Salutatory Address by Ken Gabrielle O.

Seco
ESEP Salutatorian S.Y. 2011-2012

Text as delivered in the 97th Graduation Exercises of Leyte National High School, March 29, 2012 at the Leyte National High School Gymnasium

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Mrs. Leticia Y. Ruiz, our guest speaker, Dr. Jane Codilan, our school principal, distinguished guests, our ever supportive parents, our proud mentors, members of the faculty and staff, friends, and the LNHS Class of 2012, a pleasant and a wonderful moment to everyone. The first thing I would like to say is thank you. Not only has Leyte National High School given me an extraordinary honor, it has also handed me a feeling of fear and anxiety as I spent the remaining weeks of my high school life thinking how I would I deliver this salutatory address in the best possible way. Now I realize that all I have to do is take deep breaths, smile at my fellow graduates and tell them that I will not be talking here about success but instead, the importance of failure. Albert Einsteins parents thought that he was mentally retarded. His grades in school were so poor and his teacher told him that he will never amount to everything then he dropped out of school at the age of 15. The famous Bill Gates and Sir Isaac Newton also had very poor grades that lead to dropout in their own schools. Beethoven's music teacher once said of him "as a composer, he is hopeless". Michael Jordan was kicked out from his high school basketball team because of his lack of skill. Marilyn Monroe was dropped by 20th Century-Fox because her producer thought she was unattractive and cannot act. Henry Ford's first two automobile companies failed. Soichiro Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation during a job interview as "engineer". JK Rowling attempted to commit suicide from depression of becoming poor and a lone parent. Only one thing is common in these legendary people who proved to be successful without formal education and ranks. And that is failure.

My fellow graduates, today is not just an ordinary day of our lives. Its the time of the year again when we hear that triumphal music being played as students walk along the aisle, the day when we receive our medals and diplomas to celebrate our academic success. It is these moments that we truly dream of and will always remember. But let us

keep in mind that we would not have been here without failing even once. JK Rowling once said, It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all in which case, you fail by default. In June 2008, we first set foot in this institution as young freshmen. I know all of us were feeling nervous at the first weeks of high school for we did not know yet what was to come. The moment my mom and dad and I arrived in this school, I felt really scared for I didnt know anybody in such a new environment. I was somehow amazed upon knowing that this school was so big having more than 120 rooms compared to my former elementary school which only had 30. There were nearly seven thousand of us who would go through the green gate of our Alma Mater in each school year while my former school only had 400. These made me start the study years of my life anew. Since then, I grew into a teen and learned a lot of new things and stuff while studying here. Everything was new to me. Having elections for student government, class-free days for intramurals and sportsfest, contests in every month were both exciting and challenging for me. These scenes became a cycle and routine. I soon found them pretty ordinary except one thing which suddenly changed during my fourth year. I will already attend a recognition day. In fact, I am now. Ladies and gentlemen, I have never attended a recognition ceremony. That was because I was never an honor student. The fears that my parents had for me, and that I had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew. Senior year came then and a new idea came into my mind. Ive planned to be more active than ever before, join organizations and have fun. If not for these, I would not have gained many new friends, whether freshmen, sophomore, junior or senior. I really like it when someone calls me, Hi Kuya Ken. I would then wave back at them. To my own view, it is because of them that high school has been more fun and interesting. And before I leave the portals of our Alma Mater, I want to thank all the people who have been there for me and molded me to become what I am today.

To my co-honorables in the SSG, to Ate Dayang, to Sir Roda and Sir Catcharro, thanks a bunch for training me to become not only a good leader but also a good follower. Even though it sometimes takes us very late at night to finish all our activities, its worth it for we are having fun while working with you. Sorry if sometimes I disrupt our meetings because I couldnt stop myself from saying jokes that makes us all laugh and making others shout, Ageh! Kuya Ken! To my co-REB Officers, to Sir Bernie, thank you for being a part of my high school journey. Sir, I have gone to a lot of new places and restaurants because of you. This one thing that I will never forget is that ever since I have been a staffer until I became Vice-

