Open letter to Tinian High School Class of 2008

Following the Tinian High School graduation on Friday, May 29, I learned the next day that I was intended to be the keynote speaker. I was not present to make that address, because no one from the high school informed me about it. As a resident of Tinian and a proud member of our small community, I would have made every effort to have been present at such an important and significant event, but I was, at the same time, at another event that was scheduled in advance, a meeting with the president of NMC and the members of the Board of Regents on Saipan.

Graduates, had I been present, this is the message I would have delivered to you.

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Good evening, family and friends; people of Tinian; and most of all, good evening Class of 2008!

Thank you for choosing me to deliver this message to you. It has been nearly fourteen years since I myself graduated from high school—Notre Dame High School on Guam in 1994. I can still clearly recall the excitement of that day. My sights were set to soaring, as yours are tonight. The possibilities were endless for me, as yours are tonight.

Today is, many of you would consider, the first day of the start of your future. You’ve set your sights long ago on this day; and you’ve made it! You have successfully completed the rigorous requirements set out by this fine institution of learning and you are now poised to enter into a competitive, challenging world as high school graduates.

You have a proud legacy on which you can depend. Past graduates of Tinian High School have proven themselves to outshine and overachieve in many ways, academic, artistic, and athletic. I can recall graduates who are in our community, graduates like Joey Patrick San Nicolas is a member of the first graduating class back in 1991. JP graduated from Chaminade in Honolulu after high school, then William Mitchell College of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he obtained his law degree. He has been a practicing attorney here in the Northern Marianas for many years now, and he and his family call Tinian home. I can also recall graduates who are currently in our midst as dedicated teachers: Regina Palacios, Eric San Nicolas, Nathaniel Hofschneider, Anthony Aguon, Patricia Aguon, Elmie Guerrero, Jennifer San Nicolas, to name a few. Each one of them went off to college and after graduating, they all returned home to make a difference. And they do, each day, by imparting knowledge to you so that you can walk off with diplomas. I can also recall the name of a graduate who is one of the CNMI’s first graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, and who is now a U.S. Navy pilot, Adrian Evangelista. And there are those who are in the private sector, such as Hilbert San Nicolas, who works at the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino. There are others who work for the local government and who enrich our community in that capacity, firefighters, medical technicians, police officers, community workers for the Mayor. The list goes on and on. If these individuals can achieve everything that they have dreamed of achieving, you can, too!

Many of you have accepted the challenge to make the next big leap, from high school students to college students. And many of you have chosen the non-traditional, but no less honorable, route of getting a job and supporting your families while also going to school.

But this fine day, your graduation day, is not just the first day of the future. Rather it is this: Your future is now, not tomorrow. We can be today that which we dream we are tomorrow. It is my great pleasure to offer you with greatest humility what I’ve come to collect along the way. Springing back 14 years to the day of my graduation when I sat among my fellow high school graduates to this day, I bring to you three things that come to mind:

First, Make today the most important day of your life.

What do you think is the most important thing to a successful future? Intelligence, popularity, perseverance? Yes, and no. It is today. This moment. Right now. Benjamin Franklin once said, “One today is worth a thousand tomorrows; what I am to be, I am now becoming.”

Make today the most important thing. It is all you have right now. Do your best in it. Express your best self—your best character, your gifts, your skills and talents, your abilities. Identify the most important things to you today—family, friends, your goals and dreams. People create success in their future by focusing on today. Yesterday is gone, and yet most people can make the mistake of living out their yesterdays and defining themselves by those accomplishments for the rest of their lives. It is much like the old saying, “The older I am, the better I was.”

Here is one example from my own life. In 2001, I was honored with the title of Miss Northern Marianas Universe. I carried that title to compete with other Miss Universes from the United States and other countries in Puerto Rico. That time of my life was an amazing time for me. I also saw it as something bigger than just me. I saw it as a chance for the Northern Marianas to promote our greatest resources, the destination, the wonderful people, and the islands’ natural beauty (the beauty of the land, the trees and the beaches—not me necessarily, I did not even make top 10!). It is now 2008. Still there are many people who continue to define me by that accomplishment. I am always honored and excited and very proud whenever I meet anyone who appreciates what I did, but no matter what past goals I may have accomplished or awards I may have received they have little impact on what I do today. After 2001, I continued with goals that I had set for myself since I was very young. I left the islands once again for law school, and, after three years, graduated with a law degree in 2006. I am now a practicing attorney at the Office of the Public Defender on Saipan, and an active member of the community.

You can hope for the future, and plan for the future, but remember the old saying, “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.” The secret of a successful future is determined by each little act you do daily. To be the best you can be—the best student, the best athlete, the best individual—you have to apply yourself each day to become a little better, and one day, you will become a lot better. All of you have an advantage over the rest of us here. Well, I’ll speak for myself. You’re smarter and younger! The earlier you start on your path to success, the better. Start small and remember that if your journey is a thousand miles long, start with the step in front of you.

