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Elyssa, A role model in Barangay Cayambanan

She is usually on of the most talkative studets of grade 9-Mark class. Her voice can be heard telling stories about a funny thing that happened to her that morning or the afternoon before. While she speaks, her smiles radiate as her laughter echose inside the classroom. When the teacher enters, she listens carefully. Without saying any word, her eyes speak of her interest and understanding of the topic being discussed. When tge teacher asks a queation , her hand is almost always the first one in the air, and her answer, what the teacher expects from an honor student. But what most people fail to see is her streght in facing the hardships that she goes trough. In her age, she has already accepted and assumed the role of a second mother to her siblings. As the second eldest daughter among eight siblings and one on the way, she has taken the responsibility of caring for her family. When she comes home from school, right after she puts her bag down, she cooks rice for their dinner. While the rice is still cooking on the stove, she bathes three of her youngest siblings and helps them put on their clothes. When the deed is finished , the rice is also cooked. That is when she cooks the dish for dinner , and after they have eaten, she washes the soiled plates . Then she has the time for herself, she takes a bath, cheecks her bag for her assignments, and if there are any, she does them until 11pm and goes to bed. In addition to the tasks that she has obligated herself to do everyday, she admirs that sometimes the work becomes unbearable when she sees her siblings crying because of sickness, along with the others bickering and her mother and father's frequent arguments. Elyssa has also decided to be a working student because her mother is unemployed and her father's salary as a cook is not enough. She took a part-time job every Saturdays and Sundays as a helper and laudry washer. She is also paid by some to create school projects for other children, such as a "parol" made of used drinking staws. During her spare time, she goes around the neighborhood to ask for anything that can be sold to junkshops. The menial jobs are enough to cover some of her family's expenses, allowance during school days, and the school supplies that she needs. Her daily routine may keep her busy, but she still has the time to remind herself to her dream: To achieve this, she believes that not only does a person has to have a positive outlook of life, but she or he must also be patienf and hardworking. For her, the best ways to apply these charactiristics are studying hard, taking the time to read and asking for advice from people who know better. She also added that she wants to be one of those people who are responsible for the future of others. "Wala ang ibang mga profesion kung walang teacher." (Other profesions will not be exist without a teacher) she said with a serious expression. She wants to change how studets perceive responsibility. She observed that students have more time to play than to study, especially when they are poverty striken. "Hindi rason ang walang baon oara hindi mag aral." (Having no allowance is not an excuse for being out-of-school). Surrender is not something that she haa taken into consideration. She believes that she must do what she can in order to reach her dreams, no matter how difficult life has to offer. "Hindi hadlang ang kahirapan upang hindi makamit ang tagumpay na kinabukasan." (Poverty is not a hindrance that will keep us from achieving a successful future) she said with a smile.