It was August 30, 2012.
The second day of the Computer
Engineering/Computer Engineering Society days.
One of the major events for that day was the “Fellowship with the CpE
alumni”. Obviously, the event needs to
invite a CpE graduate to share his experiences in life as once a student of the
BS CpE program, and how it has affected, contributed to his professional and
personal life. With the help of Engr.
Barney Cortes, a part-time faculty and also an alumnus of the program, he was
able to invite and confirm a classmate of his to grace the occasion. His name is Engr. Vicente Miñoza.
We were so lucky that he was
available during that date. Lucky
enough, that the academe for which he is connected was having their intramurals
days. Thus, he was able to spare time
for us.
Engr. Miñoza started with how he
struggled during his college days. He
mentioned how near he was to shifting courses, and could have taken a different
career path. Eventually he succeeded
with his decision to stay put, and has been able to work handsomely in
different industries. Handsomely,
meaning, a very promising profession closely related to his degree, and able to
travel to different places. Currently he
is into full time teaching with another reputable university, and does distance
learning as an educator. All this he was
able to attain for staying put.
According to him, what I preached in class when he was still a student
of mine contributed to that decision. He
said admittedly he did not buy-in to that immediately, but as he tried to take
on, it changed his attitude towards the struggles he had, faced everything
courageously and succeeded.
“PRESSURE IS NOT A CURSE. IT IS A
BLESSING”
I was so surprised he remembers
that preaching of mine. I have not
preached of it in recent years. It’s not
that I stopped mentoring and sharing valuable lessons. I just preached another as an educator,
spreading the philosophies of Confucius, having been influenced by his
teachings during my basic education years; being a product from a Chinese school.
When Engr. Miñoza
spoke out these words that day, this so-called philosophy came back to my
memory. It was one of the two
“philosophy” that has guided me throughout my simple life of mine. I always share these thoughts with people who
are very much close to me. And when I
got into teaching, I shared this with my students.
Those are exactly the words I
uttered in class. I always present it at
the start of the semester, after the giving of midterm grades, or when I just
want to talk about it. I would do that
in hopes of probably at least inspiring them, and not to give up amidst the
harshness of their current life. I
talked about it during my first six years with the institution. And the years that succeeded saw me preaching
a different “philosophy”.
These “philosophy” as I coined it
is a product of a personal experience of mine.
When I was still a student (from basic education to college years), I’ve
always treated all the pressures given to me by my instructors as part of
growing up. It was for me, to work hard,
to learn more, to find ways to look for solutions, to eventually make me ready
for finding solutions to real life problems ahead. Solutions to Real life includes things that
academic life does not teach, but the discipline and attitude you acquire for
handling it, making it the perfect weapons to go through reality.
While most of my classmates whine
about strict teachers, giving hard exams, handing numerous projects for us to
comply, I just accept it as it is. I
react negatively at first like everybody does. “These are too many!!!”, “can’t
he give a simpler exam?”, “Another pile of activities this week?”, “I’ve got
much to comply from the other subject, now here’s another?” Sometimes when the times really get rough, I
would even cry in the private space of my room.
I can feel the pressure too. I’m just human, and I have several
limitations and weaknesses. Yet, I never
thought of thinking into giving up and instead push my mind that I can do this. And I can do it one step at a time.
Those pressures had evolved me
into being a pro-active person. I make
the most of what I have, and what I can do.
What I am capable of determines the type of effort I put into achieving
things. Though I entertained the idea of
“If I have this…..I can do this………….” , I never limited myself because of
that. Instead, I just maximize my most
available resources, and put my most influence into everything that I want to
do. Not to neglect also the value of
time management. And most of all, constant
prayers to HIM, to strengthen me in my most down times. Pressures are just a test of character. There is no pressure or test that we cannot
handle.
It’s been years since I graduated
from college. But the pressures in life never
ended there. Actually, it has evolved
into much more difficult times. As the
pressures evolved from that point to this point, dealing with pressure has also
evolved. The formula remains the same
though. Never let my limitations hinder
the task at-hand, focus on the most valuable strength as the weapon to achieve
things. Be the solution, not be the
problem. As what Stephen Covey has said
from his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Be A Pro-active
Person, not a Reactive Person.
I give this insight to all
readers as I end this blog:
Pressure Is Not A Curse…….. There
is no need to condemn it. Bear it in
mind that the pressures you have right now is just a test of you and your
character. There are very valuable
lessons to be learned that is hidden with it.
These lessons are acquired if you take things positively, never limit
yourself by your weakness, but maximize your strength. There is no test given to you that you cannot
handle.
IT IS A BLESSING………. There are
rewards that you will reap once you are able to make it through any pressure
that you had. And it affects you POSITIVELY
for the rest of your lifetime.
