25/05/2026
โWE BELONG TO A GENERATION SHAPED BY CONSTANT CONNECTION โ WHERE STORIES ARE WOVEN NOT ONLY THROUGH ACADEMIC MILESTONES, BUT ALSO THROUGH THE PEOPLE WHO STAYED BESIDE US IN OUR STRUGGLES.โ
LOOK: Words imparted by the valedictorian of Batch Sidhaya, Princess Quenn P. Aguinaldo, during her legacy speech to the CSU La-lo graduates at the CICS Grounds on May 25, where she reminisced that some students started their college journey from a โmessage requestโ - a message request that was neither expected nor the path they once wanted.
Aguinaldo then uttered that we are given two choices in responding to the message request: ignore it or accept it and see where it leads - yet we still chose to accept despite the uncertainty.
Thus, we slowly began to type our own stories. We noticed moments where others seemed to be typing a better story than ours, as if they had a stronger connection while we stayed stuck on โWaiting for Network.โ Moments where our efforts and sacrifices seemed like restricted messages - delivered yet unseen. However, it did not mean we were unimportant; it simply meant that our story was still waiting for the right moment, the right space, and the right eyes to see its worth.
We also carried emotions we could not explain - days when we smiled while silently breaking, cried under pressure, and questioned whether we were enough. Similar to Messenger notes that disappear after 24 hours, the fears, heartbreaks, insecurities, and struggles we carried were never meant to stay forever.
She further emphasized that in her journey, she was never truly alone; like members active in a group chat, there were people present in her life who became her support system.
We then learned to archive. We archived failures that no longer define us, doubts that no longer serve us, and fears that once held us back. But we also learned to pin what truly matters: the lessons, the memories, the people we love, the strength we discovered within ourselves, and the faith we continue to hold onto.
Finally, we deliver - the message has been delivered not because everything was perfect nor because every question was answered, but because we chose to keep trying.
She then left a final statement encouraging her fellow graduates that it is now their turn to create, write, and share their own stories - without comparison, envy, or fear - because there is a perfect time appointed for each of us, and even when life once felt uneven, today we stand equal: wearing the same toga, holding the same diploma, and carrying the same proof of perseverance.
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