Speech penned for Judge Ester Piscoso-Flor which she delivered during the 2010 NVGCHS Grand Alumni Homecoming in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
The honorable Guest Speaker, my esteemed co-alumni of our beloved alma mater, visitors, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to all of you.
For quite some time now, it has been the tradition of the NVGHS Alumni Association to gather us every five years for a grand alumni homecoming in celebration of the good life that has been bestowed upon us by the Almighty. We have gone through a lot. We have had our own shares of joy and pain, of jubilation and frustration, of convenience and hardship, of the coming of a new life and the passing of another one. Even before we've left the portals of our beloved alma mater, we have started to witness the various facets of life and have endured many trials that have dealt us some almost fatal blows. But lo and behold, here we are gathered in this place – so much alive and still kicking hard.
“Life is NOT a bed of roses,” or so people say. Do you believe in that cliché? A few years ago, I firmly believed in it. I viewed life as a nasty game wherein only the fit and strong will survive. But after reflecting on everything that transpired in my life, I came up to the conclusion that life is beautiful and is very much comparable to a bed of roses. The crimson color of the petals is very much pleasing to the eyes, especially against the backdrop of the lush greens. However, the rose bushes are filled with thorns too. It is therefore up to us whether to appreciate the beautiful contrast of colors or to make a fuss over the intermingling of those painfully biting thorns. In essence, the beauty or ugliness of life is dependent upon our own dispositions in and perceptions of life as a whole.*
That reverie can also be analogous to us as collective members of our alumni association. We belong to the same organization, to one body... at ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan. We are gathered here as one. We are acting as one toward the attainment of our organization's goals and objectives. We have gone through a lot, but we rather magnify the true, the good and the beautiful. Nevertheless, we have also learned our lessons from past mistakes. And we shall not stop striving for excellence until the not-so-bad becomes good, the good becomes better and the better becomes best. We shall continue to strive and make our association become meaningful and vital to to the life of every member. Because we are one. We sink, we swim; we rise, we fall; we dream, we face our fate together.**
All of us have dreams. We all dream for greater successes. We all dream for the good life. But we are aware that in this dog-eat-dog world, the courageous and well-prepared visionaries dominate the chance of making it to the summit. However, victory and success are not exclusively for people who dream big and spend big-time. Victory and Success open their doors, too, to people like you and me, people who endeavor to leave a lasting mark – a legacy – on even the most minute aspect of our respective lives. Victory and success are sweet, but nothing is sweeter than to witness the human soul triumph over the many adversities of life.***
That is why we are gathered here now – to celebrate the big and small triumphs in the lives of the graduates of our beloved alma mater.
Let us then start the celebration for the sweet life we have had for the past years so with that of 2011 and beyond. Indeed, life is very sweet and so much worth celebrating.
Thank you.
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* Culled from my essay "On My Window"
** Quoted from Morgan Freeman's 1989 movie "Lean on Me"
*** Culled from my essay "Second Quarter Storm"
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