Our Greatest Teacher - Happy Birthday, Mama Emily

 Happy 51st Birthday to Our Beloved Mother

Today, September 21, 2025, we celebrate not only your birthday, Mama, but also the story of your strength, sacrifice, and love that has shaped who we are. You are five decades and one year of grace, courage, and resilience.

When Papa was still alive, he always told us: “The only inheritance we can give you is education.” Back then, we didn’t fully grasp what he meant. We thought we were already rich enough because we could eat three meals a day. But life proved to us the depth of his wisdom.

When Papa passed away in 2018—a year before my college graduation—he never had the chance to see me march in my toga at MSU. Yet, Mama, you carried on for us. You worked singlehandedly, washing clothes for others, borrowing from lenders, and sacrificing your own comfort just to keep us in school. Papa may have left early, but his SSS pension and, most importantly, your unbreakable spirit sustained us through the hardest years.

Many doubted we could survive our studies. But what they didn’t know was that we were scholars, dreamers, and fighters—walking the same path of sacrifice and perseverance you walked for us.

By God’s grace and through your unwavering love:

📌I finished my Bachelor’s in History in 2018, graduating Cum Laude from the College of Social Sciences and Humanities in MSU-General Santos, and passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers in 2019.

📌Lyka, our younger sister, also graduated Cum Laude in Political Science in 2023 from the same college.

📌In 2021, I completed the academic requirements for my MA, and in 2024, Lyka and I both pursued our Master’s in Public Administration.

📌This year, 2025, our youngest brother has completed his Education degree at MSU and is now preparing for his licensure exam.

Education became our greatest achievement—not just for ourselves, but as our deepest offering of gratitude for the tears, the sacrifices, and the endless love you and Papa poured into our lives.

Mama, you are proof that true wealth is not measured in land or money, but in the values and legacy you leave your children. Every medal, every diploma, and every achievement is yours as much as it is ours.

Happy Birthday, Mama. All that we are, we owe to you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Christian Jay S. Laya is an author, historian, and Municipal Information Officer of Alabel, Sarangani Province. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Mindanao State University – General Santos City and is completing his Master in Public Administration at the same university.