Graduation!
To all who greeted us for this special moment in our lives, we can never say thank you enough.
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
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To all who greeted us for this special moment in our lives, we can never say thank you enough.
Posted by
Rex
at
7:18 AM
15 comments:
uyyy..congratz! graduate na sila! hahahaha
happy future. hahaha..future gid ya..happy present eh. hahaha tc!
SA MGA HALIGI SANG HALL 1:
Congratz... Wow gradwayt na sila... Kuya rex kag kuya mon wala nyo gid nakita ang nami nga face ko... mayo pa si ate fel kag ate hedz.. nagsinggit na gid ko to hay... well, it's really hard to shout in a crowd full of fans... mahirap basta kung artistahin noh?! joke... may more blessings come in your way and may God bless you all. Here are some of my wishes to the four institutions:
To kuya Mon...
Kuya, pls continue to be pokemon-addict or game-addict. Kitakits muli. Basi next tym u'll have your own game..
To Ate Fel...
Ate, God bless with the job that you want. Hope that you enjoy your job and be happy always.
To Ate Hedz...
Thank you for everything. God bless with your love life and continue influencing others in a good way. I'll try my best ate to live up to some of your expectations. thank you ate for the guidance...
lastly... to kuya rex...
kuya, 21 ka na. pwede ka na kapangasawa.. yehey.. kuya, 'wag kang magpakatorpe and please naman 'wag kang maging laon... oh my gulay... kundi huntingon ka gid ni Fritz... room8t this is your chance...
God bless upperclass... bye, bye... see yah soon...
Thanks sa tanan nga nag-greet kag nag-attend sa amon special day. Pasencia na sa ibang na dedma ko that time, I was too overwhelmed of the feeling lang 'guro. Anyways, my work na ko di sa manila. Abangan nyo na lang ako sa tv. Hehehe.
congrats po mga ate't kuya.. naway mabigyan kayo ng trabaho asap.. para may blowout.. thanks in advance!! haha!!
eo pow! sowe late ang greeting, hehe... congratulations po sa inyo! gonna miss all so much! God bless!^^ and good luck!!
Graduation Message of the 16-year old summa cum laude of the 2007 UP Diliman Batch
Take Not the Road Less Travelled
By Mikaela Irene Fudolig
UP Diliman Graduation 22 April 2007
One of the things that strike me as being very "UP Diliman" is the way
UPD students can't seem to stay on the pavement. From every street
corner that bounds an unpaved piece of land, one will espy a narrow
trail that cuts the corner, or leads from it. Every lawn around the buildings sports at least one of these paths, starting from a point nearest to the IKOT stop and ending at the nearest entry to the
building. The trails are beaten on the grass by many pairs of feet
wanting to save a fraction of a meter of traveling, no matter that
doing so will exact some cost to the shoes, or, to the ubiquitous
slippers, especially when the trails are new.
What do these paths say abou! t us, UP students?
One could say that the UP student is enamored with Mathematics and
Pythagoras, hence these triangles formed by the pavement and the path. Many among you would disagree.
Others could say that the UP student is naturally countercultural. And the refusal to use the pavement is just one of the myriads of ways to show his defiance of the order of things. This time, many would agree.
Still, others will say that the UP student is the model of today's
youth: they want everything easier, faster, now. The walkable paths
appeal to them because they get to their destination faster, and
presumably, with less effort. Now that is only partly true, and
totally unfair.
These trails weren't always walkable. No doubt they started as patches of grass, perhaps overgrown. Those who first walked them must have soiled their shoes, stubbed their toes, or had insects biting their legs, all in the immovable belief that the nearest distance between two points is a straight line. They might even have seen snakes cross their paths. But the soiled footwear, sore toes, and itchy legs started to conquer the grass. Other people, seeing the yet faint trail, followed. And as more and more walked the path, the grass gave in and stopped growing altogether, making the path more and more visible, more and more walkable.
The persistence of the paths pays tribute to those UP students who
walked them first the pioneers of the unbeaten tracks: the defiant and curious few who refuse the familiar and comfortable; the
out-of-the-box thinkers who solve problems instead of fretting about
them; the brave who dare do things differently, and open new
opportunities to those who follow.
They say how one behaved in the past would determine how he behaves in the future. And as we leave the University, temporarily or for good, let us call on the pioneering, defiant, and brave spirit that built the paths to guide us in this next phase of our life.
