Has it been TWO MONTHS NOW????? Oh yes, two months since my last blog entry, and almost TEN WEEKS since I flew back
to Guatemala from Chicagoland. And everyone asked "So what are you gonna do now that you've finished college?", and then I would search inside me and find that I really had nothing concrete to look forward to. What should I do now? Live, I guess. Exist. I usually told people "Oh, I've got some paperwork left to do in college, polish my thesis, I gotta get my diploma, then search for international scholarships and programs for Master's programs in nice and exotic places
... I'll also probably get to do some of the things I've left behind or still haven't done because of college". But those were just excuses to get them off my back. I didn't have any plan, and I actually planned NOT having any.
Nevertheless I have to say: my prediction was pretty accurate - that's exactly what I've done. I've done some thesis "style" corrections, I'm still waiting for my diploma to be ready, and I'm already in the process of getting a master's degree scholarship to either Taiwan, Japan, or Germany. It's a long story, but right now, I'm awaiting Taiwan's final decision about the scholarship (it should reach me by June
, which gives me an excuse to keep on waiting at least two more months). If Taiwan doesn't like me, however, I've got plans B and C in the queue. Plan B's Japan: This renowned country is also offering a couple of scholarships, and I'm hoping to get some info and paperwork at the embassy this very week. However, I need the company and guidance of a certain Japanese Abacus teacher of mine to go to the embassy, as she is the one who has helped me pull some strings. Plan C is called AIESEC: Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales. I have only just recently joined this nice association, which helps students venture on international educational exchanges, both logistically
and economically
. An international exchange is not exactly a Master's degree scholarship, but it's pretty close. Besides, the AIESEC-Guatemalan branch seems to possess an impressively large proportion of attractive females
, which may benefit me both right now and in the long run.
Intertwined with these front-page activities are some more personal interests which have occupied some of my time during my two months back here in Guatemala, and which I expect to continue to be a consistent part of my routine. I'm practicing the piano - I've taught myself to play both Für Elise
and Moonlight Sonata (1st movement), and I'm now trying to play both Moonlight Sonata (2nd movement) and Bach's Toccata et Fugue in D Minor. It's nice to be able to play something besides Mary had a Little Lamband Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and it's also quite relaxing. Don Roberto de la Rosa came two saturdays ago and taught Elisa and me some basic piano skills and exercises. He's the one who introduced me to Bach's Toccata. And he played it. All of it. And I was astounded
by his skills. He's the best piano player I've seen so far. I've also returned to Japanese Abacus classes. I don't know if I have ever mentioned these classes in my blog, but I took at least three years of abacus classes while I was still in high school. It was fun and good for me, but then peer pressure and teenage insecurity pushed me to quit my classes, only to see me gain not a crumb of popularity with my peers by my ill-chosen sacrifice. Anyway, I'm doing abacus exercises on level 1 now (beginners start with level 10), and I'm getting progressively better and faster.
Under even these personal though public activities, my time here has been dotted with some particular events worthy of mention. My graduation day, for example, was pretty nice. After the protocol morning act and the 15,673 pictures
taken of me with different groups of people, poses, places, and moods, I took two girls I had never seen before into my car and drove them to Diego's grad lunch in Europlaza. Doesn't that sound cocky? Actually, one of them, Ania, was a girl I met through MSN
, and the other was her pretty green-eyed, slim-bodied german coworker called Carola. Rodrigo arrived at the party a little later, and we spent all afternoon eating, drinking, and talking with the girls. It was only good fate that made both my MSN friend and my cousin leave early from the party
, and I was left alone with the german girl. I thought "Oh yeah, this is my chance", so we talked a little more, and I tried to get all cool and confident - but then my lowly social skills began to show, and a very long awkward pause ensued. Marcelo talked to her a lot during that interim, while a drunk Jose told me to tell Marcelo to leave Carola alone "'cause she's with you". This happened until we left for the next party. Pajaro's party was in Hotel Intercontinental, but when we got there, it was still pretty dull. We hadn't even spent half an hour there
when we decided to move on to another party: Wicho's party @ the Scout House. Oh well, I drove Carola and me down to the party, which was pretty lively with beer, music, and people. We danced a bit, until she realized my dancing skills were no better than my eloquence, and she decided to go home. On the way out, it was pretty shocking to see Guigui, one of my former high school mates, a little drunk and only just a little taller than while in high school (which didn't make much of a difference). I also saw Richard and Kenny, but I've seen them, so I proceeded to take Carola to her apartment (too bad I didn't stay), and then returned to Pajaro's party. The party was pretty lively THAT time, but I had not spent 15 minutes there when Bidkar, Marcelo & Jose asked me to take them to a strip club. Since they were carless and I was carful, I felt pretty much obliged to comply. I picked them up at Elite VI (which was just a little bit too expensive for them) and dropped them off at Paladium. And that was it for that night
. I woke up alcohol-guilty
and regretting that my lowly social skills had hindered my possibilities with girls the day before. (Pics here: http://www.zorpia.com/antoniojl/album/798582/Graduaci%C3%B3n_Licenciatura_CCComputaci%C3%B3n)
For another example, on Easter Week, Xam and I had the audacity to take an impromptu roadtrip to Panajachel. Oh wow, was it good!! (Pics here: http://www.zorpia.com/antoniojl/album/798597/Pana_ROCKS_SS2007!!!!) Both nature and girls were both exotic and plentiful, and even though the girls could've been a little more willing, I had a really good time. We climbed the San Pedro volcano and met two nice girls with whom we spent a large portion of the night (I would expand more on the subject, but they say images say more than a thousand words, so I'll assume the pics make up for it). I spent about Q550 total on that trip.
