Grad Speech.docx

Grad Speech

*insert greetings* Today is such a special day for all of you. Finally, you are reaping the fruits of you and your parents’ hard labor. Finally, you are graduates. Although it seems like the end of your journey, this is only just the beginning. I hope you have given some thought for what you want to pursue after (high school/grade school) because it is difficult to find you way when you do not have a direction in mind. It’s kind of surreal to imagine that (hs/gs) was just the preparation for the actual test which is the rest of your life. If you thought school was hard, try adulting. Trust me, in no time at all, you would want to go back to being as carefree as a student. I know I did.

Now, I want you to think back to your school experience. What was it like? Did everyone have the same strengths and weaknesses? Did everyone have the same talents? Did everyone learn the same way?

We didn’t, right? Some of us learn fast, some of us take a while. But everyone learns fast the night before the exam. (lol) Some of us learn best by reading on their own, others learn best by listening to the teacher. Some learn best in “studying out” with their barkada in someone’s house, eating pancit canton and then celebrating after by watching Netflix or playing ML. Some of us are good at speaking while others are better doing written works. Some of us are good at dancing while others are good at sports. But everyone is good at singing…in the shower (lol). Some of us graduate with honors while others graduate after a second try. Yet despite all these differences, this does not define our worth. One is not necessarily better than the other just because they are better with a particular skill. As humans, we are all unique in our way. We are born with our particular kind of intelligence. Yes, wala’y bobo. We are intelligent in our own way. We are incredible in our own way. This is the message of our theme: Pagkakaisa sa pagkakaiba; kalidad na edukasyon para sa lahat. This is an illustration that our society cannot be built if it were not for the different kinds of intelligences that people. For society to be progressive, we need people who are good at research to make our laws, we need people who are good at science to make solutions to our problems, we need people who are good at teaching be our teachers, the list goes on. Sometimes, we feel bad or less about ourselves when we see others excel at something we can’t or experience a different life from our own. Sometimes, we just want to be the same as them.

But if everyone were the same, how can we have a vibrant and diverse society? The truth is, we are supposed to be different. We are gifted different skills and talents and we must master them so we can make a good contribution to society. When everyone does this, we all benefit.

However, the problem is that even when we are all supposed to be equal despite our different skills, talents and circumstances, we all buy into the lie that one kind of intelligence is better than the other. We diminish the value of other equally important fields. Since when did human kind decide that farmers are not as important as businessmen? That teachers are worth less than lawyers? That the poor deserve less?

We must change how we view differences because if we don’t we end up destroying society and it affects us and our futures. For example. Look at us now. Because we don’t treat the farmers well, no one wants to be a farmer. See that’s the problem. We all want to eat, unli-rice pa, but one wants to plant or at least help those who do. How will we feed ourselves? How will we feed our children?

And so we need “Kalidad na edukasyon.” When I say quality education, I do not just mean that schools follow the curriculum and are able to teach students what they need to pass admission tests. That is already a given. But what I mean by quality education is a holistic education of society. A reassessment of our culture. We must be educated in the reality that all fields are deserving of attention and acclaim. There is no “lesser” field. We must be educated by the reality that if we don’t care about our neighbor, we are all lose our home and its stability. In the long term, that will also mean changing our educational system in order to reflect this. We are already on that track with the K-12 by highlighting the importance of trade skills and that one should not need a college degree as a mandatory requirement to get a job even if that job has nothing to do with having an unrelated 4 year course. But there is still so much to go.

I know you are all excited to celebrate so I’ll cut this short. You will not remember me or most of what I said but I hope that if you do remember anything from my speech, it will be this: Each one of us has a God-given purpose. Our circumstances, skills and personalities are assigned by God so we fulfill this purpose. May we seek His wisdom as we try to fulfill His plans for us. Because the best plans are not those from an error prone human brain but by that who created the entire universe and loves you so.

God bless you and Congratulations!

Congrats again

Not the end, not goodbye, it will be the beginning of another door etc