Good afternoon everyone!!!

Perhaps an appropriate nursing diagnosis for us is Enhanced selfconcept related to making a difference in the lives of others as evidenced by
becoming nurses.
Three weeks prior to this enormous event Maam Trizza called my
attention while I was busy organizing all my stuffs needed for the application
for graduation. I thought she was going to hand me over some paper works
or run an errand for her but instead she had given me a task of speaking my
side of the story about how I had surpassed difficulties asked on me by this
profession.
For everyones information, Ill start this by a confession that as of this
very moment my sympathetic response has been stimulated, as manifested
by tachycardia, tachypnea and diaphoresis. I may even have premature
ventricular contractions induced by this overwhelming ceremony. To be
honest, in front of a crowd I often tremble accompanied by pill-rolling tremors
but that is not associated with parkinsons disease. Some of my classmates
diagnosed me of having a panic disorder and it may rooted from my
childhood according to Freud but I wont elaborate to all of you my own
conclusive thoughts regarding my behavior, for I dont want to prolong the
agony of all Future R.N.s. For the audience I know that you may find hard to
understand for Ive used jargons only those in the medical field can
appreciate but all of these statements were my means of making me at
ease, allowing me to compose myself in order to deliver this response
spontaneously because the truth is ginakulbaan ako.
Never had I imagined myself talk in front of many so please bear with
me as I share my experiences as a nursing student. Well, its not the Me,
myself and I concept included in this story telling session but I do know that
in some parts of my monologue, most of my batch mates share the common
endeavor I had in this promenade towards the career I had made
commitment with.
My family belongs to a middle class and my father had been a good
provider. All the things I wanted, it may be a necessity or not will be given
just like a piece of cake. I never had problems about finances for I know that
my parents will supplicate the amount needed for all expenses required in
school. I was selfish way back then I never been that sensitive of how they
can come up with the amount Ill need in school. They have met all my

demands and they have pinned all their hopes on me, believing that Ill be
their ticket to a more prosperous life.
Curiosity kills the cat as what they say and as that cat I killed that
hope of a brighter tomorrow. Life has never been that easy on me, for at the
age of 19 I became pregnant. (pause) Realization comes thereafter, because
of a wrong decision all I have dreamt of for my family has been shattered
into pieces. Looking back, I really wish that the ground will literally split up
and swallow me whole for I feel so helpless. This life changing event has
drained all the courage and confidence within me, leaving me with a broken
ego. I have isolated myself, and the four corners of my room had been the
mute witness for my everyday litany of torment for I feel I am a failure. I am
the eldest among my seven siblings and should have set as a good example.
But how can l be a role model when I committed transgressions that have
put my family in shame?(pause) Despite this circumstance in my life my
parents continued their all out support on me. My father known to be
Mapintas a character based on his training as military personnel, instead
of punishing, hugged me and said Inday, everything will be alright. These
gestures from my Father caught me off guard and made me realize how
much they LOVED me. These show of devotion by my tatay had somehow
lighten up my depression. Because of the stigma from unwanted pregnancy,
I put myself into seclusion for I felt the whole world is laughing at me. More
so, when I gave birth to a premature baby girl, who died a year later due to a
congenital anomaly. After that I spent most of my time crying. I become more
withdrawn and socially evasive.
Words of encouragement and never losing hope on me were the
greatest motivator that my mother has instilled, for me to start anew. She
encouraged me to continue Nursing and enrolled here at UI-PHINMA. That
was 2010 then. A new environment, It is here that l could feel, l can prove
my worth, and l could end the wrong perception to those who have put me
down. By finishing my studies, l could make my family proud of me again.
I feel alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic as l step on the gates of my
new school. First day of orientation I was anxious to meet instructors from
the college of nursing and somehow I feel comfortable for their aura was not
the same with those from my previous school. Nursing school is not for the
weak and they let us know honestly and upfront they told us of what is
expecting from us. It was all new again for me. Due to my determination to
prove myself, I decided to accept the challenges and focus on the task at
hand. My experiences somehow made me stronger, more prepared for any

eventualities though at first my comfort zone was studying and staying in the
library. I was basically a loner during my early days of adjustment. My
classmate Mayang as l fondly called Ms. Hismania and Grace Arellano,
became my first acquaintance and help me adjust and later introduce me to
my other classmates, the rest is history.
Exams week means time for paying the tuition and most were torn
between the need to study and the need to find money in order to get exam
permit, most of our classmate have the same predicament as I am because 2
of my other siblings were also enrolled in college and l had been the suki of
the CSDL for their loan program. Mindful of the hardship that my parents
were doing to support us, sometime they have to borrow money from others
in order to support us. My father has to do an extra work as an auto
mechanic to help augment their income. These odd jobs however is not
enough to support our needs that sometimes they have to literally beg from
others to lend them money for us to take our examination on time. At one
point in time I decided to stop for a year but my mom wont permit me. My
parents were typically like others who obrahon ang tanan mapatoon lang
ang kabataan, according to her all of us were worthy of continuing our
education as evidenced by our very good grades. That was another eye
opener for me to make good bilang isa ka anak, this realization made me
like to eat gulay and dried fish on the table. Due to financial constraint l need
to budget the 70 pesos daily allowance that my mother gave me. 50 for the
fare and 20 for meal allowance. How did l survive? Sa bulig sang akon mga
classmates, and relatives who were aware of my financial difficulties.(ad lib)
As years passed, I was able to adjust to a demand of being nursing
student, the never ending requirements, the activities and other endeavors
related to our calling. At some point we thought, we would have a nervous
breakdown, I even told my mother this line Ma, daw mabuang ko ah. But
mama said you cant cross that thin line between sanity and insanity, para
mapakita mo sa iban nga kaya mo. Those encouraging words were like a
sun after the rain. It made me believe on myself and what l can do as a
person. Really mothers know best.
Well dear listeners I dont want to break the solemnity of this
ceremony but just like a bipolar, life has its depressed and manic state. What
l just told were the depressed side of my journey in life. Now, I will cross the
happy moments of my life. The manic state.

