ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“One never writes alone.”

This thesis was a labor of love, favor and grace from everyone who helped me made this endeavor a reality. As a sign of my gratitude, I wrote everyone a haiku.

To my Abba Father for being always faithful even when I’m not:

            These words and chapters

            are testimonies of grace

            undeserved. Thank You.

To my 16 respondents for sharing with me three hours of your lives:

            Thank you for your time.

            The laughter you shared with me,

            I’ll never forget.

To Kayla, Ervic, Patty and their families who helped me find my respondents:

            Kindness and good will

            fill you to the brim. Thank you

            for being selfless.

To my sister, Andrea, who assisted me during data gathering:

            A beacon of hope,

            you are. When there was no one,

            you came with a smile.

To my family for being my moral, spiritual and financial support system:

            From a long distance,

            I felt your love and prayers.

            Here’s to our success.

To my thesis adviser, Prof. Josefina Santos, for accepting me as her advisee and patiently guiding me in every consultation and thesis draft:

            Marks of your wisdom

            I’ll carry with me, as a

            better iskolar. 

To Emman and Rod for the many sleepless nights we spent together at Jollibee Katipunan, writing not only our thesis drafts, but the stories of our lives, as well:

            We are marching on

            with eyebags and pride. With you,

            bida ang saya!

To my circle of friends, the Assers. In the words of Taylor Swift, “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you”:

            Young, reckless and free

            For the times we truly felt

            alive, cheers to that!

To my favorite friend, Nadine, for believing in me more that I can ever believe in myself:

            Four years apart, and

            everything has changed , but you’re

            still my number one.

To you:

            When I look at you

            I see someone I want to

            know. One day, I will.     

And most importantly, to the university, for nurturing me like a mother is to her daughter and for instilling in me a refined brand of nationalism:

            With this diploma

            I’ll live on the legacy.

            Honor. Excellence.

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My thesis acknowledgments! I’m sorry for the lame haikus but trust me that all of these were written from the bottom, top and sides of my heart (nag-joke pa eh, noh?).

Thank You. Thank you. I am greatly humbled.