High school flew by so quickly. I couldn’t believe I was sitting there, ready to graduate. We were finally at the finish line, about to walk up that stage to get our diploma.
It’s amazing how much all of us have changed over the past few years. Going through all our photos, I realized much has happened since we entered high school. Some of us have gotten fatter, while others have gotten thinner. Some of us have gotten into relationships, while others have explored various activities, ranging from academics to athletics and extracurricular activities.
High school was about growing up and discovering ourselves, trying new things and exploring our interests. It was also about getting acquainted with the opposite sex, hanging out with friends and learning how to socialize. It was about finding a group to be part of, or in local terms, a barkada. But more importantly, high school was about learning how to care not only about ourselves, but also about the people around us.
As I went through the Facebook timeline of my different batchmates right before graduation, I couldn’t help but feel sentimental as I remembered the different experiences we had had in Xavier School.
Honestly, it was only this past year that I really learned how to fully appreciate my Xavier education, which has given me a plethora of unique experiences like the One2One Program (where we got to use laptops in class), the SM Immersion Program (where we got to experience being an SM employee), the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Entrepreneurship Project (where we partnered with GK social enterprises) and a myriad of other programs and activities.
But now the challenge is using all these to try and make a bigger impact on society as we move to the next chapter of our lives. We may not know how exactly we can make a difference in such a complicate d world, but I firmly believe that our generation will find a way.
Our generation is known as the one that has been given the gift of being able to share every single moment in our life. We have gone through our high school years documenting every memory and sharing them with the world with the different social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And it’s exciting to guess what this connectedness and advancements in technology will do for us in the future, as we enter the next chapter of our lives.
Separate ways
Nothing will ever be the same. I will honestly miss seeing the faces of each one of my classmates from section A. I will miss the A-men and H4A, the class that taught me that school isn’t all about the grades; it’s also about learning how to have fun in life. They taught me how to value every member of the class, and how to simply enjoy the moment.
Although we may be going to different universities in the Philippines and abroad, we will always carry with us the values and skills that we learned in Xavier School—from cramming assessments, going on service programs and class retreats, and reflecting upon all these experiences.
As I look back at the past year, I couldn’t have asked for more. It’s perfectly fitting that I end my senior year by thanking everyone who has made a difference in my life over the past 18 years, and more specifically this year.
Thank you to my family for their never-ending support, and for being there with me every step of the way. Thank you so much to all my teachers who taught me lessons both in and out of the classroom. Thank you to my coaches and mentors for challenging me and for bringing out the best in me. Thank you, Xavier School, for teaching me how to make the most of my talents, and to always strive for excellence.
At the start of this school year, after I tore my anterior cruciate ligament, I wasn’t sure how exactly the year would turn out. But I told myself that I would make the most of my last year in Xavier School by joining as many activities as I could and by giving my best shot both in academics and extra-curricular activities.
Yet, throughout the year, I realized that senior year was more than just about the test scores, college applications, achievements or the clubs and committees I joined.
Senior year was extremely memorable because I chose to spend more time with the people I care about. It was about choosing to make new friends and cherish old ones. It was about choosing to stay that extra hour in school so I could spend more time with my friends. It was about turning every single day in class into a shared experience. And finally, it was about turning every single experience into a memorable one.
So, thank you to all my friends, who have made this senior year of mine the perfect encapsulation of what a journey it has been. May we never forget the little wonders, small hours and shared experiences we spent with each other because 10, 20 years from now, when we cross paths once again, we will be looking back at high school as some of the best years in our life.
