“Samahan kita, ‘nak.”
A student from Angeles City, Pampanga was shocked when a teacher approached her before walking to the stage during her academic recognition day on May 30, 2023.
17-year-old Zarinah Ysabelle de Guzman brought her late mother’s picture frame for the school event.
“Wala po akong kasama that day and I decided to bring my mother’s portrait with me para lang may kasama po ako. Unexpectedly, my teacher po approached me from the back. Nagulat lang po ako and then she asked me a question, nasan po ‘yung parents ko? Sabi ko po wala,” Zarinah told The Philippine STAR.
“Sinabi niya po, ‘Anak, sasamahan kita ha?’ Tapos parang tiningnan-tingnan ko lang po siya. Okay lang naman po ako ng walang kasama that day but ‘yun po, it was unexpected and I’m grateful,” she added.
Zarinah met Teacher Trixie Arceo in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic, while they were conducting online classes.
“Teacher ko po siya sa reading and communication no’ng first sem po. So bale online. So Hindi po namin masyadong kilala isa’t isa. Few days lang po kami nag face-to-face classes with her. Nung nilapitan niya po ako that day, alam ko pong it was very genuine. kasi ‘di po ako kilala so wala pong parang bias sa nangyaring ‘yun so Ang thankful ko po na ginawa niya po ‘yun,” she shared.
Netizens were also touched by the small act of kindness of Teacher Trixie.
As of this writing, the uploaded video on TikTok has already garnered more than 5.4 million views.
“Nag message po siya [Teacher Trixie], sabi niya po, it was just a simple gesture. After the TikTok went viral, she reached out to me tapos sabi niya po, ‘It was just a simple act of kindness. It was just a simple gesture that I made special,’” Zarina said.
Zarinah’s mom died when she was 13 years old. She now stays with her sibling’s family.
“I still crave for a mother po, miss ko po siya and ang sayang-saya ko po mainly because ang dami na po nakakita sa kanya. I owe it to her for what I am now kasi she taught me things and she raised me well,” she said.
“One thing I learned is that I’m not alone. I just wanted them to know that no matter how hard life treats them, they’re not alone. There will always be someone out there looking at you and rooting for you from afar,” she noted.
