A few of us lucky ones have been blessed with mentors who help light the path of our journey of life. Through their inspiring teachings and guidance, they enable us to believe in the power of human will and the helpfulness of human compassion. These special people are living heroes to whom we owe much gratitude and appreciation. For without them, we are in a sense impoverished.
Thankfully, I am one of the lucky ones. I have chanced upon great mentors who have helped mould me into the person I am now. Mrs. Debra Liamzon from my high school days in ICA, Dr. Queena Lee-Chua, the late Ma’am Doreen Fernandez, Fr. Nemesio Que SJ, Mr. Eduardo Calasanz of Ateneo are but a few shining examples. For the students of Xavier School, Fr. Johnny Go SJ, the school director, is their living hero.
 For us pilgrims, searching for the “greater scheme of things,” Fr. Go’s life may give us a clearer perspective to things. A man who trekked through the road less traveled, Fr. Go is living proof that there is “more to life than taking roads someone else designed and chasing stars that soon forget to shine,” as the song he penned goes.
 A young Johnny Go entered Xavier School during third grade. He was a normal student, albeit being a bit more academically and socially inclined than the rest. He graduated both grade school and high school with the prestigious Xavier and General Diligence Award, then went on to Ateneo de Manila University to pursue a degree in Psychology. Again he finished with flying colors – Magna Cum Laude. Because of his loyalty and love for his alma mater, he went back to Xavier school to be a formator of students as a guidance counselor, then as an English teacher and class adviser.
 Unfulfilled and still in the process of finding his corner in the sky, Fr. Go tried working outside Xavier school. He became Brand Manager of Magnolia and even appeared in a TV commercial to promote his brand. Though, success in the workforce did little to uplift his spirits. This was when he heard and heeded God’s call. He decided to become a priest.
 Johnny Go entered the Society of Jesus in 1987, with his friends seeing him off to the Sacred Heart Novitiate. He studied to become a priest for eleven years, and as a scholastic produced, wrote and directed audio-video productions. One of his famous productions was “The Pilgrim: Following the Footsteps of Francis Xavier.” He also wrote the theme song of the video, “The Pilgrim’s Theme.” He finished his degree in Sacred Theology with Highest Honors: Summa Cum Laude at the Loyola School of Theology. In April 1998, he was ordained priest.
 Before Fr. Go was appointed Director of Xavier School, he was the director of the Jesuit Communications Foundation (JESCOM). With a competent staff, he conceptualized media projects – productions aimed at spreading the Good News and promoting vocation. Last year, the JESCOM was awarded by the Catholic Mass Media. Seeing his dynamic leadership, Fr. Provincial, the Jesuit Superior then appointed him as the Director of Xavier School. This is his second year at this post, and continues to be an inspiring figure to the students under him.
 Last July 5, I was given the chance to attend the annual Reading of Honors at Xavier School. Fr. Johnny Go, SJ was the guest speaker and shared some enlightening insights to the young awardees. Here is his speech. May you come out all the more wiser after reading this.

SECRETS I WISH I HAD KNOWN IN HIGH SCHOOL
By Fr. Johnny Go, SJ

My dear High School Faculty and Staff, dear parents, dear students, this morning I decided instead to speak to you not as your Director, but as a fellow Xavierian, someone who studied here and did a lot of my growing up right on this campus. I spent some of the best years of my life here in Xavier, but there are a few “secrets” I wish I had known back then – things which would have saved me a lot of trouble, a lot of mistakes, and a lot of detours in my life if I had taken them seriously; things which, come to think of it, my parents and teachers did tell us, but maybe I was just too distracted to listen or too immature to understand. Let me share with you three of these secrets – for whatever they’re worth.

Secret no. 1: When I was younger, I used to hear people say, “The more, the merrier!” But as I grew older, I realized that “more isn’t always merrier.” Like many people my age, I was somehow led to believe that the more I had, the merrier my life would be. And so, like all my classmates, I was infected with the drive to keep up with others: to get the latest pair of Nikes, the most fashionable brand for my shirts, etc. And when I didn’t have all the things that other people had, I somehow felt that I wasn’t as good as the others who did. I somehow felt incomplete and unhappy.

But through the years I’ve met many people who seem to have everything they can ever wish for, but for some strange and sad reason, aren’t merry at all, are far from happy, and are even, by their own confession, quite miserable. It seems that once we fall into the vicious cycle of acquisitiveness; it isn’t easy to feel satisfied and grateful. We always want more because there’s always more to want.

