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Essay on Academic Performance. Noli de Castro Academic Excellence Awards.

A BATTLE FOR REWARDS


It was Friday morning and the roosters have already cackled their hundredth song. I woke up with a clear mind even though the last few days were just plain torture. It was the last day of our periodic examinations but it’s already past eight and by that time, I would have missed the first test.

My mother greeted me as though she woke up in the wrong side of the bed. She did not smile as wide as yesterday’s, one could deduct that in that afternoon, AKELCO (Aklan Electric Corporation) would disconnect us unless we find a way to pay the bill. Mother was angry, that I’m sure of.

I’m already in uniform when I finally found a little smirk in her face, it was a little smile, and nonetheless, it signaled something good.

Instead of heading to school, I went to an elementary, there, my teacher was waiting for me- she thought I might never come. I was supposed to be in school for a periodic exam, but there I am, ramming my head in a different door.

I was there for a Science Quiz Bee, and as always, my teachers are praying for the best. I went to church the day before, hoping that I might come into divine intervention, but I know that the outcome would all be up to me.

An hour has past and ten questions have been thrown. And in the end, my score totaled to 10. There were about five who settled with 13, and one, supposedly the champion, with 16. I’m six points away from the champion. All my efforts went in vain. My teachers smiled as though they were about to stab me in the neck.

But, there was indeed divine intervention. When all was about to finish, I remembered clearly that there was an error in the way they tabulated my scores, my answer in one of the five “Difficult” questions was right but they forgot to consider that. I stood up with that in mind and stated my reasons, after that, I got three points. That’s 13.

Still, I’m three points short. But after a series of fortunate events, they found out that my last answer in the last “Difficult” question was one letter short of their supposed answer. The question, “What chemical compound contributes to the spicy taste of chili peppers?” Their answer was capsalcin, mine’s was capsaicin… and after 15 minutes of deliberation with numerous chemistry and science teachers plus a home economics teacher they thought could settle their debate along with the Division Science Supervisor, the verdict comes to my favor. I got 16.

Now, I only have to beat the champion in our own personal battle. The clincher round came up with three questions, and in the end, there’s still a draw, with only one question correct.

It’s time for do-or-die; the judges were desperate that they called upon the deciding round. The question goes somehow similar to this, “What planet has a longer day than a year?” Well, with God’s grace, I remembered our first year Earth Science lesson. I remembered it so, so clearly, the answer is none other than Venus.

And the moment we have been waiting for, would there still be another round? Or is everything finally over? I sat with Venus firmly written in my paper, with my opponent clinging to Mercury. And that was it.

It was indeed Venus. I’m just plain speechless that when they called me unto the pedestal to give a little speech, it took me seconds to remember my coach’s name. Truly, God was there to help me come up with my answers. The smile in my coach’s face was indefinable; it was the only time that day that she can finally breathe easily.

Taking a ride home, it brings me joy to see that the lights are still on.

Nobody greeted me. And as though I was just an invisible apparition, I walked through the walls unheard. Then, my mother finally noticed me.

She greeted me with a warm tone, asking me about our periodic exams- I never told her about the contest.

Then, when I showed her the customized gold medal, as though the bill collector never came, she smile one more time hanging the medal in the trophy I won in a pageant as Lakan ng Wika ’04 in my elementary.

The joy you see in you mother’s eyes or the almost unseen smile you see in your father’s face every time you bring home another award, as little as it may be, is a sight incomparable. When a child garners a medal, his mother looks at it as a victory of her own and to his father, it is a triumphant gesture.

However, success is but a short-lived purpose, accomplishments are false-promises and experiences are mere memories that fade upon the virtue of another. Neither they nor man can define or state a person. Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced by most, but for me, experiences are teachers that mold me into the nature that I am today. Success, too, is a powerful venture, to strive for success is a constant endeavor in which I am currently at heart.

Though I try to become a man of value, rather than a man of success, I cannot say that I am independent to it. Accomplishments and achievements are indeed material things, but they are one of our strongholds in life, we fought hard to reach the apex of our ambitions, and through this we build up our dignity, our values and our tomorrow.

I am a winner not because I have won many awards, brought home many medals and certificates but because I fought hard for these little battles in life. I picked battles big enough to matter, small enough to win, I know my limitations, I know where I must start and I know where I must end.

Perhaps one of the most memorable battles is those where you fail at but someday accomplish. These are the battles that give a person their will to triumph over their failures.

It was my first year in high school; I am just another student waiting for his turn to be picked out of the many more raising their hands for a single recitation. When I was finally picked, they picked me not to write on the board but to answer this question, “Would you like to go to Manila?”

At that moment, I immediately said yes. It was a great opportunity, everything was free, the fare, the food, the lodging, and let’s not forget that we would be riding in an airplane. That would be my first ever airplane flight in my entire life.

The moment I told that to my parents, they were plain ecstatic. I can see the “flashing lights” in their over-excited eyes… however, it was immediately followed with these word, “To, ‘wa a kami it ipabaeon kimo kara. Paalin ron? (To, we’re sorry but we can’t promise you any pocket money. What’s now?)” It was ok; at least the ride is free.

