23/08/2025
“𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙄 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚”
Story time.
Back in elementary, greatest fear ko talaga standing in front of a crowd. I remember meron church activity where the top students were asked to read the Bible aloud. The moment I stood in front of my schoolmates with their parents, my hands were sweaty, my stomach ached, and my voice became shaky. My stage fright completely consumed me.
What I did? I read as fast as I can, so that I can go back to my seat, when in fact, I should have read slowly with pause. Afterward, one mother compared me directly to a classmate and said: “𝘋𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘬𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘰… 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨-𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦?”
It hurts. But it also lit a fire in me. From then on, I promised myself: I will face this fear. I will prove that I can stand confidently in front of people.
One thing that helped me build this confidence, was creating an “alter ego”. I acted as the person I wanted to become, confident, composed, and secure, even if deep inside, I was nervous. Sabi nga fake it ‘till you make it.
Now, let me share something I’ve learned over the years:
👉 Confidence is not built on winning.
👉 Confidence is built in the fire, when challenges test you, you will do things you’ve never done before.
👉 Confidence is not the absence of fear, it’s choosing to move forward despite it.
And today, I’m here again, sharing my knowledge and expertise, now with this younger ones, where it brought me back to that the day that I once like them, nervous, unsure, and afraid.
Every experience, even the painful ones, prepares us for who we are meant to become. I chose not to let doubt control me.