by: Blessed Bea T. Plondaya, Most Outstanding Secondary School Student of Iloilo for AY 2012-2013
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| Blessed Bea T. Plondaya |
To the organizers of the Outstanding Students Circle of Iloilo, its alumni, parents, school heads, teachers, and most especially to my fellow OSCI awardees, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
Many people would deem us, the Top 10 of the Outstanding Students Circle of Iloilo lucky. Lucky that we qualified the bid book screening, passed the mind-blowing exam and excelled in the terrifying panel interview. Call us lucky, yes maybe, but we don’t term it lucky, we call it extraordinarily lucky! Luck is the product of our hard work.
For most of us, it all started on an ordinary day when something extraordinary happened. Receiving the news that we were chosen to represent our school for the OSCI was just like being handed the Golden ticket from Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. The opportunity that was given to us opened up a new door that led to an exciting, new adventure filled with unexpected circumstances and shocking surprises. And upon knowing that we are the ones left standing after the bid book screening and written exam is overwhelming. This is a journey where our total capability has been tested, physically and psychologically – the stress was too much, mentally – the brain-jarring exam and the nerve – whacking interview tormented us and emotionally – the agony of waiting for the final judgment revealed that we are indeed, vulnerable young adults.
A lot of people may think that we are renowned as OSCI awardees just in numerical terms. In a sense that we all just qualified for the criteria: Academic achievements - 50%, Co- curricular activities – 35% and the personal interview for 15%. But all of us here are not defined by mere numbers but by strong will and character. We wouldn’t be what we are now without the values inculcated to us by our parents, our mentors and the institution where each one of us belongs. We wouldn’t be awarded such if we didn’t have the determination in all our endeavours, the discipline to reach our goals, the perseverance to overcome all our obstacles and our unyielding faith in God that guides us to do everything for His glory. All our achievements for the year 2012 and the many years before, everything that we have worked hard for and the sweat, blood and tears that we have shed to achieve all these have finally paid off, as we have proven ourselves worthy of this award. A lot of challenges and trials have come our way but obviously we did not quit. Personally I believe, that we have reached this far because while many of the young adults like us are in the malls, or in their favourite hang outs or just simply tinkering with their gadgets, the ten of us are in the wilderness of our locality rendering service that will benefit mankind. Yes, peer pressure is too much these days, but yielding to it is a choice. MAGIS! Be more, do more, we all believed in this! We have surely never settled for less because we know that we have the capability to go further and even surprise ourselves that we can go beyond the expectations of people from us. We say, we can and we will! God gave us ourselves and we should maximize every single blessing, talent and skill He has entrusted in us, at least our gift to Him in return.
Talking of the word blessings? Blessings. I have been asked about my name BLESSED BEA for more than a thousand times. “Why BLESSED?” Honestly, until now I do not know. But this is what I know; God has been showering me with more than enough blessings, others I never even asked for and thought of. I simply just have upheld myself worthy of my name BLESSED.
Nevertheless, in behalf of all the Outstanding Students Circle of Iloilo Awardees – Secondary Level, I would like to express my gratitude to a lot of people. To our parents, for the immeasurable moral and emotional support throughout our entire life on earth, thank you. The love, care, dedication and unfathomable patience on us made us what we are right now. To my Papa and Mama, my mentors 24/7, the spirit behind all my triumphs, thank you so much. To the coaches, especially to Sir Nicfranz de los Reyes, I will never forget what you have instilled in me – Shine. Outshine. Give Shine. Sir, my sincerest gratitude to you, for you have prepared me for the challenges of the outside world. To our teachers, especially to my Josephian mentors, thank you for all the opportunities and challenges you set in front of me, for those became my stepping stones in becoming a better individual. To our respective schools, you have been the passports that have led us to this destination. We are grateful that you have placed your confidence and trust in us. To the Outstanding Students Circle of Iloilo, you are the bridge that linked us to the deepest parts of ourselves to give our all, and inspired us that we could still be more. Long live OSCI! To everyone, words would never be enough to express our gratitude for everything you have done for us.
Lastly, our batch name, “INCREDIBLE” fits us best because we want to:
I gnite Ideas
N urture Notions
C hannel Creativity
R eciprocate Respect
E ndure Experiences
D evelop Determination
I lluminate Innovations
B reak Boundaries
L eave Legacies and
E mpower Excellence
Before I end, I want to leave everyone especially my fellow youth with this thought. When the odds are against us and the tides are rough, let us remember, that God gives the fiercest battles only to His bravest and toughest soldiers. This is the motto that I live by, this is what makes me different and this is us – God’s little warriors on earth!
Thank you and God bless us all!@
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