just give me
money it’s five years of your life here
in the university why not study
something that you truly want
Philippines Society has this sort of
notion that you know you have to stay in
school so that you can get good grades
so that you can go to a good college so
that you can get the Diploma so that you
can have a good job so that you can have
a good life
but is it really like that is it really
a cause and effect kind of thing because
in this linear sort of setup we forget
the very essence of education and we
forget the very essence of learning
suddenly it’s all about getting a
diploma to get the job it’s not about
learning we forget that it’s not that
simple it’s a lot more complex than that
after all we do have billionaire
billionaires who haven’t graduated high
school and we have class
torian’s who have mediocre jobs my
experience has taught me a few things
one is that learning can’t be quantified
when I introduced no idea how to write a
research paper or a thesis but I did
know how to talk I knew that I could
talk my way into anything I knew how to
pitch and these were skills that no high
school experience would have ever given
me it was more important because I had
these skills that I could use in real
life but maybe that’s what it’s about
it’s about taking the skills that you
learn here and using them in your lives
if say for example a sculptor were to
take an engineering class and he fails
epically his professor wants to disown
him and tells him to drop out or
something but what if because of that
engineering class he develops an
interest in nuts and bolts and screws
and then makes a grand sculpture out of
them would you say that that class is
entirely useless
maybe not learning it’s constant it’s
free-flowing and it doesn’t exactly have
to boil down to a letter like an A or an
F or a grade or a number like a goon or
single another is that learning takes
time different amounts of time for
different people when you’re 17 or 18
you don’t exactly know who you are yet
and you don’t exactly know what you want
and yet it’s at this point when we’re
making a life-changing decision you’re
choosing your course in college you’re
choosing how to spend the next 4 5 or
maybe 6 years of your life it’s not it’s
a big big deal what if teenagers were
allowed to experience life first what if
you were allowed to find out what it is
you really want what it was like what if
you allowed to find out what is you
really want to fight for what your
strengths are what your weaknesses are
for you actually dedicate five years of
your life into one field of study don’t
you think that maybe your college
experiences would be a little different
don’t you think that maybe
you’d get more out of it if it was that
way last is that there is no time limit
in learning my story isn’t amazing you
hear you know you go online and you hear
stories all the time you hear about
somebody who maybe took 45 years to
finish law school and then on the other
end you hear about somebody who
completed their PhD in two years or
something if you you normally think that
the one who completed it in two years is
a genius but whoever said it was a
competition it shouldn’t matter how long
it takes you to get to where you want to
go whether it takes you 45 years or
whether it takes you two years suppose
you get there and it shouldn’t matter
how long it takes you as long as every
single day that you’re on your journey
you’re making that conscious decision to
keep going you’re making that conscious
decision to be present and to excel in
every single day anyway I may not have
had a prom or I may not have been like
class valedictorian or I may not have
been the president of some org in some
high school group but I did have
possibly the education that I could have
ever received and all because I didn’t
have one at all I had experiences that
no formal education could have ever
taught me and it all started because I
had that conscious desire to learn I had
that choice to excel every single day
that I picked up a book from a library
or every single day that I was here in
yippee I chose to excel to be excellent
every single day to be excellent to
other people and to get to take that
excellent and apply it in the world
around me it’s all about creating
excellence on your own terms it’s all
about learning all the time on your own
terms and while I may
have had an educational background that
portion is still blank on my resume this
is my version of excellence and because
we are in U P this is my version of
honor and excellence thank you very much
Please follow and like us: