WHEN I first entered the University, I was not expecting its unbearable rains to fall on me as blessings in disguise.

During my first days in UST, it always rained and I started hating the usual routine of flooding in and outside the campus. The flood would always make me ask myself if I was going to like the rest of my stay in college.

But after a short while, the waters would always go down and eventually disappear from the campus. This had always amazed me for this was similar to how I survived my four years in the University.

I used to be the student who just wanted a closed setting of learning where I could just memorize every lesson that my course had to offer. Being a Pharmacy student, I lived the routine of learning bulks of information by day and night.

It was a tiring routine and slowly, the stress flooded my system. Just like rainwater clogged in the University, I was the student who was fed up by the repetitive routine and I just wanted to drain it all out of my system.

To solve my problem, I tried several organizations that would serve as my “happy places,” until I realized that I took none of them seriously. This was the time I knew I had to go back to writing, where all my scattered thoughts would be forced to be organized. So I decided to join the Varsitarian.

What makes the “V” different from all the other organizations I joined was its culture of excellence, which made me learn a lot of new things beyond the four corners of the classroom.

It was only when I entered the V that I realized that I could learn not only learn by myself but also from other people who were willing to share their skills and experiences.

The V served as a “magnifying lens.” It showed me a bigger picture of my student life. It taught me the value of experience, which not even a thousand books could match.

But my journey in this publication was not easy. I was a Pharmacy student by the day, when I had to fill my brain with technicalities; and a student writer by night, when I had to be creative in bringing my thoughts together in order to meet the deadlines.

This was my daily routine for three years. To be sure, there were times when I would regret putting myself in such a situation. There were times when I wanted to quit, but I always chose to remain in the V.

Being a student who breathed the sciences, it was not rare that I should be questioned by people about my writing and publishing work. They would often ask me if being a physician was what I really wanted. But then again, despite this, I chose to pursue college along with the V.

I would rather finish what I started than leave my efforts half-baked, which I believe is an important attitude for people like me who want to pursue medicine.

Working for the V, I was forced to take on responsibilities beyond what a normal student could handle. I was forced to see life beyond the walls of the University as I went on national coverages, such as the papal visit last year. The V made me realize that I could definitely do better than what most people might expect from me.

Aside from learning to develop myself, the V also taught me the value of camaraderie and teamwork. From the closed person I used to be when I entered college, I became the person open to criticism and improvement. I learned to appreciate the value of failure and how the support of a teammate could lift me during my slip-ups and lapses.

Reminiscing my four years in college, I was not surprised when it rained during our Baccalaureate Mass last May.

It turned out that the sudden downpour of rain was a reminder from the Lord that the challenges I faced with my stay in UST and the V were life’s way of teaching me its precious lessons.

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