Dream big
(Part 1 of 3)
LAST June 22, I had the honor and privilege of being invited as the guest speaker at the 39th Commencement Exercises of the University of the Philippines Visayas held in their beautiful campus in Miagao, Iloilo.
I would like to share with you, my dear readers, the speech I delivered to
UP Visayas’ 840 graduates (including a lone summa cum laude, 14 magna cum laude, and 192 cum laude graduates) who are raring to do their part in shaping our nation’s future.
Graduations signify ends and beginnings. It is a time to reflect on what you have experienced and accomplished the past four years here at the University of the Philippines Visayas.
It is also a time to be thankful for the people who helped you in this great personal achievement. Thank your teachers who burned the midnight oil checking exams and essays; those who gave you advice not just in academics but in life as well. Thank even your teachers who tormented you or flunked you in class. You will become a better person for it, I assure you. Suffering, they say, builds character.
Pasalamatan ninyo ang inyong mga mahal na magulang. Sometimes we do not realize the sacrifices a loved one makes for us until its too late. Your parents worked hard to give you food on the table, a home to grow up in, and support to ensure a bright future.
Ends and beginnings
Graduations also give you the opportunity to cherish the memories you have created while you were in college—the knowledge acquired, the friendships formed, the lessons in life learned, and the loves found and lost. These are memories that you will be thankful for once you get more years in your life and start looking back.
In my case, there was one particular lesson that stuck with me after I graduated from the University of the Philippines: one’s circumstances today will not determine what is possible tomorrow.
When I was young, my world was limited to Tondo and Divisoria. At an early age, I was already working by helping my mother sell shrimp and fish in Divisoria. I remember waking up very early in the morning, sometimes as early as one in the morning, so we can walk from our house in Tondo to either Navotas or Divisoria.
So when my friend asked me to join him in taking the entrance examinations in UP, I was more than willing to expand my world. I was very impressed when I saw the UP campus in Diliman. I admired the vastness of the campus but more importantly, I liked the beauty of greeneries that surrounded us. Your beautiful campus here in Miagao is another example of this.
Believe it or not, this made a lasting impression on me. When I started building Camella Homes, I insisted that all a communities must have lots of trees and sufficient greeneries. Looking back, that was the first time I truly appreciated the beauty of the environment.
As you can probably guess, waking up early and selling fish in Divisoria had an effect on my studies. I was sometimes tired and sleepy in class, at times I arrived late for class but I was diligent enough to make sure that I won’t be absent and that I will do my best to prepare myself for the lesson that day.
I remember, sumasabit na lang ako sa jeep para makaabot sa klase ko. Buti hindi ako nakakatulog habang nakasabit sa jeep. Naaalala ko din noon na ang palagi kong baon ay dalawang piraso ng pandesal na may palamang mantikilya na may halong asukal, pag sinuswerte, peanut butter. Minsan binibigay ko pa sa kaibigan ko yung isa para hati kami.
When I was in high school, I was not able to attend the Junior-Senior Prom because we couldn’t afford to buy a barong tagalog. In my fourth year, my mother, Nanay Curing, was able to borrow a barong for me so I was able to join our JS prom which was held at the campus quadrangle.
But even during those trying times, I never pitied myself. I was a simple student but I was proud. Even at a young age, I would tell myself that with hard work and persistence, I can make my life, and that of my family, better. This was what my mother taught me, which was reinforced by the UP brand of education.
(To be continued next week)