Making A Difference

Response Speech delivered by Dionysius Valeen Chiu, Most Outstanding Secondary School Student of Iloilo, on behalf of the Ten Outstanding Secondary School Students of Iloilo for the Academic Year 2013-2014 (Batch The Victors). 

“If success means growing, don’t let the red light stop the going.” – the Victors (TOSSS 2014).

To the members of the Outstanding Student Circle of Iloilo headed by Mr. Henry Caspe, event organizers, alumni, school administrators, fellow awardees, guests, ladies and gentlemen,  good afternoon.

Do you know the reason why God allowed the Philippines to be struck by typhoon Yolanda? It’s because we, Filipinos, especially us the youth, are strong enough to face such tremendous challenges. Yolanda may have been one of the most destructive typhoons that we have experienced, but as we delve deeper, we realize that Yolanda is not the only storm in our lives. Day in and day out, we ourselves face our own colossal storms and our goal is to not only overcome them, but also to learn from them. 

We, my fellow awardees and I, all started as typical students with hidden potentials coming from humble beginnings. We were not as perfect as what some people thought we were. Surely still, we are not. We commit mistakes; we exhibit weaknesses and shortcomings as well; even we fall on our feet, but then, we learn to rise. Actually we just do not rise, we “extra rise”. Every time we stumble, we get up stronger. We have been beaten up and broken down; nevertheless, we believe we are built to last. #Nokia. We are the Ten Outstanding Secondary School Students 2014, proudly made in Iloilo. #JD. We believe that as we speed up to success, we become pioneers, leading innovation. #Toshiba. The moments we fall short, we understand that life is not perfect, but we also recognize that life’s good. #LG. In the end, we are still the best. #TheVictors.

We are as ordinary as some of the students you observe. We have within us the laughter of a kid, the compassion of a parent, the discipline of a soldier. But what makes us different are our determination and commitment to be the best, coupled with the willingness to make a difference. To put it into perspective, if we were an apple, we would want to be the healthiest apple we can be. If we were a knife, we would want to be the sharpest knife that we can be. We knew then that we embarked on a different journey that only few chose to pave. “We are the best”, we said not knowing the mysteries where our destiny could take us. Then after a few steps, our paths converged in an intersection called OSCI. We knew each other, we believed in each other, we trusted each other, and we lived in each other. And as we know more of each other, we understand that we are more than who we think we are. 
 

We thought we are good, no, we are better. We thought we are strong, no, we are stronger. We thought we are tough, no, we are tougher. We thought we are ordinary, no, we are the Victors. And as victors, we understand that we are built to last. We understand that when failures pull us, we must persevere to escape their grip because we know that somebody in the success ladder is waiting for us, or maybe somebody who direly needs our help, perhaps somebody we love who misses us. In any case, we must persist because we have some unfinished business and we are here to finish it, we must endure because deep within our beating heart is a strong declaration that we are built to last. We heartily believe that we can withstand any problem that we face, any obstacle that blocks our way, any challenge that shows up in front of us.

Likewise, we believe that we are ILOILO. We embody Iloilo’s greatness, its rich history, color-filled festivals, very hospitable people. Moreover, we, the outstanding students, epitomize academic excellence and active co-curricular activities. Together, we represent the Ten Outstanding Secondary School Students of Iloilo.

And because of this identity we adopt, we board on an exciting ship, comparative to the colonial times, set sail for the Spice Island. And as we navigate through the Pacific Ocean with terrifying waves, and barely have something to eat, we at last found our treasure island. In our lives, we, too have our spice islands, our goals. But what makes us great is how big our goal is. If we aim low, we reach low. If we aim high, we reach high. In this sense, we, the TOSSS of Iloilo, believe in innovation, creativity, progress, advancement, revolution. We accept as true that we, the modern inventors of this society, will create outstanding designs that will better the situation not only for our city, not only for our country, but also for our world. We truly know that in the long run, we can contribute unboundedly. We, in this society, can leave an imprinted mark of integrity and excellence - a sight that signals might; a voice that echoes commitment; a flavor that tastes success. 
 

But sometimes, even with our very ambitious aspirations, we learn to smell failures. We fall short of our dreams, a sign that not everything goes our way. But still, we move on, we go on with life, we set higher, more audacious goals because we realize that even if life is not perfect, and it will never be, life is still good. Even if we travel across countries by foot, life’s greatness will bring us slippers along the way. Because of OSCI, we are the storytellers of the reality that life is a harsh place, but still, good enough. This is the reason why when we were babies, we struggled to walk on our petite feet and be independent of our two tiny arms. Because even in our young minds, we already perceived that there is a challenging yet wonderful world that awaits us. Maybe we did not have to see the world on all fours; maybe the reason why our two arms were spared is because they are to be used to show life’s greatness to others.

And fortunately, these people who do great miracles for others have been with us. The Outstanding Students Circle of Iloilo, for initiatively seeking high potential students and pupils to dream more and aim higher. Big thanks to you. Our parents, for continuously cheering us up, for motivating us and inspiring us to be outstanding students and pupils, thank you. We also have our principals and executive directors to be acknowledged and recognized for never-endingly seeking to improve our standards, changing our mindsets to that of winners. Thank you. Our coaches for lifting us up, for supporting us, for mentoring us on how to be the best that we can be, we also show gratitude to you for making us see our potentials that we thought never existed. Great thanks to those who believe in us that we can succeed and be an outstanding student or pupil. But my utmost expression of gratitude to God, our source of life, our spring of wisdom, our cradle of love, for guiding us and for staying by our side, keeping us safe, and always planning what is best for us. 
  

Every thunder we hear that trembles us, every lighting we see that blinds us, every poison we taste that kills us, every mistake we make that depresses us, every fear we show that paralyzes us, every sin we commit that defiles us, is all but a part of our imperfect life. The most important thing is what we do with our flaws. Do we improve it right, or do we leave it as is? “We can live in this world, but once. But if we live it right, once is already enough”- Blessed Bea Plondaya, MOSSS 2013. All of us are given equal opportunity to live, but it’s what we make of life that determines who we are. This is what we make of it - The Ten Outstanding Secondary School Students of Iloilo. We firmly believe that we are the best. We walk, we fall, then we crawl, then we stand, then we run, then we jump, then we fly, then we win, we are the Victors. We fall hard, we rise higher. We make a difference. Thank you OSCI. Thank you everybody.  

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