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Justo Santos
26 Years!
We were so glad to see you all again. It has been a long time. 26 years and 9 months ago, we were once gathered at our school bleacher smartly dressed for our graduation day. We were not really sure of what the future will offer for us.
And now, after 26 years, here we are.
Times have changed so much. We have had five Presidents after President Marcos since. Our time was marked with the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino, and the subsequent ascendancy to presidency by the late President Corazon Aquino. Fittingly enough, Benigno Aquino Jr. is the current President as we celebrate our homecoming.
Who would have thought of online social networking at that time - Friendster, Yahoo, FB, Tweets, WAYN, etc. The people we really know are the people around us----Family, relatives, classmates, immediate friends and neighbors.
The Batch started to be re-connected again via Internet way back in the late 1990’s. We started with Yahoo Chat and created a room to meet. I still remember meeting Thek, Ruben and others to test such chat room. We then created some temporary websites for the group. Eventually, we had YAHOO GROUP and a BATCH 84 Classmates website. Some of us have Friendsters. It has become seemingly obsolete nowadays. FACEBOOK is our current popular medium now. Some of us TWEET but FB is our preffered connections.
I did put emphasis on social networking as a major tool in our group. If we just carefully pay attention to our batchmates FB friends, we will find a wide range of individuals. There are people who professed their undying love and loyalty to their partners, people who inspires, cares, informs, down to people who makes us laugh by their jokes, comments and funny pictures.
Of course we also have sms or texting. Diyan magaling ang Pinoy. Kung meron nga international contest sa TXTing, siguro panalo bansa natin.
However, such technologies work only because of people who uses it positively. In the end, we still have to rely on people actual interaction.
To elaborate by example, just look backed at the registration day. We were actually a bit worried for the small turn-out of alumni. Improvising, we encourage all attendees to at least bring along another batchmate each for the Family day the next day. And then, a brilliant idea by Letay! She suggested having a convoy and going directly to batchmates we know and persuade them to join. And so we have 1 jeep and 2 cars full of enthusiastic batchmates. We travelled from 14th St, James Gordon Hospital, Gordon Heights down to 26th St at Dominic Mendoza’s place.
It was in this travel that we came to know more of Mr. Lugtu. Admittedly, I don’t really know him that much except that we play soccer at times, sweating it out at what used to be our school quadrangle. This guy actually knows a lot of batchmates and was instrumental in locating them. He could have had easily been working as a postman or a census worker because of such knowledge! Coupled with multiplier effect, we were able to convince and gather more attendees! Our concern now turns into worries as we do not know if we have sufficient budget to cover the number. But then again, Luds is willing to wash plates at Ralis just to cover for the additional cost. So to speak. The hard work of gathering batchmates for the last 6 years had been match by a certain Mr. Lugtu in one day!!! Indeed, people is still over and above technology.
Lahat ng ito, nakatulong na tayo ay muling magkitakita para sa batch 84 26th year Grand Reunion. The fact remains that after all the dust have settled down, we may never see each other again. OR… positively, we can be connected as long as we live. With the aid of technology, we can be closer together. But more importantly, people like Ludy, Ana, Ruben, Sarah, Tolights, Emes, Dioness, Letay, Franco, Derek, Blas, Tinoko sisters, Weng, AURA kids and the rest of us people, who uses such technology positively, our reunion has become a reality.
And so that night, we did not talk further about politics. Nor we did not talk about religion. We did not even dwell on the triumphs, failures and struggles all of us are facing. We just bonded. Re-connected. Of course Sarah did talk about our vision. Luds aptly concluded it with emotional speech summarizing the passion of the group to see it thru.
However, the night represented a lot of revelations. Indeed, our differences and individualities is our main strength. I will not mention this people. I advise that you get to know them yourself.
It was also heartfelt to see some of our former teachers in attendance. The tribute we bestowed them that night was touching and unique but not enough really. Ms. Lanuza even quipped about a request for a laptop so that she can also go online and have facebook. Perhaps one of us can make that request come true?
We can’t help as well to appeal to all our batchmates for assistance. This gathering is only a start of something we hope could be a start of a legacy. We actually successfully portrayed that reunions need not be about flamboyance and extravagance. There was no imposed dress code. Food was simple. All were welcome. All were equal and treated as such. We just wanted to be a family. We just wanted to be re-connected. And we want to use that connection to be able to help each other.
For the meantime, let us all enjoy this moment. The thousand pictures posted speak for themselves. 26 years. This moment happens only once. To those who were not able to make it, my heart is with them. Am sure gustong gusto nila makapunta dito but for some reasons. 26 years.
Mabuhay po tayong lahat.
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