To our guests, clinical instructors, parents, fellow student nurses, good

afternoon. As much as possible I want this event to be remembered by

everyone present here.
Three weeks prior to this enormous event Maam Trizza called my
attention while I was busy organizing all my stuffs needed for the application
for graduation. I thought she was going to hand me over some paper works
or run an errand for her but instead she had given me a task of speaking my
side of the story about how I had surpassed difficulties asked on me by this
profession.
H. Stanley Judd once said and I quote, Dont be afraid to fail, dont
waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to
the next challenge. Its Ok to fail, if youre not failing, youre not growing
Ill start this by a confession that as of this very moment I feel nervous.
Never had I imagined myself talk in front of many so please bear with me as I
share my experiences as a nursing student. Well, its not the Me, myself and
I concept included in this story telling session but I do know that in some
parts of my monologue, most of my batch mates share the common
endeavor I had in this promenade towards the career I had made
commitment with.
My family belongs to a middle class and my father had been a good
provider. All the things I wanted, it may be a necessity or not will be given
just like a piece of cake. I never had problems about finances for I know that
my parents will supplicate the amount needed for all expenses required in
school. I was selfish way back then I never been that sensitive of how they
can come up with the amount Ill need in school. They have met all my
demands and they have pinned all their hopes on me, believing that Ill be
their ticket to a more prosperous life.
Curiosity kills the cat as what they say and as that cat I killed that
hope of a brighter tomorrow. Life has never been that easy on me, for at the
age of 19 I became pregnant. (pause) Realization comes thereafter, because
of a wrong decision all I have dreamt of for my family has been shattered
into pieces. Looking back, I really wish that the ground will literally split up
and swallow me whole for I feel so helpless. This life changing event has
drained all the courage and confidence within me, leaving me with a broken
ego. I have isolated myself, and the four corners of my room had been the
mute witness for my everyday litany of torment for I feel I am a failure Wala
ako pulos nga bata, kahuluya sa akon, . I am the eldest among my seven

siblings and should have set as a good example. But how can l be a role
model when I committed transgressions that have put my family in shame?
(pause) Despite this circumstance in my life my parents continued their all
out support on me. My father known to be Mapintas a character based on
his training as military personnel, instead of punishing, hugged me and said
Inday, everything will be alright. These gestures from my Father caught me
off guard and made me realize how much they LOVED me. These show of
devotion by my tatay had somehow lighten up my depression. Because of
the stigma from unwanted pregnancy, I put myself into seclusion for I felt the
whole world is laughing at me. More so, I gave birth to a premature baby girl,
who died a year later due to a congenital anomaly. After that I spent most of
my time crying. I became more withdrawn and socially evasive.
Mindful of the hardship that my parents were doing to support us,
sometime they have to borrow money from others in order to support us. My
father has to do an extra work as an auto mechanic to help augment their
income. These odd jobs however is not enough to support our needs that
sometimes they have to literally beg from others to lend them money for us
to take our examination on time. At one point in time I decided to stop for a
year but my mom wont permit me. My parents were typically like others who
obrahon ang tanan mapatoon lang ang kabataan, according to her all of us
were worthy of continuing our education as evidenced by our very good
grades. That was another eye opener for me to make good bilang isa ka
anak, this realization made me like to eat gulay and dried fish on the table.
Due to financial constraint l need to budget the 70 pesos daily allowance
that my mother gave me. 50 for the fare and 20 for meal allowance. How
did l survive? Sa bulig sang akon mga classmates, and relatives who were
aware of my financial difficulties.(ad lib)
Words of encouragement and never losing hope on me were the
greatest motivator that my mother has instilled, for me to start anew. She
encouraged me to continue Nursing and enrolled here at UI-PHINMA. That
was 2010 then. A new environment, It is here that l could feel, l can prove
my worth, and l could end the wrong perception to those who have put me
down. By finishing my studies, l could make my family proud of me again.
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but its all about
learning to dance in the rain. I feel alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic as l
step on the gates of my new school. Due to my determination to prove
myself, I decided to accept the challenges and focus on the task at hand. My
experiences somehow made me stronger, more prepared for any

