Zipline in Palawan

And you can never tell how close you are, it maybe near when it seems so far.So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit. It's when things seem wrong that you must not quit.

Fellow Toastmasters, dear guests, good evening. Those two lines are excerpts from The Don't

Quit poem.

I was not as adventurous as before, but only after I survived a bus accident. On one rainy day in August 2001, which also happened to be our mid term examination, I took mini bus ride bound to Manila. While on the bus, since the trip takes almost two hours, I decided to spend the whole trip reviewing my notes for examination in my Management subject. I was too focused in reading my notes and not even bothered by the rain nor sleepy roads.

Suddenly, I felt that the bus was turning left hardly. I was so shocked and found myself inside the bus that overturned. All in my mind was to get out of that bus as I was afraid to be burnt in case there will be fire. I looked for any opening so I could get out. I climbed up the window, reached the side of the overturned bus and then I jumped out. Can you imagine I was wearing my college uniform - white blouse and balloon skirt and under the rain.  I was like Super Woman without wings.

I still took the examination and went to the hospital after to have my legs x-rayed. I WAS thankful that even I got bruises on my leg and on my knee the results turned out to be all normal.

After this accident, I started to like scary rides like zip line. My first zip line experience was in Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia in April 2011. 428 meters and before reaching the top, we had to walk more than 100 steps.

My second zip line experience was just last month when my family and I went for a vacation to one of the seven wonders of the world, Puerto Princesa, Palawan. One of our trips was in Ugong Rock, Puerto Princesa. Ugong in English means sound.  As the rocks will create sound if you knock the rocks.  The rock stands 75 feet high, the zip line is 380 meters long. In the entrance, the employees helped us to put on gloves and helmets and our tour guide took some photos of us as if we're climbing to the caves. I thought this position was only for picture purposes and never we'll do it but I was wrong, since we really need  (needed) to climb through caves and crevices to get to the top of the rock.

It's either we had to kneel or bend our body just to pass through crevices. And, the last step but the most exciting part was to do spelunking. I watched my sister first, the Ugong Rock staffers helped her put on the spelunker gears and when she was ready, one of the staffers threw the rope and spelunking began. I was so tired on that day as I was battling with the waves few hours before going to Ugong Rock. When I saw that I had to climb that rock through spelunking, I thought of quitting and to just wait in the car with my other family members who didn't want to try ziplining.

Since I already passed through several caves and crevices, I decided to finish it – right foot on one stone then left foot on the other while hands are climbing up the rope.

After the hardships inside, there was the top of Ugong Rock waiting with a beautiful scenery – rice fields, green trees, blue clouds.  There, will only start the zip line.

When my turn came to do the zip line, after putting on zip line gears the guy said– sitting position, 1, 2, 3 release. I forgot all the tiredness and just enjoyed the beautiful view while coming down.

While ziplining, I was thinking that if I had surrendered on that final step, I wouldn't have the chance to see this beautiful scenery and experience this unexplainable joy.

We might experience hardships in our lives that would have been easier if we will just surrender and not continue the battle. The Don't Quit poem and my zipline experience are reminding us that during these hard times, we must not quit as we may never know how close we are to success, it maybe near when it seems so far.