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On April
7, 2008, Gesper went back to his alma mater, the Ma-ao Elementary School to give
an inspirational speech to the new graduates of the said school. Despite
of his very hectic schedule in the hospital, Gesper could not say "no" to the
invitation from his previous mentors. He believes that this is a great
opportunity to share his experiences and advise to the new graduates on how he
was able to reach his dreams. He thought, soon these graduates will be
taking a big step towards success someday and he wanted to be a part of it.
Below is a transcript of his speech.
To our
principal, Mr. Rutchillo Ducay; to the teachers of this institution, whom some
of them I had a chance to spend my student life with and have taught me a lot of
things that until now, really meant a lot to me; to the proud parents, whose
generosity and determination have beared fruits today; and to you graduates,
whose efforts have led you to finish the first chapter of your life as a
student. . .
GOOD
AFTERNOON!
Graduates
of MES, fifteen years ago, I was also sitting where you are sitting right now,
and thought exactly what you are thinking: what will happen to me next? Will I
pursue my high school and become what I want to be or my parents want me to be?
Or will I just stop right here, look for a job and help my other siblings finish
school?
Let me
start this very short message with this very short story:
“Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested.
The eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked
the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken
farm, located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect and
care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the
large egg.
One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the
eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more
than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out
for more. While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked to the
skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the
eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds." The chickens roared with
laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do
not soar."
The eagle continued staring, at his real family up above, dreaming that he could
be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it
couldn't be done. That is what the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after
time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken. Finally,
after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.
The moral of the story: You become what you believe you are; so if you ever
dream to become an eagle follow your dreams, not the words of a chicken.”
In life,
there are so many detractors. There are a lot of people who would actually want
you to fall down so you may not reach what you wanted to reach, or achieve what
you wanted to achieve. But then, taking these rude comments or criticisms in a
positive way and to prove these detractors wrong, is actually a great challenge
which can be started by believing in yourself that you can really do it.
I can still
remember when I was still in elementary. Just like a normal kid, I would also
loved to play (irot-irot, enter-enter, panagu-ay) under the sun during break
time. But then, just like anybody else, I have also dreamed to become a
“somebody” in the near future. I have dreamed that someday I would become a
doctor. However, some of people thought, how can I become a doctor if my poor
family could not even afford to send me to a more expensive school or perhaps to
a private school in Bacolod to have “quality” education? But I didn’t care at
all. I thought, what can other private schools in Bacolod give that my alma
mater couldn’t? I thought, after all, kun mayo ka gid ya, mayo ka gid ya
maski diin ka pa ibutang.
And so I
graduated from this institution. After a couple of years and having passed my
secondary and tertiary education here and in Iloilo, respectively, I started to
fulfil my dreams to becoming a doctor in USLS. Again, a new set of detractors
are on my way. They have been criticizing us, they first batch of students from
a then newly opened medschool in Bacolod. They thought, could our school really
produce good doctors? Could our school provide us with the proper education
considering the fact that the professors/ physicians didn’t even have a teaching
experience? I could have continued my medschool at some other known medchools
in the country. But then, I never stopped believing. I believed that no matter
what school I could have been enrolled in, I still can become a good doctor if I
really wanted to. And so after four long years of struggle in medschool, I
graduated as a doctor and passed my medical board exams just last year. And
that is the biggest achievement in my life.
You see,
achievements start from just simple belief that you can really reach it.
Believing that should be started from yourself that no matter how other people
would try to put you down, you will still manage to keep your head up high and
continue on striving to ACHIEVE your goal.
And
speaking of achievements, this reminds me of this year’s theme, “Celebrating
achievements, Pursuing Opportunities”. You know, achievements are better
celebrated only if you have worked hard for it. It gives you a feeling of
fulfilment that finally, after a long struggle and hardships, you have reached
your goal.
We have
heard about a lot of Filipinos around the world who have achieved and celebrated
their success – there’s Manny Pacquiao (the world famous boxer), Lea Salonga
(first Filipina best actress for miss Saigon), Leo
Oracion, Erwin Pastour Emata, and Romi Garduce (first Filipinos who reached
mount everest) and a lot more. All of them have one thing in common. All of
them once dreamed, believed in themselves and most importantly, have worked hard
for it. And working hard means, meeting failures along the way – failures that
may sometimes frustrate you, failures that may sometimes make you want to give
up already. But these are the moments when you want to get up again and try
harder.
One example was
when I was in medschool. You know, studying medicine is not an easy job for me
and for the rest of my classmates. We stayed awake up to 2AM the next day just
to finish a chapter in our thick text books. Much worse, staying awake for the
next 24 hours monitoring our patients at the wards making sure that nobody will
die during our 24-hour duty. But just like anybody else, I also commit
failures, I have also done mistakes. One example was when I failed one of my
subjects in medicine during our term examinations. I could have quitted when I
knew that I wasn’t able to make it. But then, I took the opportunity to retake
my exam and when the results came, I was one of the highest.
I've had a lot of
success and I've had a lot of failures. I've looked good and I've looked bad.
I've been praised and I've been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary.
These mistakes, these failures, helped me realize to work harder and try to get
up again every time I fall. Now, a have succeeded. Now, I have achieved what I
want to achieve. And now, I am pursuing whatever opportunities that may come my
way.
Let us not be like
that eagle in the story that I told you earlier. Instead, continue on dreaming
that you can soar like some other people up there. And with those dreams, put
some hard work into it, so that someday, you will achieve your dreams and
celebrate every bit of it and welcome more opportunities that may come your way.
Before I
leave you, I would like to read a poem that I got from the internet just
yesterday. This is taken from a great children’s book written by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. and you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
α Great Balancing act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES, MORE
POWER AND GODSPEED!
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