ConGRADulations!

The amphitheatre was adequately prepared for the occasion. The ground was level and unsullied, white flowers embellished the stage, and more than a hundred monoblock chairs were neatly stacked in rows. The participants, meanwhile, were garbed in their uniforms, feeling a concoction of excitement, sadness, pride, and apprehension. They were busy chatting with friends in their assigned queues, while they were waiting for the marshal’s signal for them to begin walking—or parading—before a pack of elated on-lookers cheering them on. By the time we got there, they were already seated, which meant that the ceremonies had begun.

It looked like the Olympic Games, but Beijing is a thousand kilometers away from where the event was taking place, not to mention the fact that the calendar says it’s April 2007 (and not 2010). The occasion was actually the commencement exercises of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. The participants were the graduates, of course; and their uniform—well, there really was no uniform—but the ladies put on a white, sepia or a similarly colored dress, while the men wore Barong Tagalog. Their apparel was adorned by a sablay—that piece of cloth-turned-sash, in which the letters “U” and “P” are printed in alibata.

Several of my friends belong to the graduating class of 2007. I rejoice with them and I praise God for His faithfulness in the lives of these people. Indeed, each one of them is a testament to His amazing grace:

Arbie Magno, BS Computer Science. We came from the same high school in the same province (with several others like Mike Cocjin who also graduated this year with a degree in Civil Engineering). Up until a few days before graduation, he was still working on his thesis, probably uncertain of whether or not he was going to march with the rest of his friends. He was asking us to pray that God will sustain him until the end. Praise God for the answered prayers.

Art Torres, BS Business Economics. He was my roommate in Yakal when I was an undergrad. He finished his degree in three years and a half. He now has a stable job. More than these blessings, however, Art, by God’s grace, has found his satisfaction only in Christ.

Arvin Alfonso, BS Industrial Engineering. Kuya Arvin, I’ve heard, experienced some glitches in one of his few remaining subjects. He has been in the University longer than he would have wanted, and the thought of staying yet another year is not too encouraging. Praise God for not extending his stay in U.P.

Bryan de Guzman, BS Geodetic Engineering. We lived in the same corridor in Kalayaan Residence Hall when we were freshmen. I remember the time when a common friend of ours and I accompanied him to another school. He was seriously entertaining the idea of transferring to that school, having failed and dropped the dreaded Math 17 a couple of times. But God He has other plans for him. Bryan graduated on time, and most importantly, he now has a personal relationship with Christ.

Jhoanna Isla, BS Computer Science. Like a lot of people, she was unsure of her fate. She was supposed to graduate last year, but she encountered some problems with her courses, so she wasn’t able to march until now. God is, indeed, sovereign.

Joan Romero, BS Computer Science. She was almost sure she would graduate last year. We were kicked-off from the dorm fellowship, and her picture was posted alongside other graduating students in the dorm’s bulletin board. Then, she learned that she would have to wait for another year. It was a painful experience, but one which is filled with lessons, I’m sure. She must have realized now that God is the best teacher of life.

Congratulations to all of you.

A Lifestyle of Thinking*

I used to have two prayer items when I was a freshman: one, that I could graduate on time; and two, that I would not find myself as the dumbest, the slowest, the most witless in the class.

I guess, my prayers have been answered.

But I’m not going to talk about myself, because surely, there is someone else whose existence is more colorful than mine. Neither am I going to recount some success stories that inspired me in my studies, because there are none; nor some tips and pointers on how to make it big in the real world, because, honestly, I am more clueless than a student who shows up in the middle of a math exam, after having been absent the previous six class meetings. What I have is a point that I think we all know, but needs to be stressed nonetheless—that point is, we ought not to stop thinking.

If there is one thing that I learned to imbibe from the University, particularly from the College of Arts and Letters, it is the lifestyle of thinking. Indeed, we were taught not merely to read, but to read keenly and carefully—paying attention to the minutest detail of a work of art or a piece of literature. We were taught not merely to produce them, but to consider acutely how we do them and why we do them. We were taught quite a handful of theories, and poetics, and techniques that will serve valuable in the honing of our craft and the understanding of our subject; but along with these, we were also taught to struggle with them, hoping to evaluate them not merely on the merits of their logic, but also on their political and historical contexts.

We do not readily accept Noam Chomsky’s explanation on the language development of children without scrutinizing his claims or without evaluating his hypotheses. We do not take a writer’s critique of our educational system, without going back to the American colonial education and examining all its ramifications. We do not act on and take the issues that beset our country at face value, without hearing and fleshing out all the arguments from all sides.

This lifestyle of thinking, of course, comes hand in hand with the lifestyle of asking. Indeed, the depth of our thoughts is only as deep as the questions we ask; and the breadth of our mind is only as wide as the inquiries we make. And the University, particularly our professors and teachers from this College have taught us to ask relevant and pointed questions.

We then need to constantly ask and honestly evaluate ourselves: Who is my master? Whom do I serve? What is the end of my work, of my art, of my craft?

An honest and thoughtful consideration of the questions, at some point, can cause us to choose one side—often times, at the risk of losing popularity and favor in the eyes of others. At other times, our answers to these questions will test our loyalties, as well as our convictions.

I admit that it is oftent easier to abandon this kind of lifestyle, and to simply resort to “going with the flow.” Careless, thoughtless, and cavalier behavior is, after all, easier to do than an honest self-appraisal.

I, myself, have done some thinking. When I was a freshman, I had two prayer items: one, that I could graduate on time; and two, that I would not find myself as the dumbest, the slowest, the most witless in the class. What amazes me is not so much that the requests were answered, but it is the God who answers them. As one who is a recipient of God’s abounding grace, I can not help but to give Him my all, and endeavor to exalt Him in everything. He is my master. I serve Him only. I exist to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. It is the knowledge of who God is and what He has done for me that is the source of my desire to stay in this country, to help maintain the freedom that we enjoy through my craft, and to help and love others.

Soli Deo Gloria.

_________

*This is the "speech" I submitted to the Graduation Committee last week (with slight modifications, of course)–the result of some random, inchoate thoughts that I managed to organize in three hours. (Yes, I was cramming again—even way after I submitted my last paper in my undergrad life. Hahaha.)