It's surprising how fast the weather changes here in Wake Forest, North Carolina. One day, it's a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 70 degrees. The next day, it's 25 degrees and white snowflakes fall from the sky. I view life to be alot like the wheather, uncertain and unpredictable.

      Many things change in time. Life and everything in it can change in only a few matter of seconds. I experienced that change the second I took my first step into North Carolina's soil. I remember walking down one of the halls of the air port and in a second, I knew that my life would never be the same. I was in North Carolina physically, but my mind was wandering back to my country, my home, my school, Xavier School. And it is one place where I can go back, if only in my mind, and remember my early childhood years.

    It is in Xavier where my values of self-discipline and sacrifice were formed. Waking up in the morning was the hardest part (which until today, I still struggle with) but by the end of the day, despite my tired mind and body, I am satisfied with myself for what I have accomplished. In every classroom I walked in to, I learned- not only mentally, but spiritually and emotionally. How to add and subtract variables was one thing to learn, but how to add to your classmate’s happiness and to subtract from their load of troubles was something equally as important.

      My favorite times of the day were, of course, recess and lunch spent with classmates and friends. I was never that good in any of the games we played, but it didn't really matter. We had fun. I still remember being the slowest 3rd grader in our team when it was our turn to be robbers in the never ending game of "cops and robbers". I was always caught. In the higher grades, we would play koosh ball during recess in the gym. I didn't do very well either. My head touched the koosh ball more times than my hands would catch it. My last memories of fun in Xavier would be basketball. We'd always come back to the classroom perspiring and all! The teachers would always try and keep a good distance away from sweating students. We reeked from the "smell of victory".

      I recently went on the Xavier website and I found an article on my good friend, Lawrence Gatmaitan. He was one of the three Xavier Awardees of batch 2004. It didn't really surprise me to know that he was one of the three awardees last year. He was an excellent student, a great person, and one of my best friends. Through great pain and perseverance, he succeeded. He showed me that the road to success wasn't an easy one; that you must always continue to give your best effort in whatever you do.

      The opening quote in the book "The Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens is the best phrase to sum up my experiences in Xavier: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...' Two long years have passed since I've stepped on Philippine soil. I miss my home, but I will continue to hold the torch of Xavier School and it's ideals on high.

      Luceat Lux!

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