28 October 2014

Three boys and a lesson

I wrote this speech for my first Toastmasters Speech: Ice Breaker



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Life is our best teacher and the people we come across remind us of the important lessons that life has to share. There are 3 boys in my life that reminds me of an important life lesson:  “We don’t always get what we want but we get what we deserve”.

When I was in grade school, the top 10 of the class is a huge deal. There were years when I did not make the top 10 and some years I did, ranking from 8th to the 10th. I’ve always envied Jeffrey. He’s not the typical geek in class but he’s always number 1, a legend. He was one of the popular guys, good at sports, a member of the dance club and outgoing. I wanted not be like him but to beat him. But ranking 10th in class for the most part seemed like shooting at the stars. At a young age I learned that we don’t always get what we want but we get what we deserve. I convinced myself that impossible does not exist. And so I studied hard, participated more in class and got good marks. By the end of 6th grade, I graduated first in class and was the only one who beat Jeffrey.

In high school I met Oliver. He was a varsity player who has a great smile. We were classmates since freshmen year. Every year, a ballroom dance number is performed by each class for the finals. Each is assigned a partner for the dance and each year, I hoped of being paired with Oliver but I wasn’t. Senior year is a bit more special. The dance is performed at the prom and is a competition among other senior classes. Practices are longer and there are more preparations. I was absent when the pairing was done so I know there’s no chance that I can be paired with Oliver. When I got back in school the next day, it turned out Oliver and I were both absent when the class was assigned their partners and so we were paired by default. Indeed, we don’t always get what we want but we get what we deserve.

I had my first boyfriend when I was in college. He was a working student at my dad’s company and because I hang out at my dad’s office every day after class, we became close. It was a whole new feeling and I was happy. The relationship did not last long as I found out that he was cheating on me. And so my first heartbreak led me to a 7 long years of choosing not to be involved with boys. I focused on my studies, finished my degree and took my licensure exam. I started working and met a lot of men but had no interest in them more than friendship. I would hang out at my best friend’s house every Friday after work and sleep over after a few drinks with our other friends. He would always talk about his other best friend who left town to study. He said that this best friend is graduating and will be coming back for good. My best friend introduced me to his other best friend, and his name is Bong. Soon enough we got close and he started to show interest on me. I never liked the idea of getting romantically involved with friends and I didn’t like him at first but I knew I had to take a chance in love again. He was indeed worth the7 years wait because he is everything I’ve imagined myself to be with for the rest of my life. But then, I had to move in Canada. And judging from his past relationships, long distance never worked for him. We don’t always get what we want but we get what we deserve. Surprisingly, he waited patiently and in fact next year after my birthday, I am flying to the Philippines to get married.

It is true that we don’t always get what we want at the time that we wanted it. But it’s also true that we get what we deserve if we work hard for it, just like how I beat Jeffrey; if we wish enough for it to happen, just like how I got paired with Oliver; and if we become patient and trust in people just like what I did when I met Bong.