Ryan Cayabyab's U.P. Commencement Speech

Prof. Ryan Cayabyab delivered a commencement speech last April 24, 2005 before the Class of 2005, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Here's an excerpt:

"Pitong bagay sa buhay na natutunan ko sa U.P."
by PROF. RYAN CAYABYAB

1.Ang buhay ay parang IKOT jeep. Ang iyong patutunguhan ay siya ring iyong pinanggalingan.

2.U.P. lang ang may TOKI, sa buhay wala nito. Pero nasasaiyo na yon kung nais mong pabaligtad ang takbo ng buhay mo.

3.Sa IKOT, puede kang magkamali ng baba kahit ilang beses, sasakay ka lang uli. Sa buhay, kapag paikot-ikot ka na at laging mali pa rin ang iyong baba, naku, may sayad ka.

4.Sa U.P., lahat tayo magaling. Aminin nating lahat na tayo’y magagaling. Ang problema dun, lahat tayo magaling!

5.Kung sa U.P. ay sipsip ka na, siguradong paglabas mo, sipsip ka pa rin.

6.Sa U.P., tulad sa buhay, ang babae at ang lalake, at lahat ng nasa gitna, ay patas, walang pinagkaiba sa dunong, sa talino, sa pagmamalasakit, sa kalawakan ng isipan, sa pag-iibigan; at kahit na rin sa kabaliwan, sa kalokohan at sa katarantaduhan.
at ang panghuli:

7.Sa U.P. tulad sa buhay, bawal ang overstaying.

Here's the Full Speech.

And here's a rough translation --

"The Seven Things I Learned in U.P. About Life"

1. Life is like the "IKOT" jeep. Your destination is also that place from whence you came.
(Comment: Ikot means roundabout route. It's the route taken by "Ikot" jeeps around the U.P. Diliman campus.)

2. Only U.P. has "TOKI", Life does not have this. But it's up to you if you wish to run your life in reverse.
(Comment: TOKI is just like the IKOT route, only in reverse. Actually, it's just the opposite lane.)

3. With IKOT, you can get off at the wrong destination lots of times. Simply get back on the IKOT jeep. In Life, if you keep going around in circles and keep landing in the wrong places, you're crazy.

4. In U.P., we are all brilliant. Let's all admit that we are brilliant. The problem with that is, we're all brilliant. (Yes, I know something is dreadfully lost in the translation.)

5. If you suck up while you're in U.P., when you graduate you'll surely still be an ass-licker.

6. In U.P., just like in Life, women and men and those in between are equals. There's no difference in streetsmarts, intelligence, concern for others, open-mindedness, in love. The same goes in craziness, mischievousness, and (how does one translate katarantaduhan?). And finally...

7. In U.P., just like in Life, overstaying is prohibited.
[ First posted on 05/10/2005 by Manuel Viloria ]