Graduation Elation

“Anak ko ‘yan!”, loudly and proudly reflects in the eyes of each parent during the Pin and Ring Ceremonies of some 150 Nursing graduates, our son included. No matter if present statistics say that half of the people who are in the labor force are without jobs and there exists a perception that the country has an oversupply of nurses. In a society where formal education is a prime tool to acquiring the resources for one’s lifetime, finally seeing your own child graduate from college becomes your own life culmination.

Through the past four years, each day is a struggle for survival: staying concerned and up on late nights while your child studies till he drops, coping with the cycle of his changing hospital duty hours so he eats on time and has the white uniform to wear, hoping he grabs the budget meal to fill his growling stomach while in school or in the hospital, and wishing he doesn’t fall asleep again and miss his destination while commuting back home. The thought that they are, in fact, exposed to much worse possibilities is enough to keep a parent’s faith to the test.

Yet we cannot be shaken. Just think how rewarded your child felt when he told of an elderly patient ever so grateful for his single minute of smoothing an aching back which no one attended to before, or when a family member  told him he’s an angel for patiently pumping the oxygen bag to keep their loved one going. It is no surprise then if we salute our children with elation for all the challenges they have overcome and from which they have risen up victorious!

 Alongside, parents have to get the financial backing to get through. It’s a common fact that most financial assistance is provided by relatives who work overseas; their sacrifices truly uncommon and priceless. Definitely, a lot of divine grace comes with it all. We are blessed to have a sister, by blood and by virtue, who sees the value of investing in people and shows how life can be meaningful.

What are our parental thoughts? The test is in the pursuit. Persistence in keeping their knowledge enriched, looking for opportunities to apply what they know, and developing their skills to excellence are qualities proven to have led professionals, likewise lead our children, to success. As a consequence, they would attain financial stability and their ultimate goal of healing the sick, supporting the weak, and contributing to wheel our ill-laden nation towards convalescence.