One of the things that strike me as being very 鈥淯P Diliman鈥?is the way UPD students can鈥檛 seem to stay on the pavement. From every street corner that bounds an unpaved piece of land, one will espy a narrow trail that cuts the corner, or leads from it. Every lawn around the buildings sports at least one of these paths, starting from a point nearest to the IKOT stop and ending at the nearest entry to the building. The trails are beaten on the grass by many pairs of feet wanting to save a fraction of a meter of traveling, no matter that doing so will exact some cost to the shoes, or, to the ubiquitous slippers, especially when the trails are new.
What do these paths say about us, UP students?
One could say that the UP student is enamored with Mathematics and Pythagoras, hence these triangles formed by the pavement and the path. Many among you would disagree.
Others could say that the UP student is naturally countercultural. And the refusal to use the pavement is just one of the myriads of ways to show his defiance of the order of things. This time, many would agree.
Still, others will say that the UP student is the model of today鈥檚 youth: they want everything easier, faster, now. The walkable paths appeal to them because they get to their destination faster, and presumably, with less effort. Now that is only partly true, and totally unfair.
These trails weren鈥檛 always walkable. No doubt they started as patches of grass, perhaps overgrown. Those who first walked them must have soiled their shoes, stubbed their toes, or had insects biting their legs, all in the immovable belief that the nearest distance between two points is a straight line. They might even have seen snakes cross their paths. But the soiled footwear, sore toes, and itchy legs started to conquer the grass. Other people, seeing the yet faint trail, followed. And as more and more walked the path, the grass gave in and stopped growing altogether, making the path more and more visible, more and more walkable.
The persistence of the paths pays tribute to those UP students who walked them first 鈥?the pioneers of the unbeaten tracks: the defiant and curious few who refuse the familiar and comfortable; the out-of-the-box thinkers who solve problems instead of fretting about them; the brave who dare do things differently, and open new opportunities to those who follow.
They say how one behaved in the past would determine how he behaves in the future. And as we leave the University, temporarily or for good, let us call on the pioneering, defiant, and brave spirit that built the paths to guide us in this next phase of our life.
We have been warned time and again. Our new world that they call 鈥渁dulthood鈥?is one that鈥檚 full of compromises, where success is determined more by the ability to belong than by the ability to think, where it is much easier to do as everyone else does. Daily we are bombarded with so much news of despair about the state of our nation, and the apparent, perverse sense of satisfaction our politicians get from vilifying our state of affairs. It is fashionable to migrate to other countries to work in deceptively high-paying jobs like nursing and teaching, forgetting that even at their favored work destinations, nurses and teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals. The lure of high and immediate monetary benefits in some low-end outsourcing jobs has drawn even some of the brightest UP students away from both industry and university teaching to which they would have been better suited.
Like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths are the easiest to take.
But, like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths take longer to traverse, just as individual successes do not always make for national progress. The unceasing critic could get elected, but not get the job done. The immigrant could get his visa, but disappear from our brainpower pool. The highly paid employee would be underutilized for his skills, and pine to get the job he truly wants, but is now out of his reach. And the country, and we, are poorer because of these.
Today, the nation needs brave, defiant pioneers to reverse our nation鈥檚 slide to despair. Today, we must call upon the spirit that beat the tracks. Today, we must present an alternative way of doing things.
Do NOT just take courage, for courage is not enough. Instead, be BRAVE! It will take bravery to go against popular wisdom, against the clich茅d expectations of family and friends. It will take bravery to gamble your future by staying in the country and try to make a prosperous life here. It might help if for a start, we try to see why our Korean friends are flocking to our country. Why, as many of us line up for immigrant visas in various embassies, they get themselves naturalized and settle here. Do they know something we don鈥檛?
Do NOT just be strong in your convictions, for strength is not enough. Instead, DEFY the pressure to lead a comfortable, but middling life. Let us lead this country from the despair of mediocrity. Let us not seek to do well, but strive to EXCEL in everything that we do. This, so others will see us as a nation of brains of the highest quality, not just of brawn that could be had for cheap.
Take NOT the road less traveled. Rather, MAKE new roads, BLAZE new trails, FIND new routes to your dreams. Unlike the track-beaters in campus who see where they鈥檙e going, we may not know how far we can go. But if we are brave, defiant searchers of excellence, we will go far. Explore possibilities, that others may get a similar chance. I have tried it myself. And I鈥檓 speaking to you now.
But talk is cheap, they say. And so I put my money where my mouth is. Today, I place myself in the service of the University, if it will have me. I would like to teach, to share knowledge, and perhaps to be an example to new UP students in thinking and striving beyond the limits of the possible. This may only be a small disturbance in the grass. But I hope you鈥檒l come with me, and trample a new path.
Good evening, everyone. Wake me when it's over ! Yawning out loud! In the grand skeem of things......
I wish you could join a group that fights against the starvation of millions of children around the world, or world peace. You are a great orator, I hope you put your talents to good use, and I say this in the kindest way. If you are trying to impress someone with "big" words that the common man would not understand, then you are doing a good job.
If you are trying to get a point across with this speech, then you need to go back and change some of your "big" words to make it more understandable.
Remember...you capture a person's attention in the first few sentences. If, you don't ...then the rest of the speech is not even heard. Wow that was long! It sounds great to me. Poor grass. Never had a chance. My opinion Zzzzzzzzzzzzz I like it! Made me want to go trample a new path. lol
Actually, this speech comes to me at a time when I am embarking on a new path in my life, so it is fitting to me.
I say..........."YEA (clap, clap) standing O" You forgot the 1, 2, 3 Method of Speaking and Writing
1. Tell them what you're going to tell them.
2. Tell them.
3. Tell them what you told them.
There's no introduction
No middle - meat of the subject
No summary.
This causes run on sentences, and the audience to yawn and move to the next subject. So go back and catch their attention!
GOD bless us always.
MBA-Boston Univ.
CPA-retired It is an excellent speech, though I suspect that not many listeners will listen till the end. Consider your audience. Would the majority of those listening to your speech understand the words you're saying or would their eyes glaze over at the first sound of a big word? The goal of a speech is to communicate a message clearly. It should be straightforward and captivating. Also, work on your attention-getter. A strong introduction is key. Good luck! It's hard to say one way or another because I'm not sure what the environment would be for this speech, and the type of audience you would be giving it to. Regardless of that:
The introduction needs a little work. It's over too quickly and the transition from intro to body is a little obscure.
The body is well-written, but just a little too jumpy. There seems to be alot going on in the body, and it might be a little hard to follow if some of your audience isn't paying complete attention.
The closure is great. It rounds off the entire body quite well. It, like the introduction, is just a bit too short, and another sentence or two could really round it out. The reference back to the introduction, "This may only be a small disturbance in the grass. But I hope you鈥檒l come with me, and trample a new path," ends it perfectly.
All in all, it's a great "written" speech, delivery and preparation are 90% of the battle though. |
