Breakfree: What could me more worthy than simply being me? Thank you, 2013.

Looking back to the year that was, I could not help but wonder what’s with me that convinced God to give me all the blessings that I often think I do not deserve. I am in awe to see how a simple person like me, was given the opportunity to travel to Japan and Korea without spending a single peso, to receive my first ever medal in college as a Magis Exemplar Awardee, to stay at the Senate Building as a youth legislator, and to serve with the highest position in campus politics. Yet although these achievements made me feel good in so many ways, it is not by these which defined 2013 as a memorable year for me. It is the growth that formed me within that matters most.

I used to count the days that passed as countless opportunities to prove my worth in this world. But as time moved on, I realized that worth is not equal to position, power, or esteem. Worth is simply unleashing what is inside of me that speaks so much of my God-given intrinsic nature. Being a person, more than being fundamentally human, is already being worthy. In 2013, this is how I measured my worth in this world – by totally accepting the fact that I am just human like everybody else. Little did I know that this ordinary truth will be set all the difference.

I often talk about the “great” things that made 2013 the best year in my life, but for now, I will cite my pains and hardships that equally made 2013 worthwhile. 2013 is a year of meeting crossroads – decisions that stretched my patience and rationality to horizons that I never imagined of. Being a President of the Central Student Government always placed me in crossroads, and often times I doubted where to go; but in the end, I still chose the road less travelled. This year also was a year of losing myself but finding life’s simple truths in the process. I could not remember how many times I asked myself if I was still on the right track in life, or what I will be doing in the next 5 years, or who I will become as I explore my passion. These things confused me, but I realized that what is more important than worrying about the future is living the present to the fullest, and that is exactly what I learned to do. This year was a year of ardent sacrifices - moments when I gave more than I received, loved more than I was loved, and cared more than I was taken cared of. But then again, this is only God’s way of reminding me that good things come to those who seek to be more like Him. Lastly, this year was a year of endless battles, from the moment I found out that I will be shifting to a new course up to the present where I am already about to finish the battles in the student government before my term ends. But the months in between were the most crucial, I should say, and the hardest battles are those which happened inside the heart.

This year, I became more loving, more compassionate, more humble, and more patient with almost everything. Believe it or not, but this is the only thing that I am proud of about myself; because the most difficult endeavors in life is not about winning competitions or getting straight A’s. The most difficult, but often overlooked, is seeing the bigger scheme of things amidst pain, brokenness, isolation, hopelessness, and fear. It is ironic, in a sense, that many people would want to reach the heavens and become totally proud of getting so far, but in my part, what I see as my greatest achievement is being fundamentally human in everything that I do – nothing more, nothing less.

My worth is not measured by what is added to my name, the benefits that I enjoy, and everything else that is happening around me. My worth is simply what is going on inside me and showing how beautiful this world could be if only people also see what is inside of them. Less is more. There is happiness in content. 2013, you will be remembered.