OUM convocation Nov 2010

Each time I attend the OUM convocation something happens that makes the occasion memorable to me. I look for the good things, unlike some other people I can name, because these are the things that show the difference we have made in peoples’ lives. 

On the first one I attended, I observed the look or pride and wonder on the face of a child as she watched her father don the graduation gown. 

This was the second day and after the first session of the day, I witnessed the incident that I have been looking for.   I was making my way down to the second floor from having lunch on the fifth floor of the PWTC. As i approached the escalator, I saw a man walking in front of me while talking on his handphone. The crowd was moving slowly and he was talking quite loud so it was easy to hear what he was saying.  He appeared to be talking to his mother (or mother-in-law, or stepmother or some other mother-figure) and I think he was there to witness someone’s graduation, possibly his wife or a sibling.  I heard him say, (my translation), “Mother, listen, they announced “lulus dengan cemerlang” (pass with distinction)…”  It was his tone that caught my “eye”.  There was pride in it, there was satisfaction and a lot more.  When we got to the bottom of the escalator, he went one way and I went another – I was headed to the surau. The way he walked was also noteworthy: there was a slight jaunt in his stride, this was a happy man. 

As I walked slowly to the surau, I was early, I watched the people around me.  I noticed that the man was not the only one behaving that way.  There were other behaving the same way, the same body language, the same tone in their speech. One thing was blatantly clear, these people were happy, they were proud of someone’s achievement, and they were relieved. I believe, I hope, that we had a part in that.

I realized that when I got to the surau, I too was smiling.