We have been warned time and again. Our new world that they call
"adulthood" is one that's full of compromises, where success is
determined more by the ability to belong than by the ability to think, where it is much easier to do as everyone else does. Daily we are bombarded with so much news of despair about the state of our nation, and the apparent, perverse sense of satisfaction our politicians get from vilifying our state of affairs. It is fashionable to migrate to other countries to work in deceptively high-paying jobs like nursing and teaching, forgetting that even at their favored work destinations, nurses and teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals. The lure of high and immediate monetary benefits in some low-end outsourcing jobs has drawn even some of the brightest UP students away from both industry and university teaching to which they would have been better suited.
Like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths are the easiest to take.
But, like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths take longer to traverse, just as individual successes do not always make for national progress. The unceasing critic could get elected, but not get the job done. The immigrant could get his visa, but disappear from our brainpower pool. The highly paid employee would be underutilized for his skills, and pine to get the job he truly wants, but is now out of his reach. And the country, and we, are poorer because of these.
Today, the nation needs brave, defiant pioneers to reverse our
nation's slide to despair. Today, we must call upon the spirit that
beat the tracks. Today, we must present an alternative way of doing
things.
Do NOT just take courage, for courage is not enough. Instead, be
BRAVE! It will take bravery to go against popular wisdom, against the
clichid expectations of family and friends. It will take bravery to
gamble your future by staying in the country and try to make a
prosperous life here. It might help if for a start, we try to see why
our Korean friends are flocking to our country. Why, as many of us
line up for immigrant visas in various embassies, they get themselves naturalized and settle here. Do they know something we don't?
Do NOT just be strong in your convictions, for strength is not enough. Instead, DEFY the pressure to lead a comfortable, but middling life. Let us lead this country from the despair of mediocrity. Let us not seek to do well, but strive to EXCEL in everything that we do. This, so others will see us as a nation of brains of the highest quality, not just of brawn that could be had for cheap.
Take NOT the road less traveled. Rather, MAKE new roads, BLAZE new
trails, FIND new routes to your dreams. Unlike the track-beaters in
campus who see where they're going, we may not know how far we can go.
But if we are brave, defiant searchers of excellence, we will go far. Explore possibilities, that others may get a similar chance. I have tried it myself. And I'm speaking to you now.
But talk is cheap, they say. And so I put my money where my mouth is.
Today, I place myself in the service of the University, if it will have me. I would like to teach, to share knowledge, and perhaps to be an example to new UP students in thinking and striving beyond the limits of the possible. This may only be a small disturbance in the grass. But I hope you'll come with me, and trample a new path.
Good evening, everyone.
Sa mga INSTITUSyon ng HALL1!
Happy Graduation Day
I send my love to you
You made me proud of you today
And very happy too.
Remembering as a tiny tot
Your very first day of school
You tried to hide how scared you were
I struggled to be so cool.
It was so hard to hide my tears
I hated to see you go
No longer my little baby
Oh how I love you so.
You worked real hard and made your marks
You are now college bound
I'll miss your happy laughter
And that booming stereo sound.
The years went by too swiftly
You grew up awfully fast
Proms, sports, debates and such
Are sadly in the past.
Just know we wish you the very best
In everything you do
Remember honey wherever you go
That we will always love you.
©Ginny Bryant
Sa tanan nga nag-graduate na upperclass: Congratulations!!!
Sayang at hindi ako naka-attend sang inyo nga graduation...
Mga inspiration kamu tanan.
la lng....
just sayin'
CONGRATZ....
sa mga
ISTITUSYON
sng
HALL1.....
God Bless!!!
Well Done ate's AND kUYA'S
The PILLARS of Hall1..
Congratz..cnyu..
-Well done ate's and kuya's..
KUDOS>>>>>
We can't thank you enough for all the efforts you've contributed and the sibling love you've given us..
-even the petty things..those made a lot of mature and competent decisions..
keep in touch always..
kisses...
Esp.to ate fel..thanks sa paglbre samun ni mummie fish 2ng sa miami pa kmi..hehehe..
GRAMERCY!!!!
hindi pa ako nakacomment dito... kahit parang masyado ng matagal... just wanna Congratulate sa mga ate and kuya namin sa Hall1!
