To Members of My Medical School Class UERMMMC 1971

To Members of My Medical School Class UERMMMC 1971

Laurence T. Gayao  MD 

My dear classmates that night when we received our diplomas 50 years ago the thought of being reunited again to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of our medical School graduation was not in our minds, and that 21 of our classmates would no longer be with us. This year we celebrate our common history, knowing that in the last 50 years, our decisions, beliefs, talents and personalities were shaped, colored and impacted by the values we learned and by our experiences and interactions with teachers and friends. These influences are part of what we are today, and those of us who decided to attend our coming reunion so we could honor and acknowledge the importance those school years have had in our lives. We received a great comprehensive education in the basics sciences, the clinical and the art of medicine.

We all recall as after our rotating internship the school required us to take and pass what they called Comprehensive Examination before they would award us our diplomas. As a class we refuse to sit for the examination because we already passed all academic requirements for graduation before we started internship and it would be unfair to our parents and those who supported us that won’t be able to graduate a few days before graduation. Fortunately the administration relented and we got our diplomas. There are other details that occurred during that time that would rather not talk about, but let us just a say we have called ourselves the Rebel Class of Aquarius since then.

We formed our families, many of us are grandparents now , and somehow, somewhere between freshman and our internship year, something beautiful happened to us, and, we didn’t realized much at the time, but in those years we were creating a very strong and most precious bond called FRIENDSHIP: A relationship so special that it doesn’t matter how many years or decades passed without seeing each other, because the moment we establish contact or reunite, is almost like being in school all over again and the joy and camaraderie are always there. There are many good lifelong friends within our group and this friendship is a source of happiness, good times, companionship, empathy, consolation and advice. But what exactly is the meaning of FRIENDSHIP? This term is so difficult to define that I have picked up a few quotes from famous people in order to try to understand it a little better.

 

1.- Somebody named Elbert Hubbard once said that “a friend is somebody that knows everything about you and likes you anyway” So, friendship is UNCONDITIONAL.

2.- In the famous cartoon series “Winnie the Pooh”, written by A.A. Milne, there was a conversation between Pooh and Piglet, who were good friends. Piglet whispered: “Pooh?” Pooh answered: “Yes, Piglet?” Taking Pooh’s hand, Piglet said: “Nothing, I just wanted to be Sure of you!” So, friendship IS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU.

3.- Henry Nouwen wrote: “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that the friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair , who can stay with us in an hour of grief , who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” So friendship is COMPASSIONATE AND UNDERSTANDING.

4.- The great Martin Luther King said: “In the end, you will not hear the words of your enemies, but the silence of your friends” So, friendship is PRUDENT, DOESN’T HURT OTHERS AND IT’S BASED IN THE TRUTH, NOT IN DAMAGING GOSSIP

5.- Abraham Lincoln said: “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?” So, friendship can be A VERY SMART HABIT, BECAUSE IT VANISHES ANIMOSITIES AND ENEMIES.

6.-Alexander Mac Call Smith wrote: “You can go through life and make new friends every year, but there was never any substitute for those friendships of early year that survive into senior years. Those are the ones in which we are bound to one another with hoops of steel!” So, there is NOTHING LIKE AN OLD FRIEND, AND THAT’S WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THIS GROUP OF OLD FRIENDS: We are bound to one another with hoops of steel!

According to all these quotes, friendship means different things to different people, but it always fills your heart with pleasure and make us feel connected, and after 50 years, we are all able to feel each other’s joys and sorrows.

We are like a big beautiful tree full of leaves and life that germinated out of the seed of Destiny, who put us together in the same class, and that grew nourished over many years by the time we spent together, by our common experiences and by the love that unquestionably exists within our group. Every one of us is a leaf that contributes to the beauty and life of this tree, which by now is solid and indestructible. Even though some of the leaves have already fallen, these fallen leaves continue to fertilize the soil in which this tree grows and stands tall, and is a testimony to the union of the Class of 1971.

My dear friends, over 50 years ago we studied together, work together, danced together, we played together and we celebrated our coming of age and our graduation together. Today we are still dancing, playing and celebrating together. Let’s continue to do this and rejoice in each other’s company, let’s keep feeding, grooming and protecting the friendship that was born inside the classroom more than 50 years ago, and especially, let’s keep being ambassadors of the values and principles we learned in UERMMMC School of Medicine. Although many of us are enjoying or approaching Retirement, “Pro Deo et Patria” are timeless values that we have incorporated in our daily lives.

My friends, we have had the privilege of living in an unprecedented time: We saw the beginning of the television era, we have witnessed the landing on the Moon and the first steps in the exploration of Space, we were here when the Pill became available with the sexual and social revolution it produced: all of a sudden women were able to plan their families and their lives and they flocked to the universities and the workplace, emphasizing their demand for equal rights and equal pay. We have seen it in our own lives: My grandmother’s life was very different than the life my granddaughters are able to have. We have seen unbelievable advances in Medicine and Science, and lately we are living and enjoying the Technological Era with the Internet and the whole revolution of the social Media and electronic communications that have made the miles disappear with the touch of a button. Late we are witnesses and are survivors to this unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic that has challenged the limits of modern medicine.

We are sort of the link between how things were in the past and how they are now, and this puts us in a unique position to be able to share with the younger generations, our life experiences, the knowledge, and the wisdom that we have accumulated during these 50 years, so that it will not be lost. We are not supposed to die with our music still inside us, because our words, our advice and our knowledge may be just what somebody needs to keep going, to get a breakthrough or just to feel human! Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived: This is to have succeeded!” So, my dear friends, while we still have the current of life flowing through us, let’s rise to the challenge presented to us by the times we are living, DO ALL YOU CAN, WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, IN THE TIME YOU HAVE, IN THE PLACE YOU ARE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING TO BE A MEMBER OF THE REBEL CLASS OF AQUARIUS

Mabuhay to UERMMMC COM Class 1971 and God bless, looking forward to see you in our the Golden Jubilee Reunion. Remember to get you Covid vaccinations ASAP.