Oh, I almost forgot the FJBG breakfast. FJBG invited all its members to a breakfast two Sundays ago to honor the successful ending of the recent graduates' undergraduate education (including me). The breakfast was intended for scholars and their parents, but since mine were in Chicagoland at that time, I asked Marcos to accompany me. Several days before the breakfast, FJBG asked us graduates to decide who would give the farewell speech. I had a sudden urge to say stuff to the FJBG scholars, so I offered myself, wrote a speech, had it authorized by Don Edgar, and practiced it for that day. I even required a prop to give my speech - my own BS diploma from the university. The breakfast was good and all - Romina sat next to me and smiled at me in a friendly manner. I ate a little bunch of scrambled eggs and 3 grapes, since I had already eaten @ home. Oh well, then a social project called Raxrujá was presented to the audience, then we were called to the front, our curriculums were recited, we were given diplomas graduation rings as presents, and we were honored by the audience. Then came the time for my speech. Was I nervous! Romina even rubbed my shoulder a little to calm me down. Then my turn came and I went and spoke. However, considering the speech's content, it was both very funny
and very embarrassing to have the university's headmaster present at the event. This following text is the speech I gave to the audience that morning (in Spanish):
Hola a todos. Algunos de aquí ya me conocen. Para los que no, me llamo Antonio, y estoy aquí porque soy uno de los recientes graduados universitarios de la Fundación JBG, Juan Bautista Gutiérrez. Antes de comenzar, quiero hacer un agradecimiento a Doña Isabelita, a Don Edgar, y a la Fundación en general por habernos dado los medios para realizar y concluir nuestros estudios en la Universidad. Estamos muy agradecidos por todos estos años de apoyo... Sinceramente les damos Muchísimas Gracias. (aplausos).
Ahora, si me permiten, quisiera decirles unas palabras a todos los becados de la Fundación, sobre lo que significa todo ésto. Estamos aquí celebrando el hecho que siete de nosotros terminamos los años de estudio de nuestras respectivas carreras con éxito, y que pronto, si no ya, obtendremos un título de una Universidad diciendo que somos Ingenieros. Me hacen el favor de levantarse para que todos los conozcan? Excelente, para quienes no los conocían, ellos son los recientes graduandos.
Ahora, voy a usar mi persona como ejemplo de nosotros siete. Cada uno de los estudiantes presentes aquí están inscritos en alguna Universidad, y piensa dedicar 4 o 5 años de estudio persiguiendo un título exactamente como éste. (Saco el título). Ahora, no vengo aquí para presumir, se los prometo, pero les pido que vean bien este papel. Ahora véanme a mi. Saben ustedes qué me da de bueno, a mi, este papelito? Adivinen. Nada. Nada de nada. Yo lo tenía guardado en un archivo junto con otros papelitos hasta hace unos días cuando armé este discurso, y éste es el mejor uso que le he dado desde entonces. Y les digo la verdad, les PROMETO que durante los 7 meses desde que me dieron este papelito, no he cambiado como persona. Me levanto de la misma manera, sigo comiendo de la misma manera, voy al baño de la misma manera... en fin, no he cambiado por este título. Yo sigo siendo la misma persona. Y si a este título le cayera café, se mojara, se rompiera, o se perdiera, ¿qué pasaría conmigo? No me moriría, ni me olvidaría de lo que ya aprendí. Yo seguiría siendo yo. Al igual que todos ustedes con sus respectivos papelitos.
