FIND DEEPER MEANING IN THE THINGS WE DO
(Graduation message of Renato M. Alarcon at the
Pampanga High School 88th Commencement Exercises on April 16, 2003)
Thank you very much for the kind
introduction.
Distinguished
Guests, our energetic and beloved Principal Dr. Mel Macaspac, Members of the
Faculty, Dearest Parents, My Mother and My Family who are with us this
afternoon, Class 2003 Graduating Students, Fellow members of Class’65 and
Friends of Pampanga High School.
About 5 weeks
ago, your esteemed English Department Head and my fellow Class’65 alumni Madam
Sol Santos, called up informing me that I was unanimously selected by the
school administration to be the Graduation Speaker before you today.
I replied
that I am deeply honored but I need time to decide and get the comments of our
brighter and more successful batch mates who are my officers in our Foundation.
I sent the message across to about fifteen classmates starting from our
valedictorian and so on. They gave encouraging comments and said that it will
be a great honor for Class’65 to have me as Graduation Speaker of our Alma
Mater.
I relayed to
Madam Sol their comments then she hurriedly asked, so, what is your final
answer? I felt she was putting me on the spot and attempted to ask for more time
but she was persuasive. She told me that it was the principal who nominated me,
that as President of the PHS Class’65 Foundation, it is part of my duty to
inspire and motivate the graduating students and that I should prove that our
class is among the successful batches PHS has ever produced.
Hearing such
a grand premise, I could only say “Yes, I’ll be there.” Indeed, whenever Madam
Sol calls, I answer, whenever our Foundation summons, I come. Such is the magic
of our love to our wonderful batch, such is the drawing power of the
outstanding alumni foundation of PHS.
How about
you, Graduating Students, are you proud to be a member of batch twenty O three?
Detang ali
mekibat siguro puyat la qng pamagsucad queng malagu dang malan ngeni o caya
queng pamanaya da queng pamaglilip ng ima
para mag casiya ing seli ng sobra kaba pantalon o malualas a palda. Ding
aliwa siguro masakit la bitis uling bayu la at mascup la sapatos. Pero
apansinan cu mas matula la at mas excited la deng pengari yu uling metupad ya
ing karelang caburian a mabiasa at mayari cayu qng pamagaral yung high school.
Ila ing malugud a pengari mag sacripicio para adinan da lang matatag a
kinabucasan deng anac da. Ing kabiasnan at mayap a kaugalian ing pecamaulagang
bage a buri dang ipamana caring balang metung quecayu.
Ing cabiasnan
dalan ye at gamitan abang mabie cayu caya dapat yu lang pasalamatan at
palakpakan deng anggang pengaring tinagun qng graduation yu ngeni.
Beginning
tomorrow, you will each go your separate ways. But the high school spirit, the
friendships you have forged and the aspirations you share will always keep you
united forever. Soon you will have your Class Reunion, I advise you to find
time to attend because you have no reason to miss your friends.
Most of you
will go to college not by accident or chance. You have a destiny to fulfill –
that destiny is to bring yourself to heights of achievement and that destiny
will change your life forever.
Now, before you begin your journey to build
your own future, it is time to talk about your plans on how to achieve your
goals. Here is a suggestion of a self-imposed goal that you may want to adopt:
In front of the mirror, when you reached
home, tell yourself or write a covenant
that:
“In the year 2007 or 2008, you must have
graduated from college;
In 2009, you must have passed all
government examinations;
In 2012, you must be earning at least
P50,000.00 a month;
In 2016, being a millionaire, you must
have your own house and lot and on that same year you must have married the
girl of your dreams.
And in 2018, you must have your children
and a happy family together.”
Please
remember, a Goal is a dream with a deadline. You will not be given another time
to restart but you can start now and have a happy ending.
What I
am trying to impart is you must have your individual DREAMS, clear and distinct
hopes that will serve as the source of ideas and goals in life.
A
philosopher named Henry Thoreau once said –“if one advances confidently in the
direction of his dreams, and endeavors the life which he has inspired, he will
meet with success.”
Dear
students, dreams are just the beginning of having a purpose in life. So, we
should not be afraid to dare to dream.
