Congress What really matters. Malaga, 2018-19.

The Alborán School has participated for the second year in this Congress that took place on October 5 at the Palace of Fairs and Congresses of Malaga. The foundation "What really matters” (non-profit association) aims to bring universal human values ​​such as tolerance, the desire to excel, courage and generosity, among others, closer to young people, this being its second edition in Malaga.

Our 4th ESO and Baccalaureate students have attended, and ten 2nd Baccalaureate students have actively collaborated, fulfilling the functions of volunteers and collaborators.
It was an honor for our School to receive a diploma from the Foundation for being an allied Educational Center that promotes training in values ​​among its students as a complement to their academic training.

The event was inaugurated by Dani García, Honorary President of the LQDVI Foundation in Malaga, who indicated that "we have the responsibility to be happy, for ourselves and for those around us."

The first testimonial presentation was given by Miriam Fernández, who impressed all the attendees with her story of self-improvement, effort, optimism and courage.
Miriam has been a national swimming champion, winner of the second edition of the Tú sí que vales contest, has consolidated her career as a singer and is currently beginning to debut as an actress, and all this despite her diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
With a perfect balance between resilience and optimism, he invited young people to fight for their dreams and never give up, despite the difficulties, pointing out that "life is a decision and in it it is important to learn to get up."

Thanks to her willpower, she encouraged all attendees to always look for an alternative, another path, because "even if you cannot change the world, you can accept yourself and try to be happy, if you are capable of changing your attitude."

Being an example of overcoming, he explained that life can be seen from different prisms and that "the barriers are more mental than physical." He moved us by explaining how weaknesses can be turned around to turn them into strengths, "being able to change tears into smiles." He pointed out that this had been his way of coping with life and the family, school, medical circumstances... that he has had to live, where he has learned that effort, dedication and love are more important factors than merely scientific ones.

We also attended a presentation by the entrepreneur Jaime Garrastazu, co-founder of Pompeii Brand, a brand dedicated to selling sneakers online, who shared his entrepreneurial story. His pleasant talk served to highlight failure as an important school of learning.
He stressed that, although luck does exist, you have to work hard, since "effort is the basis of everything, even more so than talent", while showing two important virtues for him that are available to everyone: not be afraid and know how to take risks.
On the other hand, he conveyed that we must put passion into everything we do, stressing that the fact of not having many resources or much money is something positive, because "it makes you push yourself triple".
Likewise, he taught us that determination at work makes dreams come true, as well as frequently questioning the path and decisions made.

The last experience, which was committed to peace and forgiveness, was that of Juan Pablo Escobar, son of the well-known Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, who died 25 years ago.
The pacifist Juan Pablo highlighted the importance of measuring the effects of our actions, prompting us to always ask ourselves what the consequences of our excesses are, especially so that the stories of lack of values, violence and indiscriminate terrorism that he lived with are not repeated. his father, of whom he spoke from different perspectives.

He recommended that the young attendees go on the right path, that of noble causes and be brave to get away from the world of drugs.

Understanding success as “what you can enjoy over time, those moments of tranquility and quality spent with loved ones” he affirmed that he did not find it in his childhood, because “although they seemed to own everything; they did not own anything”, since “the ingredients of happiness are not money and power”.

He recounted the true effects of drug trafficking, asking attendees not to associate it (as they do in some TV movie series) with wealth, success and power, since it is not related, and insisted that the important thing in life is to respect the human values.
Committed to peace, he defended that education is the most powerful weapon to fight against drugs and that the solution does not lie in weapons: "The way to deal with drugs is information and peace, violence is never the way nor the solution”.

He concluded his speech with a hopeful message of dialogue in which he clarified that forgiveness and reconciliation is always possible, understanding forgiveness as healing and not as forgetting. "We all deserve a second chance."

Our students listened carefully to all these testimonial presentations, which were authentic stories of courage, humility, tolerance, solidarity, entrepreneurship, effort and improvement; that made everyone and especially young people reflect on our priorities to realize what really matters.