I can see that today, more than ever, the same acquisitiveness, the same pressure to keep up with others, continues to be present among the young people: the desire for the latest computer, the latest cell phone model. Since I’ve experienced all that myself, I actually understand. But I’ve learned – and I hope that in time you too will learn – that “more isn’t always merrier.”

Don’t get me wrong: it’s not a sin to be rich. Riches are a gift from God. When put to good use, riches can do people a lot of good: we can eat well, we can go to good schools, we can even help the poor. The problem with riches is not that they’re bad in themselves, but whether we like it or not, they are dangerous. I’ve heard many people say that they’ll get rich first, then they’ll help others. Famous last words. More often than not, they do become wealthy, but somehow never get around to helping others. I think the reason is that when we want to possess, we also end up getting possessed. There’s just never enough, and our lives can end up as an unending and unsatisfying pursuit of fortune.

But the truth is: “more isn’t always merrier.” We are more than what we have. We are more than what we possess. So, my dear students, do not define yourselves by your possessions. Do not make the mistake of reducing yourselves to the things you possess because all these things fade and pass.

Secret no. 2: “Faster isn’t always better.” When I studied in Xavier, we were under a system called I.I. – or “Individualized Instruction.” It was introduced when I was in Grade 5, and in many ways, we were the guinea pigs of that system. Under that system, each student could proceed at his own pace: if it would take him only a day to learn and master a particular topic, then he could move on to learn something else the very next day. He didn’t have to wait for the rest of the class and spend two or three days on something that he had already mastered. The I.I. system allowed the fast students to go fast, and made room for the slower students so that they could be given more time and attention. Like every system, it had its share of strengths and weaknesses.

One weakness it had was a type of mentality that it produced among the students: “the faster you are, the better.” Many of us wanted to go fast because after completing all the requirements for the year, we could spend the rest of the class playing parlor games like chess and Game of the Generals in the classroom. Imagine today the computer games you can play if we still had I.I.!

But you see, just as “more isn’t always merrier,” it is also true that “faster isn’t always better.” Getting the results quick and fast isn’t all that important. Today, I see that even without I.I., this mentality is alive and well. I’m not just talking about the students. I’m also talking about teachers and staff, including myself. It infects us all, this mentality. Our culture and lifestyle have conditioned us to this mindset. We aren’t pleased when our computers aren’t fast enough. We roll our eyes when it takes a while to download stuff from the internet. And so on and so forth.

We always want the easy way, the short cut. We are so result-oriented that we forget that the process is just as important, if not even more important. Sometimes more than the results, it is the process that shapes us and defines us. It’s not so much the grades we end up getting in our report cards, but how we got those grades. Years from now, no one is going to remember the grades we got. What’s going to be remembered is how we worked – or didn’t work – to get our grades.

The truth is, you are more than what you achieve. You are more than fast and easy successes. More important is how you got there, and the kind of person you’ve become in the process of achieving the things you wanted to achieve: your values and your personal integrity. “Faster isn’t always better.”

Secret no. 3: “’Me first’ is not the secret to happiness.” In life too often we find ourselves plunged in a rat race. The result is that, whether we know it or not, we often end up watching out for ourselves at the expense of others. And we begin to think that being No.1 is a sure fire formula to happiness and success.

The problem is, it just isn’t true. To think of myself all the time, to love myself above all others, is just no guarantee to a happy and meaningful life. No matter how successful we’ve become, we eventually tire of success. We tire of all the honors that come with it. We also tire of thinking of ourselves all the time. The first line of a song by Lighthouse Family a couple of years ago says it all: “Sometimes I get tired of the ‘me first’ attitude.” I know the feeling.

It was here in Xavier, from my teachers, from the Jesuit priests, that I first heard about these so-called secrets about life: “More isn’t always merrier, Faster isn’t always better, ‘Me first’ is not the secret to happiness.” You probably hear this all the time, in different words and language. Come to think of it, we’ve heard all this before from the Gospel, too: “Blessed are the poor in spirit. What does it profit a man if he gains a whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”

My wish for you is that you would not have to take so many detours in your life the way I did – or commit the mistakes I committed – just to find out that all these secrets, all these clichés, are, in fact, after all, gospel truth.

God bless you all!