BCC GRADUATION KEYNOTE SPEECH
GREETINGS
Mr. Eduardo and Mrs. Trinidad Martinez,
The members of the Board of Trustees of Butuan City Colleges,
chaired by Mrs. Josephine Martinez Zuñiga,
School President, Mrs. Remedios Martinez Famador,
School Administrative Officer, Mrs. Elizabeth Martinez Rosales,
The Heads of the different Academic Departments and faculty of Butuan City Colleges,
To our dear parents and guests,
And especially to our dear graduates,
who will come down in history as Batch 2008
A pleasant evening to each one! Maayong gabii sa inyong tanan!
TO SPEAK AS SOMEONE AMONG YOU
It was with great hesitation that I accepted this invitation to speak before you tonight. And as I was going up the stage, I felt my knees shaking. I am overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness as usually graduation speakers are credible, established and known personalities in their respective fields. I am neither a politician nor a showbiz personality. I am not (yet) a wise old professor or a prominent social worker. I am but a normal seminarian who is nearing ordination and who just happens to be the apo, son and nephew of our dear administrators. How can I possibly say no?!
I remember the words of the prophet Jeremiah when the Lord asked him to be a prophet, to speak in behalf of the Lord, to the whole kingdom of Israel. He said: “Ay ginuo! Pastilanan! I know not how to speak; I am too young!” But the Lord answered him: “Do not fear, I shall put My words into your mouth.” And that gave me courage. What a relief! Indeed, it is my hope that God speaks to you, through me, for only His words could bring spirit and life.
And maybe, just like the young Jeremiah, the invitation for me this evening is to speak to you as someone among you. Not as someone who is above or ahead of you, but as someone among you, with you, walking beside you. Yes! I am still young. Pagbigyan niyo na ako! Some even still mistake me for a college student though I am already 28. Still relatively young. And so I speak to you as a young person, oozing with idealism, energy, dreams and hopes, also about to be missioned to the real world of struggles and difficulties, of responsibilities and commitments. And maybe by speaking in such a manner, as someone among you, I would make more sense and be more relevant.
Allow me to share with you three words for tonight. Yes, just three! First, a word of congratulations and thanks. Second, a word of challenge. And lastly, a word of hope.
A WORD OF CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS
First thing’s first. Congratulations to each and everyone of you. Why don’t we all give the graduating batch of 2008 a big hand!
Wow! Look at you! Look around you! This is it! This is something! You made it! After all the years of hard work, you have finally achieved your goal, your dream, your family’s dream. And I think that is something worth celebrating. I salute you!
But every time we applaud graduates, we should not forget to applaud their parents, guardians and teachers as well. Graduates, it is now your turn to clap for them, they who have sacrificed a lot for you to get where you are now. Daghang salamat po sa inyong tanan!
Wow! Again I use that word because that’s how I feel. It’s overwhelming. I feel astonished. Because despite the commonness of graduations, there is something astounding about them. If you think about it, graduations are like little miracles unraveling before our eyes.
Who would ever think that you would get here? For some, this might have been an illusion at the start. We look back at our years of study and we’ve probably met so many discouragements, disappointments and failures. But you are here right now. Just a few minutes away from getting that prized diploma, your passport to a better future for you and for your family.
And so as you celebrate your own success, please do not forget to be thankful for this gift of education. Take time to remember all those persons who helped you, supported you and believed in you. We also thank the Lord for his providence and the grace of graduation, because really, it could have been otherwise. You could have been that classmate who dropped out because of low grades, poverty, the wrong barkada or drugs. But you are not. You are here! God and the world conspired for you to be here. And so I invite you to proceed through this evening with overflowing and grateful hearts because that makes a difference. Remembering how blessed we are, all the gifts we have received, brings about a grateful, humble and committed existence.
Again congratulations to each one, and from the depths of our hearts, we reverently say thank you, thank you, thank you!
A WORD OF CHALLENGE
How come we call graduation rites commencement exercises? Are we not ending something during graduation? If so, why do we call it commencement?
We call it commencement because every end is a beginning. As you close the door of school, you immediately and instantaneously enter the realm of the unemployed waiting for a job. There is no gap. Walang pahinga actually. Your education brings you to new frontiers and opens greater possibilities. As you say goodbye and turn yet another page of your life, you find yourself already writing a new chapter.
And to a certain extent, it is quite frightening to leave the familiar and brave the foreign. Especially looking at the situation into which we shall be thrust, it really needs a lot of guts. The uncertainty of employment; the socio-political crises our country and government has been facing: Hello Garci! Sumilao farmers and NBN ZTE controversies; the very concrete and impinging reality of poverty and injustice, the ever pervading problems of abuses and different perversions among the youth. Etc. etc. etc. There are just so many that contribute to the darkness, the gloom, the cold loneliness of this world. It is sometimes very disheartening and discouraging, especially when things seem to be utterly hopeless. But we have a choice, will we just accept them and suffer them? Be mere victims? Or will we do something about them? Pro-actively fighting them the best way we can?
This is where we will find ourselves in the next few months. And this is the consequence of being adults. Indeed, sometimes it is better to be kids, to just play around and have a good time. Happy go lucky! No worries! Hakuna matata! Kain-tulog-aral lang.
But we are no longer kids. We are already adults. And as adults, the orbit and the way we live our lives will necessarily change. We are now called to expand and stretch ourselves beyond our personal and petty concerns; to take responsibility and be accountable in life and at home; to be dependable and counted upon by the people around; to contribute something substantial to the community at large. As adults, as educated adults, we have the responsibility to be active agents of renewal and change.
And so I exhort you, dear graduates, to three challenges: First, to honesty and integrity. Second, to find your own voice. And third, not to play small and have passion.