eventualities though at first my comfort zone was studying and staying in the
library. I was basically a loner during my early days of adjustment. My
classmate Mayang as l fondly called Ms. Hismania and Grace Arellano,
became my first acquaintance and help me adjust and later introduce me to
my other classmates, the rest is history.
As years passed, I was able to adjust to a demand of being nursing
student, the never ending requirements, the activities and other endeavors
related to our calling. At some point we thought, we would have a nervous
breakdown, I even told my mother this line Ma, daw mabuang ko ah. But
mama said you cant cross that thin line between sanity and insanity, para
mapakita mo sa iban nga kaya mo. Those encouraging words were like a
rainbow after the rain. It made me believe on myself and what l can do as a
person. Really mothers know best.
Well dear listeners I dont want to break the solemnity of this
ceremony. Life is like What l just told were the depressed side of my journey
in life. Now, I will cross the happy moments of my life. The manic state.
Most of us were strangers to one another but as the time goes on, we
quickly bonded and became a family. We had all our firsts here. Our first
demonstration on the vital signs, I can still remember the shaking of the
thermometers, auscultating for the heartbeat, not knowing if its still our
classmates heart were hearing out or our very own palpitation. This was the
first time of hearing the korotkoff sound and appreciating its significance
while obtaining the blood pressure of a hypertensive client in the wards we
were exposed to. Return demonstrations could make us execute the Levine
sign signifying a future angina or worst myocardial infarction prompted by
our terror clinical instructors. We endured and nailed every procedure like a
real pro thus making us confident and competent in performing nursing
interventions.
We had our first rotation with our very first patient, the introduction
done in simulation rooms had been applied along with the intonation and
stress points because of the word RAPPORT. Our first time in assisting a
natural birth and there we learned the ED FIrE ErE. The first time a patient
says, thank You and realizing all the tiredness had been swept away,
realizing the contentment of being a nurse (minus the license). There were a
lot of first steps and frankly speaking our first steps felt scary, a little
unsteady and now all those firsts are merely second nature as we step to
another chapter of our life as future nurses. We took every challenge our

instructors had in store for us. We exemplify a great deal of determination,

persistence, initiative and creativity as we burned every candle we had, to
study every disease some would even use nagsusunog ng kilay maybe
thats the reason some had used their eyebrow pencil to hide their bald
eyebrows just to finish the physical assessment and nursing care plans on
time. (ad lib)

Certainly, we have many to thank for bringing us to this day; I would

like to thank also all the clinical instructors who have honed us, imparting to
us all that they have learned it may be in the four walls of our room or in the
wards of hospitals where we affiliate. To maam Judelyn Grace Dulla Oribe
thank you for always meeting us half-way, although Kami ang batch nga
budlay palanggaon we all know that you loved us Huya Ka lang Maam
hambalon, for you will not sit long hours in your aquarium making blueprints
for many activities which all of us your students could benefit from. Thank
you for as we leave this institution we will always remember your patience as
you endured every activity we had not minding your own personal problems
just to share to us all of what youve got. We will forever be in gratitude for
all of you had been part of what we are becoming now.
In these four years of being a nursing student I have learned that life
can never be that colorful without these individuals who in one way or
another had made me realize that my life was boring and maybe it was time
for me to have fun. I learned to let go of myself and learn to smile and laugh
like theres no tomorrow. We often commit mistakes but thats all part of
growing up. There is a saying that states trials and difficulties were
designed to make you better, stronger person. Indeed those were what
made us better today. These friends were actually the real ones Thank you
gals and guys for the endless

To my mama and to my tatay for being so supportive of me and who

often complains that my course is expensive. Although my tatay is like that
still he would loan money just for this expensive course of mine and I offer to
them my diploma to you. You do know that your own struggles will always be
remembered by us your children. Palangga ko kamo mama kag tatay!.
Salamat po (chichay)! To my sister Maam Nene thank you for sponsoring
everything I am wearing now. I am really blessed with all of you around me I

know now that I can face every obstacle with heads up, proud of these
accomplishments.