If You Never Try, You’ll Never Know | Manuscript Speech

This speech was written and delivered by Sunday Carolino during The Speech 2019, a classroom- based competition under the subject Oral Communication in Context. He won as a runner- up. 

To our beloved principal Dr. Esmenia Celeste, to our subject teacher Mr. Carl John Carolino, to fellow classmates, friends, ladies and gentlemen, a blessed morning to each and every one.

I have a question. Have you ever tried to be serious just to prove yourself for someone you love? Well, if you ask me the same question, I do it, but most of the time I fail. Let us start when I was still a child. You can find me on the street with my friends playing tumbang preso, patintero, bahay-bahayan and more. I can say that I grew up as “batang kalye” that my mother hit me on my butt because of going home late, being dirty and smells. Those times were memorable. I wish all things in life are like games that are just happy to be played and to be pressured by people’s expectations.

Time will come, everything will change. Everyone needs to get out from his comfort zone and face the big reality. As a high school student like everybody here, we have our first times like my first time to join pageant, overnights to my classmate’s house, confessing my feelings to my crush face to face and to be a consistent honor student. To be a son of a family with three professional teachers is not very easy. Many think that I am molded well by my family. It is very hard to look or act “serious” in some situations because it is hard for me to remove my childishness and hard-headedness for the person that I can do some unwise things. Like others, I also have a crush which turns me to be more responsible. After all, I am just young man growing and maturing.

I make a promise to myself to strive more to prove myself to my family. I promise to someone to study first for me to be successful in life. I tried to impress her as long as I can, I gave many things like chocolates like other boys do, devotional books, Bible and more and I take it seriously. I studied hard to prove to her that she is not a hindrance to reach my dreams and now I am top 1 in class but not in her heart. She gave me motive but at the end, she treated me as a friend and she ended my chance. But the best thing about it is I learn so many things like to love others without asking of return and to trust the plan of our God because there is always time for everything like what stated in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. To all people who say “sana all”, God will give the perfect person in the right time and right place so don’t be sad.

Sometimes our lives will stuck in reverse, as my favorite song “Fix you” which has the following lyrics:, “When you try your best but you don’t succeed, when you get what you want but not what you need, when you lose something you can’t replace, when you love someone but it goes to waste” but the line that touch me is “but if you never try you’ll never know”. YOLO, you only live once, enjoy your life. Do not make yourself thirsty to temporary things. Stay focused in your goals, your peace, and your happiness. Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t contribute to your growth. Always put your trust in the Lord and always do your best for the greatness of God and God will do the rest.

I hope you’ve learned something from me and that’s all. God bless us all.