The House the Boy Imagined

Daniel Vicente (second from left) walks alongside fellow SM Foundation scholars, each one, building toward a dream of their own.

There was once a little boy who stood beside a window, looking at a world much larger than himself.

He was only four years old, but inside his young mind was a house waiting to be built.

“May sariling kwarto sina Mama at Papa,” he whispered. “May garden para kay Mama, at may garahe para sa motor ni Papa.”

In his imagination, every corner had a purpose. He ran across the room, disappearing into a house that seemed to hold everything in one small space: a living room, a bedroom, and just enough of a kitchen.For a moment, I wondered who he was.

Then a blaring sound broke through the dream.

I woke up.

The first architect I ever knew was that little boy.

He was me.

Growing up, I learned that a home was more than an address. My family moved from Pasig to Makati and eventually to North Caloocan. I experienced leaving behind places that once felt familiar. I saw the house we once called home disappear as development changed the place around us. I watched a part of my childhood disappear with it, and I learned that while a house can be taken away, the memories built inside it remain.

My dream was built out of those experiences.

I wanted to be an architect to design buildings and create spaces for people to tell their stories.

However, following that dream was not an easy decision.

There was a time when I had to choose between the practical path my family had encouraged me to take and the one that carried my passion. My family encouraged me to pursue medicine because they believed it offered stability, especially when a relative offered to sponsor my education.

But deep inside, architecture was the dream I had carried since childhood. Choosing it, though, meant choosing uncertainty.

At the same time, my father was experiencing serious health problems that required surgery, maintenance medicines, and continuous care. There was a possibility that paying for college would become difficult without financial assistance.

From dreaming of designing homes as a child to overcoming setbacks during college, Daniel Vicente now is taking his apprenticeship duties at a professional design firm while continuing his creative pursuits as an author.

Determined to continue my education, I applied for different scholarship opportunities. Fortunately, one opportunity changed the course of my path, the SM Foundation Scholarship.

The scholarship became a solid foundation that allowed me to continue building my dream. It eased the financial burden on my family and allowed me to focus on becoming the architect I wanted to be.

But even with that support, the journey was not without challenges.

The SM Foundation Scholarship and accepting commissions for architectural plates helped him complete his five-year program and finally build the future he had imagined as a child.

College became my construction site. The foundation was laid through sleepless nights, difficult subjects, and moments when I questioned whether I could keep going. Studying architecture was already demanding, but I also had to find ways to help cover my expenses. I took on commissions for architectural plates and renderings, often working on them alongside my school requirements. It was not easy to balance both, but I kept pushing because I knew that every plate I completed and every sleepless night brought me closer to the dream I had carried since childhood. When I needed to stay closer to school, the scholarship allowance also helped support my dormitory needs.

When I almost thought that everything was coming into place, during my fifth year, another storm came. My father was diagnosed with cancer. Once again, my family had to gather their strength and find ways to carry the weight together.

There were moments when I wondered if I could keep going.

But every time the weight of helping with my father’s medical expenses made me want to stop, I remembered the people who had helped build my foundation. 

My family and friends became my pillars. 

SM Foundation became one of the beams that helped hold my dream together.

And then I realized that having the right people around you can make a huge difference in who you can become. 

PILLARS OF SUPPORT: Architectural graduate Daniel Vicente (center) celebrates his graduation with his parents.

Brick by brick, I reached the day of graduation as an architectural student, a day I had only dreamed about. I reached this chapter because I kept building, and because I had people who understood and supported me. 

Now, I am taking the next steps to becoming a full-fledged architect. I am taking up my apprenticeship in a design firm in Quezon City as part of the requirements for my licensure examinations. 

I’m still learning, still discovering, and still adding new pieces to the framework of my future. 

Despite financial difficulties and his father’s health battles, he persevered through sleepless nights and academic requirements to complete his architectural degree and novels.

I also became a published author. 

Architecture is not the only way I learned to build. Through writing, I found another space where I could create, imagine, and tell stories. I became the author of Kolonya and Architect’s Love, stories that allowed me to express another side of my creativity and build worlds beyond physical structures.

Looking back at my journey, I realized that being a scholar of SM is also about carrying a responsibility: to keep striving, to honor the opportunities given to me, to always strive for excellence, and to inspire others who are still building their own dreams. 

It is not about comparing your chapter one to someone else’s chapter ten.

Whenever there are possibilities, take them. And give yourself time to recuperate as well. Take it at your own pace. A delayed dream is not a discarded dream.

The most sturdy structures aren't always the quickest to construct.

And looking back, I still see that four-year-old boy standing beside the window, imagining a home that did not exist yet.

He did not know how he would build it.

But he knew that someday, he wanted to try.

Now I would tell him to keep dreaming, but take it easy. Someday, you will build the house you once imagined, and perhaps help other people build the homes they dream of, too.

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Daniel Joseph Vicente, who graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Architecture from National University-Manila, is among the 274 scholar-graduates honored by SM Foundation this year. He and his fellow graduates were formally recognized during the annual Presentation of the SM College Scholar Graduates at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.