Alexis' Valedictory Speech

Valedictory Speech delivered by my son Alexis, March 26, 2008. He received eight gold medals; being the valedictorian, six academic awards and the spelling bee champion.
Metamorphosis...

Mrs. Anita Rilloraza, our Principal; Mrs. Remedios Eusebio, our Vice-Principal; Dr. Clotilde Salvador, our grade school administrator; faculty members; dear parents; distinguished guests;my classmates, a pleasant day to all of you. Thank you for taking time out to be with us today as we celebrate another milestone in our young lives-our graduation from grade school.

When I was told to prepare this piece of work, I immediately ponder on things I have to say, I was in a quandary of words to speak of. To my mind, we have been together for six years and we had enough time to talk about everything and anything under the sun. Yes, we shared almost every emotion we had in our heart; we grew up together; I was reluctant to do this because it may sound like a farewell note. Albeit, let me share with you a simple message.

Graduation day is a constant part of our youth, of our learning process. This may mean bidding farewell to our best friends, our classmates, our teachers; it is a harsh reality that we are made to accept and live with; just as we say hello to new friends in a totally different environment as we move on to the ladder of life. But life has to go on because ours is still a long journey ahead. We should celebrate this grand occasion for it marks for us a new beginning, offers new set of challenges and opens up the opportunity to pursue our dreams and realize our goals. From this day on, a new path will be opened to all of us to take; a chance for us to prove to the world that, we, Kostkans, were indeed born for greater things.

We will be confronted with greater prospects and challenges. It is upon us to make intelligent choices. Hours from now, we will be treading our own separate ways; but I am certain that no matter what road each of us will take, we will get where we wanted to be. Our experiences will provide us the strength to face the challenges that many have failed because we were prepared to cope up with the trials of our time. We are young, our bodies may be frail, but our conviction and determination to achieve more in life will deliver us to success.

I would like to share with you my personal experience about graduation day. It was my nursery graduation day that my teacher noticed I was crying silently; my mom panicked because in a few minutes I will be called up on stage to receive my gold medal. She asked what was wrong with me and I didn't answer her, I was scared to tell her that the garlands made me feel uncomfortable. So simple yet so complicated for a young boy of my age. Years came and went. Here I am now, no more garlands around my neck but a boutonnière on my chest; I can speak of many things to my heart's content; I am now excited to discover the unknown; willing to make a choice; ready to work for it and positive about the future. I came to realize that these days were the times that we metamorphose into a whole new different person.

It is also on this occasion that we sincerely thank those people who shared their hard work and dedication in molding us into well rounded individuals. I deliberately set this moment to thank my parents. Thank you mom, thank you dad, for all the support you have given me; for your kind understanding of all the worry and grief I have caused you; for taking all of this humbly as part of my growing up. Mom, your relentless effort to help me in all my troubles made me realize how wonderful and loving you are. You're simple yet the finest, the best. Dad, I appreciate everything you've done for us, I truly admire your sacrifices and hard work to provide us a comfortable life. I will try my best to live up to your expectations and be the person you want me to be. My family, my mom and dad, my ate Yannah and kuya Lee, I have achieved something today, one of the greatest I will have and I dedicate this to all of you. My sincerest gratitude for the love and care, for being my inspiration, my fortress, my life. I love you both.

I would like to thank all our teachers, on behalf of my classmates, for unselfishly imparting to us your knowledge and wisdom; for the patience and understanding when we step out of bounds; for honing our skills into perfection and most of all for sharing with us the intimacy of a loving friend. To the school administrators, thank you for sustaining a place as illustrious as this that serves as an avenue for the young minds to explore and develop; the administrative staff, the security force, the utility and canteen personnel, for giving us a wonderful stay around here in Kostka. To the Kostka family, from the graduates, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

To my classmates, thank you for giving me worthwhile memories of my childhood, memories that will be cherished for a life time; for the genuine friendship, for the trust and confidence that you have always given me; and for all the times of trials, difficulties and gains we have shared, you guys made me feel great; the feeling of being part of a privileged group like ours is indeed awesome.

We, the young breed of winners, who are gathered here today, are raring to put our marks in history, Mr. Baltazar, our beloved adviser, thank you for instilling in us the value of humility and a vision of compassion. We salute you. You made us champions!

Thank you Lord, for the blessings you showered upon us; for our happy life, good health, and the opportunity you gave us today to make our future the most brilliant of them all.

Fellow graduates, we have taken our first step, let us be together again in learning how to run. Let this day serve as an ultimate challenge for us to aspire for the best, to be a model to young people like us and start to develop ourselves to become better citizens. Let us bring great pride to our family, our school and our community. Together we dare, together we succeed! Rest assured, we will find our place.

Till we meet again. Congratulations and God bless us all.