Maraming maraming salamat sa inyo! mahal namin kayo!
God Bless you all! Have a Happy journey together with the Lord!
From Redd:
Congratz sa mga nag-graduate...
Super Too Late..
He he he...
Commencement Address of Cheche Lazaro
Iloilo City
April 24, 2007
It is not often one is given the chance to speak before such a large and captive audience---unless, in this season of political campaigns, you are one of two things. you are the frontrunner, or you have paid enough relatives and friends to listen to the litany of programs you intend to implement IF you get elected.
Since I am neither, I thank the University for the honor of addressing this years’ graduating class, and you, my dear friends, for bearing with me for the next few minutes. Although it was many years ago, I still remember the discomfort of having to listen to a graduation speech that seemed to last for two and a half days, about something that was so remote to my own experience as a brand new graduate.
Just the other day, as I was agonizing about what to tell you this afternoon, someone asked me what it was I wanted to say. Instinctively I said, “I want to tell them never to give up. And to live a meaningful life.”
The answer comes from two recent stories we did for Probe, a TV show we have been doing for the last twenty years. You would think that after 20 years there would be little that surprises or impresses…that we would be bored and unimpressed about stories having done so many of them over the years.
But in our line of work, no two days are the same, and each story we come across is unique and special. One such story is the one about Hillmarie.
Hillmarie is a 14 year old high school student and the eldest in a family of 7 children. Her dream is to finish school but her parents who support the family by making charcoal and farming are hardly able to make ends meet. To get to school everyday, she wakes up at 4 a.m. to do work in the house before they leave for school at 6:30. Sometimes, she has to miss class because she is left alone to be mother and father to all her brothers and sisters while her parents are not home. On regular days, five of them walk over rough hilly roads for an hour one way to get to school in barangay Talbak in Bulacan.
Their baon is two pesos each for recess and lunch. With two pesos, for lunch they buy a bag of chichiria each to eat as ulam and two pesos worth of toyo pang sawsawan. If there is no money left, they skip recess and stay in the classroom to read and do their homework.
Hillmarie recently graduated valedictorian of her elementary class. She did not expect to go to high school because they had no money for tuition. Her determination not to be discouraged by difficulties is exemplary. Anyone with less determination would have easily given up. But not Hillmarie. She continues to persevere despite the many challenges she has to hurdle just to go to school.
Just recently, she received news that her dream to get an education may even go beyond high school. Someone told her story at a forum in New York City. And although college is still three years away, she has been granted a scholarship to finish a college degree at the Manhattanville College in New York City.
A wide-eyed Hillmarie could not believe that her dream to get an education is now within reach. As her father said, “hangad namin sa mga anak naming gumanda ang kinabukasan nila…” something I am sure, is echoed by all the parents sitting here today to witness your making it as a University graduate.
But Hillmarie is the lucky one.
Last week, we came across a book entitled “They Have Jesus” by a man named Joey Velasco. I became curious about the book because on its cover was a picture of the last supper. But instead of Christ and his white robed disciples, pictured with Christ were 11 different faces. Faces that looked familiar---like the ones of young children you see roaming the streets of Manila begging for money and food.
Out of this curiosity, we decided to look for Joey and find out the story behind his version of the “Last Supper.” What struck me as odd turned out to be the story of one man’s journey in his accidental search for meaning in his life.
When we sat down for the interview with Joey Velasco, we settled in among paint canvasses strewn all over his well-appointed living room somewhere in Quezon City. Behind him was a huge canvass of an unfinished painting he was working on.
I thought he was a painter by profession so that was what I asked him first. He said he was not and had no previous experience painting anything. In fact, he was a successful businessman with a young family. His main concern in life was to make as much money as he could to provide for their future.
A few years ago, he became seriously ill and was confined at a hospital. During his illness, restless about his inability to move around like he used to, he decided to take up painting to while away his time.
Although he was still learning his new hobby, he would paint large canvasses until his living room had come to look like a gallery until the only remaining space in the house was a blank wall in their dining room. To fill it up, he decided to paint “The Last Supper” using children as disciples as a reminder to his children not to waste food or become too spoiled about fast food.
He felt that the best models would be children the age of his own so that they could relate to the painting more closely. And since he did not paint from memory, he needed real faces he could take pictures of as a guide for his project.
