The Official English Publication of Sampaguita High School
Logo shown above is a copyright work of Mr. Eduardo Roque and Ms. Renalyn Maraya
FEATURE
John Dereck Hermogeno
Published: April 5, 2020
BitterSweet
We’ll endlessly wait for our paths to cross again and if that happens, let’s continue the unfinished portrait of us with the memories that we will make.
Sir Jeff.
Mr. Jeffrey.
Jepoy.
Scouter.
Basketball player.
Artist.
Teacher.
Friend.
Father.
– descriptions may be limited, but stories of a good man may not.
Sir Jeff's familiar sweet smile.
Photo grabbed from: Facebook of Jeffrey Ramos Carranza
Photo grabbed by: Mr. Anthony Contrevida
Photo enhanced by: Juwiel Diano
Photo by: Juwiel Diano
On the photo: Mariane Eloisa Trish N. Mataverde
Ian Dexter N. Gonzales
Eliza N. Mataverde
A man entered our room, with a straight face; he announced that he will be our adviser for the whole school year. I began to think all the possibilities that might happen in the span of that year. He seemed very strict person that no one would dare throw a joke at him. It’s like you cannot get along with him no matter how hard you try. But first impressions do not really last because the days we spent together screamed the otherwise.
Classes began to start, and “dull moments” are nowhere to be found in his vocabulary during his time as he taught Illustration in a fun way where we can both learn and enjoy. Laughing became a typical thing for his students during his classes because of his habit of throwing hilarious jokes.
Sir Jeff's 9-K babies.
Photo grabbed from: Jeaniritz Mitra
Photo grabbed by: Anrie Rein Erika Santos
Photo enhanced by: Juwiel Diano
Illustration was never my cup of tea, or so I thought. It pushed me at the verge of crying to the point that I wanted to concede, but then he came around and though he loves teasing me, he never forgets to enlighten me and point out mistakes on my work. That is how approachable and reliable teacher he was; He treated us like his own children the way we treated him as our own father.
Sir Jeff in the Scout Office.
Photo grabbed from: Facebook of Jeffrey Ramos Carranza
Photo grabbed by: Mr. Anthony Contrevida
Photo enhanced by: Juwiel Diano
Days have passed, school contests began approaching. We cannot fit our practice and preparation in just an hour so he sacrificed his time not to discuss his lessons and helped us put together our performances. He never failed to motivate us with his words of wisdom.
“Follow your dreams more than anything else”, he said. Those words lit up the fire within our hearts to strive harder because someone truly believes in us. That is why we are keeping our promise to become professionals to make him proud.
But time does flies so quickly, that in a split second; we lost the man behind our success.
I tightened my grip to the paper I am holding as tears race down on my face. The picture of us painted with a bright smile---a picture that when you put your gaze on it, it’ll scream thousands of memories and millions of teachings. I swallowed the lump in my throat and whispered, “Sir Jeff, we are so grateful that we've became part of your life. You've became our parent and a friend at the same time. I will never forget our happy moments together during our class. We will keep our promises and we'll surely make you proud.”
Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts.
Photo grabbed from: Facebook of Jeffrey Ramos Carranza
Photo grabbed by: Mr. Anthony Contrevida
Photo enhanced by: Juwiel Diano
Reminiscing those days is truly excruciating especially now that all we can do is to look back on these memories.