Aún así, yo pasé 4 años yendo a la Universidad - llevando clases, siguiendo reglas, haciendo deberes y proyectos, pasando en vela noches y noches para obtener este bendito papelito. Y todos ustedes hacen lo mismo. Y si al final este papelito no nos cambia, la pregunta es ¿Por qué lo hacemos?
Voy a compartirles una opinión que tengo al respecto de la educación. Aquí en Guatemala, y bueno en casi todo el mundo, todos suponen que el fin de la educación es el conocimiento. O no? Qué piensan ustedes? Que vamos a la Universidad y llevamos cursos para aprender cosas, teoría, conceptos, verdad? Obviamente, nos enseñan cosas que nos servirán en el futuro. Muchos piensan que tener un título como éste los hace saber más, o ser mejores... ser llamado "Ingeniero" o "Licenciado" pareciera cambiarlo a uno. Pero creo que este concepto está equivocado, porque solo saber más cosas no lo hace a uno mejor, y menos aún un título como este. Conozco a personas, así como seguramente conocen ustedes, que sin tener un solo título, son exitosos y felices. El fin de la educación verdadera no es el conocimiento - no es solo para luego hacer dinero y ganarse la vida. Realmente, el fin de la educación es crecer internamente para tener una vida más llena y plena. Y eso no es algo que le enseñen a uno - uno lo debe aprender. Siempre tengan eso en mente - el conocimiento es importante, pues les ayudará para desempeñarse en sus roles más tarde en la vida, pero siempre recuerden que el objetivo real de la educación es el carácter personal. El esfuerzo que apliquen a las clases, la dedicación que le otorguen a su propio crecimiento, ESO es lo que cuenta - no la calificación final que algún profesor juzgue de ustedes. El carácter personal debe ser siempre más buscado que el intelecto.
Siempre sepan qué es lo quieren. Si están aquí, su vida ideal debería incluir una carrera universitaria. Pero sepan que el objetivo de los estudios universitarios NO SON "el papelito". El objetivo de los estudios es su propio desarrollo, su propio crecimiento, SU propio bien. Y yo les vengo a decir que ustedes solo crecerán tanto como USTEDES quieran hacerlo, NI MÁS NI MENOS. El aprendizaje y el crecimiento no es algo que esté flotando en la universidad, y solo con asistir a clases se absorba en su piel y en su mente. No se obtiene solo llevando cursos. Es uno quien debe aprender, no esperar a que otros le enseñen. La universidad es un medio para crecer, y hay otras formas de hacerlo, pero hay que aprovecharla. Crecer es un proceso consciente, así que siempre estén conscientes de lo que quieren y apunten hacia ello. Quien no tiene rumbo llega exactamente allí.
Decidí dar este discurso porque siento que lo que intento decirles es más importante que la comida, seguramente deliciosa, que algunos ya están probando, y les puede beneficiar diez mil veces más que cualquier título de este mundo. Sepan que el conocimiento que van a obtener en la Universidad es trivial, es solo una herramienta para utilizarla más tarde en la vida. Así que enfóquense siempre en sus verdaderos sueños y metas. Seguramente muchos de ustedes, con el hecho de estar aquí, demuestran que tienen sueños y metas altos para su vida. Cada uno ha construido sus propios "castillos en el aire", como muchos les dicen. Es eso malo? Para nada, los castillos están exactamente donde deben estar. Ahora lo que falta es construir las bases, los cimientos bajo estos "castillos". Y eso es exactamente lo que hacemos al estudiar, al esforzarnos, al luchar por lo que queremos - construimos nuestras vidas ideales.
Así que hoy quiero reconocer, agradecer profundamente, de parte de todos nosotros, a quienes nos han proveído de los materiales para construir nuestros cimientos - Doña Isabelita y la Fundación Juan Bautista Gutiérrez. La ayuda que nos otorgan ha cambiado la vida de cada uno de nosotros profundamente, no solo al proveer los materiales con los cuales podemos construir nuestros cimientos, sino además, al ser un gran ejemplo para todos nosotros de integridad, generosidad, y deseo de cambiar el mundo para bien. Por eso quiero finalizar agradeciendo de nuevo, de parte de todos nosotros, a Doña Isabelita, a Don Edgar, a nuestros compañeros becados, y a todos los miembros de la Fundación Juan Bautista Gutiérrez, por ayudarnos a realizar nuestras metas. Muchas Gracias.
