Our Graduation day, dated 28 March 2009
After suffering from a bout of Monday sickness, I decided to prowl through the halls of TED Talks to look for something that would cheer me up while I worked.
I stumbled on JK Rowling's Commencement Speech for the Harvard Graduates of 2008. You can watch the video here.
Hearing a speech from a gifted writer was just a treat, it was both humorous (in a Brit kind of way) and poignant. JK spoke about what failure and poverty taught her. And she also shared how imagination fueled the empathy she felt as a fellow human.
It was the perfect Commencement speech for such a privileged group as the Harvard Graduates. Not only did it present food for thought by showing common, human experiences in a new way-- JK was also able to skillfully weave in a call to action. The structure, the humor, the story telling made the bitter medicine of truth go down easier.
JK's speech led me to reminisce about my own graduation day. We were lucky enough to graduate during the 150th year of the Ateneo de Manila University. The author of the book Heroic Leadership, Chris Lowney, was our speaker. I myself cannot remember the words our Commencement Speaker gave to us back in 2009. But I remember the emotions that I felt during that day, the excitement, the pride, and the anxiety of stepping out into the real world.
After 4 years of working and study a.k.a. "living in the real world", I realized that it was not the grades, the concepts, or the theories that were of most value to me, after getting my education from Ateneo and from St. Scho ... these schools gave me something more than my degree.
I stumbled on JK Rowling's Commencement Speech for the Harvard Graduates of 2008. You can watch the video here.
Hearing a speech from a gifted writer was just a treat, it was both humorous (in a Brit kind of way) and poignant. JK spoke about what failure and poverty taught her. And she also shared how imagination fueled the empathy she felt as a fellow human.
It was the perfect Commencement speech for such a privileged group as the Harvard Graduates. Not only did it present food for thought by showing common, human experiences in a new way-- JK was also able to skillfully weave in a call to action. The structure, the humor, the story telling made the bitter medicine of truth go down easier.
JK's speech led me to reminisce about my own graduation day. We were lucky enough to graduate during the 150th year of the Ateneo de Manila University. The author of the book Heroic Leadership, Chris Lowney, was our speaker. I myself cannot remember the words our Commencement Speaker gave to us back in 2009. But I remember the emotions that I felt during that day, the excitement, the pride, and the anxiety of stepping out into the real world.
After 4 years of working and study a.k.a. "living in the real world", I realized that it was not the grades, the concepts, or the theories that were of most value to me, after getting my education from Ateneo and from St. Scho ... these schools gave me something more than my degree.
Gene (my best friend from College) With Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, president of ADMU at that time, during Blue Roast 2009 (Seniors Graduation party)
Here are some bullets...(trying to keep it short and sweet...) of things I can remember. I can remember these things because I am practicing them everyday.
1. Learn to play nice: The world does not revolve around you. And you cannot expect people to like you without making any effort to do so.
2. You are not the Messiah: Yes the world has problems but you cannot solve it on your own. And so...
3. Find friends and allies: Ateneo is infamous for their style of putting people into groups, I believe this is good practice since a corporation--heck--even a nation-- is composed of different people who are able to contribute different things.
4. Know yourself: You need to know what you are good at and to know what you cannot do. There is no shame in admitting that you are no good when it comes to numbers (*points at self*.) We are only human after all, and we cant all be good at everything.
5. Make your country and the world, your business: Change will start with you. So stop pretending that you are on an island, unaffected by what's going on around you. Use the blessings you received to bless others.
Finally, I leave with a bible quote... the source of Ateneo's Lux in Domino.
"For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Ephesians 5.8-10"
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