Second, Respect and cherish your family.

When I recall my own graduation, or any graduation that I have ever attended, I remember endless seas of proud faces. Your graduation is no different. The sea of proud faces are made up by your mothers, mothers whose faces are overtaken with emotion; your fathers, fathers whose smiles can’t be held back; your siblings and cousins; your aunts and uncles. All of them are glowing with pride.

We are at a time in our faith when families are experiencing difficulties; the tumult of abuse and neglect, separations, divorces threaten to overwhelm us and tear us apart individually and gradually as a community. We sit here today and recognize in our hearts that the true satisfaction in our lives is not in the achievement of things, it is in sharing those successes—and failures—with our families. But strong families are not automatic, they are built each and every day out of mutual love and respect.

When I was in high school, I lived in the convent with nuns. (No, I wasn’t going to be a nun, it was my parents’ idea. Later, when I announced my decision to go to Wellesley College, an all women’s college, my parents were delighted, my father most of all.) While living with the Sisters, they taught me the basic values that make up our individual selves. One important thing these humble servants of God taught me was the importance of loving your family, and having them love and respect you. It was from them that I heard this: It is said that when Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” Her response? “Go home, and love your family.”

Here is another story from my life. In June 2006, one month after I graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law and Graduate School, my mother collapsed at 7am on the floor of her bathroom at home on Tinian. That was where my father found her. In less than 24 hours I was on Saipan by her side, and thus began my personal journey into what has come to be for me the defining moment in my family’s life. That journey brought all of us—my father, my sister, and me—to see what was most important to us. Looking back now it seems so insignificant compared to the big picture, but at the time, I had just graduated from law school; I was studying for the Hawaii bar exam (my first bar exam); and I had a great job from a law firm in Honolulu waiting for me—and I was afraid of losing all those things that I had worked so hard for.

Without hesitation, for the next 15 months I lived with my mother by her bedside in a hospital where she was sent for brain surgery, and never left. I would sleep on a small rollaway bed attached to her hospital bed. That’s where I slept, sat and prayed. During that tumultuous time nothing mattered except family. Every family has gone through challenging moments, whether it’s financial or medical, or otherwise. Our family was no exception. We have considered this to be one of the most amazingly difficult moments in our lives, but yet we are thankful for still having each other and for knowing enough to appreciate that we are still together. There is a happy ending to this story. Mom, never one to give up, is doing well and receiving physical rehabilitation at a hospital abroad, and is well on her way to recovery. As for me, I have a very fulfilling job as an assistant public defender and enjoy the challenges of criminal defense work. Most of all, this job allows me to see both my parents, who live on Tinian, frequently.

Remember, any positive impact you want to make in your life—as a scientist, doctor, lawyer, athlete, musician—starts at home. The relationships you have with your family—your parents and siblings, and other members of your immediate family—are the most important ones in your life. Guard them fiercely and protect them against the negative influences of society. Graduates, thank them for the contribution they have made positively to your lives and will continue to make; and parents, reaffirm to them the value they have brought to your lives and in your hearts. All of us should never forget to ask ourselves how we can continue to do better to serve, love and protect our families.

Third, be a global citizen.

Earlier I asked you to do things each day to make it the most important day in your life. I’m also going to ask you to do something that is far bigger than yourself.

It would be tremendously easy for one to venture into life with enthusiasm to succeed if that were the only concern one were to have. I challenge you to see yourself as an instrument of change in the world. Do something bigger than yourself. Don’t get caught up in the notion that success is limited to the material things you acquire: the big house, the expensive car, the high-paying job. When you hitch your wagon to something that is far bigger than yourself, you will be part of something more important and more satisfying.

Many of you have heard the statement, “We live in a small world.” And it is a very small world indeed. You graduates live with amazing technologies that were not available for most of us older folks. You enjoy the capability to have information available upon demand. You can text someone across the room, across the nation, even internationally without effort. You also have a keen awareness of the global climate. Through these technologies you can easily develop relationships with people all around the world. If you want to make a difference, begin with the statement that Mahatma Ghandi is well known for: “Be the Change you want to see in the world.”

Graduates, thank you for allowing me to impart this message to you.Congratulations on achieving an important milestone in your lives. Again, thank you and congratulations.

[I](Editor’s Note: The Tinian High School graduation was scheduled for Friday, May 29, 2008 at 5:30pm. Janet King is scheduled to deliver the high school commencement address to the Class of 2008 at Mount Carmel School on June 7, 2008. She assures us that she has been contacted in advance for that event. Janet King can be reached by e-mail at: JanetHanKing@pticom.com.)[/I] [I](Janet King is the assistant public defender at the Public Defender’s Office.)[/I]