A week before that, my mother immediately contacted my tita telling her that I would be going to Manila, and even though my tita is suffering from problems of her own, she tried her best to send some help, enough to buy me a suit case for the five-day affair.

A day after that, the school showed us our check worth 19 thousand pesos- the biggest single amount of money I have ever touched. And when the big day came, there was mixed emotions. That day, I carried my “late” cell phone my mother gave me as a graduation gift, and my newly-bought suitcase fully-packed with clothes and toiletries. I walked through the aisle of the Cebu Pacific fuselage, seated in the window sit, and along the way, I never missed a minute looking through the window to the clouds.

On that five-day event, so many, many things have happened in just a brief period of time. Since SM is just a walk away from the place we’re staying, every night, we would be strolling around its air-conditioned shelter. And even though the only thing I was able to buy is a Kiwi Shoe Polish, I was happy knowing that the experience is priceless. There is nothing more beautiful than knowing that you are blessed even though you only have the little things in life.

There, my uncle visited me; it has been a year since we have not seen each other. Their family had already settled there in a small house, typical of a Manila suburban home and that trip served as a little family reunion.

That was my first airplane flight.

Little did I know that that single airplane flight was not the end of it all, there would be more, there would be eleven more, well, at least for now. The second flight is just five days away, when we need to go back home, exhausted from the trip. And by that time, the worth of a single ride home is just as exiting as the first time you are nearest the clouds. That was the very first Science-Mathematics Congress for Regional Science High Schools.

No one could surely think that one study could give you a chance to fly. This would happen for the two next years. On the second year, I have been a delegate of the Second Science-Mathematics Congress for Regional Science High Schools, now in Surigao City.

The venue was actually a hotel, and the ambience was plainly of comfort. That time, our research was “Utilization of Discarded Sawdust and Rice Hulls as Decorative Concrete Tiles,” it did not actually win but the aura of the event was very memorable. The sense you fell in an event like that is one you can’t really put into words.

During that trip, I was able to meet a distant relative on my mother’s side. It was a family reunion once again. I never knew that I had relatives as far as Surigao, but I did. To be honest, they were just as financially-disheveled as we are, but the joy of meeting a distant uncle, a distant aunt and a distant cousin is greater than what you feel joy-riding in the shuttle buses of Surigao. There was an exchange of faces and pictures, to remind us of that day we finally saw each other.

The trip ended but the memories resonated from its core.

There was another trip, it’s not all over yet and this trip would be one of the most blessed by far. This time, we would surely take the center stage. This time, we would bring home an award and not just a second-to-the-last-honorable-mention award but a first place, a championship.

Our research was entitled “Antimicrobials from Makahiya Leaf Decoction,” it was a simple research, it did not deal with radiation or cancer research but the research was “beautifully” done. Actually, the one who really worked really, really hard for that is our fourth year group mate, since I was only third year back then. However, I did my part and I knew that it also contributed to that success.

Now, it was in Zamboanga City- the Third National Science-Mathematics Congress for Regional Science High Schools.

The week before, proved to be much exhausting. We practiced day and night for the research defense, we practiced until our noses bled and our eyes turned blood-red, not really, but it’s pretty much almost the same. We were asked over and over again.

“What motivated you to conduct this study,” our research adviser and research consultant would ask. We would answer, “The researchers were motivated co conduct this study due to the fact that… “

But it was all too different when it comes to the real thing, the questions were the same but answering them is a lot harder. You think that you know your research fully well but when it comes to the panel of the board of judges, you’ll remember that you don’t really know your research that well.

You’ll think that your research is simply perfect word-for-word, but when you give your research to the over-speculative eye of the judges, they’ll surely give you a problem, they will try their best to find any possible error, may it be clerical or just a little typo. There is no typo for these kinds of people, letter-by-letter, everything must be perfectly done.

But our research was perhaps the best of what were submitted. And since we poured our hearts, sweat and pockets for that 73-paged paper, God gave us the chance. And thanks to Him, we brought home a plaque with tears of joy.

Now, I’m just waiting for an opportunity to become a part of the fourth one.

Still, there are more difficult things in a student’s life than joining contests. Contests and similar activities are just side dishes in the great fiesta of secondary education. The real main course is the academics, consisting of 70% while extra-curricular of 30% if you want to be in the honors list.

Being the valedictorian is a great challenge. Well, for one, being in the top puts you into the spotlight, it puts you in unnerving situations but, it gives you a will to strive for your best and the determination to win the challenge.

So, what does it mean to be the valedictorian, the top of the honors list?

First, it says that you have worked so, so hard in achieving what you are in now. You have done your best to be in that place and you’ve certainly achieved what you have dreamed of. You had a will to carry on that goal and you certainly achieved that. And for me, it says that even though I am not that fortunate in terms of financial-capability, I can still prove to them that I can do it. Money is not a hindrance to a person who knows what he’s worth.

