My High School Graduation Speech: Graduating in the Peak of Pandemic

“Do everything in love.”
1 Corinthians 16:14
If there’s one word than will wrap up my six-year high school journey is the word “love”. Everything that surrounds me, everything that motivates me, everything I dream, everything I did and everything I want to do is all for and because of love.
Ever since I was a little child, I already am a very passionate and a very ambitious girl. I went to school when I was 2, learned to read when I was 3, and started hosting school and municipal events when I was 5. At a very young age, I already knew what I love the most. I already knew what I want to become, and I was already sure about it. No what-ifs. No buts. No doubts. I wrote my story and now I’m making it happen.
I grew up becoming a very bubbly, confident, and a very passionate girl. I dreamed and aimed high. I continued hosting school events ‘til I became a freelance host for weddings, debut, and various events. I chased my theater dream, studied theater arts in junior high, tried out auditions, competed in a national acting contest. Spent almost a decade of my life in journalism, learned a lot, and found my passion. The past two years, I really pushed myself to the limits, tried to do the very best I can on my academic career. I’ve always thought that opportunities only knock once, so I make sure I’ll never miss a single door. That’s me. Every contest I’ll be asked to join, every ‘raket’ offered to me, I don’t know how to say no.
As much as how nice as it sounds, things get harder than I thought. Last year, I had my first online job as an executive assistant in a social media managing company based in San Diego, California. It literally was one of the most wonderful thing that I did, I experienced and learned a lot of things. I even bought my own laptop and phone, the first big thing that I bought from my own sweat. It was so overwhelming to treat my family for the first time with my own money. But of course it became so hard to balance everything. There were times that I was pressured and torn between school and work loads. The time zone was so hard, I had a lot of sleepless nights. There are nights that I had a really bad and stressful day, I was so tired from school but when I got back home, as much as I wanted to rest, I can’t... because there’s no absent or excuse from work. There was one time that I skipped class for a week, took a break from everything because I couldn’t handle it anymore. I fought a lot of battles that nobody knew. I cried a lot of times that nobody heard. Only the tip of the iceberg will be seen: the rewards, the results… but real success, for me, is the part of the iceberg that is hidden, the weak side of us that we never let others see, the hard work, the sacrifice, the risks, the tears, the heavy breaths, the hopelessness and hardships we overcame. Those are the things, the intangible ones, that I am proudest of.
It was love who kept my dream alive. I love my dream too much that giving up never became a choice. And it was love that made me who I am today. It was love who inspired and motivated me to be this determined and passionate. It was the love of the people who love me and has always been and will always be a believer of me.
To my parents, Mama Akhing and Papa Roy, the most special gift parents can give their children is the gift to study and to do the thing they love. I cannot thank you enough for this present…. Ever since I was a kid, you always let me do everything in my own ways. You have always supported me morally, financially, and emotionally, I thank you for helping me sail through. It is the result of your hard work and the values that you have instilled in me that today. As I always say, please wait until the day comes that I can pay back all your efforts and sacrifices.
To my brothers, to my Olmedo and Lobitos Family, my teachers and coaches, my friends and classmates, I can never thank you enough for the things that you do for me.
Above all, I thank God for giving me strength to overcome adversity, to do what’s right for the benefit of the greater good, to rise above negativity. For giving me wisdom and bliss, I know that without him I couldn’t do anything. I forever thank God for all the good that has happened in my life, especially for my happiness and that of those around me.
This is not the ending, but a new beginning of a greater journey. I will continue writing this story and make this a reality. I will continue living my life with the love of the Lord and my loved ones, and I will never stop doing everything with love.
Gwyn Kelly Olmedo Lobitos
With High Honors
Humanities and Social Sciences
Sto. Tomas National High School
Class of 2020

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Kakak man keyoo !!!