My Padlet by MARSHA MAE TAPIC

My name is Marsha Mae Tapic. I am 19 years old. I grew up in a simple family residing somewhere in Cebu, at Barangay Olango, Municipality of Aloguinsan. Way before I was born, my mother and my father were still on the stage of building a home among themselves without the aid of my grandmother or any relatives. In the year of 2002- the year I was born, our family was still in the process until 2003. We had a house and saved up an average amount to raise my sister and I. On the surface, as I could remember my early childhood years, the only thing I struggled with was peer interaction. When we were playing games with my childhood friends, I often got irritated and mad when I’m about to lose a game. Funny as it seems, but ever since I have had that competitiveness in me, I’m pissed off sometimes when I do that. My family was pretty normal. We are only five members in total. I have both parents whose only luxury is sending me to school to gain knowledge. I doubt that I would have been able to face challenges, if it weren’t for them. If the road to success is filled with parents pushing their children along, my parents would be at the finish line encouraging and waiting for me to cross it. I have a grandmother who is demanding and conservative in what we do and an older sister who is so funny and happy-go-lucky. We weren’t close when we were young but it turned out to be a glue that sticks together wherever we go. It did impact me in a way that I can be affectionate to others and treat them the way I am treated in my family. It taught me that even the simplest things and littlest things in life can be beautiful.

I love singing, dancing, sewing and writing essays. My skills probably are transforming ordinary clothes into trendy one, decorating an event or even home designing and memorizing details and faces. My specialties are planning in everything I do, organizing things, avoiding delays, and wise budget planning. On top of all, when it comes to myself I give my utmost credit to deposit something I want whether skincare products or foods. Also, I have relationships such as family relationships, friendship and romantic relationships that have defined me in life to be a good daughter, a good companion and an affectionate person.

Regarding my scholastic experiences, by the way, I didn’t go to preschools like any other kid, instead I went to kindergarten directly in Olango Elementary School. I transferred to another school during my elementary in Esperanza Elementary School. Then, I graduated my junior and senior high school in a Catholic school, Sta. Monica Academy. Now, I am currently studying in Cebu Normal University taking up the course of Bachelor of Elementary Education. Whenever I achieve something, I’d make sure that it will be applicable in my life. Few of the things I’ve achieved were awards for leadership and being an academic achiever since then. I’ve mastered my leadership skills not only in groupings, in school but also in our community through seminars, evangelization, team building activities and congresses. I have attended a lot of those, that’s why I use this skill in the best way possible. On the other hand, being an academic achiever was never easy to the extent that I tried to limit my fun and hangouts. I was too focused on studying which made me near to being an introvert. However, I realized one thing I should be mastering aside from the two is to enact the lesson after the setbacks and circumstances. There’s no point of having those achievements when I can’t even carry out the skills here and now. I don’t believe in special knowledge, rather I prefer special skills. We can have the same knowledge about the topic or issue but don’t have the same perspective over it. We can have the knowledge when being taught gradually and comprehensively. Moreover, I believe that each one of us has special skills. By that being said, every time my teachers discuss a topic, I can listen while writing (no looking at all). Also, I don’t usually understand the topic being discussed by writing the definition alone, by writing the narrative way of explaining instead I form an arrow-like or graphic organizer because I understand the topic even more when it connects and connects. My classmates before weren’t able to borrow my notes because they didn't understand why there were so many arrows anywhere in my notebook. Hence, that special skill sets me apart from other people in a way that our way of understanding the topic is different to the point that I was the only one to understand what I wrote (more possibly).

Every corner of events that happened in my life shaped my life in a way that I attain a learning experience from it. Luckily in 19 years of my life, I’ve never experienced any traumatic events like accidents and disorders. Thanks to God’s mercy, my family didn’t get to experience one of those. If I were to provide something to tell which I think really shaped me would be when I was in Grade 7, I applied for a scholarship, but the only thing that made me qualified was me being top of my class in elementary. That time, I wasn’t qualified due to the fact that the maximum number of students should be 40 above, however, there were only 26 students who graduated in our batch in elementary. My parents were worried because of the tuition fee, books and miscellaneous fees. That certain time, I tried my best in proving to them that I am qualified for the position. I studied a lot, slept late at night and woke up early in the morning just to study the lesson. Luckily, I became top of my class during first grading up to the fourth. I was lucky enough to be recommended by our Academic Coordinator in school. My parents were so happy that I got the scholarship for the entire four years of junior high school. When I was in Grade 10, I became the President of our school and graduated Valedictorian in our batch. Up until now I always kept on trying and improving because I know to myself I have something to prove to them.

Also, I went to other places with a double purpose: Trip/ Leadership Seminar. Since I’ve enrolled in a Catholic School, there were many experiences I’ve encountered into such as congresses held at Talavera House of Prayer in Pardo, Cebu, Palawan and Negros Oriental. Since I was an officer for years, I shall have to go on these occasions, however, it became a remarkable experience for me. In our family, we usually go to beaches whenever we celebrate something special like family members’ birthdays. When going on a trip, I always find myself enjoying and being happy except for travel sickness. Thus, in every trip I went left a trace of gratitude and solace.

Growing up is something that we all encounter to carry us an advantage as we get older. It is not just growing because you get taller and bigger. Rather, it is how you get to experience the changes in your behavior and how you handle things now than before. It is about witnessing your changes and discovering yourself in different situations you’ve encountered so far. I am a nineteen year old girl whose dream is to become a teacher. When I was a kid, I always looked forward to becoming a teacher. I taught my classmates in our lessons with a long stick pointing at the blackboard. I have an interest in pursuing a doctorate degree if God will provide. As I grow older, I realized how important it is to have people that will help you get through to everything. All the challenges in my life, I wasn’t alone because I have God, friends and family. I wonder what life would be like without them. If I am going to write myself a letter, it will be words of encouragement. I may get lost down a side trail that might lead me away from my life’s purpose. Even so, I always try to find a purpose, cause I know there is. Thus, the only weapon that you can have to surpass the battalion of turbulence is "courage". Have faith in God and to yourself. Furthermore, I am a jack of all trades master of none and adept at many things in life. Knowing myself does not happen by spending time thinking about myself. It is just given.

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