as a young boy, my dreams were simple but achieving them was so hard. it was like traversing the world's highest mountains; crossing the pacific ocean; walking on fire and broken glasses; and worst, it was like Atlas relinquished his responsibility, of carrying the world on his back, to me. life was so hard. It was indeed somewhat like reaching the unreachable stars. i may not be deprived of a familial love which everyone of us desires to have but poverty has placed a wide chasm in our life that there seemed to be no room for "lambingan", "tuksuhan" or "suyuan" in the family. i have outgrown the will to survive our hunger each day. well, like most poor families or those below poverty line here in the Philippines, we have experienced how it is to sleep with nothing but hunger in our stomach. it was terrible sleeping the night away with our tummies grumbling for food. it was terrible. it wasn't just like that. worst was when i had to go to school starving but had no choice but walk to school while imagining delicious food i see on ads and billboards on my way to school. it was either i was temporarily satisfied or my hunger tripled.
it was just food you know. that did not stop me from learning. and i swore that i will change the direction of my life. i did not intend to just let my hunger sway me away to scavenging or begging for alms, i used my head. if my family was not blessed financially, God has endowed me with the will and the intellect i know will pave my way to success. despite that self-assuring dedication, i couldn't see hope but a blurry vision of my life but that still did not make me give up.
i graduated grade school with honors. so happy with it but what can i do with my gold medal? i couldn't eat it or couldn't feed my family with it...anyways, i pressed on.
again, i graduated with flying colors in high school as class valedictorian and received many other awards. honestly, i said a simple thank you Lord for all that I have achieved but behind my mind, i was thinking, I still have a long long way to go. i don't know if my parents were proud of my achievements because they were not vocal about it. probably they would be happier to receive a monthly allotment from me if i find a job...that is, any menial job just to earn...but i was determined to pursue my tertiary education...i took up bachelor in secondary education...
i was granted full academic scholarship and fortunately, God was always on my side, I have maintained this full scholarship until college graduation... i had nothing but i had everything...such an ironic statement..with that i mean, financially i had nothing but i was so rich with friends who helped me with my other needs. my parents were very supportive of me, morally and spirirtually, although they were not so showy about their feelings for my every accomplishment, but they were there for me through all these years.
anyway, during my practicum days, i had to stay with my friend whose house was close to the school where we were assigned for our parctice teaching..some people whom God used as instruments to provide my needs (but they don't want to be named), they know who they are, have made everything and my graduation a reality.
i graduated magna cum laude. my tears rolled down when i accepted my diploma and when my mother donned my medal on me. it just used to be a dream, a very sitant star i was trying to reach when i was a young boy, daydreaming.
after college graduation, God's blessings continued to overflow in us. i was hired to teach in college in the same university where i graduated. then without delay, i enrolled in the graduate program for my masters degree which i finished after two years of hard work, sleepless nights and toil. then after my masteral degree, i did not stop schooling as i always believed and give so much value to education, i enrolled in my doctor's degree which i am aiming to finish soon..
i have written one textbook with 2 other professors which other schools outside cagayan de oro is also using. i have launched my second book, a literary folio,which is basically, the title of my blog site, the Panawagan. i hope i would be able to touch lives as i share this call to those youth who are also aspiring to attain success...
my ultimate goal in life is to realize God's purpose in my life and to be able to make a difference in others.
be challenged. move and never give up. there's a beautiful life ahead waiting for you!
This is a masterpiece of a young heart and mind whose dreams has never faltered and never will...this contain poems about life addressed to the youth of today. it also speaks of the stark reality that we see around us, the problems, the crisis, the challenges and the answers available for change.
