The greatest gift your parents can give you is education.
To this, I cannot help but agree. Education is the magical elevator that will take us to places, and no one can deny that; unless anyone has ever been on Willy Wonka’s glass elevator, then who needs education right? But this is not the case. In spite of my steadfast agreement on the matter, one can only ride that elevator when he has earned the right to do so by climbing flights of stairs first. And mind you, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Disclaimer: I know that some would say that it’s too early to say UP life is hard or easy or fun or lame considering I’ve only been an Iskolar ng Bayan for two months but I can honestly say that those two months has been the whirlwind of all whirlwinds and I am certain that more whirlwinds are to come. And this is the story of two months in the life of one fresh isko.
i. Promdi: transitioning from high school to college
I enrolled in UP Manila because of so many things, but not one of these things was the right reason. Among these reasons are the following; no dress code (yey!), it’s right in front of Robinson’s (what they call the campus mall), air conditioned rooms, and the beautiful ladies (even more yey!). The only thing I didn’t like is that UPM is grossly infested with stray cats which are unimaginably filthy. And so cutting the list short, I thought college life in UP was nothing more like HS in a de-uniformed level plus more cats, I did not think being an Iskolar ng Bayan would lay down surprising difficulties.
Obviously, I was wrong.
In the first days, I often walked into Rizal Hall with a perky attitude, seemingly ready and happy to encounter new things. I particularly enjoyed the welcoming programs where Indayog would usually perform. (that was about the only thing I looked forward to). Being a freshman, I wanted to remain optimistic and sprightly with my dealings throughout the four coming years. I was so excited to meet new people, learn new things and shop in Rob. *laughs
ii. Realizations commence
When the introductions, hi’s and hello’s were said and awkward first impressions were created alongside first petty conversations, it started to get a little bit serious. Stacks of photo copied reading materials fell onto our work list like heavy rainfall after a century of drought. I initially thought I was over and done with photoxed readings when I left HS behind when in fact I was about to enter Xerox heaven.
Combined with the threat of A(H1N1), the toxicity level of UP education was in an all-time high. This was truly unexpected. One of my professors even said that UP culture is definitely not easy, in fact, UP stands for Unibersidad ng Pagpapahirap, Pagsasakripisyo, Pagsusunog-kilay, Pagpupuyat at ng mga Pusa. And he, himself personified his definition of UP culture. Although I admit that he is an excellent professor, having mastered History better than anyone I know, he reaches a point where students cannot tolerate his habitual splurge of information overload any longer. He would’ve given us a firm foundation in History if he hadn’t been diagnosed with A(H1N1).
iii. The Manila Collegian
Not so long after getting acquainted with block mates and other people, the optimistic freshmen started sorting the organizations they can join, and which ones fit their interest. I had my eyes fixed on the prestigious Manila Collegian, the official publication of the University of the Philippines Manila. However, I hesitated to apply, as I questioned my own writing ability. Until one day, I was jostled in the MKule office by my block mate so that he would have someone to accompany him. So now after 5 hours of written exam and an hour-long interview, I am one of MKule’s news writers.
Originally being a features writer, I found it hard trying to adjust to the structured format of news writing. Technicalities aside, what really burdened me was the pressure of having academic activities on top of my news covers and vice versa.
Furthermore, conflicts arose with the fact that I am both a writer for an anti-government radical news publication and a transient resident of Malacanang Park. This issue is what worries my family the most, especially that my first news assignment was about the abduction of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, two UP students who were abducted by suspected military men sometime three years ago. Because of this subject, they are now asking me or better yet ordering me to finally quit. But I simply don’t want to.
All I really want to do is to write, because that is what I love to do and I’m passionate about it. I don’t mean to disrepute the government or PGMA or anyone for that matter, I just want to be able to do what I love to do but MKule’s “biased stand” as how my family would call it, is now hindering me from fulfilling my only active creative outlet.
I don’t know what to do. If only red fireworks that signal help would work on this, I would’ve already lit a whole crate of dynamites.
iv. A little brightening up
Despite so many things to bear in mind, I have come to appreciate the presence of my new found friends. They fill in the empty moments in between press work and academic labor with petty conversations and joke injections that are enough to make me realize that life is really like this. With just a little brightening up from them, I’d feel that everything is worth the hard work. This is the flight of stairs I have to climb to get to that magical elevator – the magical elevator that will take me to far places. And that was two months in my life as an iskolar ng bayan, so far.
Disclaimer for the disclaimer: UP life can never really be certainly described because it is everything of everything. It is here that an array of opportunities will present themselves to you and each one, a different experience. Holistic judgment will eventually prove to be futile.
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