Ghenee Escolar

A SIMPLE SOUL’S PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE Tonight, I will be sharing with you a story of a simple soul’s pursuit of excellence. Fellow Toastmasters and Guests, Good Evening! I was enrolled in a public school when I was in elementary. Being in a public school, however, does not guarantee equal treatment among students. Aside from those who excel in academics, teachers favor more those students whose parents can donate more and give more to the class or the school. And I am not among those students. They were the ones who usually get chosen to represent the school in contests, trainings and enhancement seminars. I can say that somehow I was deprived of the opportunity to develop myself and/or my skills. Moreover, my father, a former military man, disciplined us not to talk back or to even reason with him or my mother. Any deviation from his commands or his will would mean punishment by the belt or by being on our knees for hours, lucky for us if there is no salt. These circumstances in my life have stunted my growth in terms of reasoning, critical thinking, speaking and communicating my innermost thoughts and feelings. I was left with low selfesteem, no self-confidence, and poor judgment; I basically succumbed to every negative thought. As I grew up, I came to realize that I can be a better person; and that learning the art of communication is never too late for me to do. I then decided to start my journey to selfdevelopment; to be the best that I can be and realize my full potential. In high school, God gave me an opportunity to learn and improve myself in the areas of leadership, communication, and exercise of discretion. I was appointed by my teacher as editorin-chief of our high school yearbook. It was not an easy task for me since it was the first time ever that I was given a leadership position. I experienced a lot of ups and downs in handling diverse individuals, and I learned from it. However, this did not cause my greater self to come out from its shell. I graduated from high school with the ambition of becoming a neurosurgeon. Imagine that, me becoming a neurosurgeon. Wow! That is truly one big ambition. With that goal in mind, I decided to take up psychology as a pre-med course. However, I was informed by the University that I can only enroll in either Business Management or Political Science. Business Management, familiar; but Political Science, I did not even know that such course existed. Thinking of shifting to psychology in the second year, I decided to enroll in Pol Sci. Lo! After finishing my first year in Pol Sci, I learned to like the course and decided to just get on with it. It was not in school though that I found an avenue to still improve myself and develop my skills. After all I was enrolled in a University with competitive individuals. With that fact, I turned to my youth group in church. God was never out of opportunities for me to grow; especially in developing my self-esteem and self-confidence. I became a youth leader in the church. With that kind of responsibility, my greater self was constrained to peak from its shell. Being a youth leader, I was given a chance to mentor, counsel and help other young people. Together with the other youth leaders, we organized youth camps and other young people’s events. It was during those times that I got a different kind of “High”. I felt it was my peak; but deep inside I know I can still be better than that. College graduation came. It was only then that I decided to take up Law. Law! Me, in law school? Or me, a lawyer? I have never really liked argumentation, debate and even thinking on my feet. I felt that I’m just not good at it. But then again, God has greater plans for me. Likewise, there is no better way for me to learn the art of communication, critical thinking and exercising good judgment than being in law school. So there, I survived law school and by God’s grace I am now a lawyer. Yet, this is not my greater self. I still have a lot to learn and a lot to improve. Still craving to develop every God-given gift that I have, as well as those that I have yet to discover, I joined Toastmasters International. I believe that by joining this group I will be able to finally pull my greater self out of its shell. Likewise, I believe that in this organization, simple things become great; so-so people become awesome; and complacency being overcome by excellence. Ladies and gentlemen of the highly esteemed Queen City Toastmasters Club, I am Ghenee Rose Castillo Aguhayon-Escolar, humbly imploring you to join me in my pursuit of excellence.