I know you probably won't read all of this, but inside that big text, I do mention that the diploma I earned at college does nothing for me. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had intended the speech for an audience of FJBG scholars and graduates only, and the overall message/objective of the speech was not to put the university down, but to present quite a new, idealistic perspective on education and life. But CAN YOU IMAGINE the university headmaster hearing that the university diploma means NOTHING from one of the students he graduated LESS THAN A WEEK AGO? Having him there was a pretty twisted surprise. He even got up and made an impromptu counter-speech to "express his opinion" on what I had just said. He's good at making impromptu counter-speeches - it came out well, although of course I had to disagree with most of it... he attacked the speech I had worked on for several days (sniff sniff). It was awkward. After all that, I was even taken aside by Bidkar, given his personal support on the speech issue, but he also told me that the content was not really appropriate for such an occassion. Guillermo Ventura also expressed his support for me on the matter - I wonder whether they really meant it. Oh well, since I had no money then, Marcos paid my parking fee (Q48) in the hotel for me. I was able to pay him back $14 (both my and his parking fees for that day) through PayPal a few days ago. This was my first PayPal payment transaction.
I've also had two meetings on my way to joining AIESEC. Both took place @ Universidad Francisco Marroquín, and though the first one was only a formal protocol interview with a nice girl called Naty, the second one was a little better. I were reunited at 13:15 in a classroom with about other 25 AIESEC member wannabes. We did about 5 interactive activities, in which we were evaluated on our leadership, excellence, eloquence, character, and stuff like that. The two activities worthy of mention were a massage in a circle and the final debate, in which the issue was "Should drugs be legalized?". I voted yes on the subject. However, besides the activities, what I believe to a more noteworthy element on this occassion was the astoundingly large proportion of the female population as compared to its male counterpart. Furthermore, most of the females were pretty pretty, but what's MOST impressive: I had a couple of pretty pretty girls looking
, smiling
, and winking
at me through the entire course of the reunion. Isn't that odd? A 23-year old social retard with a blank love history and agenda
starts getting female attention all of a sudden? Why? Was it the lotion I put on? Was it the cool, gray three-quarter sleeve urban-looking shirt I had on that day? Was it my calm, confident attitude? Was it my bad/hippy boy, uncombed hair look? Or could it be possible... was it my new Timberland shoes? Well, whatever the reason, I was pleasantly surprised with the female reactions I encountered at the meeting. It was unfortunate that the couple of winking girls left early, but I'm looking forward to seeing them again soon. I was admitted into the association, so I should hope to see them again. Or at least more females. (Wow, following a CS major for 5 years really got me urged for some female interaction. I guess it's only natural.)
I was supposed to go to an AIESEC lunch/slumber party last Saturday, and I was really expecting to get some of that female interaction that day (or night). But then I thwarted myself. I don't know what's wrong with me. My friend Leslie invited me to her birthday party
at 5 'o clock, and I was dumb enough to believe it really was at 5. I expected to spend 2 or 3 hours there, and then leave for the slumber party. The birthday party actually started at 8, and only 4 people arrived at the "party". All 4 of us ended up getting drunk, singing, and blabbering all night. (There were actually 5 of us, but one of them left at about 10PM). While I näively waited for the alcohol effect to wear out while drinking "just a little" with the birthday girl, it became midnight, and I drove home, a little dizzy, knowing that it was simply pointless to go to the slumber party then. I'm happy knowing that both Leslie and I had a relatively good time that night, and that I made a little difference in her party simply by being there, but I still kinda wish I had gone straight to the AIESEC party. (I sure hope she doesn't read this!)
Since I risk sounding cynical and unsensitive with the following news, I'll be brief. My cousin Ileana has been diagnosed terminal cancer and is in the hospital - I visited her on Sunday morning. One of my father's half-sisters, Maria Luisa, died that very day of brain damage through strokes - I went to her funeral on Sunday night. God help them.
While I could try to expand on each and every one of singular events during these two months, I won't. But I will present a list of the most memorable ones to keep some sort of record:
. I haven't made numbers or calculations, and I don't intend to, but I believe I can hold myself solvent for a considerable time lapse.
