Graduation

Had our commencement today at the UCC. It was good to meet up with friends like zat, mus, and james. Took a lot of photos with my parents, venture kampuchea friends and other usp folks as well. There was also this excellent speech delivered by this harvard grad and now practitioner in the electic field of development, volunteer work and such other stuff. What she spoke about the mean-ends relationship of using our talents, balancing our talents with happiness and meaning in life, as well as the idea of 'remembrance', really struck a deep personal chord in me. I could identify with her almost everything, esp the last part when she gave her 'remembrance' line:

“When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart. For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost . . . but if you forget me, part of who I was will be lost forever.”

(Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark)

I don't remember a lot of things from my past 4 years in nus, except for well... a few distinct moments of joyfulness. Even then, those moments weren't found in the physical space of nus per se. Maybe those moments could be traced back to Cambodia, maybe Leiden, maybe even TWC2. As I look at my circle of friends from 8 years ago, and compare them with my circle of friends now, I know that the change in my circle of friends has to some extent represented how my own outlook towards life has changed. I'll probably lose touch with some of the friends that I've made in nus as I journey into another realm of God-knows-best. Nonetheless, I think the awareness that we once shared a common space, no matter how fragile this space can be, is sufficient to make my next (perhaps) arduous journey a meaningful endeavor.