Legacies

By Arik Aaron Abu

Three to five years.

On average, that is how long it takes for a student to finish a degree (or two) from De La Salle University. That is about three to five more years to enjoy the final dregs of youth. After that, the rest of your life begins.

As cliché as it may already seem, the university has always been, and will always be, a microcosm of the society. It will expose you to different people, influences, and ideas. It will educate you from both within and beyond the walls of its classrooms. But more importantly, it will provide you with a myriad of opportunities to help you become a better person, to see the world in different perspectives, and to determine who and what you want to become in the future.

The promise that “The future begins here” seems readily apparent to any person who makes it into La Salle. But I believe that there is a catch to that phrase. Indeed, La Salle will help you prepare for the future, but that future will greatly depend on the decisions that you make while you are still in the university.

After having graduated, I was fortunate enough to be granted the privilege of teaching in La Salle. And in that span of time, I was able to observe the University from the other side of the classroom. I have seen brilliance and determination in some, but not all. And it made me scared of what is to come.

Yes, I was jumping into undeserving conclusions. And I am absolutely in no position to preach, nor do I have any sense of moral ascendancy to tell you what you should be doing with your life. But, with so much regret, I have to say that I have seen a deterioration as the years went by. I have witnessed the saying that the “youth being wasted on the young,” and it is slowly becoming the reality of La Salle today.

I fear for the future generations of Lasallians who have forgotten how it is to become critical of their words and their actions, of Lasallians who have accepted defeat in accepting what is otherwise convenient to them, and of Lasallians who have given up the fight and have chosen not to care. If these allegations of mine have bothered you, or you believe that these are all untrue, then I believe that there is still hope.

To the person reading this right now, I am challenging you to prove me wrong. I dare you to leave a legacy in La Salle before you graduate. Three to five years may not seem too long a time, but it will be enough to allow you to make an impact to the indifferent and the passive.

To ask for martyrdom would not only be too much, but likewise archaic. Begin with doing your best even in the simplest of things, thereby living St. John Baptist De La Salle’s creed of doing ordinary things extraordinarily. It can also be done in excelling in your academics because you did not get into La Salle if you did not possess the capacity to do so. Proceed with setting aside your excuses and exposing yourself to the organizations and functions that the University has to offer. Become a sponge to all the experience you will gain from them. Trust me when I say to you that the learnings and skills you will gain from them will be of service to you in the years to come. Should I have been given the chance to do it all over again, I am certain that I would have done more.

To leave a legacy is to make a statement. One which says that you reject mediocrity and that you have chosen to defy what has already turned into a norm. La Salle will provide you the opportunities and the venues to create one, or some. Make sure to take them on before it is too late. Leave a legacy not because you want to be remembered, but because you want to make a difference. Be a legacy for and of La Salle. Never underestimate the power of the strong conviction of a person who wants to make a difference, nay, be the difference.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,” as Eleanor Roosevelt would put it. Choices have already been made. And there are a lot more to be made. I hereby submit to you that in making a difference with where and who you are right now, you are also determining what kind of future you will have. There is a great future to behold for those who strive for and earn it.

Legacies. Make sure you leave some before moving on to the next chapter of your life.

Arik Abu was concurrently the Associate and Managing Editor of The LaSallian in AY 2009-2010. He graduated with a law degree from Ateneo de Manila University earlier this year and is currently taking the Bar examinations.