17/02/2026
๐ผ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง 18 ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ, ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐.
My high school teacher thanked me ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ. She invited me to speak at an event she was part of, introduced me with that familiar sparkle in her eyes, and proudly said, โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐ค ๐ฃ๐!โ
In that moment, time folded.
I was a student again.
๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐ข๐โ๐๐ข, ๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช.
She looked at me and said, โ๐๐ค๐ชโ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ.โ I swear, my chest tightened. I almost broke right there. Teachers do not invest money.
๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐จ.
I remember the drills. How she pushed me to practice character impersonation until the lines carried weight. How our verse choir had to feel hunger and poverty before we could speak about them. She taught us that literature is not recited, it is lived. That to tell a beautiful story, you must carry the struggle of the character in your body and in your voice.
Imagine a teacher pouring time, patience, and belief into a student, without guarantees. Not knowing who that child will become. Not knowing if it will ever matter. And then ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ง, hearing her say with pure pride, โ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ค ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฉ๐ค.โ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐.
Without them, we are nothing.
๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ, ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐จ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ. They shape generations, quietly and faithfully.
To teachers,
your words do not end in the classroom. The encouragement you give, the kindness you show, the belief you plant, it stays. It grows. It becomes someoneโs future.
To students,
never forget this. You are someoneโs hope. One day, you will look back and realize the people who believed in you helped build the person you are now.
Sometimes success is not just about reaching your goals. It is about coming back and making the people who raised you proud.
To my teacher, my mentor, ๐๐จ. Riza G. Gea, Education Program Supervisor for English of the Division of Negros Occidental,
you thanked me,
but it is our lives that have changed.
๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช.