We Will Never Be Done

The valedictory speech that follows was delivered by Kaith Lawrence A. Espinosa on August 26, 2024, at the Plenary Hall of the PICC during the 29th Graduation Rites of the University of Asia and the Pacific. Kaith graduated magna cum laude from the 6-Year Master of Science in Industrial Economics Program of UA&P.

 

 

Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat. Magandang hapon sa mga kagalang-galang nating mga bisita, miyembro ng UA&P board of trustees, mga dekano ng bawat eskwelahan ng UA&P, ating mga guro, ating minamahal na pamilya at mga kaibigan, at mga kapwa kong nagtapos sa kolehiyo. Ikinagagalak kong makita kayo ngayong araw. 

Don’t worry, my speech will not be totally in Filipino dahil alam kong maraming hindi makakaintindi at mano-nosebleed. I want this speech to be like a normal conversation I am having with you when we meet in CAS ledge, so I do not want to be too formal. Dr. Saquido told me that there’s no need for them to check my speech. I hope he won’t regret saying that. 

Being in Dulaang ROC for two years, and having friends who only speak straight English in class or in essays, I realized that there are things that feel different if said in Filipino. So allow me to speak some parts of this speech in Filipino—after all, we are all Filipinos here.

I received a lot of “Congratulations!” and “I am so proud of you” messages from different people. Though all of them made me happy, nothing beats the feeling of receiving such messages from people who know how much I struggled just to get where I am today. So allow me first to thank those people in this speech. There are many, so please bear with me. I only get to thank them at graduation once.

• Broz, my junior high school barkada;
• My college closest friends: Kaleb, Kim, Melcah, Micah, Ange, Kyla and Val;
• My BSBE and MSIE blockmates: Gelo, River, Arielle, Jhabes, Nazzi, Ef, Migo, and others;
• My organizations, especially Reverb, PEER, SABIO, and Dulaang ROC;
• The UA&P Center for Student Affairs, especially Sir Joel, Ms. Marie, Sir Jon, and Ms. Arianne;
• My professors and mentors, Dr. Terosa, Dr. U, Dr. Manzano, Dr. Abola, Ms. Diane, Ms. Viory, Ms. Cariaga, Ms. Foz, Ms. Gonzaludo-Castillo and others;
• My ACEN Corporation family;
• Tiat Carmella and Brent;
• The Octaviano family, especially Simon;
• X, my forever mentor;
• Sophia, Edrea, Leigh and Jubilee;
• The Mangubat family, especially Tita Aps and Valerie;
• My relatives, especially Tito Alvin and Tita Gigi;
• Daddy;
• Nanay, Tatay, and Nonoy;
• and others whom I have not mentioned due to limited time, but will always have a special spot in my heart.

                                                                         Kaith with her family.

Thank you for everything. Life has never been smooth sailing, and I know it never will be. But thanks to you, I’ve learned to navigate the rough seas with courage and resilience, becoming a sailor who can weather any storm.

Fellow graduates, today is the culmination of our college journey. It was six years ago when I got my name tag, grineet ako ng PEER ng “Welcome to Freshstart!” and was ushered to my block in ACB 202B. Today, I did not get a name tag but someone ushered me to my seat—that someone used to be me for three years. You see those people wearing a sash? I used to be one of them, and I feel so emotional that this year, ako naman yung ina-usher. It hit me: Tapos na ako. Tapos na tayo. Sa wakas! Finally, we’re done. We’re done waking up early and dressing up for a 7:30 am class. We’re done taking down notes even if sometimes our professors sound alien. Tapos na tayong tiisin yung mahabang linya sa caf kapag lunch time. We’re done encashing GCash at Zhakim, or begging for cash from our friends because Red Brew does not accept GCash. We’re done waiting for the ACB elevator because we’re too lazy to use the stairs even if our classes are just on the second floor. We’re done with bleep tests and PA logs that made us think that PE is harder than our major subjects. We’re done with quizzes and exams. We’re done telling ourselves “Okay lang basta pasado,” “Wala kang answer sa number 5? Ako din!” “Okay lang, mabait naman yan mag-grade.” Sa wakas, we’re done—with college.

My life growing up was not comfortable. I saw my parents go a mile just to feed me and my brother three times a day. Tatay had to sell fish in wet markets or drive a jeepney. Nanay had to travel more than 20 kilometers everyday. Daddy, who went beyond his godfather duties and acted like a father, had to work hard so he can support me financially. I saw a lot of things that people have done just to give me a decent life. Because of these, I learned to dream not just for myself but also for them. I dream of buying a house and lot with three bedrooms so my family will not have to share one double bed at home. I dream of earning a lot so Daddy can fully enjoy an early retirement. I dream of a lot of things! I got into buying and selling, became an unlicensed real estate agent, did a bunch of internships, completed my master’s thesis early (thanks to Dr. Cid Terosa for his wit and expertise) and secured a job before graduation—all because of my dreams. I thought that when I did all these, fulfilling those dreams would be easy. I was wrong. 

As I started working at ACEN Corporation last February, I realized that graduating was merely the first step. Sobrang iba yung mundo kapag tapos ka nang maging estudyante. You will not receive an uno but you will get a performance evaluation that will spell the difference between promotion or getting fired. Your decisions will weigh so much heavier. A bad marketing strategy will not get you a 3.5 but millions in losses. A wrong forecast of energy prices will not get you a scolding from your prof but will cost millions of opportunities lost. A bad industry analysis will not get you a failing grade but will shut down your business. In the real world, the stakes are higher. Life could be much harsher. The real world presents new challenges, but learning continues and deepens. We’re done with college, but there are things that we will never be done with.

We will never be done learning. In college, we had a lot of “hindi ko gets” or “hindi ko ‘to alam” moments. Like when we realized that there is so much we do not know about econometrics, taxation, and accounting. Yet we allowed ourselves to drown in the aquariums of the ACB 5th floor. We let ourselves be calmed by the voice of Dr. Cenzon as she explains that we have a beautiful soul. We spent hours on reviewers compiled by a blockmate na wala daw bayad magpa-send ng reviewer pero magpapalibre lang daw siya. In my block, we always had Arielle who made reviewers using the following format: short bond paper, 3 columns, Times New Roman, single spaced, 0.5 in margin, font size 10. We joined orgs we knew nothing about yet we still attended the general assemblies and participated in projects. We learned to desire to learn. Before my first job, I thought I was really smart, but when I was taught how to get the optimal contract price for a 20MW baseload deal, feeling ko nagiging bobo ako bigla. At sa buhay maraming ganyan. Malalagay ka sa posisyon na feeling mo bobo ka, feeling wala kang alam, feeling mo hindi mo na maiintindihan, and you will doubt yourself a lot. But these feelings, if we rationalize them, prompt us to desire to learn more. It is a call to be humble and to be open in learning from those who are more knowledgeable. Just as we absorbed wisdom from our professors, we must remain open to learning from others in every stage of life, taking what we can to grow and improve. Pero hindi pwedeng sponge lang tayo. If we become mere sponges, we will have questions, and we will be stuck with what is just told to us. Hence, let us also be critical and curious enough to ask fundamental and critical questions and strive to turn our questions into actions that drive meaningful changes.

We will never be done facing circumstances we cannot control. In college, we had oral exams whose difficulty was beyond our control. We studied anyway, unconsciously focusing on what we could manage: our preparation. We will always experience things that are beyond our control—your officemate will badmouth you, your deadlines will be moved earlier. There will be people who will not respect you. There will be those who will talk behind your back and think that you do not deserve what you have right now. Newsflash: People will always have something to say. We will face a lot of negativities in life—they can break us or make us; make us sad or console us. The thing is: it is up to us how we take these uncontrollable things. They may be uncontrollable, but we control our response, our emotions, what comments we should take, what rumors to address, and what we should reflect on—this is how we build character.

We will never be done commiting mistakes. As Taylor Swift said, we are imperfect, we will misspeak, trust the wrong person, spill a secret, make someone feel bad, overreact, self-sabotage, and ruin good moments. Mistakes cause us to lose things, but they offer valuable lessons. The good news is that for every mistake we make, we have the opportunity to address it with honesty, learn from it, and make amends where possible. 

