Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.
Fellow toastmasters, friends, guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
When I was a little girl I wished that someday, somehow I could reach my stars in the sky. I called them stars because they are as wonderful as my dreams but they are as high as the sky.
I wish I could turn my dreams into reality. But how could I make them possible yet the reality is that they are actually improbable.
I was once a victim of that so-called poverty. I was born from a poor family. I already lost my father when I was two years old. Every day is a hard day to live.
During my school years, I could still remember my classmates wearing new clothes, new bags, and new shoes. I wish I could have them too. But I know we can’t afford any of them. There was also a time when my mother brought me to the city where I wish I could have a dine-in in the Jollibee or McDonalds but unfortunately my mother was just took me to the messy market instead. What a poor girl I was!
I cannot avoid that I was craving for new things – new clothes, new shoes, new bags and eat in the Jollibee every day. Well, my desires lead me to strive harder in my studies amidst the lack of resources. Imagine for four years in High School, I studied every night with just a ‘lampara’ in my study table since we have no current at that time. I tell you, it’s not really easy to read books and do the homework with a badly lit light. But I took it as a great challenge. I graduated with flying colors in fact awarded as a Salutatorian in our batch.
That gave me an opportunity to study in college. I was an academic scholar for two years and a DOST scholar for the remaining two years. Being a scholar is not an ease at all. You have to maintain your grades or else you will be dead! – You will be stopped studying. There were more challenges to face, more struggles to make. I love to spend my snack time in the library. My favorite shopping mall was in the E-Library where I surfed over the Internet and doing a lot of research. Aside from focusing on Academic matters, I also joined Bible services to feed my soul and to gain more wisdom.
It was indeed a contentment and fulfillment of my dreams when our Graduation came. “Lalene C. Cababat, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Cum Laude”. I had mixed feelings when I heard those words. First was a joy because at last I made it! Second was pressure because of the big expectations of my family, relatives and friends. Third was worry. I was worried because I might become part of the problem to unemployment or underemployment in our nation. And lastly, I was challenged because I believed that I would be employed and would be part of the solution to our country.
Since I already reached my dreams, I can now buy new clothes, new shoes, new bags, and of course eat in the Jollibee everyday if I wanted to! See! It’s God’s grace. It’s God’s will. It’s God’s plan. I thanked God for His unending guidance that I surpassed those bitter-sweet experiences and for putting me on where I am now.
As I flashed back on my stars, they are still in the sky but they are not anymore as high as the sky simply because I am already now with my stars so high.
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