And so Life goes on. What will happen next? What I determine to happen. And what is that? I'm not sure. It's more fun that way.
to Guatemala from Chicagoland. And everyone asked "So what are you gonna do now that you've finished college?", and then I would search inside me and find that I really had nothing concrete to look forward to. What should I do now? Live, I guess. Exist. I usually told people "Oh, I've got some paperwork left to do in college, polish my thesis, I gotta get my diploma, then search for international scholarships and programs for Master's programs in nice and exotic places... I'll also probably get to do some of the things I've left behind or still haven't done because of college". But those were just excuses to get them off my back. I didn't have any plan, and I actually planned NOT having any.Nevertheless I have to say: my prediction was pretty accurate - that's exactly what I've done. I've done some thesis "style" corrections, I'm still waiting for my diploma to be ready, and I'm already in the process of getting a master's degree scholarship to either Taiwan, Japan, or Germany. It's a long story, but right now, I'm awaiting Taiwan's final decision about the scholarship (it should reach me by June
, which gives me an excuse to keep on waiting at least two more months). If Taiwan doesn't like me, however, I've got plans B and C in the queue. Plan B's Japan: This renowned country is also offering a couple of scholarships, and I'm hoping to get some info and paperwork at the embassy this very week. However, I need the company and guidance of a certain Japanese Abacus teacher of mine to go to the embassy, as she is the one who has helped me pull some strings. Plan C is called AIESEC: Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales. I have only just recently joined this nice association, which helps students venture on international educational exchanges, both logistically and economically. An international exchange is not exactly a Master's degree scholarship, but it's pretty close. Besides, the AIESEC-Guatemalan branch seems to possess an impressively large proportion of attractive females, which may benefit me both right now and in the long run.Intertwined with these front-page activities are some more personal interests which have occupied some of my time during my two months back here in Guatemala, and which I expect to continue to be a consistent part of my routine. I'm practicing the piano - I've taught myself to play both Für Elise
and Moonlight Sonata (1st movement), and I'm now trying to play both Moonlight Sonata (2nd movement) and Bach's Toccata et Fugue in D Minor. It's nice to be able to play something besides Mary had a Little Lamband Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and it's also quite relaxing. Don Roberto de la Rosa came two saturdays ago and taught Elisa and me some basic piano skills and exercises. He's the one who introduced me to Bach's Toccata. And he played it. All of it. And I was astounded by his skills. He's the best piano player I've seen so far. I've also returned to Japanese Abacus classes. I don't know if I have ever mentioned these classes in my blog, but I took at least three years of abacus classes while I was still in high school. It was fun and good for me, but then peer pressure and teenage insecurity pushed me to quit my classes, only to see me gain not a crumb of popularity with my peers by my ill-chosen sacrifice. Anyway, I'm doing abacus exercises on level 1 now (beginners start with level 10), and I'm getting progressively better and faster.Under even these personal though public activities, my time here has been dotted with some particular events worthy of mention. My graduation day, for example, was pretty nice. After the protocol morning act and the 15,673 pictures
taken of me with different groups of people, poses, places, and moods, I took two girls I had never seen before into my car and drove them to Diego's grad lunch in Europlaza. Doesn't that sound cocky? Actually, one of them, Ania, was a girl I met through MSN, and the other was her pretty green-eyed, slim-bodied german coworker called Carola. Rodrigo arrived at the party a little later, and we spent all afternoon eating, drinking, and talking with the girls. It was only good fate that made both my MSN friend and my cousin leave early from the party, and I was left alone with the german girl. I thought "Oh yeah, this is my chance", so we talked a little more, and I tried to get all cool and confident - but then my lowly social skills began to show, and a very long awkward pause ensued. Marcelo talked to her a lot during that interim, while a drunk Jose told me to tell Marcelo to leave Carola alone "'cause she's with you". This happened until we left for the next party. Pajaro's party was in Hotel Intercontinental, but when we got there, it was still pretty dull. We hadn't even spent half an hour there when we decided to move on to another party: Wicho's party @ the Scout House. Oh well, I drove Carola and me down to the party, which was pretty lively with beer, music, and people. We danced a bit, until she realized my dancing skills were no better than my eloquence, and she decided to go home. On the way out, it was pretty shocking to see Guigui, one of my former high school mates, a little drunk and only