Every school year, we receive countless thank you letters from our Night High scholars, which we pass on to sponsors.
The letters usually contain messages of gratitude and appreciation, but every once in a while, we come across exceptional letters which contain not only messages of thanks, but touching stories about the scholars’ lives.
We’d like to share a particularly touching letter we received from a 4th year Night High scholar from St. Dominic Academy, Pulilan, Bulacan at the start of S.Y. 2012-2013.
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"But blessed I am to have you, how blessed I am!"
July 11, 2012
Dear ABC Foundation,
To our dearest benefactor, I am very glad to tell you that we have successfully become 4th year high school students here at St. Dominic Academy, Pulilan, Bulacan. We are still very excited to learn new things and gain more memorable experiences together.
Last year and earlier this year seemed very difficult, but as our adviser always tells us, “We feel things according to howwe think of it.” We must not judge things quickly, nor form bad impressions. We must be always positive in looking at things!
Last year, I was an honor student; an outstanding student getting an overall average of 93% in my report card. That means I have good grades and I am very, very thankful for it! Sad to say, last year was also the worst year of my life.
My youngest nephew left us last September 8, 2011. That was really bad news for all of us. I loved my nephew so much that I almost cried out all my tears. Not long after that, my 71-year-old father also left us. He died January 12 of this year (2012). I almost lost everything I valued in my life. Weeks quickly went by even before we had time to move on.
I’ve changed a lot since then, and almost all of my classmates noticed it. I’ve become emotional and lost weight. Because of what happened, my grades fell, though not low enough to be removed from the honors list. I didn’t think I could ever recover.
Months after, I decided to work while on vacation. Those days were very hard. I got to work with adults, and people who seemed to have no values in life. My position in that company was a food handler assigned to remove the internal organs of chickens to be delivered all around the country. I didn’t get enough sleep. Our work time starts at almost 2:00 in the morning, then will end at 2:00 the next day. I stand there for almost 15-20 hours. But that didn’t matter to me. I became busy and finally moved on, not realizing that I’ve helped my mother already. My salary was used to buy groceries and other needed things at home. I was very happy seeing my mother smile and be proud of me. I was very honored.
From there, I started working at my school. I am now a working student. I don’t ask for money anymore, I support myself in my studies. I am very proud that I don’t bring stress to my mother anymore. I know that she’s too old to be working so hard in order to get me through school. She’s already 55 years old. Now she’s all that I have and I’ll do anything just to make her happy and content.
My mother means everything to me. I study hard for her, which is why I am very blessed to have you, my dear sponsor, by my side. You make my dreams come true every day of my life. Through all of you, my life has become meaningful. I can write, speak, and use English now because of all of you. Your help means so much to all of us. If I am not studying right now, honestly, I might already have a spouse, or be pregnant, or planting rice at the fields and working very hard; and maybe I won’t get a chance to have a pleasant life, a life that we’ve always wanted. And worst, I might have become a drug addict, or a prostitute!
But blessed I am to have you, how blessed I am! You’ve not just given me an education, but also a chance to be the future of our country. A chance to be a teacher, to change from being bad to good, a chance to be a wonderful role model, and many, many more. Helping us also means helping our country, and that is the greatest help of all! You are our new hero! An inspiration for all of us!
Thank you.. Thank you very much! I wish you all the best in life, more of all you are giving us. May God see you and all your goodness and record it, so that He will reward you twice, thrice, and many more!! May everything in your life be well and as God planned, and may you find happiness, receive more love and gain more blessings from God!
Salamat po (Thank you)! Salamat po talaga (thank you very much)! Mahal po naming kayo (We love you all)!! Till next time!
Respectfully yours,
Rosanna V. Reyes
(4th year Night High Scholar SY 12-13)
