Valediction
Posted at 08:10 PM

The following contains portions of my speech before they have been properly edited. This is in no way way final and is posted here merely to solicit your comments. It is admittedly rather raw as of now.

Fellow graduates, today we mark the beginning of a new chapter of our lives. Indeed, for some of us, there will be no return to the classrooms, no more tests, no more terror professors. Others may choose to pursue further studies, perhaps, to become doctors or lawyers, or even earn their MBA's. But regardless of the path we have chosen, we leave here today facing the same future. (I'm not comfortable the last sentence in this paragraph, any suggestions?)

We enter a world confronted by one of the biggest crises of our time. Climate change is taking its toll on the environment. At one point, the meteoric rise of oil prices was unabated and now that they have fallen, oil producing nations are desperate to reclaim their record profits. The financial crisis that began as a result of flawed economic policies of the Bush administration has now engulfed the entire globe. It is not just the stock markets that are suffering. What began as a paper loss has now manifested itself in far-reaching concrete effects. Entire factories have been closed, millions of people have been laid off and the unemployment rates are soaring. Unsurprisingly, it is increasingly difficult to find jobs. Yes, we enter a world whose future looks bleaker by the day. Yet, in the midst of all this turmoil, there remain reasons to be hopeful. (This entire paragraph sickens me but I need to somehow establish a gloomy background. As much as possible, there should be climactic build-up but it's proven difficult to attain in a short speech.)

Against this backdrop, America made history by electing into office the first African-American President. President Obama was not the likeliest of candidates. Many questioned the junior senator from Illinois' lack of experience, the bigoted few mocked his race. Yet, in spite of all the challenges he faced, President Obama won the Democratic nomination for president after a long and divisive primary battle. He went on to win the national election by a solid margin. With his cool candor and his inspirational rhetoric, he won over an American electorate discontent over eight years of malgovernance by the Bush administration. At a time where the American people were suffering and clamoring for change, he brought the longed-for message of hope. His was a campaign built on a call for change. His was a campaign that could be summarized by three simple words: Yes we can.

And yet, there is no reason why that creed should be limited to Americans. I recall a talk on diversity that Jim Lafferty gave early last year. In that talk, he told us about an event he attended celebrating the success of the first Philippine team to reach the peak of Mt. Everest. Jim recalled that the Filipinos in attendance were beaming with pride when it was announced that their success was proof that "the Filipino can". The Filipinos grinned at each other while the foreigners could only look on with bewilderment. You see, the difference between Filipinos and their American counterparts is that the Americans already believe that they can, without needing someone else to reaffirm that belief. They did not need to hear that the "Filipino can", in their minds that was already a given. In our own, it should be as well. It is one lesson worth learning. In each of us, lies the power to do whatever we set our hearts to do. When confronted with seemingly insurmountable odds, instead of self-doubt, let us respond with that timeless creed: Yes, we can.

So today -- today, let us recognize that this is our moment. This is our time. A time to pursue our dreams. A time to quell not only the doubts of those who surround us but also those that lie within us. A time to rise over whatever seemingly insurmountable odds we face.

It is a time to embrace that fundamental truth that regardless of our race, or age, or sex, or whether or not we go home tonight adorned with medals, we can make a difference. Yes we can.

God bless us all.

Setting your own custom domain
Posted at 06:35 AM in General News

In the past, you've had to contact me to set your own custom domain. This is no longer the case - I've added a new page in the control panel (Settings > Set Custom Domain) which lets you set your own domain name. I've updated the documentation page with instructions on how to set-up your Tabulas to use a domain name.