Discurso en inglés, el día de su graduación.

1. MARÍA PAULA ERAZO GARCÍA
Dear teachers, parents and classmates, thank you for giving me the honor to
welcome you and address my last words as a student of Nuevo Mundo to you, my
incredible extended family, that has gathered here to celebrate our graduation.
A little over 13 years ago I remember my first day of school, which I’m sure was
not different than yours, dear graduates. My parents were smiling, wishing me well
and proudly taking pictures of that memorable moment in my life, and here we
are today, celebrating the culmination of the first part of our educational journey.
My parents are once again present with their cameras and wishing me well for the
second part of this adventure – my university career. They have been my greatest
support throughout this path, with so many adventures, that formed me in what I
have become today.
Fellow graduates, we are all going to receive our diplomas, but just keep in
mind, a diploma is just a piece of paper and what we are really obtaining are
memories, knowledge, and a family. A closed knit family called Nuevo Mundo.
You are Nuevo Mundo, as well as every person that is connected to this
institution. Starting from the man that opens the door when we arrive in the
morning, all the people that in some way worked to take care of the school, all our
teachers from pre-school to high school, fundación, each one of the members of the
executive committee, all of them are Nuevo Mundo.
Now we are the finished product. Our teachers have molded and prepared us during
all these years with the sole objective that we could go and confront the real world.
Now, we have to live. It is time to grow as human beings, continuing our spiritual
and formal formation to become responsible citizens of this country and citizens of
the world.
Parents, it is time for your children to demonstrate what you have taught them. It
is not in your hands to decide for them anymore, now you only have the mission to
guide them with your wisdom, love and never forget to show them how proud you
are. Let them choose, let them experience and fail, because living is the best
way to learn.
I am standing on the brink of a future that is the rest of my life. So the message I
want to leave you, dear friends, is to take what you have learned the last 13 years
and put it to good use. Remember we are now 18 years old, we have a voice, our
opinions are more relevant than before, and each one of our actions will have a
consequence later. We are the future, we are the spark of a better and new
world of purity, a new world of love, liberty, veracity, and justice as
Abuelita Celeste used to say.
Many of us are wondering how our lives are going to turn out. It is okey to wonder,
but you have to leaver your fears behind. Out there no one will fight for you and
people will not always acknowledge what you deserve. Society has lost its values
an it is our duty to teach with our example.
Everyone wants to win, but a true student from Nuevo Mundo would like to win in
the correct way. And that is the way it should always be. Leave behind what is
not helpful, do not hold grudges. It is up to us to create a new world, so bring with
you the lessons learned that will be the working parts and tools of your greatest
invention ever, your life.