When I took Earth and Science under Dr. Sofia David, we had two simple midterm requirements: score at least 60% on the exam and keep the pechay plant we planted at the beginning of the semester alive. I barely passed the exam with 60%, and, living in a condo with limited sunlight, my pechay died, so I failed my midterms. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, “Grabe, achiever ka buong buhay mo pero natalo ng nature.” It was devastating, but it was very humbling. I reflected on what I did wrong – why I only got 60% in my midterm exam and why my pechay plant died. I realized that instead of understanding concepts, I memorized them. Thanks to Sam Lusterio and her dad, I knew that I could put my pechay plant on the 6th floor of the condo for a good angle of sunlight. I made a mistake in studying and in not exploring other ways on how to take care of my plant, but that failing grade made me learn. Now, I know how to study better and how to take care of a plant when I live in a condo. 

We will make more mistakes in the future—maybe not about a pechay plant, but in choosing our career paths, in choosing who to date, in deciding something for work, and in choosing our words—mistakes that could possibly make us feel worse than getting a failing midterm grade. But let us not be scared of committing mistakes. Each mistake is a chance for growth and a step towards becoming a better version of ourselves. Instead of drowning ourselves in the thought that we have done wrong, let us be forgiving with ourselves, reflecting on and learning from our mistakes, embracing our imperfections, choosing to be humble and say “I am sorry,” “I’ll do it,” “Thank you for understanding,” “I was wrong,” and dealing with difficult conversations that the proud version of ourselves could not start.

In the real world, the stakes are higher. Life could be much harsher. The real world presents new challenges, but learning continues and deepens. We’re done with college, but there are things that we will never be done with.

But most of all, we will and should never be done with being grateful. Being grateful is to remember and appreciate those who helped us get where we are today and pay forward the kindness they have shown us. As we celebrate our graduation, I hope we all remember to give thanks to those people—UA&P, our professors, our friends, our loved ones, ourselves, and most of all, the Lord. We also have a lot of “someones” in our lives:

• That someone who we go to when we have love life issues na kahit sawang sawa na makinig sa rants mo tungkol sa jowa or crush mo pero nakikinig pa rin.
• That someone who gives you a slap from reality when needed.
• That someone who will fight for you kahit minsan nakakapagod kang ipaglaban.
• That someone who we go to rant our hearts out kahit minsan OA ka lang.
• That someone who we go to for advice because you think you are going to make a bad decision.
• That someone who gives you comfort and will never make you feel alone.
• And yung someone na kahit anong mangyari, nandyan para sa’yo.

Sometimes because of our imperfect selves, we tend to forget what those “someones” have done for us. I hope that moving forward, we hold on to our gratitude, not just as a fleeting feeling but as a guiding light in our lives. I hope we will all cherish the “someones” who have touched our hearts, shaped our journeys, and made us who we are today. And even if time or distance separates us, let us always carry them with us in our memories and actions. And as we move forward, let us strive to be that “someone” for others—offering support, love, and guidance, just as we have been blessed to receive. Because in the end, it is these connections, these shared moments of kindness, that make our lives truly meaningful. May we never forget, and may we always be grateful.

I am still not done fulfilling all of my dreams. I know that once I reach a dream or even before I do, I know I’ll set new ones—and the same is true for you. We can take our time, learning from every step, savoring each moment, and embracing the journey ahead—life is not a race anyway. That’s the beauty of it all—the endless possibilities that lie ahead, the dreams yet to be realized, and the lessons yet to be learned. Nobody knows everything we have been through. Siguro yung iba may alam, pero hindi nila talaga alam lahat. Even if I was not able to have a heart-to-heart talk with each of you, I already know and understand that college was tough. But you know what? I AM SO PROUD OF US. Proud ako kasi kinaya natin. Proud ako kasi tinapos natin. Though we may be done with college, we are far from done with learning, realizing, letting go, making mistakes, and being grateful. We will never be done. But let us celebrate how far we have come. Smile and be proud—at least we are done with this one.

Hanggang sa dulo, ibon, lipad!

Maraming salamat! Congratulations!

 

 

Banner photo by Nourdine Diouane on Unsplash.