37th Graduation Exercises, San Lorenzo Ruiz National High School, Camarines Norte
By: Yoying Pimentel
(Translated from its original Tagalog-Bicol version. Pulled from Sylvia Morningstar’s FB)
Good afternoon to you all, good afternoon to my Barangay Captain who is present today.
Greetings and congratulations to all the parents who for years have balanced their limited budget, reduced the food on their tables and looked away from a new t-shirt they badly needed – just so they could be here today – to see their child graduate from high school.
I would also like to greet the honorable teachers who tirelessly walked under the simmering sun and braved the rain showers for lack of jeepney fares … just to get to school and continue to educate our children.
I congratulate the students who fought and triumphed over all the challenges to make it to this occasion. Congratulations, everybody. Congratulations, Graduates. (My heart is pounding because I can see so many happy parents close to tears while you, Graduates, are in glee.) It is my wish that every son and daughter of my village, Maisog, to someday sit where you are as graduates of high school.
Our hero Jose Rizal once said, “ He who does not look back to his origin will not reach his destination”.
Why, where are we all going anyway?
Some of you will be married by tomorrow.
Some of you will immediately look for work anywhere and everywhere and will probably never return.
Maybe, some of you will begin to prepare for a vocational school.
Some will train as policemen, teachers, engineers, nurses, or even as doctors, and why not, if you are capable?
Whichever direction you choose to take, ask yourself: which path will I take? The good or the ugly?
As a policeman, the authority is yours to implement our laws, to protect all men, women and children…. and our environment. But you may go either way. If you become a policeman, will you choose the people whom to protect? Will you implement only the laws that will be beneficial to your business? Or will you give honor to your everyday service to the people and protection of the environment? Think about it.
If you were an engineer, will you cheat on cement and steel bars to quickly enrich yourself – let your edifice crumble no matter who it hurts or trample upon? Or will you mix the right stuff so that all the bridges and roads will forever connect and become the monuments of your honorable self? Think hard.
Remember that education makes us brighter. Knowledge can make a better person out of us. But knowledge can also make us a good cheater. Remember that always. Use your education well. Help build your community.
If you were a teacher, will you -to your best capacity- become a model to your students in spite of the fact that you will always be the last consideration for a salary raise? Will you continue to sharpen the minds of your students until the last hour just so your slowest student may have the chance to step up the higher grade? Do you realize what it is to be a Teacher? Let’s say thank you again!
If you were a Nurse or a Doctor earning in foreign currency, will you look back to your town of San Lorenzo Ruiz? Will you help those you left behind, toiling away everyday, whose only dream is to see this town rise above poverty?
Some of you will challenge each other in Politics. And if you become the Mayor, what kind of mayor will you be? Will you lead your people to sustainable development?
Being the mayor is a serious matter. The power is in him to bring this town to the path of sustainable development, a brighter future …. or to complete darkness.
The path to sustainable development varies from town to town depending on its natural resources and how they are used. San Lorenzo Ruiz is a watershed. A watershed is a piece of land without specific size. Some watersheds are smaller or bigger than others. A watershed is a piece of land with many rivers cutting through it. Our town, San Lorenzo Ruiz is the watershed of Camarines Norte, just like the town of Labo. But compare the waters of Labo to ours. The waters of Labo river is thick, brown and muddy. That is the reason why the water filtration system of Camarines Norte Water District is located in our Town!
In many places, the land is cracking from dryness. Nothing grows. Animals perish. Rivers dry up, fish die. Without water, there is no life. Water shall be the cause of the next war. Here, it rains all time! Even on graduation day!!! . San Lorenzo Ruiz is the source of water for a large part of Camarines Norte. That is the value of this town: We give LIFE!
That is why, wherever life takes you, look back to San Lorenzo Ruiz…. Look back to the glistening waters of your youth and remember to take care of it, to keep it clean for your children and your grandchildren.
I invite you to plant a tree, (if you like – you can plant in Maisog) so that you have something to come back to; so that each one of you can help change the mindset of those who do not believe in the value of one tree; so that your love for our mountains may grow with your tree; so that your tree will become part of our environment – from which your life came, and that of your parents.
According to Jose Rizal, during the time of darkness:
No matter how thick the clouds
That hover over our Town
The sun will break thru
No matter how little the shine.
I hope that YOU are that little sunshine!
Thank you very much!
Here’s the video:
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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.
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The setting reminds me so much of my own elementary school graduation! Ganyan din kami noon, maliit na stage, naka uniform si Ma’am, naka pormal yung guest speaker, naka barong ang mga lalaking panauhing pandangal chorva, lumalaylay ang mga trapal pantabing sa init ng araw or pangontra para lang wag malusaw ang mga mok-ap in case umulan, trapal na amoy kopra dahil hiniram sa may ari ng buy ang sell ng agricultural products sa bayan, grrrrrr. Nakakaiyak….
hahaha ayan ka na naman! parang sa barrio den namen ang picture na to and i thought it was sweet that I was hearing her speak in Bicol hahaha love it!
when i graduated, hapon nun, yeah me toga den kami and i remember hiniram ko lang yon HAHAHA pero wala kaming trapal. what i remember was that, it was my 1st time to wear balat shoes hahahaha dahil naka-tsinelas lang kami sa school nun and on occasion naka rubber shoes hahaha gawd! grabe!
Vonggacious ka! Wiz kaming toga. Graduation dress na white lang belo-de-nee, hihihi. Ang akon sapatos ay binili sa peddler na Maranao sa bayan. Walang gaanong choices sa size at style sa bayan so ayun, charol, yung makintab na matigas parang pinipiga ang paa mo sa sikip? Eh ang paa ko pa naman nung araw korteng luya, huhuhuhu. (ngayon ano na sha….korteng barko, hehehe, asensado~)
I remember ang aking corsage ay homemade – waling waling (abundant sa amin) na naka perdible sa background na fern, weeeee! Balebiktoryan aketch kaya ang dami kong garland from my fans sa barrio – may kalachuchi, ribbons in between cut straws, everlasting (ang kati nun!) saka ang aking peborit garland, yung pinagdugtong dugtong na Tarzan babolgam, HAHAHAHAHA!
Alam mo ang mga non perishable na garlands, naipamana ko pa sa anim na younger siblings ko – isinisilid sa supot at itinatago sa baul ang garland after makodakan ang graduate para magamit ng kung sinong susunod na gagagradweyt. Kaya pag pinagtabi mo ang mga kodak naming magkakapatid sa elem at HS graduation, parepareho ng garland, HAHAHA! Except of course the Tarzan babolgam~
AY!!! i remember the garland hehehe! mga waling waling at gumamela! leche! yong me mga kaya samen nun had this baguio flower nakalimutan ko name – parang forever luya or sum’tin hahaha! ‘day inggit ako sa mga classmates ko, meron sila, wala ako. kamfufot lang ata ang sinablay sa leeg ko nun nang mga tarantadong barkada ko hahaha
Everlasting ang bulaklak na yun Ate Reynz. Hehehe. Maganda pero sobrang kati sa leeg. At the wnd of the day yung mga tumanggap ng everlasting garland namumula na ang leeg sa kamot. Hahaha
Buti kayo bulaklak ang sinabit eh sa akin nung graduation eh sash and bouquet of flowers. Hahaha
everlasting pla hehehe! kamfufut only lasts a few minutes hehe lupasay na nga nung inabot saken hehe
I hated everlasting kaya lang pag mga kamag anak ang nag gibsung especially pag mga wrangler na, hehehehe, sensitib kaya titiisin mo talaga ang kati at baka magtampo.
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