cheevan's thought

Good evening, Director Chen, Mr. Yeh, Mr. Lu, ITI faculty, administration staff, and my fellow ITI 29ers. 

It’s a privilege to speak to you this evening. I’d like to thank my classmates in A stream for giving me this opportunity. I am honored and grateful. For those who don’t know me yet, my name is 錢啟方, but most people refer to me by my English name, Cheevan.

Do you know how much does one average 3-year-old girl weigh? 
It’s about 13.5 kgs. 

Do you know what else weighs 13.5 kgs?
All the handouts and books combined, both Chinese and English ones, in the past 6 months. That’s a lot of trees and knowledge.

But just like all good things in life, ITI 29 has come to a closing point. I still remember vividly the very first day; it was a cold cloudy January Monday afternoon. I sat next to Eric in the orientation; the first girl I talked to was Lisa. 6 months just flew by like that. 

Let me start by sharing a little story of mine. My girlfriend, my ex-girlfriend, to be more exact, dumped me via a cellphone text message on January 30th evening. That was a Monday. I am in G1, and our writing teacher is Simon. We always have weekly homework assignment due on Tuesday morning, so Monday night is basically writing homework time. That night, Instead of writing my homework, I wrote Simon an email saying that I was unable to do it, because of the severe emotional trauma I was suffering. Simon kindly replied, “No worries.”

What is the point of this story? The point is, our lives have inevitably intertwined with ITI. All the moments we shared have become small pieces of a larger picture that we don’t fully see yet. Life is a series of choices, a big combination of little moments that add up to big ones that create who you are. Years from now when I look back about this nasty break-up, I will also recall Simon’s condolence words that eased my pain. Thank you Simon. So, you might ask: “It there anything worth remembering in ITI?” I’d say, if any of the lessons learned, any of the experiences gained, any of the passion/love found and most importantly, any of the friendship earned, has helped you to become a better person, or has better equipped you with skills for your future position (whatever that might be), then I say, the past 6 months we spent together in that windowless mezzanine is definitely worth it.

Let me share another story of mine.

Before coming to ITI, I was (and still am) a certified high school English teacher. That being said, I had quite a few prides and self-esteem when I first step in ITI classrooms; I had doubts about “what more English can I learn from these courses?”

Turns out I was so wrong. I’ve learned so much more than I expected. Now we all know it is best to divide your presentation into 3 parts, thanks to Bob; and Mark, watching CNN will never be the same after your listening class; Greg, all the negotiation terms including but not limited to BATNA, real base and aspiration base has become language we use on a daily basis. Thanks to Helen, using small talks to social at tradeshows has become a basic skill we possess. And Paul, your humor and your passion for Manchester United has brought so many joys and knowledge in the telephoning class. I am sorry that England lost to Italy on penalty kicks. Simon, I can’t stress more how useful your meeting class is. Mr. Yeh, I am sorry I fell asleep in your class; I might not be able to use the knowledge you taught in my future position, but your attitude towards what you do and how great you are to your students will always be remembered. And of course, Mr.Lu; after your BP, I believe we can literally survive anything.

Dear ITI 29ers, we all had different expectations when we first step into this program. I don’t know if ITI has fulfilled yours or not, but I believe we all have new expectations regarding life and career now. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. One day we will connect the dots backwards. We have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in our future. I believe ITI is a very important dot in our lives, and it is a great honor to share this dot with you. Starting tomorrow morning we will be forced to choose different paths. It is a challenge to start our career in this troublesome world at this moment, but it is moments like these that force us to try harder, to dig deeper, to find the inner strength we don’t even know in existence before, and to find the greatness that lies within each of us. No matter what path you choose, I hope you realize that these people on the 33rd floor right are people who you can lean on when life is hard in the future. If there is a load you have to bear that you can't carry, I believe these people are right up the road. They will share your load and give you a hand if you just let them know. 

But, if, for some reasons, we don’t ever see each other again, that’s fine, too. Just remember all the good memories we share together. And for that reason, please take a look around this room; look at all these beautiful and handsome faces. Thank them for the 6 six months we shared, and hug them if they allow you. Take lots, lots of pictures, because we all look super fabulous tonight.

It’s been a really wonderful 6 months.

Thank you.