errr...words of wisdom?...from me?
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i was invited to speak as guest speaker last march during the graduation ceremonies at a local school where i used to study as an elementary student... i was hesistant and initially did not approve of the invitation owing to my anti-social inclinations. to be in front of people again after a long hiatus from any form of speaking engagement has rendered my trachea unresponsive to my begging of just getting past this speech...i however obliged after much kicking of asses of myself. and to my excitement and utter desire to fast forward time, i went one hour too early to deliver this few words...i wondered if it became a harangue when i spoke but i really did try to make it the simplest understandble way.. not the elemntary kind of way but the simple understandable way...whatever...nevertheless, they endured my crappy thoughts and words i got from just about anywhere...the advice however must not be taken seriously for my life right now is a mess...okey here it goes...just picture me on my uniform, a necktie, shined shoes, a neat shirt and again lemme reiterate, a very anti-social posture...sorry kids, its all that i can manage..hahaha...
Today, I am tasked to speak about Student Empowerment: Towards Greater Productivity. Though at some instances when I wrote this speech two hours ago, I felt a bit inadequate after looking back and thinking how incapable I am to talk about it in an entirely academic manner. Nevertheless, I will try to inspire you with thoughts that inspired me as a student who valued schooling and loved books and writing and poetry and music just like everybody else. I really hope that young and inexperienced as I am,you will bear with me.
Today I have come home. I have returned to the very school that replaced my once empty mind with an open one. I have returned to the schoolgrounds where not so long ago I played in, ran all over, rolled on the grasses, made friends with and in so many ways conquered it. Yes, this used to be my alma mater and no amount in words could express my gratitude to the beacon of light its education provided me as I stepped out from the portals of this school and breeze through high school, college and then the real life ahead.
Most of all, it was the people behind this school I am most thankful for, for keeping it running each day, stressing themselves out to share what they know and taking an extra mile to inject thoughts and values we could hold on later in life. Having a teacher for a mother, I have utmost respect for teachers for they hold that opportunity, that power to shape minds, mold lives and push our spirits to dream freely and teach us those first steps in achieving them. Always remember graduates that education, cliché as it is and it has been said a thousand times, is your ticket to achieve your dreams and turn your lives around. I have always thought that God gives us dreams that we can achieve just like he gives us burdens only we can handle. You have that dreams in you that has always been within your reach and education is one tool to get you farther up the ladder to reach it. The power education encompasses is far beyond the diploma you receive, it surmounts more than just a feeling because knowledge is power that if only you have plenty of it, you will lead an easier life than those who doesn’t have it.
Graduates, most of the successful people I know persevered in school. In fact, even though I have gone not that much success yet, I wouldn’t have been here if I have not valued my education. Yes I know a lot of people who excelled in school not minding poverty and instead taking extra efforts to get their diploma. Those poor people are the ones who are more recognized when they present themselves in the real world because they value hard work and industry more, thus they work harder and are more diligent in their jobs. Remember, we cannot be all so great and famous. We can’t be all presidents or heroes or famous like the people we see on TV all the time but we can be great in our own way by achieving many good things. Change is spurred by one act of good deed and change begins all the time. Each second the clock ticks, change happens. That is why young as you are be mindful of what change you can do if you have that power education gives.
As a piece of advice, I encourage you to read, read and read. Read famous books of famous authors. Boring and uncool may it seem, you will be proven wrong if you try. I used to despise books a kid and I never really was encouraged to read by my mother in ways more than my teacher required. But after reading a few good books, it became a hobby, then a habit and then reading was never boring after all. Contemporary movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Harry Potter series and Eragon all came from books and so do Romeo and Juliet and other classics. I tell you the movies you see on TV are far less greater and way far less exciting than books.
Also, learn not to treat yourself like a kid anymore. Act and think mature but nevertheless enjoy your childhood. You will learn the value of responsibility if you do and you won’t have to blame others if you make mistakes. Value the beauty of freedom. It is when you don’t compromise it that you achieve many great things. Never be strangled by conformity yet learn to respect the rights of others. Always put in mind, that your opinion, your thoughts is of the same weight as that of the person seating beside you. No matter what status we have in life, we are all equal. So don’t be intimidated by the rich and the intelligent or somebody older than you are. Speak your thoughts without being rude but be sure you are realistic and practical and rational when you deal with people. Irrational people are close-minded and remember, just like an umbrella, the mind functions and serves it purpose only when it is open. Love your parents and show it to them in your own little way even if sometimes they seem unlovable. Like so many important things, you will never know how much you value them ‘til they’re gone- so never lose a minute. Show your love as well to your brothers and sisters for soon, they will be your only link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. They say, live life like there is no tomorrow. Live it to the fullest. Savor it. Laugh. Cry. Dance. Sing. Play. Enjoy the world that presents to you each day. It offers boundless opportunities and new horizons. A challenge unfolds each day for you dear graduates, and it is for you to grasp it, embrace it and take it on or you can brush it on the wayside and wait ‘til it ever comes back again. Decisions arrive each waking moment and remember it is you who defines yourself, your life –not your parents, not school, not our society, not other people. That’s how beautiful life is, you get to choose. Picture yourself a painter – you’re give a canvass and a palette of different colors,of varying hues and you are painting your life. You can choose to make it drab and gloomy. But then again why choose it, when you can paint it all happy and colorful and beautiful. Choose the beautiful life but be prepared for the mistakes, the obstacles, the problems you’ll encounter along the way for the road will not all be rosy and easy. Luck only comes to rescue you once in a while. Preparation, no matter how difficult things may seem, gives you that confidence that no matter what happens, you can survive. Yes, be confident in life. Things are easier when you handle things with confidence. Never be arrogant though for it only gives misery and makes enemies. Most of all, learn to thank God – because if you are the painter of your own life, he is that invisible wind guiding your hands and whispering in your ears’Choose well my child’.
