Dear Graduates,

Congratulations, you have just unlocked a new milestone in your life! All those hours studying at the library and campus, endless consultations with your tutors, lecturers, and colleagues, sleepless nights spent working on many assignments... they all lead to this very moment: the end of your campus life and the beginning of your journey into the real world.

It’s a mixed bag of emotions: excitement, happiness, sadness, relief, and fear at the same time. It's okay! These are normal feelings to have when you're entering a new phase in life. After all, you’re still trying things out and figuring out what's right for you. And not everyone will always get it right at the beginning of this new journey. As Oprah Winfrey once said in her graduation speech: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.

Don't be afraid. Don't limit yourself. Make friends with people who aren't your age. Hang out with people whose first language is different from yours. Get to know people who come from various social classes. This is how you grow: by expanding your worldview!

Remember that the real challenge is to build a résumé that doesn’t simply tell a story about what you want to be, but it’s a story about who you want to be. It doesn’t just tell a story about what you want to accomplish, but why. A story that’s not just a collection of titles and positions, but a story that’s really about your purpose. Because when you inevitably stumble and find yourself stuck in a hole, that is the story that will get you out: a story of overcoming adversity.

No matter what challenges or setbacks or disappointments you may encounter along the way, you will find true happiness and success when you grow as a person, through which your loved ones can see it in you and thus motivate them to grow too. Not only bringing a good impact upon yourself but for others as well.

And in every next step you take, remember always to cherish the memories. Memories you’ve spent with your loved ones, the ones you’re experiencing right now, and the new ones you’re about to make. They are some of the most priceless things in life that will keep pushing you on.

The world is in your hands and you are more than capable of taking it on. You will be happy, you will be successful and you will make a difference in the world. We believe in you!

With love, SweetEscape