Integrity and Honesty. If you look around, there is so much lies and untruth. People, systems and values are broken. There is a lacuna or a void for integrity and honesty. Minsan, garapalan na talaga! What’s worse, integrity and honesty are not only frowned at and considered to be uncool. Rather, they are even persecuted and suppressed. And yet, we can make a difference. We can change that in our own little ways, in our own spheres of influence. The question is, are we willing to?
Find your Own Voice. Each of us is unique. We were created so. No two persons have the same thumb print. You, yes you, you are one in a billion and there will be no one else like you who will walk the face of this earth. That’s how God designed it. And so your very being is your contribution to this world. If we can be likened to colors, each person is a particular hue, a particular shade of blue, red, green, yellow, etc. We should make that come out. We should make a mark and make our color stand out, noticed, and appreciated. We should make our existence be heard, and hopefully for positive reasons. Ask yourselves: what would make my life speak? Do not only love what you do, also, do what you love.
Passion: Don’t Play Small. And once you’ve discovered your voice, sing as if no one’s listening. Share it! Don’t be shy! The world deserves to hear it because the creator intended it to be heard. And no one else is capable of singing it the way you do. Passion! Fire! Blazing flames of gifts, talents, creativity and goodness that will consume the world.
It is in this light that I would like to share with you this very striking quote from Coach Carter which is attributed to the great Nelson Mandela. Coach Carter, a basketball coach of a small high school for poor black students, asked one of his stubborn and disturbed players: “What is your deepest fear?” This was the player’s answer. May we all reflect upon it and take it to heart:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
Gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
Other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
Carpe diem! Seize the day! Grab opportunities to make a difference and be the change you want to see! This is how it is to be young adults! And I think it is pretty damn exciting! We help each other in our pursuit for honesty and integrity, in finding our own voice, and in not playing small.
A WORD OF HOPE
Now, let me share something more personal.
Just two weeks ago, in front of my family and co-seminarians, I had a bishop wear this ring on me. You see it? Ang ganda di ba? Ang kinang-kinang! Right after the ceremony though, I suddenly suffered a major, major headache. And I was kidding with my co-seminarians: “Negative reaction ata ito ng katawan ko sa singsing ah!” You know what this ring stands for? This ring means that I have committed not to get married for all eternity. This ring reminds me that I will never get married, ever. At kung minsan, nakakasakit talaga ng ulo isipin yun. Parang ang bilis kasi ng mga pangyayari! Bigla na lang ganun! Di ko namalayan nakapag-commit na pala ako.
Don’t get me wrong though. I have no regrets. At least, not yet. Mahirap magsalita nang tapos. And yet I think this is what we, as graduates, as adults are called to. We are called to commitment. We are called to commitment that is willing to sacrifice. We are called to commit to the things we love and value to the point of dying to ourselves. To be able to give up certain things, to sacrifice, because you believe in something and value something that is worth it all. This ring does not just mean I will never get married. This ring means that I love God enough and I am willing to offer myself to him, even if that means I’ll never have a wife and kids. To commit. To commit to our values, our dreams, our holy desires for ourselves, our family and our country. Not counting the cost. No matter what the consequences. To offer something to give life. To be broken in order to be shared.
What do you value? What will you commit your life to and waste your youth on? I hope it is something worth while. Invest your idealism, creativity and energy in something of value. Huwag sayangin. Kung walang dahilan ang ating mga ginagawa, walang saysay. Find that meaning. Find that purpose. And live deliberately in pursuit of it. Maybe then, just maybe, life and sacrifices would be more meaningful, intentional and fulfilling.
We are young and full of hope, we are creative and imaginative, we need to dream dreams for some of our elders who have gone tired and hopeless. We are the youth of yesterday’s dream. The promise of the future we bring. The world is watching. What do you have to offer? We owe it to the world to make this world a better place. Our education serves a purpose. It is meant to empower us to work for the good.
And thus, this word of hope is not for you dear graduates. Because you are that word of hope. We are that word of hope, to our families, to our communities, to our country. Let’s make it happen! People are counting on us.
LIWANAG SA DILIM
And so I would like to end by reading to you the lyrics of a hopefully familiar song by Rivermaya… As I was preparing this speech, I was listening to it, and my spirit was lifted up. The melody and the lyrics just blend so well that they kind of invite you to join their dream, to take on the challenge! May this be our song for each other as we leave this venue as graduates of Batch 2008… Listen as if the song was made for you… Let us sing it, live it…
Ituring ang iyong sariling tagahawi ng ulap sa kalangitang kulimlim
Kampanang yayanig sa bawat nilalang magigising ang lupang kulang sa dilig
Ikaw ang magsasabing: “Kaya mo to!”
Tulad ng isang tanglaw sa gitna ng bagyo
Isigaw mo sa hangin, tumindig at magsilbing
Liwanag, liwanag sa dilim
Harapin mong magiting ang bagong awitin
Ikaw ang liwanag sa dilim
At sa paghamon mo sa agos ng ating kasaysayan
Uukit ka ng bagong daan
Ikaw ang aawit ng: “Kaya mo ‘to!”
‘Sang panalangin sa gitna ng gulo
Isigaw mo sa hangin,tumindig at magsilbing
Liwanag, liwanag sa dilim
Harapin mong magiting ang bagong awitin
Ikaw ang liwanag
Liwanag
Liwanag sa dilim
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same… And if we shine together, what a brighter world it will be… I finally end with the poignant closing words of the film I Am Legend: “Bring light into the darkness…”
Thank you and good evening!
October 28th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Hi, Give something for help the hungry people in Africa or India,
I made this blog about them:
in http://tinyurl.com/6kv7fu