LATE again. My classmates all turned their heads toward me as I came in. Embarrassing? No, not for me. I’m always late for class. I know I’m very far from landing on the dean’s list or being model student, but it’s ok. I have my reasons and offer no excuses.
It’s very inspiring to see fellow students with uniforms covered with signatures and messages from friends and classmates. It’s inspiring because soon they’ll be leaving the University’s gates. Regular or irregular students, “dean’s list-er” or not, all await for that special day—graduation.
In one of the architecture seminars I’ve attended, the speaker told us that what they’re teaching us would serve only as reference when it’s time for us to practice. What really matters is one’s dedication, determination and perseverance. Graduating on top of the class is no assurance of a better future. In some professions, good grades are not that big factor.
Well, that was the speaker’s opinion. What the future will be is up to us. One precious moment, one opportunity is all it takes to turn everything around. Our childhood years are over, our college years near its end. And now, the next stage awaits us. Whether we should face it with head up high or not is again, up to us.
Me? I’m not that kind of student who regularly receives high grades and ample attention from my professors (although they often notice that I’m always late for class). I try, but sometimes I feel that even if I can’t excel in all my subjects, maybe I will in my extra-curricular activities. Not that it’s easier to do. Who would sacrifice sleep to layout a 20-page Varsitarian newspaper from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. when sleep to an Architecture student is a rare commodity? But I have no regrets. In fact, I thank myself for having joined student organizations because I know that all my experiences will eventually help me get through trials in life and my future profession. I know that in the four years I studied in the College of Architecture, I have gained very useful pointers on how to face the road ahead. But my three years of stay in the Varsitarian has led me to look further into the future. I feel privileged in being part of the most respected school publication in the country. On the other hand in my commission to our college organization has greatly helped me realize what the “real world” of professional practice really is. All I have done and will be doing will be my foundation, my source of strength.
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The architect doesn’t just design rooms or structures anywhere or however he wants it to be. He must first study the personality of each and every one who will use them. He must predict the flow of movement, circulation, aesthetics and form, and all passes through a series of steps, a process. Likewise, before art becomes a masterpiece, the artist first dwells on the ideas he initially created in his mind—a series of strokes, contours, shades and shadows, his imagination, the application.
In life, what a person becomes depends on how he was brought up, what he has learned in life, the hardships and trials he has undergone, his life—his soul.
Each one of us has experienced different things that have contributed to what we are today in the family, in school, and extra- curricular activities. How we are going to use these elements depends only on us. It’s all in our hands.