just a little taller than while in high school (which didn't make much of a difference). I also saw Richard and Kenny, but I've seen them, so I proceeded to take Carola to her apartment (too bad I didn't stay), and then returned to Pajaro's party. The party was pretty lively THAT time, but I had not spent 15 minutes there when Bidkar, Marcelo & Jose asked me to take them to a strip club. Since they were carless and I was carful, I felt pretty much obliged to comply. I picked them up at Elite VI (which was just a little bit too expensive for them) and dropped them off at Paladium. And that was it for that night. I woke up alcohol-guilty and regretting that my lowly social skills had hindered my possibilities with girls the day before. (Pics here: http://www.zorpia.com/antoniojl/album/798582/Graduaci%C3%B3n_Licenciatura_CCComputaci%C3%B3n)For another example, on Easter Week, Xam and I had the audacity to take an impromptu roadtrip to Panajachel
. Oh wow, was it good!! (Pics here: http://www.zorpia.com/antoniojl/album/798597/Pana_ROCKS_SS2007!!!!) Both nature and girls were both exotic and plentiful, and even though the girls could've been a little more willing, I had a really good time. We climbed the San Pedro volcano and met two nice girls with whom we spent a large portion of the night (I would expand more on the subject, but they say images say more than a thousand words, so I'll assume the pics make up for it). I spent about Q550 total on that trip.Oh, I almost forgot the FJBG breakfast. FJBG invited all its members to a breakfast two Sundays ago to honor the successful ending of the recent graduates' undergraduate education (including me). The breakfast was intended for scholars and their parents, but since mine were in Chicagoland at that time, I asked Marcos to accompany me. Several days before the breakfast, FJBG asked us graduates to decide who would give the farewell speech. I had a sudden urge to say stuff to the FJBG scholars, so I offered myself, wrote a speech, had it authorized by Don Edgar, and practiced it for that day. I even required a prop to give my speech - my own BS diploma from the university. The breakfast was good and all - Romina sat next to me and smiled at me in a friendly manner. I ate a little bunch of scrambled eggs and 3 grapes, since I had already eaten @ home. Oh well, then a social project called Raxrujá was presented to the audience, then we were called to the front, our curriculums were recited, we were given diplomas graduation rings as presents, and we were honored by the audience. Then came the time for my speech. Was I nervous! Romina even rubbed my shoulder a little to calm me down. Then my turn came and I went and spoke. However, considering the speech's content, it was both very funny
and very embarrassing to have the university's headmaster present at the event. This following text is the speech I gave to the audience that morning (in Spanish):Hola a todos. Algunos de aquí ya me conocen. Para los que no, me llamo Antonio, y estoy aquí porque soy uno de los recientes graduados universitarios de la Fundación JBG, Juan Bautista Gutiérrez. Antes de comenzar, quiero hacer un agradecimiento a Doña Isabelita, a Don Edgar, y a la Fundación en general por habernos dado los medios para realizar y concluir nuestros estudios en la Universidad. Estamos muy agradecidos por todos estos años de apoyo... Sinceramente les damos Muchísimas Gracias. (aplausos).
Ahora, si me permiten, quisiera decirles unas palabras a todos los becados de la Fundación, sobre lo que significa todo ésto. Estamos aquí celebrando el hecho que siete de nosotros terminamos los años de estudio de nuestras respectivas carreras con éxito, y que pronto, si no ya, obtendremos un título de una Universidad diciendo que somos Ingenieros. Me hacen el favor de levantarse para que todos los conozcan? Excelente, para quienes no los conocían, ellos son los recientes graduandos.
Ahora, voy a usar mi persona como ejemplo de nosotros siete. Cada uno de los estudiantes presentes aquí están inscritos en alguna Universidad, y piensa dedicar 4 o 5 años de estudio persiguiendo un título exactamente como éste. (Saco el título). Ahora, no vengo aquí para presumir, se los prometo, pero les pido que vean bien este papel. Ahora véanme a mi. Saben ustedes qué me da de bueno, a mi, este papelito? Adivinen. Nada. Nada de nada. Yo lo tenía guardado en un archivo junto con otros papelitos hasta hace unos días cuando armé este discurso, y éste es el mejor uso que le he dado desde entonces. Y les digo la verdad, les PROMETO que durante los 7 meses desde que me dieron este papelito, no he cambiado como persona. Me levanto de la misma manera, sigo comiendo de la misma manera, voy al baño de la misma manera... en fin, no he cambiado por este título. Yo sigo siendo la misma persona. Y si a este título le cayera café, se mojara, se rompiera, o se perdiera, ¿qué pasaría conmigo? No me moriría, ni me olvidaría de lo que ya aprendí. Yo seguiría siendo yo. Al igual que todos ustedes con sus respectivos papelitos.
Aún así, yo pasé 4 años yendo a la Universidad - llevando clases, siguiendo reglas, haciendo deberes y proyectos, pasando en vela noches y noches para obtener este bendito papelito. Y todos ustedes hacen lo mismo. Y si al final este papelito no nos cambia, la pregunta es ¿Por qué lo hacemos?