Second, it might give you unwanted attention. It means that many people are watching you, either watching you win of fail. It means that you are expected to keep up with your grades that you need to stay on top. If you fall a step, there will be many people crying with you and there will also be many people laughing at you. It is certainly not a good place to be in.

Third, it is a spot where your competitions stare at you head on. Being in a school where there are many smart and talented students, it’s hard not to have “enemies” for the honors list. Sure, you may be friends- even best friends in your class but both of you will definitely try to outdo each other in class cards- you have your own personal battlefield to settle with. However, let us not put honors in the way of friendship, friends are certainly more important than grades. Grades will only give you a grading period’s worth of happiness, while real friends will last you for life.

The last, single-most important aspect of being in the top of the honors list, or being in any part of the honors list at all, is the joy you bring to your parents, to your supporters, your loved-ones and even “fans,” it you have some.

The most beautiful moment you can ever see in an ending ceremony, be it a recognition or a graduation is the part where you see you mother, your father or even your grandparents come into the center stage to hang your medal in your excited neck. For them, it is a moment worth reminiscing for the rest of their lives. It is a moment where they know that they have raised you well.

That’s why it’s important to keep your position as stable as possible. Any fluctuation, any discrepancies, any small variation might trigger “catastrophic” events, especially when you have retained that position for the past nine consecutive years. Well, if in the first grading you don’t succeed, try and try again.

And that I did, several times. Well, that only happened during the elementary years and thank God, I did not have those kinds of problem during my first three years of high school until now.

To be honest, I, for one, cannot deny the fact that I’m just human. I can’t do everything and I certainly can’t do all the things I wish to achieve. But one things for sure, I can do my best. Sometimes, you fall but let us not forget that one failure is just a little road block in your life that you can pass through, if you have the guts.

Conquer, but don’t triumph, and you will be shaped into a man you want to be. Have faith in God and you can never fall, you will never fail. I have had many experiences, my accomplishments, many achievements, and all of those, helped me to define myself, to shape myself and to guide me in my path today.

I see myself as a writer, an artist of inkblot thoughts. My canvases are the pages of paper to which I try to extend my individuality. I have entered many writing and journalism contests, from my elementary years to the Tukib (one of my first journalism seminars) to the DSPC, the Golden Pen Awards, the RSPC, and the PIA Basic Journalism Seminar.

All of which helped me in my writing “career,” I became a news writer, an essayist, a poet, a feature writer, an editorial writer, a lay-out artist, a cartoonist, and a lot more in the literature of my life. There, I knew that I can show my thoughts not just through my voice, my actions, but also through my words.

Then, I see myself as a logical thinker, a mathematician perhaps- a man of numbers and logic, a man of reason. I have shaped myself through the help of the decimal points, the complex numbers, the fractions, and “abstract reasoning.” When you are in contests, you can’t help but remember all that you have studied, all the books that you have slaved over. When I am in the stage preparing for the extemporaneous speaking contests, I try to remember all the words in my head, to construct a sentence, to make a reason, to make an argument. It shaped me into a man of reason.

I see myself as a scientist, a biologist, a chemist, a physicist. I have met many competitions where I hit my head with encyclopedias and science journals; it carried me through my years as a Regional Science High School student. It gave me insight of the world. I discover new things; I create new things and see more things.

Of all of this, one experience stands out from all the others- my education. Starting at home, to my Elementary years then in the Regional Science High School for Region VI, my education is not merely a path for learning but a path to life. Education builds me for who I mostly am today. My high school years in the RSHS-VI showed me the wonders of being a teen, being a friend, and being a student. Perhaps, that’s one of the most significant highlight in my academic life.

I am a brother, a friend, and a son- with this, I know that I have somebody to lean on, and I have somebody to comfort me when I’m down. Well, new innovations create new insights to the world. New discoveries lead to many more. And as I enter more and more events and scenes in everyday life, I can’t help but become more of who I am.

I have been to many places and many sights. It is only through these that I feel more and hear more. Because of this, I have acquired more experiences, more knowledge, and more wisdom. But the very experiences that have moved me so much are not that in Surigao, or in Zamboanga, but those of my everyday mistakes, and the everyday simple experiences that I see, touch, and fell in the playgrounds of everyday, in school and in home. Not the trophies, the medals and the praises, but the time I spend with myself, my friends, and my family. The times I see them smile because of all the achievements they helped me achieve.

We often discover what is correct, by finding out what we have done wrong; and probably he who never made a mistake, never made a discovery. I, for one, made many mistakes, and through this I made many discoveries, learned, relearned and unlearned many things in my life. Only those who ever dared to fail greatly can achieve greatly!

I picked battles big enough to matter, small enough to win, I know my limitations, I know where I must start and I know where I must end.

I know that I will face more challenges, and through God, I know that I can bear all of them. My faith is my shield and arms; I conquer more battles with God.

There’s nothing a prayer can’t give you. Perhaps all the medals, certificates and trophies I came up with is from those prayers. Everything I am today was only achieved by God’s graces.

ACBN
Nominee, The Vice President Noli de Castro Academic Excellence Awards