Letter to the graduates of 2009

(Speech delivered on March 28, 2009 at graduation ceremonies of Bayanihan Institute and also at the Tarlac Living Faith Academy in Tarlac City, Tarlac)

Thank you for this privilege to speak before this outstanding school even though I’m not as famous as Kris Aquino, whose heroic and inspiring parents are both from this historic province of Tarlac. 

Officials, teachers, parents and graduates, congratulations to all of you for making this graduation possible. Graduates, please stand up and give your parents a big round of applause for their hard work in paying your tuition fees and for seeing you through school.

Congratulations also and never forget your teachers — please applaud them because they are in the noblest of all professions and the true heroes of our society.

When I was a kid, I said to myself that one day I would visit all the many schools where my late mother Mary Young Siu-Tin had once taught. Several years ago I visited the Tabaco Pei Ching High School in Tabaco, Albay with my friends Bicol businessman Melanio Cua Fernando and former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Atty. Joel Cadiz. It means a lot to me to be here visiting the Bayanihan Institute where my mother once taught before I was born. Also, my favorite photo of her was probably a yearbook photo from this school because that sepia photo has the words “Island Studio, Tarlac” on it.

Most of the people I’ve talked to have totally forgotten what their high school graduation speaker had to say, so I’ve decided to just write down 12 suggestions for you to consider. After I mention these 12 suggestions, I’m giving each of you graduates a copy in the form of a letter, for I am a writer and I really sincerely believe that writers are better read than heard.

Here are my 12 suggestions:

• Dream. I urge all of you to dream, and hopefully to dream big. It doesn’t cost anything to dream. Why dream big? If you dream for the stars, you might reach the ceiling. I suggest that you go home tonight to write down your dreams and try to put target deadlines for achieving them, then put that list on the wall of your bedroom, because I believe dreams without deadlines are just fantasies.

• Obey your parents. Whether you understand them or you think you do not, trust me on this: obey your parents because they want only the best for you and they have had more experience.

• Live healthy. Good health is priceless wealth. Exercise regularly. To eat right is better than to eat well. Don’t ever try cigarettes or other unhealthy vices, because they are definitely not cool. Worldwide studies have shown that 90 percent of cigarette smokers start smoking before reaching 18 years of age, leading the US Surgeon General in 2001 to label cigarette smoking as a “pediatric disease.”

• Read. In this era of the addicting Internet, Facebook, computer games, countless channels on cable TV and ubiquitous shopping malls, I notice that a lot of young people do not read. For you to get ahead in life and to improve your mind, I believe it is important for you to read — whether books, magazines or newspapers. Never stop learning. Reading improves your language and your critical thinking; it can inspire, it enriches your imagination and expands your horizons.

• Study Chinese. It is not only beneficial because China today has the world’s second largest economy and is also America’s biggest creditor, Mandarin is spoken by more than 1.3 billion people and it is the key to the cultural riches of a 5,000-year-old civilization. Chinese has an uncomplicated grammar. Unlike English, Spanish or German, Chinese has no verb conjugations. It also has no gender or number distinctions. What in English is “see,” “saw” and “seen” is only khan in Mandarin, while horse and horses are just the same (ma) in Mandarin.

There are many priceless cultural values embedded in Chinese language not found in English, such as xiao-sun for filial piety to parents and elders; ren, the word for perseverance, which is comprised of two characters meaning “heart” and “dagger”; or the world-famous Chinese phrase for “crisis” or wei-ji made up of two characters — wei for “danger” and ji for “opportunity.

• Do not waste time. My late mother once taught me a Chinese proverb that goes, “One ounce of time is equivalent to one ounce of gold, but an ounce of gold cannot buy back one ounce of time which has already passed.” Whether rich or poor, powerful or ordinary people, God has equally given all of us 24 hours a day. Time is our most important resource, not money. As young people, you may not realize it yet, because death seems to be a very distant strange concept, but every day we live, the clock is ticking away, so cherish and value time.

• Do not be afraid to fail. In life, we do not always win, sometimes we lose or we fail, but failure is not permanent and it offers lessons. I want to tell you a secret — most people on earth easily forget if we fail or lose, but people remember those who win; so even if you fail a hundred times, this will soon be forgotten in a week or two, but the worst thing in life is never trying.

• Hard work is more important than talent. If you go to the nursery sections of hospitals, you will see there are many naturally talented and intelligent babies being born every day. So how come not all people are successful? I believe hard work is ultimately and infinitely more important than talent, intelligence, or other advantages. I also believe hard work brings us more good luck!

• Pray. It is sad that people often only pray when they’re in crisis. Pray always.

• Value true friends. Many of your childhood or high school friends are your true friends; be good to them because often they are even more important than your relatives. Choose good and true friends, not bad-influence friends.

• Practice positive thinking. Reject negative attitudes, and avoid negative friends. In the future, even if you encounter the worst difficulties or heart-breaking problems, never give up or despair but have an unshakable positive outlook. Every crisis brings new opportunities, every failure is only a temporary setback but with bonus lessons. All of us are destined for success; it is our birthright!

• Think globally. Whatever you dream or plan, think beyond Tarlac, aim beyond the Philippines. You and I live in the most exciting period in human history with globalization, the Internet, borderless corporations and disappearing boundaries. Think globally; we live in an era of endless possibilities!

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