“I’m gonna ruin this day!”
That’s what I silently uttered when I woke up so early and found out that I had no voice. It was like acquiring a major “uh-oh”. My heart was pounding with dismay expecting a tragic moment on stage if I’d give a Charlie Chaplin appearance. That day was the finals of the prestigious PRSP Grand Prix Competition and we were expected to give one hell of a performance. I was really pressured. PLUMA (the official representative of PLM) has been considered as the “powerhouse” team because of its remarkable campaigns and exceptionally well stage performances.
Well, I could say PLUMA V, our team, was well composed of talented speakers and great minds.
Alvin, our team manager, gave brilliant ideas upon doing the campaign. He’s my thesis mate so we got a lot of time to talk about it. He is your type of guy who sits in the corner and listens to everyone’s rants and arguments first. And after something bright has popped up in his mind, he ardently shares it with certainty. He has indeed the qualities of a republican candidate.
Vina was one of the presenters. Tall, confident and undaunted. This lady speaks like she has taken all the vitamins in this world. Her voice, which sounds like a Mellow Radio DJ, surely gets everyone’s attention. She even had chickenpox during our training but she still went for it. Good thing I had chickenpox so I didn’t have to worry since she was just inches away from me in our stage formation. That’s how dedicated she was.
Camille was also one of the presenters. She has this quick response in every question given to her. She is really opinionated and sometimes has Patricia Evangelista’s soul. She thinks well and delivers it well. No doubt, she’s one of the in-demand debaters in our college.
Owen, the ever animated and jolly one. He’s also a presenter. He made us all laugh when we’re all fed up with bunch of works for the campaign and tiring practices. He’s the super duper mega energetic guy in the group. But he gets nervous easily. Still, he has the composure. I remember he told me before the competition that he’s freakin’ excited to walk on the stage because he felt he’s one of the Ms. Universe candidates. LOL!
Pau is our very sweet team coordinator. We love her for the food she always brought for the group. Nah, just kidding. Of course, we all love Pau because of her dedication in doing her tasks. She monitored our performances if we were delivering our lines accordingly. Of course, we also love her dad. (Alam na niya yun) I’m happy for her since she is now a presenter for this year’s line up and also the PRSSP president.
Rossielle is our production head. I knew he had a lot of stabbing pains in his head during our campaign preparation. He’s keen when it came to our collaterals’ concepts and designs. He did the designs and editing for our tshirts, posters etc. At least he didn’t totally follow Sir Roel’s drawings! (Alam na rin niya yan)
Gian, one of the presenters, had been the “crush ng bayan” of Southville students. Having this American accent with his charisma on stage, he could absolutely get your attention. Like Alvin, he had been silent sometimes in our meetings but he truly had the “ideas” that helped us during our campaign preparation.
Lea was our presenter-slash-multimedia queen. She did our audio-visual presentation maximizing her video editing skills. Lea was indeed one of the greatest minds in our group. Being her groupmate in our PR reports, I knew she really contributed in giving pragmatic ideas.
Grace was also one of the presenters. Who would have ever imagined that this simple, petite and down-to-earth lady talks like Maria Ressa and Cheche Lazaro. She’s one of the most dedicated and intellectually gifted persons I met in my life. I could see a bright future for her.
Sir Roel Ramirez, our trainer, is really one of a kind. He was the martinet, meticulous and obsessively organized in our campaign preparation. He covered the materials with systematic fashion. He has been a father to all of us. He may be strict and persistent to close-to-perfection performances but we always had fun moments with him.
Okay, now that I’ve introduced to you my team members, let’s go back to my story. I was suffering from laryngitis the day before the competition. I was too damn nervous and worried of failing to attend the ‘most awaited’ day. Whew! My voice was hoarse plus the fact that I also had fever that time. My mom brought me some medicines and Ma’am Gina, our team adviser, prepared ginger tea for me. She also gave me some medicines. Due to desperation, I took them all. Geeeeezzz! After a few minutes I felt like I was riding in a rollercoaster. I felt so giddy and everyone looked like they’re in a whirlpool. That time, I didn’t even remember my lines. I told Vina I couldn’t make it. I saw the disappointment in Sir Roel’s face. He said, “Pau, step in. You’re gonna replace Dennis.” I was teary-eyed. I gave my time, effort and dedication for it. And because of this effin’ laryngitis, everything’s gone in a snap. But I was also conscious about the embarrassment I would be experiencing if I failed to remember my lines. And I also didn’t want to make that disaster.
I rested my body on the floor with Ma’am Gina’s blanket covering me and cried. I heard them practicing. Pau was having a hard time because she wasn’t that prepared. I felt it was my entire fault. I told them I’d go to the comfort room for a while and denied an offer for accompaniment. I looked at the mirror facing the man who was wearing a Pinoy-inspired shirt with white visor cap on his head. He looked so pathetic. I remembered all his hard work and sleepless nights for this. That was not the time to give up. I prayed. I prayed harder. Then I decided to go back to our designated room and suddenly found out I regained my voice, well partly of it, but I could speak clearer than before. But that was not the best time to celebrate. When I entered the room, I interrupted their practice and told everyone I would hit the stage and give one hell of a performance. Sir Roel smiled at me and said, “That’s my boy!”
We did our final practice and everything went smoothly. My teammates and I all smiled. It’s like shouting “Let’s volt in!” I saw our professors were really grateful cause’ everything’s back to normal. We prayed all together. I also couldn’t explain the energy I suddenly had. God provided.
Five minutes before our turn, we were staying at the side of the stage. It was the De La Salle Manila team facing the judges for the question and answer portion. They received a big round of applause from the audience because of their clear and specific answers. That made our hearts beat faster.
Then the emcee started to call our team. “And now, for our next presentation, we have the “Bigkis Bigkis sa Halalang Malinis!” she enunciated. OMG! My heart was beating so fast. I told myself “Bahala na!” Then we entered the stage and we received a warm welcome from the audience through their whistles and cheers. I saw my classmates sitting right in front of me and they’re all smiling. Those smiles really gave me the confidence to own the stage. I started to deliver my lines and my voice sounded good because of Sir Roel’s lapel. LOL! Bring it on! Then I modulated my voice for me to enunciate the lines clearly. Kung alam niyo lang gaano kahirap i-modulate at palakihin ang boses ko para hindi sumabit.
Then we had the question and answer portion. I felt more relieved because I delivered the lines well. Whooo! I thought I would be missing one o lahat mismo. Then Ms. Ritzi Ronquillo, one of the judges, told the team “The gentleman in the middle is a great talent.” That was me! I wanted to cry. I wanted to tell her “Ma’am kung alam niyo lang pinagdaanan ko!”
The team received good remarks from the judges. We were able to answer all the questions according to Sir Roel’s instructions. Grace answered a tricky question from the hip and she nailed the answer. When we exited the stage, we all hugged each other for a job well done. It’s like fulfilling our mission. When we went to the corridor at the back of the stage, we felt so elated because everyone’s waiting for us. The place was covered with high spirits. Then I saw Sir Roel and he hugged me so tight uttering “Dennis, you did it!” Again, I cried. I was too emotional that day. My mom also arrived and she gave me a tight hug.
We were named the 2009 PRSP Grand Prix Competition Champions with just .0 something difference from DLSU-Manila.
There’s one thing I’ve realized from that meaningful day. Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.
Shelf Esteem 