The end of one chapter and the beginning of another

By Emily Fruean 2018 Dux NUS Foundation Year 16 December 2018, 12:00AM

A muamua le viiga o le Atua, auā o le fa’amoemoe ua taunu’u o le lā’au lea o le soifua. Ua savinifaapunuomanu ai lagona o lenei aso auā o lea ua a’e i fanua le faiva o le manusina sa ta’atiu I ā’au mamao ma ua tepa ai nei i ‘ula, ua taga’i i ‘ula, ua tago foi  i ‘ula le asō. Ia tumau pea lona vi’iga e lē aunoa.

Lau susuga i le ta’ita’i o le sauniga, fa’afetai mo upu faalaei’au auā le taōsoina  o i matou le fanau mo a taeao ma i e luā. O le tatalo, ia maua pea le mau faaleatua i lau susuga auā lana galuega pa’ia.

Le pa’ia e o le Iunivesitē, i lau afioga i le tapa’au fa’apea matuaofaiva, o lea ua ‘ula fanau a Samoa ona o la outou tautua fa’alaau sautia o le tauso’aga. Faafetai alofa, faafetai pelega o fanau. 

Mātua e, o lo outou faiva ma le tapuaiga, o faiva lava a le matua moepō. Na e fafaga ma taulaga, na e putiputi ma fa’afailele, na e fa’atonu foi ma sasa ‘ae o le ote lava ma le sasa a le matua alofa. Fa’afetai faitama, fa’afetai pēlēga o fanau. Samoa e ua potopoto, fa’afetai i lo outou faamalo’ulo’u mai ua maualuga ai le aso. 

E momoli fo’i le fa’afetai i le mālō, kamupanī ma fa’alapotopotoga mo la outou fesoasoani i seleni ma so’o se auala o lo outou alofa fa’atino. O le upu moni, ‘ana lē seanoa la outou lagolago se manū e lē tau lau o le fa’amoemoe o le asō.

I le lauga na sa’ili, fa’afetai mo lau saunoaga matagōfie ua logo ai i tino matagi lelei i ‘upu fa’alaeiau auā i matou le fanau ina ia manuia ā’iga, nu’u, ekalesia aemaise si o tatou atunu’u o Samoa.

Ali’i ma tama’ita’i fa’au’u o le Tausaga Fa’avae o le 2018, mālō toa, mālō onosa’i, e gaoā le ala na savalia i fa’afitāuli ma fa’a’oso’osoga, a’o o le asō ua i’u ia te oe le tausinioga. Tautai a’e! Malo fai o le faiva.

E fa’afetai atu fo’i i o matou mātua fa’aleagaga, ā’iga pēlē, o uo ma ē masani, fa’afetai mo la outou tapu’aiga ma le fesoasoani i itū ‘ese’ese ua mafai ai ona ausia lenei la’asaga i le olaga fa’alea’oa’oga o i matou le fanau. Fa’afetai, fa’afetai, fa’afetai tele. O la outou pule lea.

Greetings and talofa lava,

First and foremost, I give our utmost thanks to the Heavenly Father. All praise and glory be unto the Most High for his unfailing love and guidance. Without his faithfulness we would not have had the strength, willpower and knowledge to endure and persevere during the course of this year’s endeavours.

Special thanks to my spiritual parents, Rev Kerisimasi and Viola Sani and my congregation for the kind words of encouragement and never-ending prayers.

I thank my dear parents, Su’a Henry and Ruby Fruean, for all your unconditional love and support. I would not be standing here today if it weren’t for your prayers, wisdom, guidance and care.

On behalf of the students, we convey our heartfelt thanks to all our dear family and friends, to all who have contributed and helped us in one way or another as we sailed the seas of this year’s voyage.

As I stand before you all, I say that 2018 has been anything but easy. 

For it has been the most challenging year yet. There were difficult times, but I always kept in mind that if I ever was to have a successful career, if I was ever to achieve my dreams and goals, to be the best I could be, I needed to push on and keep moving forward. 

We will all inevitably face downfalls, hardships and shed tears at some point but this does not define us and it definitely will not hinder us from unleashing our full potential for excellence. For if you have faith in God’s guidance and commit yourselves to giving your best, only God can limit how far you can go.

To all my fellow students, I urge that we all have faith in ourselves and in God’s counsel. Success and achievement do not occur overnight. It is a constant process of growth, self-reflection and resilience. It requires commitment and positivity, the self-belief that you can and you will reach your set targets. 

We end this year but it also marks the beginning of another chapter in our lives, another set of stairs to climb, one that will determine our future and the embodiment of true success. We must be prepared to dedicate ourselves to moulding our prospective careers into reality.

And as the peak of necessities, we must remain humble. No matter how high we rise, no matter how much we have achieved we must always remember that we started from the bottom. We ought to remember and acknowledge those who have helped shape us into the good people we are: God, family and friends. For the humble and diligent will surely be honoured. 

And I leave you all with a verse taken from Isaiah 41: 10 as words of encouragement. 

Our Heavenly Father said:

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand”.

May the grace and love of the Father rest upon you all. May you all have a blessed and joyful holiday as well as a prosperous New Year! Fa’afetai ma ia soifua.

By Emily Fruean 2018 Dux NUS Foundation Year 16 December 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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