BY NOW, undergraduate classes should have begun without my batchmates and I am no longer a part of college anymore. Our old shoes and uniforms have already been given away to charity or kept in the bodega along with other things set to be lost in oblivion.
Sure enough, some of us might have already expressed how much we miss good old USTe by blogging about it. On the other hand, those who wish to pursue further studies have a different feel on the brand new academic year ahead of them: Anticipation.
A few days back, I urged my blockmates to join me in my little challenge to come to school in uniform without ID’s and pass ourselves off as freshmen. The plan to gather in front of the Arch of the Centuries and have our class picture taken was unattainable, not to mention, ridiculous, especially because I knew that most of my blockmates were too busy building up their own careers.
When I was a a senior, I had the ambitious goal of making a list of “400 Awesome Things To Do Before Graduating from UST” and actually getting all of them done. Unfortunately, I never got past to writing down number one on the list.
Every now and then, I would still visit the University to deal with unfinished businesses in the Varsitarian or catch up with friends, but I try not to spend as much time there as possible. I’d like to think of it as part of the somewhat corny but practical method of moving on.
Our publications advisers would often tell us that the columns we write, especially during the last few issues, get a little too personal or perhaps the better term would be, self-indulgent, and that we ignore writing about topics concerning the University or the country, like what a true Thomasian journalist should do.
I know very well that there are more important things to discuss rather than the ramblings of a young woman swayed by quarter-life crisis and for that, I apologize if this is going to turn out to be a tedious read.
Thomasian or no Thomasian, in reality, regardless of what university we are from, what course we take up, how well we do, we will always feel like great things are expected of us and that we should exceed what is already great, if not, at least try to weigh against it.
Many, if not all of us, feel a shared sense of uncertainty about what we want to do or what we need to do in our lives. While there will never be a lack of jobs for the young, determined, and educated, I am still paranoid about the possibility of never being good enough to do anything worthwhile.
Doesn’t it scare you—the thought of never living up to the greats? So you did well in college, but real life is like setting off to an entirely different world. The thing is, there are so many things we want to do. We have more than one goal and we struggle to settle with just one that would ultimately help us define ourselves. The journey to self-discovery goes on. But along the way, it would be nice to have some sort remembrance from the good times, wouldn’t it?
The best days in UST include attending class to learn from the coolest professors and instructors; visiting the Benavides library to browse through books, surf the Net, or sleep—I mean study; visiting the UST Museum and pretending we were in a zoo; visiting the Botanical Garden and pretending it was a forest; watching school plays to see writers’ scripts come alive; watching UAAP games with hopes that the Tigers win; buying UST merchandise; eating at the Carpark or at any of the streets that border UST to spend quality time with friends; watching people play sports in the field or simply watch them come and go to pass time or look for your crush; knowing you’re safe because a church and a hospital are just close by; jogging in the Benavides Park a.k.a. Lovers’ Lane was rare (just as exercise was), but exciting; dropping by the Santisimo Rosario parish to say prayers; making it a habit to drop at least one peso a day in that coinbank-statue of a kid for Pondong Pinoy; stopping by the “V” office, Flame office, and TWG org room; kicking back a day in the dorm and avoiding getting into trouble; attending free concerts during special events like Paskuhan; getting free food from the school admnistration while being stranded during floods; delighting at the thought of having no classes because of a flood (and missing school almost immediately). It’s no wonder I never finished my “list”—simply being in or around UST was always something to look forward to.
By now, the new batch of “V” staffers is preparing to take charge of this paper and the Thomasian population will be reading you. It won’t be long when it will be your turn to get dragged kicking and screaming into the adult world. You’d be forced to grow up and finally start the next phase of your lives.
Let me put an end to this tedious read by saying that words cannot express enough gratitude for the Lord for putting me where I want and need to be, say it with me: U-S-T.
Now for the slow-mo air-punch.