Good luck graduates and Congratulations! Thank You very much!
Today I have come home. I have returned to the very school that replaced my once empty mind with an open one. I have returned to the schoolgrounds where not so long ago I played in, ran all over, rolled on the grasses, made friends with and in so many ways conquered it. Yes, this used to be my alma mater and no amount in words could express my gratitude to the beacon of light its education provided me as I stepped out from the portals of this school and breeze through high school, college and then the real life ahead.
Most of all, it was the people behind this school I am most thankful for, for keeping it running each day, stressing themselves out to share what they know and taking an extra mile to inject thoughts and values we could hold on later in life. Having a teacher for a mother, I have utmost respect for teachers for they hold that opportunity, that power to shape minds, mold lives and push our spirits to dream freely and teach us those first steps in achieving them. Always remember graduates that education, cliché as it is and it has been said a thousand times, is your ticket to achieve your dreams and turn your lives around. I have always thought that God gives us dreams that we can achieve just like he gives us burdens only we can handle. You have that dreams in you that has always been within your reach and education is one tool to get you farther up the ladder to reach it. The power education encompasses is far beyond the diploma you receive, it surmounts more than just a feeling because knowledge is power that if only you have plenty of it, you will lead an easier life than those who doesn’t have it.
Graduates, most of the successful people I know persevered in school. In fact, even though I have gone not that much success yet, I wouldn’t have been here if I have not valued my education. Yes I know a lot of people who excelled in school not minding poverty and instead taking extra efforts to get their diploma. Those poor people are the ones who are more recognized when they present themselves in the real world because they value hard work and industry more, thus they work harder and are more diligent in their jobs. Remember, we cannot be all so great and famous. We can’t be all presidents or heroes or famous like the people we see on TV all the time but we can be great in our own way by achieving many good things. Change is spurred by one act of good deed and change begins all the time. Each second the clock ticks, change happens. That is why young as you are be mindful of what change you can do if you have that power education gives.
As a piece of advice, I encourage you to read, read and read. Read famous books of famous authors. Boring and uncool may it seem, you will be proven wrong if you try. I used to despise books a kid and I never really was encouraged to read by my mother in ways more than my teacher required. But after reading a few good books, it became a hobby, then a habit and then reading was never boring after all. Contemporary movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Harry Potter series and Eragon all came from books and so do Romeo and Juliet and other classics. I tell you the movies you see on TV are far less greater and way far less exciting than books.
Also, learn not to treat yourself like a kid anymore. Act and think mature but nevertheless enjoy your childhood. You will learn the value of responsibility if you do and you won’t have to blame others if you make mistakes. Value the beauty of freedom. It is when you don’t compromise it that you achieve many great things. Never be strangled by conformity yet learn to respect the rights of others. Always put in mind, that your opinion, your thoughts is of the same weight as that of the person seating beside you. No matter what status we have in life, we are all equal. So don’t be intimidated by the rich and the intelligent or somebody older than you are. Speak your thoughts without being rude but be sure you are realistic and practical and rational when you deal with people. Irrational people are close-minded and remember, just like an umbrella, the mind functions and serves it purpose only when it is open. Love your parents and show it to them in your own little way even if sometimes they seem unlovable. Like so many important things, you will never know how much you value them ‘til they’re gone- so never lose a minute. Show your love as well to your brothers and sisters for soon, they will be your only link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. They say, live life like there is no tomorrow. Live it to the fullest. Savor it. Laugh. Cry. Dance. Sing. Play. Enjoy the world that presents to you each day. It offers boundless opportunities and new horizons. A challenge unfolds each day for you dear graduates, and it is for you to grasp it, embrace it and take it on or you can brush it on the wayside and wait ‘til it ever comes back again. Decisions arrive each waking moment and remember it is you who defines yourself, your life –not your parents, not school, not our society, not other people. That’s how beautiful life is, you get to choose. Picture yourself a painter – you’re give a canvass and a palette of different colors,of varying hues and you are painting your life. You can choose to make it drab and gloomy. But then again why choose it, when you can paint it all happy and colorful and beautiful. Choose the beautiful life but be prepared for the mistakes, the obstacles, the problems you’ll encounter along the way for the road will not all be rosy and easy. Luck only comes to rescue you once in a while. Preparation, no matter how difficult things may seem, gives you that confidence that no matter what happens, you can survive. Yes, be confident in life. Things are easier when you handle things with confidence. Never be arrogant though for it only gives misery and makes enemies. Most of all, learn to thank God – because if you are the painter of your own life, he is that invisible wind guiding your hands and whispering in your ears’Choose well my child’.
Good luck graduates and Congratulations! Thank You very much!
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