Speech Title: May Fifteen Edited/Revised Version Speech Editing Principle

May 15 of thus year, I woke up

with a happy heart. I thought o
myself “when I reach 50 years
old, 60 or beyond, I will look
back to this day and smile.”
Then, I paid attention to my
college graduation picture,
framed on a 4x6 decorative
wood edging emblazoned with
beautiful memories. I reached
for it, and held it closely, and
uttered m, “10 years, and I think
you did a pretty good job!” I
slowly put it back to the side
table, off to my working station
across my sliding window to
fulfill one in my daily routine:
journal writing.

Then, I started: Dear journal, “In

my 10 years as a member of the
noblest profession in the
universe, I have encountered
several influential, inspiring and
fabulous people. So, today, as a
tribute, I’m going to write about
them, starting off with my top
three favourites”.

To begin with, I did not like my

first pick. She was someone
who would always, always
disagree with my ideas and
decisions. I remember one time
while I asked her to sign my
college admission papers, she
was infuriated because of my
choice because I ticked Mass
Communication as my priority.
It was a very long battle of
verbal argument. As expected, I
did not win. Another, I came
home from school sharing I
would want to extract the tooth
of my lab partner without an
anesthesia because he’s
irresponsible and ridiculous.
Instead of letting me vent and
giving me back rub, she
defended the behavior of my
lab partner saying, “He must
have a bad day. You have to
understand.” Precisely, she’s a
devil’s advocate.

But, I have loved her. In fact, I

have been playing as a devil’s
advocate since college. I think
it’s important to see a situation
from different perspectives. In
that sense, I can think critically
and make reasonable decisions.
In the academic context, I
employ it as a strategy to make
my students be effective
communicators, critical and
creative thinkers, service-driven
citizens, and reflective life-long
learners through exposing them
to several relevant activities. I
learned this from her, from
someone I know a devil’s
advocate.

However, she left me. And for

once, it broke my heart.

If United Kingdom has the late

Margaret Thatcher, and China
has Wu Yi, I have a friend, too,
an Iron Lady who is my second
choice. And, I’m lucky to have
known her. Coined by Russian
journalist Captain Yuri Gavrilov
in 1976, the iron metaphor is
used to describe a lady who is
“strong -willed”. Strong-willed,
that’s a perfect word that
describes my friend. I was in
grade six back then when I
witnessed the misery that
happened to her family. I knew
how it felt thought I was still
younger. Their business went
bankrupt; her husband was
hospitalized fighting against
death; and; she was falling
downward spiral. But, she did
not let go. She stood her
ground, fought bank, and
turned every tragedy into
triumph. That’s why she’s an
Iron Lady to me.

Being strong-willed and turning

tragedy into triumph are
lessons which I learned from my
Iron Lady friend. Had I not
applied these lessons to my
personal and professional life, I
would have lost my sanity and
remained miserable.

However, she left me. And for a

second time, it broke my heart.

Of course, we all have heard the

story about a university
professor who sought a
Japanese master for
enlightenment about his
question on Zen. The master
served the professor suddenly
said, “It is overflowing”. The
master replied, “You are like
this cup. I cannot show you Zen
unless you empty your cup.”

I first learned this story from my

third choice,i.e., my teacher
who I used to call master. That
was supposed to be a life-
changing tale for me because I
was very stubborn and
unreceptive back then. But , my
master taught me to be more
open with new perspective and
continue to seek inspirations
from other people who I can call
masters, too, and to absorb and
just filter later. As Bruce Lee
said, “Absorb what is useful.”
Hopefully, after I have taken
everything in, I will have
evolved into a better educator,
just like my master and
ultimately, a better creative
person. I want to reach that
“zen point”, where everything is
intuitive and instinctive, where
teaching and I are one (like
samurai and the sword are
one), where I can see beyond
what my eyes tell me as what
swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
said.

Yes, I am aware of the dangers

of having too many masters,.
But mixed martial arts taught us
that we can learn different
masters, and eventually, evolve
into a well-rounded warrior. I
guess the secret lies in keeping
an open mind. I learned that
from my master. So I just make
sure that when I meet other
people and listen to their
stories, I go with an empty cup.

Nevertheless, she left me.

Again, it broke my heart.

Right after I signed on my

journal entry, I heard
euphonous voices of these
three personalities fused into
one calling my name. It was my
mom. She came in to my room
with two pieces of cake each
shaped with letter P and J
enough to be carried by her
hands. The letters are intials of
my first name- Philippe John.
Planted on the edge of each
cake were five tiny well-lit
candles. I stood from my post,
grabbed the pieces from my
mom’s shaky hands, and put
them on my desk. Then, I
hugged her. It was one of the
tightest hugs I had given her.
And, she told me, “You’re now
decade young teacher. Way to
go, my love, and I promise I will
not leave you anymore. Never.”

I couldn’t thank her more. May

15 of this year, I woke up with a
happy heart. And, again, I
thought to myself, “when I
reached 50 years old, 60 or
beyond, I will look back to this
day again and again and again.”