He went out to look for children he could photograph to make up the “maliliit na apostoles ni Jesus” He gathered about 20 children from the squatter areas of QC. Together with some helpers, they built what would pass for a table from discarded wooden pallets and used rusty drums to hold up the long makeshift table. He laid out a “handa” of bowls of noodles, sardines, rice, bread, and juice. It was a feast for the children who were hungry and thirsty. While the children had a feast, Joey took pictures of them. After that, he gave the kids some money, said goodbye and then went home happy with the pictures he had. He could now start his painting project.
It took him a month and a half to finish the painting. The painting hung in their dining room. It attracted the attention of many who saw it including priests from the church. Because of its uniqueness, some church people urged him to unveil it before a large crowd somewhere in Megamall. For Joey, he had successfully unveiled a painting that looked good.
Back at his house, his wife and mother commented that the painting was ugly and not pleasant to look at. It remained that way for a year until he noticed that every time he would look at the painting often early in the morning at 5:30, he would be filled with awe wondering how he was able to paint it. He was sure an unseen hand was painting it for him. He felt that the children in the painting were beginning to speak to him…that it was not him looking at the painting but the painting now looking at him. Not only at him but at his soul.
When I asked him why it took him that long—a year—to come to that point, he said that at first, he only paid attention to the beauty of the painting and his success at giving his children a visual reminder not to waste food.
The voices that called out to him from that one-dimensional flat canvass bothered him. He was at a loss. The eyes that looked out from the painting seemed to ask “Is this all? (Hanggang ganito na lang ba tayo?)” Kinukulit ‘sya. At first he thought it would go away. But after a few days, the call became louder. It was as if they were whispering something to him.
He then felt an urge to go back to where he found the children. He quickly rummaged through his old files, looking for the eleven children he had chosen for his painting. Some pictures were torn and smudged from masking tape that had held it to the canvass a year ago. He went out in search of the 11 with little hope of finding them. After all, it had been a year ago and the kids came from all over the place.
He eventually found all eleven of them. But what he saw this time was different. He saw them within the context of their daily lives- not as models for his tableau but having to live lives beyond their young years. They were not just faces on the canvass but 11 different stories. More than that, each one he met allowed him to look inward at himself and gain insight into the meaning of his life.
Joey was struck by this realization and said and I quote “yung pagbabalik ko sa kanila, parang nabalikan ko rin yung aking sarili at ang Diyos, dahil marami rin akong natutunang bagay sa kanila na hindi ko natutunan sa mga mayayamang tao, mataas na tao, malalaking tao. Sila may mga simple akong matututunan sa kanila. Tulad ng generosity, courage, bravery, nobility of spirit, heroism.
Let me share with you, a few stories about them…
There is Nene, now 11 years old. She lives in the cemetery inside her “kariton,” her only possession. She was abandoned by her mother who has lost her mind and continues to roam the streets of Divisoria. Nene grew up without her parents having to fend for herself by cleaning what she calls “apartments,” burial niches that are rented for five years and then vacated. She roams the streets shining cars or hopping onto jeeps and shining the shoes of the passengers in the hope of getting a little money. Her favorite food is Jollibee—“yun pong napupulot sa basurahan” She moves around pushing a kariton built by her father who is jobless and hangs around with his drinking and gambling buddies. Her ambition in life is to become a doctor so she can cure her mother. Joey learned generosity from her. When he gave her a bag of teddy bears, she quickly gave everyone of her friends one each, keeping only one for herself, proving Joey wrong about his belief that the poor are stingy with what they have.
Then there was Itok, at 11 years old, just as old as Joey’s eldest son. Itok and his brother work as scavengers in order to bring food to the family table. What they earn, they feed a family of 7. I tok has been to jail several times for stealing, sniffing rugby and every petty crime there is. When in jail, he is beaten up by older prisoners and beaten up again and chained to their gate for hours in his own home by his own mother as they throw invectives at each other.
Itok always carried a hairpin with him and knew how to pick every kind of lock there was. He could open any locked car, and anything that was padlocked When Joey went to visit Itok at his squatter shanty, the fishball vendor told him that Itok was the brightest boy in the neighborhood but was also the neighborhood terror of the young children. Before leaving Joey to his thoughts, the vendor told him he felt sure that Itok would be a criminal when he grew up. When Joey asked the vendor “may pag-asa pa ba yang batang yan?” his answer set Joey thinking…”depende sa takbo ng buhay kung may pag-asa pa yang batang yan.”