Voy a compartirles una opinión que tengo al respecto de la educación. Aquí en Guatemala, y bueno en casi todo el mundo, todos suponen que el fin de la educación es el conocimiento. O no? Qué piensan ustedes? Que vamos a la Universidad y llevamos cursos para aprender cosas, teoría, conceptos, verdad? Obviamente, nos enseñan cosas que nos servirán en el futuro. Muchos piensan que tener un título como éste los hace saber más, o ser mejores... ser llamado "Ingeniero" o "Licenciado" pareciera cambiarlo a uno. Pero creo que este concepto está equivocado, porque solo saber más cosas no lo hace a uno mejor, y menos aún un título como este. Conozco a personas, así como seguramente conocen ustedes, que sin tener un solo título, son exitosos y felices. El fin de la educación verdadera no es el conocimiento - no es solo para luego hacer dinero y ganarse la vida. Realmente, el fin de la educación es crecer internamente para tener una vida más llena y plena. Y eso no es algo que le enseñen a uno - uno lo debe aprender. Siempre tengan eso en mente - el conocimiento es importante, pues les ayudará para desempeñarse en sus roles más tarde en la vida, pero siempre recuerden que el objetivo real de la educación es el carácter personal. El esfuerzo que apliquen a las clases, la dedicación que le otorguen a su propio crecimiento, ESO es lo que cuenta - no la calificación final que algún profesor juzgue de ustedes. El carácter personal debe ser siempre más buscado que el intelecto.
Siempre sepan qué es lo quieren. Si están aquí, su vida ideal debería incluir una carrera universitaria. Pero sepan que el objetivo de los estudios universitarios NO SON "el papelito". El objetivo de los estudios es su propio desarrollo, su propio crecimiento, SU propio bien. Y yo les vengo a decir que ustedes solo crecerán tanto como USTEDES quieran hacerlo, NI MÁS NI MENOS. El aprendizaje y el crecimiento no es algo que esté flotando en la universidad, y solo con asistir a clases se absorba en su piel y en su mente. No se obtiene solo llevando cursos. Es uno quien debe aprender, no esperar a que otros le enseñen. La universidad es un medio para crecer, y hay otras formas de hacerlo, pero hay que aprovecharla. Crecer es un proceso consciente, así que siempre estén conscientes de lo que quieren y apunten hacia ello. Quien no tiene rumbo llega exactamente allí.
Decidí dar este discurso porque siento que lo que intento decirles es más importante que la comida, seguramente deliciosa, que algunos ya están probando, y les puede beneficiar diez mil veces más que cualquier título de este mundo. Sepan que el conocimiento que van a obtener en la Universidad es trivial, es solo una herramienta para utilizarla más tarde en la vida. Así que enfóquense siempre en sus verdaderos sueños y metas. Seguramente muchos de ustedes, con el hecho de estar aquí, demuestran que tienen sueños y metas altos para su vida. Cada uno ha construido sus propios "castillos en el aire", como muchos les dicen. Es eso malo? Para nada, los castillos están exactamente donde deben estar. Ahora lo que falta es construir las bases, los cimientos bajo estos "castillos". Y eso es exactamente lo que hacemos al estudiar, al esforzarnos, al luchar por lo que queremos - construimos nuestras vidas ideales.
Así que hoy quiero reconocer, agradecer profundamente, de parte de todos nosotros, a quienes nos han proveído de los materiales para construir nuestros cimientos - Doña Isabelita y la Fundación Juan Bautista Gutiérrez. La ayuda que nos otorgan ha cambiado la vida de cada uno de nosotros profundamente, no solo al proveer los materiales con los cuales podemos construir nuestros cimientos, sino además, al ser un gran ejemplo para todos nosotros de integridad, generosidad, y deseo de cambiar el mundo para bien. Por eso quiero finalizar agradeciendo de nuevo, de parte de todos nosotros, a Doña Isabelita, a Don Edgar, a nuestros compañeros becados, y a todos los miembros de la Fundación Juan Bautista Gutiérrez, por ayudarnos a realizar nuestras metas. Muchas Gracias.
