A Toast!

So the graduations are over, and I sit in my apartment, on a recently vacuumed carpet, contemplating the rest of my days. I've really been blessed spending five, magical years at UCLA, and there are no amount of words that can express my gratitude to all the people who made it possible. There are so many wonderful and beautiful people I've encountered in so many settings, from Samahang, to UCLA Chorale, to my engineering classes, to Asian Pacific Coalition, to the dorms, you all have really meant so much to me, and all I can say is a humble thank you.

A lot of people have expressed a touch of sadness about how everyone is going away; I guess from my experience I've never made a big deal about goodbyes. I used to. I remember I'd get depressed after the big family Christmas parties. I cried when I said goodbye to my cousins that I got to know in the Philippines in December of '96. But since then I've come to learn that after every goodbye, you never really know how long you'll be separated. After the Christmas parties, there was always a birthday or debut where the family would get back together again. And six months after the Philippines trip, the cousins with whom I made my tearful goodbye came to America to stay permanently.

And the goodbyes that seemed in passing, saying good night to my Grandfather in February '96, telling Michael Glenn that I'd see him later after Christmas '04 in Vegas, watching Cindy Rabuy walk down the stairs to Lot 4 in April '04, passing Steven as he tabled in Bruinwalk, would be the last time I'd ever speak with them again. And even then, the spirit of those wonderful people was so powerful, I never had to worry about losing them; they were at my side all along.

And so goes the Class of 2005. I carry your talent, your warmth, and your love wherever I go, knowing that I never stand alone, and that I am a product of all the encounters of all the people who have blessed my life. So think of it not as a goodbye. Think of it as an expansion, and a step toward immortality.

Cheers!