So as one of my set of friends says on such occasions, Dancing Rodents to you!

(Dancing rodents -> Conga Rats -> Congratulations).

Lots and lots of white cloth in the sun! Whee!

So, best of luck in your next endeavors!

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I like that!
Lots of it! Gorgeous reflection on everyone. Ha! Thank god it wasn't black.
Thank you mister :)

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it was jk rowling who said that in her graduation speech at harvard

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Fabulous! Thank you!

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congratulations, man.

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thank you! congratulations to the world :)

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wow these pictures give me so much life. congratulations!

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taking them gave me as much :) thank you!

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I have plentz feelingz but I dunno where to start! How about... I was drafting my blog post about graduation and we are referencing the same song? Haha great minds go to college and graduate together alike!

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The club can't handle my feelings!
Yes! Aka the best song in the world!
What can we do? Sorry! :D

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*TEARS*

Congratulations, Joseph!

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*:D*
Thank you, Sandee!

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Absolutely mesmerizing photos, all of them. Congratulations on making it!

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Thank you so so much! :D

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Fabulous photos and so much pride and joy!

Is the white and sablay specific to UP or to the Philippines? We wear black gowns (like the president?) and mortar boards at graduation and the hood lining colours show which faculty/degree. We hire our stuff; do you, or do you buy it? It looks amazing, so much better than a sea of black gowns and mortarboards. And I love the sunflowers strung behind the platform. BTW are classes in English or Tagalog?

Brilliant, wonderful day! You must have mixed feeling: excietment about the future and some sadness about leaving a great and fun part of your life behind.

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Thank you!

The sablay is specific to UP- it's made in one of our mountain provinces by indigenous tribes, and embroidered with our old alphabet.

Wearing white seems to be a more Filipino way of dressing formally, instead of the more typical black, probably because of the Barong Tagalog which the guys wear, and the white dresses patterned after the terno and the traje de mestiza.

Since what we wear for graduation is traditional Filipino formalwear, we just wear what we own. :)

The sunflowers were always planted at graduation, I never really knew why. But they look great, and it's probably profoundly meaningful. Ha!

Classes are taught in English, mostly; but we have a Philippine Studies and Creative Writing in Filipino course, and other classes specifically taught in Filipino. (Tagalog is a language in the Philippines which Filipino, the national language, heavily borrowed from! YAY TRIVIA)

It was a really great day! Now the feelings are a little bit more... practical. And a little sad that it's all over.

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joseph! tears! i love you! ang ganda nating lahat!
-ilsa

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I know! Haha walang modesty. Ang ganda natin! I love you too!

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OMG, this is too much! I love it!! CONGRATULATIONS MY LOVERS!
I will miss you so much! its killing me!!! I don't know who to text next sem for lunch and yosi breaks. Our lives! I'll see you in Maginhawa!

- Mikee R. :)

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Mikee!!! Thank you sow mats! When are you coming back? Hi, you can still text me for lunch x yosi breaks because I'll be working but... not really! See you in Moonleaf! For more.

Come back na!

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I've been following this LJ and your work since I was a senior in high school, back in 2007. Now I'm a senior in college, and I just wanted to say congratulations on graduating.

I'm Filipino, as well. I've only visited the Philippines once before. Your pictures always make me want to go back there again.

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Thank you for following me and all the stuff that's happened since then :) it really means a lot.

You should definitely visit here! I've stayed in the city most of my life so the rest of the country is sadly still a bit of a mystery, but Metro Manila has its chaotic, disjointed charm. I love it because it's home. :)

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Guh. Mesmerizing.

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Thank you! :)

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The happiness is seriously pouring out from this post! :D Congratulations to you! I'm sure you have had quite a journey. I also graduated last month. Feels good to be facing the real world, but at the same time, a bit scary. Good luck with everything! :)

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Congrats to you! It was a crazy journey, and I totally agree! :)

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Was the huge-ass 'Serve the People' banner actually part of the decor? I don't remember having that last year, until, well, some people started chanting after the ceremonies.

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No idea, it looks like some Stand-UP thing.

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Hi Joseph,

A hearty congratulations on your graduation. Thanks for sharing your photographic journey. I've started watching your blog probably when you were a freshman? And now you've graduated. How time flies!

More great light to you and your pals.
Ed

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Hi, thank you so much! :) Hopefully it's gotten better in those five years. Time is funny like that.

To great light. :)

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Wait! Wait! Wait!

I've been following your blog for years and I don't know that you have a BROTHER?

Anyway, CONGRATS!

---

You + barong = Priceless. :)

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I don't post about my family mostly. :P

Thank you! It's all part of the package. :P

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Congrats! Great photos.

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Thank you so much! :)

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Congrats joseph! The sight of the sablay brought me close to tears reminiscing my own graduation years back.

mach

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Thank you! :)

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The distribution of cameras was probably 1/3 parents, 1/3 everyone else, and 1/3 Mass Comm.

HAHA funny. i wonder how graduation will turn out for me! congrats!!

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It was! Hope it turns out amazing :)

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this looks like one big wedding! amazing as always. congratulations to kim c too! sirip was really nice.

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In a way it was! :) Alright!

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Beautiful. Everyone's so neatly dressed and I love it that white is dominating. I just love it.

I'd really like to have a graduation ceremony like this one. I doubt such a thing will be held here, though. Ah well.

Gorgeous photos, as per usual :)

And congrats, dear!

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It's a surprise, none of us are used to this sartorial propriety :P

I wasn't supposed to be attending the university graduation actually! When we all found out we were all planning to go though, I figured it would only happen once. Best decision. :)

Thank you! :D

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Sablay? Is that what that colourful thing is called? Tradition to wear on your graduation? :-) It is very, very beautiful! Very many congrats on your graduation!

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Yes it is! :) Thank you so much!

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Fuck, little child, this post brought tears to my eyes. Can't believe it's over. Somehow I felt like I was in school pa rin with you guys since I left. FUUUUCK WHY AM I SO SAD

Congratulations, Joseph. You know I love you : )

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I CANNOT ALSO. There's a lot of happiness that UP happened, but also a lot of sadness that it's ended. Thinking about what comes next is scarier than it's exciting.

YOU'RE SAD BECAUSE YOUR IN FUCKET.

I love you too Sasha :) come back to our love <3

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Hi, long time reader here. Also an alumna of UP.
Just felt like I had to ~de-lurk to say congrats. :D

Also, I love the last part of your commentary:
"UP has been the single best thing to have happened to me. UP doesn't have the facilities or the money that other universities have; instead it has a culture of making its students smart instead of intelligent, and striving to be the best while not being the best-equipped."

I completely agree. I'm getting nostalgic just thinking about it. lol

Good luck facing the real world! I hope you'll continue giving us a glimpse of your wild, sometimes mild, but mostly fun adventures. :)

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So glad for you to reveal your existence! :D

That's really what UP was for me. You can graduate from any university with knowledge and good experiences, but experience itself and braggable street cred? Parang UP lang.

Thank you so much! It doesn't seem so welcoming, but adversity is fun I guess. :P

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good luck on your next step, whatever that is. i hope you get into photography or something close to it :)

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Thank you! Photography is it for me. Whatever it is, wherever it is. :)

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