( Excerpt from a speech delivered to high school students in Ilocos Norte, Philippines in 2017)
For the young ones.
I am by no means an expert on life, but I have the benefit of more than 40 years of experience and some beautiful life lessons that I wish someone would have told me when I was your age. It would have benefited me a great deal if I had known these when I was younger. I summarize them in 3 points that I hope will help you as you navigate this increasingly chaotic world.
The first thing I want to say is this: always carry within your heart the conviction that you have the right to be here, to be who you are, and to be who you want to be. Never let anyone make you feel less of a human being just because you are different or you do not conform to the expectations of other people or of society. Whoever you are, whatever kind of family you come from, however you look like in the outside, whatever your gender preferences, each and every one of us has the right to be here and to be who we are and be proud of it.
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