I know you probably won't read all of this, but inside that big text, I do mention that the diploma I earned at college does nothing for me. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had intended the speech for an audience of FJBG scholars and graduates only, and the overall message/objective of the speech was not to put the university down, but to present quite a new, idealistic perspective on education and life. But CAN YOU IMAGINE the university headmaster hearing that the university diploma means NOTHING from one of the students he graduated LESS THAN A WEEK AGO? Having him there was a pretty twisted surprise. He even got up and made an impromptu counter-speech to "express his opinion" on what I had just said. He's good at making impromptu counter-speeches - it came out well, although of course I had to disagree with most of it... he attacked the speech I had worked on for several days (sniff sniff). It was awkward. After all that, I was even taken aside by Bidkar, given his personal support on the speech issue, but he also told me that the content was not really appropriate for such an occassion. Guillermo Ventura also expressed his support for me on the matter - I wonder whether they really meant it. Oh well, since I had no money
then, Marcos paid my parking fee (Q48) in the hotel for me. I was able to pay him back $14 (both my and his parking fees for that day) through PayPal a few days ago. This was my first PayPal payment transaction.I've also had two meetings on my way to joining AIESEC. Both took place @ Universidad Francisco Marroquín, and though the first one was only a formal protocol interview with a nice girl called Naty, the second one was a little better. I were reunited at 13:15 in a classroom with about other 25 AIESEC member wannabes. We did about 5 interactive activities, in which we were evaluated on our leadership, excellence, eloquence, character, and stuff like that. The two activities worthy of mention were a massage in a circle and the final debate, in which the issue was "Should drugs be legalized?". I voted yes on the subject. However, besides the activities, what I believe to a more noteworthy element on this occassion was the astoundingly large proportion of the female population as compared to its male counterpart. Furthermore, most of the females were pretty pretty, but what's MOST impressive: I had a couple of pretty pretty girls looking
, smiling, and winking at me through the entire course of the reunion. Isn't that odd? A 23-year old social retard with a blank love history and agenda starts getting female attention all of a sudden? Why? Was it the lotion I put on? Was it the cool, gray three-quarter sleeve urban-looking shirt I had on that day? Was it my calm, confident attitude? Was it my bad/hippy boy, uncombed hair look? Or could it be possible... was it my new Timberland shoes? Well, whatever the reason, I was pleasantly surprised with the female reactions I encountered at the meeting. It was unfortunate that the couple of winking girls left early, but I'm looking forward to seeing them again soon. I was admitted into the association, so I should hope to see them again. Or at least more females. (Wow, following a CS major for 5 years really got me urged for some female interaction. I guess it's only natural.)I was supposed to go to an AIESEC lunch/slumber party
last Saturday, and I was really expecting to get some of that female interaction that day (or night). But then I thwarted myself. I don't know what's wrong with me. My friend Leslie invited me to her birthday party at 5 'o clock, and I was dumb enough to believe it really was at 5. I expected to spend 2 or 3 hours there, and then leave for the slumber party. The birthday party actually started at 8, and only 4 people arrived at the "party". All 4 of us ended up getting drunk, singing, and blabbering all night. (There were actually 5 of us, but one of them left at about 10PM). While I näively waited for the alcohol effect to wear out while drinking "just a little" with the birthday girl, it became midnight, and I drove home, a little dizzy, knowing that it was simply pointless to go to the slumber party then. I'm happy knowing that both Leslie and I had a relatively good time that night, and that I made a little difference in her party simply by being there, but I still kinda wish I had gone straight to the AIESEC party. (I sure hope she doesn't read this!)Since I risk sounding cynical and unsensitive with the following news, I'll be brief. My cousin Ileana has been diagnosed terminal cancer and is in the hospital - I visited her on Sunday morning. One of my father's half-sisters, Maria Luisa, died that very day of brain damage through strokes - I went to her funeral on Sunday night. God help them.
While I could try to expand on each and every one of singular events during these two months, I won't. But I will present a list of the most memorable ones to keep some sort of record:
- My mom left for Chicago
- Marcelo, Elisa, Chino, Romeo & I went on a trip to Pacaya several weeks ago - we went in Marcelo's Polo
- Alicia is NOT yet married.
- On the Friday right after Easter Week, I woke up at 4 in the morning and ran about 10 kilometers up to Km. 25.5 Carretera a San Lucas and back, following Christa's advice. That very day I took Scarleth to Escuintla for a job interview, then took her to college, then fell asleep while driving back home, crashed into a red car
- I began reading Walden, by Henry David Thoreau.
- There's an ATB concert
- On the Friday after my graduation day, I went with Ania to the zoo. And with Rodrigo. And with Jose. And with about 15 of Ania's friends. The only reason I was really going was that I was expecting to see Carola there, but she was sick for some reason
and didn't go. Even worse, chance and a bunch of tardy girls made me invite both Rodrigo and Jose to the zoo with me, which was pretty awkward, since they didn't know each other at all, and the only person they knew there was me. Oh yeah, pics
- I'm making about $100-$150 per month
- I ended up selling my Canon Powershot A430 camera
. I haven't made numbers or calculations, and I don't intend to, but I believe I can hold myself solvent for a considerable time lapse.And so Life goes on. What will happen next? What I determine to happen. And what is that? I'm not sure. It's more fun that way.
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