Against All Odds

Clad in his toga, Kevin Villanueva sits proudly and happily by his parents' grave site at San Pedro Memorial Park.

OF ALL THE FAMILY PICTURES taken during this graduation season in the country, this one stood among the rest. It's not a typical photo taken on stage, with members of the family brimming with proud smiles as the fresh grad holds his or her diploma—but a simple Instagram photo of a brave soul, clad in toga and tussled cap, sitting in serenity by his parents' grave site.

And it's one picture that has immediately become viral in cyberspace, which gathered more than 225,000 "likes" and 15,000 "shares" as of this writing, inspiring hundreds of thousands of netizens especially the youth.

Kevin Villanueva is no stranger to me as we went to the same high school (Sisters of Mary Immaculate School in San Pedro, Laguna). There, he was my sister's classmate and was my co-officer in the student council. With his charisma, positive outlook in life and many talents (he can sing, dance, act, host, and a lot more), I knew even before that Kevin would go places and would have a bright future.

Fast forward to the present, that unspoken projection has surprisingly become a reality. Aside from the growing buzz in social networking sites, several television shows and newspapers have featured Kevin's inspiring photo as well as this 21-year-old Letran IT graduate's moving life story.

Little did many know that behind Kevin's sunny disposition in life, is a sorrowful past. After reading an Inquirer article ("Young man's graduation photo by parents' grave moves netizens" 4/5/2013) have I only learnt that Kevin had already been through a lot of serious challenges as a young individual. At a tender age of 10, Kevin had to endure the loss of a mother, who, beleaguered by nervous breakdowns, committed suicide by drinking an acid solution. “She would drink cleaners and slit her wrists. I remember she would sometimes lock me inside the house,” Kevin was quoted as saying. 

Consequently, he was supported up until high school by his father, who industriously worked as an electrical engineer in a hotel in Manila, but passed away in 2009 when Kevin was still a fresh high school graduate.

With the help of his aunties, Kevin was able to hold on to life and get through college. But before, to help his "guardian angels"—so to speak—Kevin took jobs such as hosting his friends' debut parties and working part-time at a dance studio, producing his own pocket money.

I have no idea of how emotionally heavy it was for Kevin to accept and live being an orphan at such a young age, but I salute him for being a man of strong and fine mettle despite life's challenges. His story is one that deserves to be read by everyone, especially the youth. He is one of the best examples who valued education above all--putting premium to what his parents once said that education was the best gift they could ever give him. Against all odds, he remained resilient and kept his faith in God. In the face of his parents' death, he preferred to carry on, persevere, fulfill their dreams, and continue his life journey--without the slightest idea of giving up.  

To Kevin Villanueva, congratulations on your graduation and I wish you all the best in life. Thank you a million times over for being such a great source of inspiration to all, especially us your fellow young individuals. Always keep that strong character in you, and with that I'm sure that God will bless you with more in this new chapter of your life. ;-)