A simple person with a good heart,
A person who aims high and believes he can reach it,
A person who's not afraid to show his true self.
-What they say about Armyr Encarnacion

It was already dawn... 3:50 AM to be exact, a baby boy was born under the hands of Mr. Ariel B. Encarnacion and Mrs. Myrna A. Encarnacion. They almost cried upon seeing him for the first time. He was a blessing for them. Afterwards, they kept thinking of a suitable name for the baby. Without batting an eyelash, they combined their names --- they named him ARMYR. That was the first time I saw the light of the world.

 My father is already a seaman even before I was born. He worked as a foreman in crew ships. On the other hand, my mother is a very loving wife to my father and a responsible mother to us. 

 I am the second child in the brood of three. My older sister is Joyce Ann, an 18 year-old lady taking up Computer Science in Lyceum of the Philippines-Batangas.  She's not a newbie to beauty pageants and inter-barangay muse competitions. My younger sister is Sharmaine Joyce, an incoming sophomore student. She is the demure type of person but very passionate. She's a consistent honor student since her elementary days.

 At the age of three, I had undergone an operation for my eyes. I was born with a congenital cataract - an opacity that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope. During my operation, you can see my calmness; I was neither afraid nor frightened. Do you know why? My parents are beside me. They are my source of strength.

 The absence of my father is very hard for us.  It really hurts when you're apart from someone you love. We wanted to spend time with him especially those moments which will really leave a mark in our hearts. But he's not there... We cannot do anything because we know that he's doing it for us, he wants to do his best to be a good provider. At an early age, this situation served as an eye-opener not only for me but also for my sisters. We studied so hard just to show my parents how much we value their sweats and hardworks for us.

 I was not even close with my father. We have millions of differences. But that will not stop me from loving him. I admit, I lack father figure in my course of development. Still, my virtue of understanding took place because I believe he's also feeling the same way. And every time I think of him, I can feel sadness because I know he's undergoing hardships there -- triple than  what Im facing here.

 Being a candidate for Gawad Anak OFW made my family so proud of me. Winning is not really important because being one of the candidates for the SDO Luzon-wide Search is already an achievement. To land in the top ten or even winning the title is just an extra gift if ever. Unfortunately, I was not able to win but being the president of our batch means more to me.  I know great responsibilities lie on it. Actually there's so much pressure on my part but I should overcome it to prove my worth and to live up their expectations.

 One of my plans is to prove that despite negative criticisms against us -- the sons and daughters of OFW, we can still be productive members of our society. We can engage ourselves in different activities that will showcase our talents and help us be a better person.  At a very young age, we can also serve as an inspiration to our fellow youth.

 Now at 16, I'm already a graduate of my Alma Mater, St. Mary's Educational Institute. And the dream that lingers in my mind is to become the next singing sensation of our country. To quote a famous televison line "Dreaming is not enough, dream BIG!" I believed that I’m more mature now and prepared for whatever circumstances & challenges that will arise in the days to come. I still stand with my philosophy in life in dealing with other people, "Words can't bring me down." Why? It’s because I really have an oasis personality. Many misunderstood me, my words due to my frankness and with my actions. They took it negatively but in reality, I’m just caring and concerned with them. I don’t mind if they'll get angry at me, as long as my conscience is clean and I know that I’m not stepping on others’ principle.

 With regards to facing problems, I'm the optimistic kind of person who always looks at the brighter side, that there's always a solution to every problem, that there's an answer to every question, and that struggles in life will just help you to be a better and stronger person.  My life is not really about me, it’s about God, its about how He touched it!  Armed with strong leadership and competitive qualities plus God's guidance, I believe that I will succeed.