“I tried to recover my shaken faith – all for my baby”
The past months were already in a blur and it was a shame that I was not able to post anything worthwhile in this page for a while now. Then I realized that it is the last day of June and I still haven’t pursued to post this inspiring message I have been very eager to share since the middle of this month. I told myself, I cannot postpone this any longer as I wanted this to reverberate to you and to myself, as I will be needing it more in the coming days.
The rest of this blog will be words from an extraordinary, smart, and probably one of the most resilient supermoms I know. It was her persistence and unique conviction that has really imprinted on me since knowing her from our organization back in College. We have been very good friends since then but what brought us even closer were the days we became family women and moms to our child. Her being a public school teacher, a youth-leader, a daughter, a sister and being a single-mother to her now toddler after going through the toughest of times is something that only a really strong “woMOM” can pull off – and that is truly admirable of her.
Now, I am beyond grateful for her in allowing me to share her story through this post – with the aim to reach more momillennials and think about the value of true LEADERSHIP and ACCEPTANCE. This message were excerpts of the speech she rendered as Keynote Speaker during the Bicol Regional Awarding of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines last June 10.
May her words be the words of courage and hope to you – wherever and whatever struggles you may have now.
It is a great honor to be part of this afternoon’s event, the Regional Awarding for The Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines – Bikol. To be very honest with all, when Ate Em-em, our TOSPAC-Regional Chair invited me, I hesitated to say yes. Sabi ko, sobrang nakakapressure naman po ate lalong lalo na as a Guest Speaker at hindi ko sigurado kung kaya na ba ng puso ko na ikuwento ang istorya ng buhay ko. However, I just cannot say NO to TOSP. So, I chose to still come here, but prefer to be a sharer, rather than a guest speaker, with the hope that imparting my experience might help you to have better ones. Now, let me share with you my TOSP story and how its impact nurtured me to be the person I am today.
It was year 2011 when we accepted the challenge to join the search for the Outstanding Students of the Philippines. Way back in college, I never thought of joining the search. I was just an active member of an organization in the University of Nueva Caceres, the Society of Junior Fellows. Yet, my “seniors”, kept inspiring me to join too. I was the only representative sent by UNC. Luckily, I was picked to be part of the Regional Finalists. I was already so happy then. Sobrang proud na ako na nakapasok sa regionals pero dinagdgan pa ni Lord, I became part of the Top 4 finalists and qualified for the paper screening for the Nationals. Then, two of us made it to the Top 30. I and Domar were very lucky to witness the 50th celebration of the TOSP as a search and the 10th year of the TOSPAC as an Alumni Community.
As a 20 year-old young lady, raised in a not so well-off family, I am happy that I made my parents proud. My father was a construction worker and my mother then was a domestic helper in UAE.
Sabi ko ki Lord, OK na po ako Lord.
Kahit umuwi ako na wala sa TOP 10, sulit na. May passess din kami makapasok sa Malacanang Palace with my parents. Sobrang saya and thankful. When the emcees started calling the TOP 10, you can feel the excitement. Pero relax nalang ako, hindi na ako nag-eexpect nang kung ano pa man. When my picture was flashed on the screen, I thought nagkamali lang sila but when my name was called again, I stood up and proudly went up the stage with my proud papa.
So, what comes next, after TOSP? On my personal perspective, it gave me bigger lens to see my nation’s need for young leaders who will work for nation-building. Nakakatuwa pero nakakapressure at the same time. Nakakatuwa dahil nakahanap ka ng mas malaking network kung saan maaari mong ibahagi ang pagbabago na gusto mong gawin para sa bayan. Nakakapressure dahil sa mataas na expectation sa’yo.
2013, I started to work in the Department of Education. Nagpatuloy ang nation-building sa pamamagitan ng malugod kong pagtuturo sa pampublikong paaralan at patuloy na pagsasagawa ng mga programang may layuning magdevelop ng mga batang lider. Masaya magsilbi sa bayan pero minsan, may pagmamahal na unrequited. Minsan naramdaman ko na hindi ako mahal ng bayan.
It was also 2013 when we lost our father. I had to help my mother to sustain the needs of our family. 2013 was a bittersweet year for me. Sad for the death of my father but it was also that same year when I met the love of my life, my husband. Through those years, I wholeheartedly worked as a public school teacher and continued my advocacy of Quality Education for All. 2017, we got married. That was the happiest day of my life. However, I never thought that the following year would be the toughest year of my life. 2018, I gave birth to my baby, and after exactly a month and a day, my husband passed away due to a car accident. I felt that I lost every strength I got – I lost everything.
I suddenly became a widow at age 26.
My mind was bombarded with so many questions. Why me, Lord? Why us? Why him, a very loving husband and father? I concentrated on my situation where I came to the point that I blamed Him, I blamed God for putting me in this situation.
As months passed by, I tried to pull myself back. I tried to gather my strength to continue living. I tried to recover my shaken faith, all for my baby.
I realized I am still lucky to have my very adorable AA. I am so lucky as well to have a supportive family, especially my MAMA. She’s with me right now. She couldn’t attend our awarding ceremonies back then for she was overseas, in UAE. I am lucky to have supportive in-laws and friends who stayed with me.
Having this biggest challenge of my life, I realized that building your CORE is very important.
You can never tell what lies ahead so you must always prepare yourself for every challenge that is tossed into you. I realized leadership is not only serving the nation but also being able to stand for yourself and finding the courage to move forward amidst any challenge that you are facing. Leadership is not only the passion for striving for excellence but also finding the strength of accepting your fate, that not everything will happen according to what you planned and desired it to be.
We can only do so much but the rest is beyond our control.
Anyhow, be brave enough. Always be brave enough. You should be able to find a reason to go on. As for me, I found it from those two mighty little arms, from the innocent smile and the most wonderful gift God has given me, my Amarah Guia.
To the finalists, welcome to the TOSP-Alumni community. I know that you are excited and at the same time nervous about the result. Yet, as your ates and kuyas have been telling you always, winning the title is not the essence of this search. Losing does not make you less of a leader as to those who will represent Bikol in the Nationals. May you continue leading and serving our Inang Bayan by pursuing your respective careers and by continuing your advocacies.
To my fellow TOSPians, especially to Ate Em-em, thank you so much for this opportunity and for always giving me a reason to go back to TOSP.
Lastly, to everyone, who already have their own families or soon will have your own, let us be models of happy families where love is always felt. The heart of nation-building must start at home.
We are leaders and good leadership must start from home.
To end this, may I leave my favorite saying from Franklin D. Roosevelt, “There are many ways of moving forward, but only one way of standing still”. God bless everyone. Padagos lang kita. Viva Bicolandia! Viva Pilipinas!
By: Arleen Delos Reyes – Evasco, Senior High School Public School Teacher II, Camarines Sur National High School. She is an awardee of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines 2011. She now studies her Ph Degree in Education, major in Physics in UP – Open University. She is a daughter, a mom to her beautiful baby girl Amarah Guia and still a wife to the best guardian angel she can ever have – his late husband, Arkhie.
