Enjoying till the End

18 April 2013, University of the Philippines Mindanao, 12:00pm.

In less than 24 hours, I will be a graduate of UP Mindanao. It has been a wonderful six years in this institution. All the anticipation, the aspirations, the suffering, the pain, the struggles, the relief and all the joy I have had here will be cherished forever.

As I sit on one of the white, graffiti-marked benches of the Atrium, I begin to reminisce those first days here. The Admin building wasn’t painted yet. Some of the roads weren’t paved yet. The canteen shack of Ate Marichu. The “giant ashtray.” The trek to Kanluran. But what remained was the nature that enveloped in this learning haven secluded from the hustle and bustle of downtown Davao life. It made my stay here even more enlivening and interesting.

The birds that chirp each and every day, the occasional moos of cows and carabaos, the splatter of green flora, the fresh air of the uplands, all have reminded me how privileged I am to pass the UPCAT and be able to study here. Never in my life would I experience this opportunity.

Would I have studied elsewhere here in Davao, would I experience the same thing I enjoyed in UPMin all these years? To be frank, it’s an absolute NO. Yes, I will be nearer to my family but I think I wouldn’t experience that sort of tranquility and freedom I got from UPMin. It’s absolutely different.

Now that I am to bid farewell to this second home for a good six years, I will definitely miss this place. Sobra. Grabe. Über. When I wear my Sablay tomorrow, that would be the time this experience would end, at least temporarily.

Thanks UP Mindanao. Until we meet again.

High School Graduation Family Photo (2007)

March 25, 2007.

High school graduation. It was a day of achievement.

But, in a few days, me and my family will have another photo that will involve me graduating from college, wearing a UP “sablay.”

UPMin Oblation on Graduation Day

April 19, 2011. UP Mindanao, Davao City.

During Commencement Exercises, the Oblation statue is adorned with the “sablay,” a sign of celebration and the end of the journey of the many graduates that would grace the event.

As my Graduation Day draws near on April 19th, 2013, I’m looking forward for what will happen after this day.

(Photo courtesy of Sam Sanchez and Himati)

Reminding

I have only three months to go before I should graduate this year. With this short time, I need to rush things up. Now, I must redeem myself.

I bought a pad of sticky notes yesterday to keep me informed of what to do in the next few days. I know I do not have the time now to enjoy, and I should act now. So the sticky notes, which are now on the wall of my bedroom, should remind me every now and then.

It still makes me think if I could still make it that far. It’s a challenge for me to finish up what I have started. It’ll be great for me to be able to be on stage getting that diploma that I have dreamed of. And I have to be reminded of that.

I wanna go out there and be reminded that there is a world waiting for me – a world that is cruel, impatient, demanding and unforgiving. It will be hard for me not to be reminded of that.

Time is short. Now I have to remind myself.