president, I was always late during meetings. I will always remember the experience that I have had during conventions and the experience of running our own convention here at school even though it was tiring. CMLI has taught me to do things that high school studes dont actually do until they go to college. The Leytean. Thanks Sir Obet and Sir Dean for nurturing my skills in writing thought I dont write a lot and for being there always to correct me and make me appreciate my work. I owe you all the things that I learned during our trainings in the field of journalism. These organizations that I have joined made me feel like a full-fledged Leytean as I walked the halls of the Leyte High. It has just been two weeks since I first learned that I have to write this speech and stand in front of you in this very podium. Never in my whole life have I dreamed of becoming a high school salutatorian. After three years of considering myself a failure in this world, I now believe just like Napoleon Hill has said, every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success. The story of this man that I have just told you was meant to inspire every one of us here. It does not mean when one has failed, he or she is already a failure. What we have to plant in our minds is that giving up is not an option. There's gonna be times in your life when people tell you that you cant do something. All people may not believe in you. Worry not for what is more important is that you believe in yourself. Never say never, according to Justin Bieber. Actually, I was not expecting this as my classmates also didnt. I know that some things have been between us but I truly understand. After all, whatever happens, I want you guys to know that I have always loved you all. As our graduation song suggests thank you for playing my music, for singing my song, for sparing a moment, and for keeping me company, coz with you, I feel that I really belong. I also want to give my sincerest thanks to my friends though they were not my classmates, they were always there to accept me for who I am, to hang out with me, listen to my problems, and to make me almost die at laughing every time we were together. To GM, to Kens Generation and to all my friends, thank you! To my teachers and mentors, Maam Regine, Maam Ederlina, Maam Bella, Maam Ana and Maam Angelina, Sir Roda, Sir Tinoc, Sir Roland, Sir Teodor, and especially to Sir Obet, our adviser, thank you for everything and for the knowledge you have imparted us while we were on our last year here in Leyte High. We promise to carry on what youve taught us in pursuing higher education.

To my dear parents, Papa, thank you for coming to my graduation day even though you could have been in travel to Manila for a conference. Mama, thank you for helping me as I struggle with the activities in school. Thank you for sleeping late just because you would care very much for me and help me in my projects, for waking up at 3 AM to cook my breakfast, for waking me up as early as 4 though it takes for you a lot of times to go upstairs and do everything just to wake me up so I wont be late in my CAT or Chemistry Class and for just going to school to give me the projects I sometimes left. Thank you so much Ma, Pa. I would not have been one of the graduates today if not for your priceless support for your son. And foremost, we give the Almighty our thanks and we offer everything up for Him for He has made all these things possible. For all the blessings He has bestowed upon us, the wonderful life, good health, and wisdom that contributed to our success. It is not too long from now that each of us will receive our high school diplomas. At this time, most of us will experience a newfound independence that is quite unfamiliar to ourselves. As we leave high school for extraordinary institutions and opportunities, the challenge is for each of us to fulfill our greatest dreams. In continuing our journey through life, we can hope for more of these times when we fail and be hurt as we expand our dreams to areas beyond high school accomplishments and into a world of possibilities. Bill Gates, one of the richest man in the world once said, Its fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." The failure in our lives would be the one to encourage us to find something that inspires us, something that might challenge us, or something that we are passionate about. Failure is the tuition we pay for success. Whatever our dream may be, it is in our control to reach it. I personally cannot wait to see the products of my classmates dreams: Shara Serdan as a senior professional associate in the World Bank, Celeste Conde as a renowned Hollywood fashion designer, Juvilene Alido as an International geologist and geoscientist, and Gerard Cabaluna as the next Marck Zuckerberg. Carissa Basiano working as Apples finance manager, Jomari Abellar as one of the worlds richest business magnate, Divina Cortez working for the World Health Organization and Charlene Aguilos as the next Jennifer Lopez. Time is not infinite so do not let yourself be persuaded that you can achieve your dreams later, begin to achieve your aspirations today as we receive our diplomas and as we leave our dear Alma Mater. The start of something new brings the hope of something great. Anything is possible.

I encourage the members of the Class of 2012 to make the most of every opportunity provided to us, and I sincerely wish that each of us would follow our individual hopes, aspirations and passions in life. Before I end this message, I would like to leave my fellow graduates a very inspiring quote from Mark Zuckerberg. Life is like Tetris sometimes good things fall apart, so better things can come together. Best wishes to all in the Class of 2012. Thank You!