CHANGE is inevitable.
Now that I am opening a new chapter of my life, I look back at the time when I started my studies in this prestigious University. I can still vividly remember when I first set foot on the country’s oldest University. I was confused and fearful of how I would be able to cope up with the challenges college life would bring. I was nervous and scared that I would be facing a war zone of academic assessments, with “troops” I did not even know. But with determination and persistence, I continued and marched with gusto.
Here, I met friends who have been there for me through all adversities, struggles and hardships. Together with them, I continued the journey and faced every task required of me: submission of projects, beating deadlines, extra-curricular activities and the stress brought about by various examinations.
There were times when I became frustrated, when I wanted to give in and stop. But I did not, becaus e by doing so, I would not only be bringing myself down but also the people who trusted me, especially the people of the Varsitarian. The Varsitarian batch this year in particular gave a special section for my Art page—Limelight— and I am grateful to be appointed its first director.
But even after accomplishing a lot, I still do not have this feeling to celebrate completely, maybe because of the anxiety about not being able to get a job after graduation. Or maybe because of the thought of leaving the University that I loved so much, the University that helped me realize my dreams, and the University that molded me to become the person I am right now. And maybe also because of the fact that I would be leaving the people who accompanied me in this journey, knowing that I may not be able to see them again. Now I am sad, confused, and scared again. It is ironic because these were the same feelings I felt when I first entered UST. But I think I will be more ready now, more ready to face the challenges ahead, because I learned that by facing the harshest and hardest of challenges, one becomes stronger. Challenges make us better persons.
As I bid farewell to the battleground of college, I thank everyone who have believed in me and supported me, who have been the inspiration that kept this confused “soldier” to forge through and finish the “war,” a war where many had surrendered but which I had overcome. Now, armed with Thomasian values and with God Almighty as my shield, I will have a better chance of surviving the more dangerous wars of life.
