By Scott Lieber
Alii chad er Belau. This is a wonderful time of year, honoring all those who are graduating. Elementary schools, high schools, and colleges all celebrate the students’ achievements and progress. In life, we have various “graduations” as well. Our first job, marriage, children, and different levels of learning through life experiences are forms of graduation. Palau has many beautiful traditions and insights that all graduates can benefit from. These are a few that come to mind:
- Remember where you came from. Keeping the respect and love one learns at home allows for future success and happiness in life.
- Keep Palauan traditions, language, and culture alive and close to your heart. Taking care of each other with unconditional love is truly Palauan.
- Always keep trying. My favorite phrase I say to Mechas Kristin is, “Ak e diak a medatk el kmo melasem.” With each graduation comes new challenges, and our ability to fearlessly keep trying is so important.
- Humility and gratitude for Rubak el Dios. Palau is a nation of faith, and this faith will sustain our lives through all circumstances.
- Connection to the land and sea. Understanding the blessings of abundance, we can all share as we respectfully use the resources the land and sea may provide.
Finally, kid rokui can learn from all the current graduates as we remember to look forward with hope for the future and never stop learning. Someday, all of us will “graduate” from life itself. When this happens, taking the beautiful traits of Palau with us will make for a graduation of gratitude.