Itok’s eyes reflect his hardened soul because of his struggle to survive. From him, Joey wonders if he might have been an outstanding student if he were in school? Could he have been a wonder kid? or a gifted child? Or a scientist if he went to the Phil. Science high school? What could he have become?
Then there is Tinay a 5 year old whose mother is working as a domestic helper abroad. Tinay was raped by her own father, a drug addict. The trauma she experienced at the hands of her father has made her fearful of older men and she hardly speaks, unable to express the pain she has undergone. In her life, the monsters are not the kind that children like to play with but they are real---having scarred her for life
Buknoy is seven years old but he looks like a tired forty year old breadwinner. Malnourished from birth, he was fed coffee and had never tasted milk as he was growing up. Abandoned by his mother, he is the one that worries about where the next meal is coming from. When Joey finally met up with him, he asked Buknoy why he had a far-away gaze in the painting. He then found out that at the time the pictures were taken, Buknoy was worried that his father would beat him up if he did not produce the “gabi” and rice he is expected to provide everyday. When Joey remarked about scars on his head, he told him that his brother had poured hot water over his head as punishment for a misdemeanor. Aged beyond his years, Buknoy has never been to school, and doesn’t even know his birthday.
Emong. At seven, he has never gone to school but he pushes a kariton and scavenges for scrap. When asked what he thought of being at the same table with Christ, he had a happy interpretation. He said “uy si Jesus, pinakain namin. Nakita namin sa isang bangketa na pagod at gutom, kaya niyaya naming para kumain. Minasahe namin, pinaliguan namin, tapos nun, pinainom namin.”
Then there is Joyce. A mother at 15 At the time Joey painted “Hapag ng Pag-asa,” she was pregnant but it was only a year later that he learned she was with child at that time. A year later, she now bears the responsibility of caring for a child she cannot feed, much less promise a future. Her childhood has been robbed from her.
These are just a few of the many stories that are lived not in a telenovela made for TV but on a daily basis where the struggle is for survival. There are many more doomed to be the Nene’s, Buknoy’s and Itok’s being born even as we speak. The thought that young, precious potentially productive and meaningful lives may be wasted is a chilling thought.
What is the future for them? Can these children dream of a future? Will they ever live out their dreams? Can they dream like you and I? Do they dream beyond what they now experience? Will they ever set foot in school? Or receive a diploma? Or even taste the food they only see in pictures?
Perhaps it is because their lives have become ordinary to us that we take what is happening around us for granted. We have become innured to what surrounds us. The poverty, the injustice and the social inequities that we find in homes not too far away from our own have blended into the landscape of our existence. We don’t see it anymore.
Do we choose to ignore as Joey initially did? Or do we awaken to a meaningful life? Can you and I in our own spheres of influence make a difference in their lives?
In this politically charged season, we know that to make a difference, you don’t need to be a politician. We know that to make a difference, you don’t have to be wealthy, famous or even Superman.
Joey called his painting “Hapag ng Pag-asa.” Today, he is painting a sequel to “Hapag,” an exact replica of the first one. But as of now, the childrens’ faces are in sketch form. As Joey adds color to each face, it will mean that each child will now have a home to call his own because Gawad Kalinga has promised to build their families a home and hopefully, re-build their lives as well.
My dear graduates, you are privileged. You are graduating from UP whose long tradition of excellence, you are asked to continue. With privilege comes great obligation.
I challenge you to make your life count. Use your education for good.
Make it a meaningful contribution to our country where you are needed most.
Morrie Schwartz, author of the book “Tuesdays with Morrie. ” wrote:
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
Indeed, these stories are unique in our experience and I thank you for allowing me to share them with you today.
As I end, I wish to give you a small graduation gift. I have with me small copies of “Hapag ng Pag-asa” which I would like to share with you so you may be reminded of what Joey told me he learned from this experience that he continues to be a part of..
“There is nothing we can do for God to love us more
There is nothing we can do for God to love us less.”
Mabuhay kayo at magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat!!
source: http://www.upv.edu.ph
congratulations ate hedz, ate fel, kuya mon and kuya rex... good luck and god bless to all of you.
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