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So, I did not mind going on barefoot to school even when I was already in Grade 6. During hot days, the stones on the streets were very hot. I usually looked for papers or grasses or pieces of wood to step on just so I could bear the heat. I did not mind being told by a teacher in one of the souvenir photo sessions of the class, “Teodora, you better go home and put on your best dress.” I told my teacher, “but Mam, this is already my best dress!” I could also vividly recall in high school that I did not like to miss my classes and so I kept on sewing the sole of my shoes whenever they gave in. These experiences of mine are so many but I told myself, these are only temporary and I did not lose HOPE. To me, H is humility; O is obedience; P is patience and persevering, and E is education, my dream to be educated so that I could be at par with other professionals because I believe education is an equalizer. I dreamt high as I put it “Let’s dream big and lift and offer these dreams to God. As Pope Francis said to the Filipino families,” When you lose the capacity to dream, you lose the capacity to love, and the energy of this love is lost.” While I was dreaming of big things, I was working hard silently and focused, ever concerned of my family so that I can lift them from poverty; I was concerned with my community and my relationship with others, but most importantly, I was concerned with my relationship to God.
UNLEASHING EXCELLENCE: Simple ways to touch lives
TEODORA T. BATTAD, PhD