Most of us were strangers to one another but as the time goes on, we
quickly bonded and became a family. We had all our firsts here. Our first
demonstration on the vital signs, I can still remember the shaking of the
thermometers, auscultating for the heartbeat, not knowing if its still our
classmates heart were hearing out or our very own palpitation. This was the
first time of hearing the korotkoff sound and appreciating its significance
while obtaining the blood pressure of a hypertensive client in the wards we
were exposed to. Return demonstrations could make us execute the Levine
sign signifying a future angina or worst myocardial infarction prompted by
our terror clinical instructors. We endured and nailed every procedure like a
real pro thus making us confident and competent in performing nursing
interventions.
We had our first rotation with our very first patient, the introduction
done in simulation rooms had been applied along with the intonation and
stress points because of the word RAPPORT. Our first time in assisting a
natural birth and there we learned the ED FIrE ErE. The first time a patient
says, thank You and realizing all the tiredness had been swept away,
realizing the contentment of being a nurse (minus the license). There were a
lot of first steps and frankly speaking our first steps felt scary, a little
unsteady and now all those firsts are merely second nature as we step to
another chapter of our life as future nurses. We took every challenge our
instructors had in store for us. We exemplify a great deal of determination,
persistence, initiative and creativity as we burned every candle we had, to
study every disease some would even use nagsusunog ng kilay maybe
thats the reason some had used their eyebrow pencil to hide their bald
eyebrows just to finish the physical assessment and nursing care plans on
time. (ad lib)

In these four years of being a nursing student I have learned that life
can never be that colorful without these individuals who one way or another
had made me realize that my life was boring and maybe it was time for me
to have fun. I learned to let go of myself and learn to smile and laugh like
theres no tomorrow. We had undergone sessions with the disciplinary
committee all because of this abbreviation, O.T.O.G. that according to one of
our clinical instructors will just degrade the college of nursing since the
silhouettes included have a sexual connotation. For us that was all for the
sake of making our section unique because OTOG stands for One Team One
Goal. Strike one classmates. Well, another behavior unbecoming of a nursing

student was in Cebu and for me this has been very traumatic for the 14 of us
but as we reminisce of how the scenes of curiosity in Ayala mall have caused
us our strike 2. The anxiety attack was hindi mautang all panicked and
went into the comfort room to hid, some were behind the curtains with their
faces glued to the wall. While the climax part was when our one of our
coordinator blurted grace wheres rio? and everyone looked into the
cabinet. The cabinet gently open causing a conjuring sound and that was it,
all because of Tanduay Ice. Well we will be giving you our very own version
of that soon and for those who wanted to see the spoof version you can
check our own webpage www.alpha-t-ice.com which you might lead you to
WEBPAGE NOT FOUND because it is still under construction. And for the
strike 3, good thing were done here so which means were still safe. There is
a saying that state trials and difficulties were designed to make you better,
stronger person. Indeed those were what made us better today.
Certainly, we have many to thank for bringing us to this day; to my
mama and to my tatay for being so supportive of me and who often
complains that my course is expensive. Although my tatay is like that still he
would loan money just for this expensive course of mine and I offer to them
my diploma to you. You do know that your own struggles will always be
remembered by us your children. Palangga ko kamo mama kag tatay!.
Salamat po (chichay)! To my sister Maam Nene thank you for sponsoring
everything I am wearing now. I am really blessed with all of you around me I
know now that I can face every obstacle with heads up, proud of these
accomplishments.
I would like to thank also all the clinical instructors who have honed us,
imparting to us all that they have learned it may be in the four walls of our
room or in the wards of hospitals where we affiliate. To sir mike gustillo for
believing so much in our batch and giving us words of encouragement. To
maam sha maquiran, maam glaiza lobres, sir Gerald brian selga and sir
glenn Arthur ganzon alpino though youre not part anymore of the faculty of
the college of nursing, this team had made me realize and encourages me to
always put my best foot forward. And to give my best in everything l do. To
maam Idemne, maam amorsolo, maam doie and maam lacre for being our
surrogate mothers while we had our duty with them in the delivery room. To
maam gepana and maam maj thank you also for the free ride in your car
during our unplanned food trip in afriques, I hope next time well have this
chance of sharing a table with you at sharetea libre mo maam?. To sir
Espinosa thank you for performing the NPI on me while we were seated in
the chair in the medical ward after a tiring day. To mr. al Edward Limoso, R.N.

soon-to-be M.A.N., thank you sir for making us feel comfortable with your
company I have learned a lot. To maam joyce simpas, thank you for without
you we wont be able to comply with our scrubs and we wont graduate on
time. To maam manarang, you were a good adviser and you made us feel
that whenever we have queries all we have to do is approach you. To maam
Judelyn Grace Dulla Oribe thank you for always meeting us half-way,
although Kami ang batch nga budlay palanggaon we all know that you
loved us Huya Ka lang Maam hambalon, for you will not sit long hours in
your aquarium making blueprints for many activities which all of us your
students could benefit from. And last but not the least to maam trizza who
made me cry while I was typing this response I had trouble with what to write
and how to start this off. I really wish I had this rotation in the ICU for I want
to experience the feeling of being a part of your team..
Failures can never hinder us in achieving

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the
seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself."
You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.