UP Cebu’s Valedictorian for the class of 2024, Jethro Sia Modequillo

Summary

The speaker reflects on their delayed graduation due to self-imposed pressure to excel without mistakes, leading to burnout. They express gratitude for parents who never burdened them with expectations, allowing them to learn and grow freely. The speech advocates for a learning environment free from expectations, where mistakes are celebrated as part of the process, encouraging personal fulfillment over societal pressures.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The speaker's graduation was delayed due to self-imposed pressure to excel without making mistakes.
• 🔥 This pressure led to burnout and resentment, causing the speaker to stop attending classes and struggle with work.
• 🚫 The speaker felt trapped by expectations, both from others and self-imposed, which hindered their progress.
• 🤔 The realization that doing well was seen as the bare minimum and doing poorly as failure took a long time to overcome.
• 🙏 Gratitude is expressed to parents who never burdened the speaker with expectations of success.
• 🌱 The absence of parental expectations provided emotional freedom and a valuable life lesson.
• 💡 People can perform better without the weight of expectations, allowing for exploration, learning, and growth.
• 🎉 Embracing mistakes is encouraged as it signifies active engagement in learning and curiosity about the world.
• 🚫 Avoiding challenges and growth to prevent mistakes is discouraged as it limits one's potential.
• 🏆 The speaker acknowledges being the valedictorian but questions its long-term significance.
• 💪 The advice to the audience is to pursue fulfillment, learn from failures, and not to act out of expectations or fear.

Q & A

Why was the speaker's graduation delayed by a year?

The speaker's graduation was delayed due to the pressure they put on themselves to succeed and excel without making mistakes, which led to burnout and resentment.

What was the impact of the pressure on the speaker's academic performance?

The pressure resulted in the speaker's inability to attend classes and complete work, feeling that nothing they did was ever good enough, and experiencing fear of expectations.

How did the speaker's parents contribute to their perspective on success?

The speaker's parents taught them a valuable lesson by never burdening them with expectations of success, which allowed the speaker to feel free from the pressure to constantly perform at a high level.

What lesson does the speaker wish they had learned earlier?

The speaker wishes they had been more forgiving to themselves and learned to handle success and failure without the burden of expectations.

According to the speaker, what is the ideal environment for people to do their best?

The speaker believes people can do better when they are free from expectations, have space to succeed and fail, and are encouraged to explore, learn, and experiment.

Why does the speaker think making mistakes is important?

Making mistakes is important because it signifies active engagement in learning, curiosity about the world, and an attempt to understand it, even if it's complex.

What advice does the speaker give regarding handling failure?

The speaker advises not to let fear of failure dictate actions, but to do things that bring fulfillment and to be open to learning from failures.

How does the speaker feel about their status as valedictorian?

While the speaker is grateful for being the valedictorian, they don't believe it will matter significantly in the long term and caution against doing things out of pressure or fear.

What is the speaker's view on the role of expectations in personal growth?

The speaker views expectations as a hindrance to personal growth, suggesting that they can limit one's ability to challenge themselves, expand their horizons, and reach their potential.

What message does the speaker want to convey to the audience about expectations and personal fulfillment?

The speaker wants the audience to understand that they should pursue activities that bring them fulfillment, regardless of external expectations or pressures, and to embrace failure as a part of the learning process.