Writing an autobiography seems to be challenging. Why? It is because you need to know yourself.

And I believe that every person knows himself/herself. Likewise, you have to keep track on what good things and events had happened in your life. Though unfortunate things are hard to accept, these are still part of your life. You have to overcome it. Stand out. You can do it. This is a synopsis of my approach to knowledge learning and eventual career goals.  I know within myself that I am a gifted and talented person. I am very thankful to the Lord that He gave me many talents to share with others. I can play different kinds of musical instruments, especially the keyboard ones such as a piano or an organ.  I really love to sing. Almost every afternoon, after going home from school, I turn on my music player and start to sing with it.  I am a member of a choir in OLGP Grace Park. I frequently go there for singing practices and other concerns, even sacrificing my studies just for practices.

When I’m bored, I sleep. Eat, sleep, eat, and sleep – a habitual pattern in my life. If I can’t sleep, I switch on the computer and do lots of stuffs, I even forget what homework to do! I also like to play games. Any game will do as long as I can play it. I can tell that I am smart. Sometimes, my classmates ask help from me, which I always humbly accept. I am a member of the NDGM HS Publication Club. I am assigned there to be the Layout Artist of the club. Aside from layouting, I facilitate meetings whenever we have club activity periods. When the moderator or the Editor-in-Chief is not around, I volunteer myself to be a temporary leader and facilitator.  I’m very glad that my club-mates accept me as their leader besides the moderator and the higher officers. All these things are tough jobs. I better get rest in some times.

When I rest, I recall memories in the past that strike me most such as my being always the brightest student from Nursery to Kinder Two in St. Cecilia Pre-school, Quezon City. As far as I can remember, I had almost all the gold medal awards and first honor certificates. My parents were very grateful to me when I received those awards.  Then I transferred to NDGM when I turned to Grade One. It was a new environment, another place to learn. I started to belong in the cream class when I was in Grade Two. Until Grade Six, I remained in the first sections but my highest achievement was only Top 16. Though it was still low for me, my parents rewarded me for a good job well done.

During my previous high school years, the process of development and formation started. I became a more conscious person and a more religious person. Those were also the days when I started to become mature. I can distinguish very well if there’s a problem on something or not, especially in emotional problems. I can say that I became a better person when I started high school and realized my mistakes so that I could avoid them next time.

Life is full of changes. Sometimes, we change in our preferences and the likes. I experienced a very striking change in my life that I won’t forget. Years back, my father used to work on a business. But that business shut down because of too many conflicts. That left my mother, being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), to work alone for the family to survive. My mother is working every night and every day. Sometimes, she doesn’t sleep anymore. That keeps me worrying. More and more responsibilities came to me as the eldest child. Sometimes, I even call her at her office very late at night just to say: “Ma, you need to rest. Please.” I don’t like the situation of my family now. For God so loved the world, my mother is still very energetic until now. If there are times that I’m not busy in my school work, I always lend a hand to my mother and help her as long as I can. It’s also a very good thing that she can sustain the needs of the family but it’s hard to save money for tuition fees in the many school years to come. Having four of us studying, it’s really difficult to divide and budget the salary in many expenses.

With that strange event, I started to think. I didn’t demand anymore for new gadgets, bags and other stuff that I want. I’m sticking in what I have for now. Later in life, I can have all the things I want. I’ll stick with the allowance I get everyday. The amount is just right for my daily expenses and I can’t manage to save some of it. I understand our situation, a very difficult one. It is said that it is through sacrifice that the soul is purified. I will help my mother. Five years from now, I will be graduating college and get a suitable job to help her save money for the tuition fees of my other siblings who are still studying. My youngest brother is still in Nursery school, thus, still many years to go. That’s a lot of money. I am inspired by my mother. She is very hard-working and the best of all, she never gives up. She continues to fight. Though my father lost his business, my mother has really, really worked hard just for us, even sacrificing her life. Seriously, I don’t want my mother to do that.

My goal in life is that I will help my mother. I will study hard. I will make her smile. I will make her happy. I will graduate from college 5 years from now. I will get a suitable job. I will earn profit. I will help my family. I will bring back those days that we live in happiness and in peace. I am the hope for the future of my family. With the help of my prayers and faith in God, someday, things will change. I believe. That with my positive approach to knowledge learning my career goals will be achieved.

(Video from youtube.com; posted by StanfordUniversity 03.07.08)

[Note: This article was written by one of the finalists for the Iglesia Science and Technology Award for 2010 at Notre Dame of Manila.]