HAVE you ever thought of giving up because you think you are not capable? Who among you thought that education is not for everybody? I did. I belong to a family that has nothing but poverty. Before, I had so many “buts” and “ifs”. I almost gave up! Nevertheless, my positive attitude towards learning and succeeding kept me going.
When I became a teacher, I have always shared the goodness of willingness and faithful attitude towards learning. I believe that education and learning are based on our personal decision and choice so even if we motivate and encourage our students to learn if they are not willing, they will not achieve the purpose of learning because the achievement of something is desired, planned, or attempted. According to the Late Life Success Theory (Garcia, 2016), “success is perceived individually and is equated with development.”
Nevertheless, if we promote individual success and welfare through various aspects of human personality and through the way they can relate to the lesson, especially in this time of the pandemic, as far as I can tell it will help the students to interact with the class. In doing so, they are learning and gaining information by sharing and learning from each other’s experiences. Since I was a child, the dialect that we were using is pure Tagalog. Tagalog was our medium of instruction and communication.
So as expected, it was very difficult for me to speak English fluently. Due to poverty, I wasn’t exposed to an English-speaking environment, so I had difficulty comprehending English before. However, I took this as a challenge to take a Bachelor of Education major in English. I know I might not capable and almost gave up. But I had to keep going. I believe that I had determination and willingness to learn from my professors, friends and experiences. In God’s grace, I was able to graduate with academic recognition and leadership award.
I know that until now, I still have a lot of flaws and mistakes but I always believe that I can improve myself through the assistance of the people around me, believing that God is there to guide me, and through continuous practice. As D. Blocher said, learning is not a spectator sport. If a person wants to master English, a person should get involved as much as possible.
As I see it, faith and determination are the two most important ingredients in reaching my dreams. I never gave up and continually strived to achieve my ambition despite the challenges that I have encountered. God is more powerful than those problems, and with my strong faith, I was able to finish college.
Truly, I was able to succeed. Furthermore, my story echoes as I continuously share my story with my students. I will forever share my story so that I can inspire and make a difference in the life of the youth-hoping to hear their own success stories soon. According to Vince Lomabardi, the price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whenever we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. (Julie Ann R. Martin)