We can
achieve our dreams or goals by being PERSISTENT. Kailangan maging masigasig
cayu at ali cayu pasaul careng problema daratang qng bie tamu lalu na ing
cacaluluan. Manintun tamung paralan para ayabut taya at ayari ing cursung buri
tamu. Remember, life is not a bed
of roses, along the way, we will all fall, stumble, become frustrated, unhappy
and in despair. But the answer to these all can be summed up in one word –
Persistence. I always make U.S. President Abraham Lincoln as a favorite example
of a most persistent man. In his early years, he ran for the State Congress and
lost. He then ran in the Senate twice and lost. But he was persistent. In the
end, he won the U.S. PRESIDENCY on the issue of emancipating the black slaves
of America. President Lincoln is now considered by historians as the greatest
American President
All
kinds of achievement and success will never be so in the eyes of others if a
man has not the important virtue of INTEGRITY. Ali taya didinan dungis ing
malinis yung laguio queng pamamirayit. Ali yu babayaran deng professor yu para
ipasar da cayu at lalu na deng examiner para dinan da cayung licensia. Dacal
nang casung macanian at dacal nang malpractice at aksidenteng miliari uli na
niti. All the wealth, money and power in the world cannot replace a good
name. And no matter what pinnacles of success you may have reached, if all this
has been without integrity, then there is no real achievement in the eyes of
others and in the eyes of God.
And so
my dear students, let us continue to dream, to persist and to act with integrity.
And beyond all these, after our efforts are crowned with achievement and
success, what next? Are you going to have more dreams, goals and ambitions to
become rich and powerful? Yes, you can, but this time, none of us can ever be
sure that we will achieve all of them when we want them. Only God can give us
the answers. But what is important is for us to find “deeper meaning” in the
things we do.
To
illustrate, I would like to close with my favorite story which I want you to
listen.
One
day, two very wealthy and retired friends decided to travel around the world.
They reached a big city and stayed at a very expensive 70-storey hotel. They
booked the most expensive rooms at the topmost floor. One evening, when they
got back from sightseeing, they found out that the elevators were not working.
So they decided to use the stairs.
As
expected, when they reached the 25th floor, they became tired. While
resting, they began to tell each other the stories of their lives - starting with their youth, their education
at the most expensive schools, their scholastic awards and honors.
Then
they proceeded to climb the stairs and again on reaching the 50th
floor, took a breather, continuing their story telling about their lives – how
they began their careers, how their business empire grew, how they became rich,
famous and powerful. Finally, they proceeded their walk up and reached the 70th
floor. Only then they realized that they had forgotten to get the keys to their
room from the front desk.
This
story is a valuable analogy. Each and every floor in that 70-storey hotel is
like one year in our lifetimes. Each and every year we gain much knowledge,
experience and successful careers. We become wealthy, famous and powerful only
to realize that perhaps, at the very end of our life’s journey, we may have
forgotten to bring the keys that we need to open the doors to our next
destination.
I believe
that sharing our blessings to those with less in life is a wonderful way to
remind ourselves about the keys that we need. Sharing what we have to others
reminds us that it is not only knowledge that is important but also WISDOM; not
only wealth and money but also CHARITY AND GENEROSITY; not only power but
COMPASSION; not only justice and righteousness but also TOLERANCE AND FORGIVENESS.
Those we help need not just be our family, relatives and friends. We can help
even the unknown, nameless, faceless and less fortunate in our society.
These
values my dear students are the keys that will open the doors to our next
destination. And as we ENTER, the welcome will be something like this – ‘COME
IN, YOU HAVE MY FATHER’S BLESSINGS. WHEN I AM HUNGRY, YOU GAVE ME FOOD; WHEN I
AM THIRSTY, YOU GAVE ME DRINK. WHATEVER YOU DID FOR THE LEAST OF MY BRETHREN
YOU DID IT FOR ME.”
May
all of you find peace and happiness in your soul during this Holy Week.
MAYAP
A GATPANAPUN PU KEKAYU NGAN AT DACAL A SALAMAT, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE
GRADUATING STUDENTS!
Renato
M. Alarcon