10/09/2025
๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐:
"๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ"
His fingers are curled tight with the fabric of his gloves creaking faintly with each step. The air inside throbs with the soft beat of footsteps as a sea of white uniforms moves toward the stage. Some blink to hold back tears, while others bit their lips to hide excited smiles. A tremor of emotions โ his nerves, his sigh of relief, and overflowing pride โ ripples through the procession like wind across calm water.
Amidst the glint of brass buttons and the symmetry of crisp caps, one figure moves differently. His pace is unhurried with each deliberate step as if he could trap time in the space between his white shoes and the floor. His gaze seems to pierce through the covered gymโs ceiling into a sky he could only see. A dignified retrospection captured his psyche with powerful moments stitched from sweat, sacrifice and long nights that had carried him at this exultant moment.
At 5:00 am, Edrianโs day begins with the hiss of boiling water and the bitter scent of instant coffee curling through the air. He eats last nightโs leftover rice in quiet bites while looking at his neatly pressed uniform hanging by the bed. At 7:00 a.m., he is at his seat. With his head bowing over the ink trails on his notebook and puzzle of numbers, he memorizes the parts of a ship as if they are song lyrics in repeat.
When the lecture ends, his steps carry him straight to the university lab where a ton of computers greet him. In this four-cornered room, he wipes down dust, aligns chairs, and runs errands that stack one after another. Going from one room to another just to fulfill his responsibilities as a student assistant feels like waves in a relentless sea. Chores fill the rest of his hours. Yet, he shoulders them without complaint. He sees each task as a grip in the long rope he relentlessly climbs in order to realize the better life he imagines at sea.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ: ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ . Inside the campus, Edrian sits in class with tired eyes and worn-out body. Yet, his mind stays sharp, catching every word and every equation as if each one was in a lifeline. Beyond the school gates, he trades books for odd jobs like being an event mascot and chases every gig that might keep the rent paid, the pantry stocked, and school fees settled.
Fatigue clings to him like a shadow, but he greets clients with the same smile he brings to friends. Failure in either role is a luxury he cannot afford. ๐
๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง, ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ โ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒโ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐. And so, day after day, the curtains rise and he plays both parts flawlessly without missing a step.
For Edrian, life had never been about choosing what to eat โ it was about when there was something to eat at all. ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐. ๐๐๐ญ, ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ. He turned circumstances into hunger for success and used his family as his indelible inspiration that one day he can give them a decent life they deserved.
Even in darkness, kindness found him. Through the steady encouragement of his peers, he began to stitch together his will to keep going. Along the way, he discovered an unexpected solace โ cooking. What began as a distraction to soothe deep emotional scars soon became both a source of comfort and means of survival, bringing him enough income to cover his daily needs.
Blessings sometimes come unexpectedly. For Edrian, it began on what seemed just like another day of selling snacks and drinks around the campus. Somewhere in the crowd, a flash of light from a camera caught him off-guard. But, he brushed it off and kept moving, eager to make another sale.
Days later, a notification chimed on his phone โ a message from a news outlet asking to feature him in an article. He agreed, thinking little of it. But after the story was published, the post was flooded with comments from people who saw and admired the efforts behind his daily grind. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ, ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐.
The blessings didnโt stop there. Soon after, he was one of the few students recommended to a maritime company โ a possible stepping stone toward a more secure future at sea. But, fate tested him during the final interview when the interviewer asked why his ROTC grade was pinned at 79. Edrian answered honestly by saying: โWorking student ako that time, and ga-duty kag raket ako every weekend. Amu na kis-a late kag kis-a absent ako.โ
He left thinking he had lost his chance. Yet, as he said: โOne thing Iโve learned in my journey is that God always provides, even in ways we donโt expect.โ Against the odds, his name appeared on the list of the selected cadets. There he learned that not all blessings look good at first but some are just disguised. They are just simply waiting for the right time to show themselves as true gifts.
Edrian is just one drop in the vast sea of an estimated 216,000 college students who balance the tides of work and academics, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In a world where some are pushed to the edge and forced to choose between sailing toward the promise of a brighter future or anchoring their dreams due to the weight of financial burdens, the choice becomes never easy. Yet, ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ , ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ.
A gentle hand softly clasped his arm and Edrian was pulled from his thoughts and back into the present. He turned to see the figure beside himโhis motherโher eyes glistening with pure and unyielding tears. Side by side, they marched through the sea of graduates, each step bringing them closer to the final moment that would close a chapter written in perseverance, sacrifice, and triumph.
And to anyone walking the same difficult road Edrian once did, he leaves these simple yet powerful words: โ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ค๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฌ. Because for Edrian, and for every working student, the struggle is not just to survive โ but to arrive and claim oneโs dreams.
๐
๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐จ
๐๐ก๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ค๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐จ๐ง
