End of Semester

Time flies so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday when I got my high school diploma. And now, the first semester is ending. Classes are over. Only final examinations and requirements are left before the semester finally ends.

Before I entered college, I was really nervous of what will happen to me especially that the school I was about to enter is very prestigious and it will be the first time that I will be away from my parents. I have never thought I can say this but I can say that somehow I successfully did the first of my (hopefully) eight semesters in college. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. Honestly, I am proud of myself that I have experienced many things in just five months. From academics to solo experiences, everything was memorable. Obviously, by the time I'm home, I will be telling so many stories and I will be asked so many questions.

If you are with me now, you will really feel that I am very excited to go home. I am ready to forget the daily things I do here and to do the normal things I do at home that I used to do before I went here. I am very eager to eat the delicious home-cooked food - may it be vegetables, meat or seafood. Also, I want to fill my stomach with all those sweet and juicy fruits that I normally eat before. I really think I will gain weight when I return here. I am thrilled to see my family, friends and old classmates. I am pretty sure that I will be mostly out of our house to meet them. Even I am not home yet, I already have many invites from my friends. That's the edge of having many friends.

It's not that I don't like it here but there is really no place like home. Of course, for sixteen years, I lived at the same place so it's normal for me to miss it. Even everything I need is here, I will still remember my memories there that will make me visit it or even let me stay there. Same is true for most of my dorm mates here. Most of them even goes home weekly and for others like me who came from far places are also excited to go home. There are even some who will go home earlier than me. I believe that this feeling will be felt by anyone who will be away from their hometown.

Being away from your family and friends is hard. But I think, this is a way to know within yourself who you think is closer to your heart. For almost five months that I am gone, I realized that the one I miss the most is my family. As a teen, I am really close with my family, opposite with most teens. I miss the time that we eat, go to church, watch television, stay up late night or just talk together. I am excited to cope with them. Also, some of the people that I miss are my close relatives, close friends and my former classmates in high school. Being away sometimes is a good thing. 

I will surely miss this semester. Because of the many things I experienced, this will be very long if I mention them. At least this proves that I made the right decision of studying here. Since I enjoyed my first semester, I am looking forward to a meaningful second semester.

Hell Week

As the end of the semester is approaching, different requirements and exams are bombarded to students. For students with "understanding" teachers, it is not a problem. But for others, especially for us UP students, it is very stressful.

In the culture of the UP students, there is something called the Hell Week. Hell Week is the our term for the final examination week. But as what I observed, I think it is not. It is rather a term for a week full of exams and deadlines of different requirements. During these times, most of the students don't have enough sleep or worse do not sleep at all. Usually, because their brains are full of terms and formulas, the students are "out of their minds" or "sabaw" as they coined it. Also, most of them are "high" due to the caffeine and all other food they ate or drank just to keep them awake.

For me, my Hell Week is this week since I have 4 examinations and there is also a fifty percent chance that my papers will be submitted this week. It is a very crucial week because of the fact that two of my examinations are final exams; one is a long exam in which I only have few notes and the PowerPoint Presentation are not yet uploaded; and the other one is the fifth long exam in Math. Even if my hell week is not really bad compared with the other students, I still think that I must mange my time well and try not to lack sleep. But, despite the pressure, I am still thankful that I will take one exam per day so there is no day that I have double or multiple exams. That will be more stressful.

At least with that kind of schedule, I am able to give equal time in every subject I need to study. I can also work with my other requirements that are due next week. Moreover, I can focus more on the other final examinations that are scheduled during the final examination days. With all of the advantages I mentioned, I can say that I am very lucky. It is because I am adjusting to college life and it will be very difficult if a very stressful finals week will go along with it.

If you noticed, I did not write anything about last week. It is maybe since I cannot think of something good to write about or I just simply don’t feel writing about the events last week. There are times that I believe that nothing really significant happened for the whole week.

I know that the things I experienced or will experience in college so far like the Hell Week are still few compared to others. But at least these little experiences, either good or bad, will somehow affect me. I cannot imagine how I will react when I went through many things especially those negative. Maybe I will be greatly affected emotionally. On the other hand, however, I know that I can still handle it.

I really hope that I will survive my first Hell Week successfully.

Tickets

Yesterday, I watched the most awaited event of the UP students – the 2012 UAAP Cheerdance Competition.

Months before the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) Season 75 started, I am already planning to watch the CDC. I have two reasons, first, I wanted to watch the UP Pep Squad live and second, I wanted to watch and support one of my best friends who is a cheer dancer of the Adamson Cheering Squad. And because of her, I got to know when and where the CDC will happen. So, I already planned the things I need to accomplish before watching it.

As the event came nearer, I constantly searched in the internet for ticket prices and authorized sellers. I also tried to ask my friend if the tickets were on sale already since I haven’t heard anything about the tickets here. I just can’t miss it. Then, by the time I knew the schedule for the selling of tickets, I immediately asked some of my friends if they are going to watch. To be honest, I am not really familiar with the College of Human Kinetics since I am only taking PE 1 and our class is held at the Vanguard Building. So in that way, I will have company in going to the CHK Gym. According to the information online, participating schools will start selling last Monday. So, my friends and I decided to go there in the morning. When we reached there, we were disappointed to know that the tickets were not yet on sale. But, thanks to it, I became aware of how determined UP students are just to have a ticket.

With the very small chance of getting a ticket, I immediately contacted my friend. Luckily, she had two tickets. These tickets were supposedly reserved for her family. But since her family is in our hometown and her nearest relatives in Cavite cannot watch, she decided to sell those to me. Of course, I right away decided to reserve it for me. Why not? Even if I will sit together with the Adamson fans, I don’t have to get up early in the morning just to queue in the CHK Gym for the tickets. Then she agreed to come here last Thursday to give me the tickets. Unfortunately, that day, they had to show their performance to their school officials so she couldn’t come here. Instead, I chose to go to her the next day.  I, together with my cousin, went to her just for the tickets. It was really unplanned. Fortunately, I only had one class that day. I was able to go there early.

Before really deciding to go there, I thought of not watching it since it will be hassle for her to give me the tickets or for me to get the tickets. But my mind changed. While we were texting, she really insisted that I must watch. She said, “Ikaw na nga lang ang family ko dito, di ka pa manonood.” I really pity her when she said that. Ever since she had dancing competition, there is always one family member or friend who watches her. As one of her best friends, I cannot ignore her. I really need to support her.

With what happened, I learned that true friends will always stay together no matter what consequences they will encounter. And you will really know who your true friends are. They are those who will never leave you.

P.S.

I really enjoyed watching the CDC despite the fact that I was seated together with the Adamson fans, only saw the back of the performers and my heart was hurt because of the unending drum plays. I am looking forward watching it again next year. 

Sleep, Sleep and Sleep

If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you might read about a post where I mentioned that I was very sleepy for the whole week. I remembered that because last week I was not sleepy but I just want to sleep.

It all started last Monday. I woke up early because I knew I have many things to accomplish. So after I took my breakfast, I immediately started to work. I did it for almost three hours. By the time I finished it, I decided to take a nap before taking a bath. I am used to do it especially when I feel that my eyes are tired. So, I set the alarm and napped. When the alarm rang, I looked at the time and decided to continue to nap for a few more minutes. But this time, I didn't pushed the snooze button. I was confident to wake up after that few minutes. As I woke up, I realized that I did not have a nap, I had a sleep. So, I straightaway took a bath and chose to eat my lunch first before doing my other agendas for the day. But that's not all. After knowing that I cannot do the my other tasks, I again took a sleep. I don't know why I want to sleep that day. I was not even sleepy. And even I had more sleeping time than usual, I still did not have problems sleeping in the evening.

For the past week, we did not have classes in English because of the consultation for our position paper. Since it was my last class and it was in the afternoon, I was happy because I don't need to go out of the dormitory. So after I took my lunch and rested for a while, I again slept even I am not sleepy. I think this tendency of mine to sleep even not sleepy is because I am used to sleep in the afternoon every time I don't have classes or I don't have activities. 

Since I was little, my father really want me and my brother to sleep in the afternoon. When I reached the age that most children are starting to be awake in the afternoon, I know that I did not belong to them. It is because my brother was still young so he needs those rests and he refuses to sleep if I will not sleep. So, I became used to it. Even when I reached high school that my father was not anymore strict in sleeping and my brother doesn't have the afternoon sleeps, I still continued the habit. I feel that every time my mind knows that it is afternoon and I have nothing to do, it tells me to sleep. I chose to follow it since I know that if I won't, I will feel tired.

I know that it is very unusual for teenagers like me to spend my afternoon sleeping. I don't care if anyone tells me that I am wasting my time. At least when the time comes that I need energy, I know that I always have it.

Exams

Do you know the feeling of studying very hard for an exam but when you were taking it, you realized that the things you studied was not related to the questions or simply was not enough? I really felt that over the past week during my Math 17 and Lingg 1 exams. I never thought that I will be very stressed after taking those exams.

My first exam of the week was the third long exam in Math. Since I realized that I must somehow get a score higher than my previous exam, I devoted my weekend studying for it. I almost answered every exercise in the module. After answering most of it correctly, I was a little bit confident because I really felt that I understood the lessons. Then, I just consulted some of my friends for the things that I did not understood. When the examination day came, I was shocked that the questions given where not given as examples before. Most of them were complicated that you will never thought the answers were very simple. You must study each item to be sure that you were doing the right thing.

That exam is very crucial to the subject because that will tell you if you must drop-out or stay. Dropping the subject will at least give you the opportunity not to get a grade of 5. Also, it is a chance to get higher grades when you take it the next time. As of now, I still don't know my class standing. I will still contact my teacher about it. Even I will got low scores in the past exams, I still think that I can pass the third exam and pursue the subject. Besides, I don't want to take Math 17 twice. That will be very depressing.

Two days after, I took my first long exam in Linguistics. In this exam, my classmates and I had no idea of what will happen since we never had a quiz and that was our first exam. So we asked our teacher how difficult it was and she said that it will be easy. Also, she said that there will be no problem solving. (Yes, there is problem solving in Lingg.) All we need was to study the readings she gave. So we studied it. We memorized terms and tried to understand them since we really didn't have the idea of what will happen. Before the exam started, we discussed some terms and others were cramming to study. Then we took the exam. We really did not expect what she gave. The items were give the definition, comment and essays. It was slightly difficult because most of the things she asked were not in the readings. She got it from the things she discussed verbally. At least I know that I answered it the best that I can.

These two exams really made me stressed that I want to end the week immediately. I really think that after all of these, I will rest and just enjoy my day even for just a day. You really never know what will happen. Just like examinations, you feel that you already have studied well. But when it came, you realized that it was not enough. It is better to be prepared at all times.

Bothered

My past week was very stressful. And for the whole week, I was really bothered. The two reasons were I became very sleepy during classes for the whole week which, believe me, my first time and my org interview last Saturday.

Last Tuesday, I was a little bit excited because during my first class which is P.E., we will exercise. Excited since I really want to lose weight because, this is surprising but true, I am overweight. It may seem untrue but the last time I had my body mass index checked, I was over by two points. So then, I dressed myself with exercise clothes and went to the University Theater which was our meet-up place. Even though I came on time, our student teacher was not yet around. My classmates and I thought that he just woke up late because he normally goes to class ten minutes early. So we waited for him. Then one of my classmates realized that twenty minutes had passed so that means it was a free cut. Immediately, four of my classmates decided to leave. It was because there was a time that he went to class thirty minutes late but we still waited for him and by the time he arrived he said that it was not a free cut. With what happened, we learned that when it is already a free cut, we must directly go or else we will have a class. When we met him the next meeting, he told us that the reason he was late was he thought that our class will start at nine. I realized that our decision was right otherwise we waited there for nothing.

Then, disappointed, I went back to the dorm and changed. After which, I went to the Math Building for my Math 17 class. At first, I was attentive but as the class went on, I felt very sleepy. So sleepy that I saw everything around me doubled. I thought I was going to faint. Then, I just realized that the class was over. I experienced that for the whole week except my subjects before my lunch break. I really didn't know what was happening to me. It was my first time to experience that. Very worried, I right away consulted my mother about it. She said that maybe I was still tired from our Geog Camp or because I forgot to drink my vitamins for almost a week. Fortunately, tambay in the org was not allowed that week because of the interviews. Therefore, by the time I reached my room, I directly took a nap. I thought that it might somehow lessen my sleepiness. But having almost eight hours of sleep and vitamins, I still got sleepy. As a result, I decided to seek professional help when it will still continue this week. As I observed, it was slowly gone. Maybe my mother was right. At least now, I am not worried that I will be sleepy during my classes.

As I said earlier, I had my interview for UP PsychSoc last Saturday. According to the members, this is the most difficult part of the application process. We need to study everything because we don't know what will happen. But since I was bothered by my sleepiness, I was not focused in studying. The only time that I can say that I seriously studied was the night before and the morning of that day. Well, I cannot blame myself for what will happen. My brain really cannot hold more information. And besides, I was very nervous that I might forget what I studied. Another thing that added to my nervousness was I started very late. My original schedule was two in the afternoon but I started at three because one applicant had a very long interview. Even feeling bad that I didn't answered some questions, I still got a high score according to my panel. I was very relieved after that. I really felt that I must immediately rest after that very stressful day.

After everything that happened last week, I felt very comforted. I was very happy that I almost forgot that I have two exams this week. Well, I guess that's life, I will start a new challenge every time I finished one.

Geog Camp

If you noticed, this entry for last week is late. I usually post them during the weekends. The reason behind it was we had a camp for my Geog 1 class for the whole weekend.

It was my first time to go to a place farther than Manila. My family and I just go to different parts of Visayas and Mindanao for vacations and outings. We have never reached places beyond Metro Manila and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. So I was very excited despite the fact that my family is not with me. I really tried to be awake for the whole trip going there to observe the places we will pass. Fortunately, I was wide-awake. Before, I just sleep during travels since I easily felt dizzy especially when passing zigzag roads. But as I grew up, this feeling slowly vanished.

I don't intend to offend but honestly the roads, except highways, going there are small just like most roads in Visayas. Most of the two-lane roads looked liked one lane in Mindanao. I really think that this is because of the substandard construction due to the low budget of the government. I have said this since the Americans and the Koreans constructed most of the roads in Mindanao. This is really one of the things I want to observe during travels.

I was shocked of how far the camp location from the highway. It is part of a community but the community is small and very rural. There are no stores around. The phone signal is very rare. Good thing, our teacher already informed us about it so I didn't bother to bring my laptop with me. The place was so secluded that we were motivated to do the activities.

By the time we reached there, we were only given a time to fix our bags and take a lunch. After that, the activities immediately began. Knowing that we have many athletic classmates, we were very confident in physical activities. We were right. We almost won every activity that needs manpower. But when we had the activity that required vast knowledge in geography, we were losers. We did not expect how intelligent the other teams are. We got the last place in all those games. We really felt disappointed.

Despite having the feeling of losing, we still tried to do our best in the class presentation. For the first time, I really felt that we are united. This is because before the camp, we almost don't know the names of each other. I feel that every time I attend our class, my group mates and some course mates are the only people who know that I am in the class. Even landing on the second place, since the two other teams tied, at least we got the first place in the class presentation. It was a very good opportunity to know our classmates more.

In this camp, I experienced many firsts - like I said earlier, going to Northern Luzon; riding an ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle); watching a paintball fight; playing airsoft; doing and obstacle course; and many more. I really did not expect that I will achieve (yes, achieve) all of these this early. But I think it was better when I am with my family.

This really proves that having bonding moments will be a way for acquaintances to be friends. This will give them memories that they will remember. This is a chance for people to know more about the people around them. This will encourage unity that they never thought possible. This is a way to just enjoy the company of others.

I really love this kind of activity. It helps me to explore the country . It is a chance to discover things that I can suggest to anyone. I do hope that I will experience more activities like this.

Sacrifice

If you really want something, you have to sacrifice your time and effort just to achieve it.

I had been very busy for the whole week. Because of the suspension of classes for the past week, we had to make-up for the lost time. Another reason is it was our last week to get signatures from the members of the org. I also attended my advising session for the next semester and our org Sportsfeast.

One whole week of sudden suspension of classes is a very great loss especially for subjects scheduled everyday like math. We need to have fast discussions so we can cope with the original schedule. But since they maybe felt that they were pushing us too hard, the teachers decided to move our third long exam from August 31 to September 5. I am very thankful since the weekend before the original schedule, I have a camp to attend. At least with the changing of plans, I have more time to study.

If changing the original schedule is not an option, then a make-up class is the last answer. In my Geog 1 class, our teacher decided to have a 3-hour make-up class. It will cover the two meetings we lost. And for our convenience, since most of us will attend the Geog Camp, he will have it there. For those who will not attend, he will give them a separate make-up class.

For my other subjects, which I think are not really affected by it, the teacher just moved our schedule for a week.

Since last week was the deadline of our signature sheets, I doubled my effort in getting sigs. On normal days, I go back to our dormitory for lunch but last week, I stayed in our tambayan. If I'll eat lunch, I made it sure that I'll be fast. And during afternoons, I stayed there from 4 to 6:30. Every free time I had was very precious. I never thought I could reach the minimum one day ahead. It may already seem a success but no. If I could complete them until the culminating party which is also the deadline, I will. I still had about 15 signatures uncompleted. It is a good thing that the members were very kind and supportive at that time. In exchange for their complete sigs, most of them asked for letters which is somehow convenient for me. But, there are others who were very demanding and asked for a sing or dance number. Even I don't have a good voice, singing is something I can "confidently" do. But dancing is a different thing. I am not good at it. I don't have the confidence for it. I tried to ask to change her requirement but she didn't accept it. I just hope she will change her mind when I will see her.

Also, last week, I had a schedule for advising for the next semester. Even I need to get sigs, I attended this. This is very important because it will somehow guarantee me a slot for the subjects I chose.

The last event of my week was the PsychSoc Sportsfeast. It was just a 4-hour event but for me it was still tiring because I have many things to do. When my friends decided to go home even the event was not done (they were still heading home to Batangas, and Pampanga), I went with them so I can go home early. And besides, I still had many things to do.

If was not for an org I really want to join, I won't have that very busy week. I really hope that my sacrifices will pay off. 

Destructive Monsoon

For the past week, all our classes were suspended. It was because of the heavy rains caused by the southwest monsoon. Most of the National Capital Region and the nearby provinces were severely flooded. No one thought that the seasonal monsoon would cause a major disaster in the country.

As a toddler, I already came across this once. But I cannot remember the feeling and I was still unaware of the happenings. So I consider this as my first. Before, when I was still in the province, I haven't experienced it. Our province is surrounded with mountains so heavy rains cannot penetrate. Every time, I heard about typhoons and floods, it was not a big deal for me. When I saw the victims, I just felt sorry for them but not really thinking about them. Then, by the time I was already facing it, I have never thought that I became very worried. When I found out that the monsoon's rainfall exceeded Ondoy's rainfall last 2009, my anxiety grew more. The high floods also made me troubled. I have never imagined that I experienced it this early. But this incident taught me how difficult it is to live in a place frequently visited by storm. I also realized how lucky I am to grow in an environment where strong storms don't come.

My experience was a little bit scary particularly knowing that the places around me where flooded. I have never experienced flood or walking into it. I don't know how to deal with it if it reaches my place. That is why I salute those who deal with it every time the rain will be strong. If I were them, I think I will really find a new place to live.

In addition, I was very bothered by the intense lightning and thunder. I have never encountered it before. I have seen and heard them but they were not that powerful. We only have moderate and occasional lightnings and thunders. I have not thought that they will be very scary. They were like big flashes and loud bombs. I was always shocked by them to the extent that I woke up early morning because the thunders were very loud and terrifying and they occurred continuously. Since I'll stay here for a while, I think I'll be used to this.

With what happened, I realized that even how divided our country most of the time, in moments like this, we will always try to help one another. I am very delighted of those who sacrificed themselves just to save others. Also, I am pleased to those who donated relief goods and assisted in distributing them.  I am very proud that even only in these situations, we felt that we are one. I just hope that someday it will not be just during calamities but it will be permanent. It maybe impossible but who knows.

Pressure and Exhaustion

One of the things that will always be a part of a college student is stress. Most of us refer to stress as a feeling of being tired and a loss in interest. But, this perception is wrong. According to what I learned in PE 1, stress is the mind and body's response to a threat, event or change. Also, stress is not always bad. There is distress or the bad stress and eustress or the good stress. 

In the past week, I experienced distress. I think it is because of the many things I have been thinking. I was thinking of ways on how to manage my time and of choosing on what my priorities are. It was very hard especially when you think that they have almost the same importance. Most of the time last week, I was just contemplating about it that I did not accomplish anything. Even I am only a college student, I believe that this kind of problem is one of the hardest one can encounter. 

What happened last week is my first encounter with that kind of problem. Good for me, I always have a conversation with my parents even they are very far from me. Despite that I don't really tell them that I have a problem, I was able to express to them that I was having a hard time. They gave me words of encouragement. They said that I can do it. They always believed that I will overcome every challenge I will encounter. 

Because of it, every afternoon, I had headaches. So, for two consecutive days, I didn't stay at the nook of the org. I will still not sacrifice my health over the org. When I reached my room and before doing anything, the first thing I do is sleep. I know that this is the best medicine for my tried brain. After it, I started doing my tasks. With just a little time, I only finished my academic assignments. I cannot study for the org challenges. For me, academics will always be my first priority. 

As what I said, choosing our priorities is one of the hardest things especially when we all consider them as important. It is hard that you only think about it throughout the day. You are not able to concentrate on what's happening. So, I was trying my best not to think about it because it will ruin my mood for the day. That strategy somehow kept me calm. But after each day, I again remembered my problems. I always pray that everything will be fine. 

My post for the week is just short since I cannot share my problems. I can only describe how it affected me. I am just happy because most of my problems are solved. I will not give up. I know that the end will be good. 

Stressed

Many unconnected events that happened to me in the past week were very stressful. Two of those were the Dormitory Acquaintance Party and the completion of the my sigsheet. These made me very stressed that I almost want to sleep very early.

The first event was the Dormitory Acquaintance Party. I was not really stressed about what to wear, making the program, decorating the area and the like because I was not part of the house council and I did not volunteer to help in anything. What made me stress was the program and how they organized it. First of all, they were not clear about the dress code. They said that we must wear colorful clothes to describe how colorful our life is. But when we had our corridor assembly, one of the house council members said that we must wear the clothes that reflect our personality. It was really confusing. How can you wear colorful clothes when you are the emotional type of person? You cannot mix the both of them. Second, they did not follow their program flow. They started very late so obviously everything was moved. Also, one of the host forgot the sequence as a result her partner was at a complete loss on what to do next. Third, the schedule for food getting was not followed. It was supposed to be after the main program. But since come people already got some food, the dormers thought that it was okay. Therefore, most of the people at the back lost their focus on the program and they became very noisy. I don't know why no one reprimanded them. Fourth, the food distribution was not handled properly. Some just let the dormers get as many as they want. Some distributed it like giving food to hungry animals. Some just gave it to the people they know. I know that it is a rare type of observation but I cannot avoid it. I have also tried organizing programs but I am always trying my best to make it successful. Moreover, I don't think that when some people enjoyed the party then it is already enough. I am not saying that they did not do their jobs but I hoped that they somehow let us feel that they did it well.

The other thing that made me very stressed was getting the sigs from the members of the organization. If I did not have an ATM problem and long exams, I think that it will be easy. Unlike other organizations, PsychSoc has a very challenging way of getting sigs. They have three levels of sig getting — the signatures, code names, and the signatures for different committees. As of the past week, I only need seven signatures and it is excusable because most of them rarely stays at the nook. The second level is what I was very stressed  of. When I compared my sigsheet to other sigsheets, I was totally worried. Many of them completed at least five code names and I have not completed any. Since I know my priorities and they also said to focus on the academics, I chose to study for my long exams than memorizing all those names. So every time I stayed at the nook, I only get at least three letters. And it bothers me. My mind is full of things to think about that sometimes I thought of quitting it. But I realized that I already started it and I will also experience what I am experiencing now when I apply the next semester. So even I am very stressed about it, I will still do my best to be qualified. And also, I feel that they are very considerate as long as you have a valid reason.

Despite of all the stress I am a experiencing right now, I still believe that God will help me through all of these. I know that everything happens for a reason and these reasons are better than what we expected. Just stay optimistic and be faithful  to Him.

Time Management

It is very stressful when something happened against your plans especially when that event almost ruined your schedule. It will be very hard to adjust since your mind is already set on what to do. That is why I felt that I only accomplished few things since something happened to my ATM card that almost messed up my week.

Monday was somehow all right. Despite the fact that I hate attending meetings during no class days, I have no choice but to attend the General Assembly Meeting of our organization. After that, my classmates and I went to Palma Hall Annex to update our course profiles. Because I was expecting that my parents already deposited my allowance, I checked my account after lunch. When I tried to withdraw, the ATM machine disregarded the action so I assumed that maybe the bank had not encoded it yet. Then I informed my mother  and she said that my guess might be right.

The next day, before going to my P.E. class, I again checked my account. This time, I noticed something I have not read the other day. The machine posted a sentence which said, "No card record." So, I became alarmed. I immediately texted my mother about it. Then my father called me and asked what really happened. I explained it to him and he said that he will visit the bank and inquire about what happened to my account.

Again, when my mother informed me that the bank gave them a copy verifying that the money was already deposited, I checked it once more this time at the ATM machine of a different bank. The machine also ignored the action and it said that my ATM is not valid. As a result, my parents became worried after I informed them. My mother then went to the bank to tell them that there was something wrong with my account. The bank representative, without knowledge about the system's problem, suggested to just withdraw the money over the counter.

And that's where my schedule was ruined. Because of it, I spent so long trying to figure out how to fix the problem as soon as possible. Since my mother knew that I need an allowance, she just sent me money via a money remittance center while I cannot withdraw yet. Then, luckily, we did not have a class in Linguistics for my teacher judged a thesis defense. So, instead of hanging out in our organization, I went to their branch to do what was suggested.

When the teller said that she cannot find my account, I became very stressed. I right away called my mother and said that the only way to get it was to withdraw it to the branch where my parents deposited the money. She was very upset about it. After knowing that, I cannot stop thinking about it. Moreover, my mother instructed me to open an account on a different bank which added to the things I need to think about. The only thing I want to do after all those was to sleep.

While they were fixing their system, the bank representative promised to inform my mother by the time the system was already fixed. So we waited. Then, Friday at noon, my mother texted me that the system already worked properly. So after taking my lunch, I tried to withdraw the money and the machine accepted the action. I felt relieved after a week of stressful events.

There are times when something happens unexpectedly and sometimes it will ruin your entire schedule. But we must try to stay calm. Panic will just add to your problems. We must remember to stay focused, think of ways to fix the problem and to adjust to the situation.

The Unexpected

There were three unexpected things that happened over the week — the application for an organization, the assignment to watch a violent movie, and the results of my long exam and quiz.

Last Monday, while I was surfing the internet, my block mate messaged me asking if I already signed-up for an organization. I told her that I did not since I didn't have a companion. When she mentioned that she was going to attend an applicants' orientation of the UP Psychology Society, I immediately asked her if I can go with her. UP Psychology Society was the organization I wanted to join. So, it was a good thing that she messaged me.

Then, I went with her to the orientation. I learned there that it is not easy joining an organization. There will be many things you need to accomplish so you will be accepted. I then thought of not continuing it. But, I realized, if I will not join any organization, many will think I am a loner. Also, if I will join next year, I will have a small chance of having a companion. As a result, I decided pursuing it. I think that the challenges of the different organizations will always be part of an Iskolar ng Bayan.

Another unexpected thing that happened was our assignment to watch Battle Royale. When I heard it, I thought that it was an action film. But I was wrong . Our teacher told us that it was not really an action film but a violent movie. I can somehow stand watching these kind of movies. On the other hand, when I learned from my classmate that it was very violent, I became hesitant watching it. I had an idea of just reading a summary of it. But, I ignored it and still watched it. While watching it, I realized that it was somehow tolerable for me.

After watching the movie, I fathomed that even violent films have a lesson to portray. It may seem unbelievable but I am the kind of person who always want to understand the message of a film. So I was trying to discover what was it. At first, it was hard because all I saw was killing. Then, when it was almost finished, the message was revealed. It was "in a world full of pretenders, there will always be someone whom you can trust" which I think was unusual.

Then, the results of my long exam in Math and my quiz in French were given to us. Despite the fact that I was slightly confident, I was still nervous. My Math exam result was given first. I got 30 out of 40. I was not satisfied with my score since most of my mistakes were just because of carelessness. So, I promised myself to be more careful in the future exams. Then my French quiz were given back. I was very happy to get a perfect score. Thanks to the bonus questions, my mistakes in the spellings were saved.

Life is full of surprises. It may feel like it just happens in a certain time because some will be revealed all at once. Just remember to be prepared in whatever surprise you will encounter.

Busy Week

Since the past week, I am feeling that I am in college. I already experienced having role playing activities, laborious home works and long exam. And if you are thinking that I hate it, you are wrong. I don't really love it but I am happy doing those things. This is because I am feeling bored here. I don't watch television. Some of the websites I always visit are blocked by the Dilnet. I am not in the mood of reading fiction novels during school months. I rarely go to the mall or the like. So having school works gives me the sense of being occupied.

One of the activities I want to share was our role play in French. We did not have classes two weeks ago so our teacher decided to give that activity to us. Being in a group where your group mates were very confident, was very stressful. I can do an impromptu dialogue in English but French is a different story. I have a lot of worries. I might say a wrong word. I might mispronounce words. I might forget the flow of the story. I was very nervous. And thanks to one of my group mates, we went first. I did everything according to the flow. We were not the best but at least it turned out good. Then I realized that what we did was brave since almost all other groups were bringing their scripts. At the end of the day, I can say that I was proud of what we did.

Example of a meticulous home work? It was maybe our outlining home work in English. Even if it was to be passed two days after, I already started it early. My reasons were we had a dorm assembly and I was sure that it will be long and the fact that it was an outlining activity. Outlining is a very challenging work for it needs the person who will outline to understand the text and be very particular with the topics. So, I started working on it. On the first attempt, it was alright. But when I read it again, I became confused. There were many ideas that seemed to have an importance. I felt that when I add subtopics I will be overwriting. But when I look at it, it seemed to be lacking. What I did was improve my topics by choosing what I thought was important.

The highlight of my week was my first long exam in Math. I studied math for the whole week because I was afraid of the comments of the old students that it is very difficult. I tried to answer all of the hand-outs given to us. Of course, I had not finished it since I also had other priorities in other subjects. The problems in the hand-outs were fine except for some. But when I answered the sample exams, I became worried. Almost all of the questions, for me, were unanswerable. That also why I felt troubled. On the other hand, as a Christian, I believed that God will always guide me because I had also done my part. And when we took our exam, thankfully, it was an average type of exam.

I was happy to have a busy schedule last week. It may sound very unusual but it is true. I would rather be busy than be sleeping and surfing the internet. I know that there will come a time that I just want to rest and I am looking forward to it.

University of the Weirds

Weird, according to Encarta Dictionaries, means odd, strange, or unusual. I am writing about weird things in this post since most of the things I encountered the past week were somehow unusual.

Before I enrolled in the University of the Philippines, I already knew that the students here have the freedom of expressing themselves. One example is having no dress code. Last Wednesday, I, together with my two classmates, went to Museum Cafe at the Vargas Museum to try their food. When we reached there, we were disappointed to know that it was closed so we went home. While we were walking and talking, there was someone walking behind us and I felt weird. Then, she overtook us and we were shocked realizing that she was wearing a superhero costume. We looked at each other and became silent. We were not expecting that someone would actually wear that. It was just strange.

Also, except for weird costumes, there were wacky hairstyles. I was amazed to see a girl in her magenta hair . It was not my first time. I already saw her during the advance registration and in Kalayaan Residence Hall. She did not care what other people might think of her. She was very confident. But, when the classes started, I realized that she was not alone. From odd colors to strange cuts, there are many students who are very brave in having unique looks. With this, I believe that this is the only school with no dress codes. We are very lucky to be in a school which does not stop students from showing who they are.

But not only clothes and hair are strange, the students also have peculiar personalities. Just like during our discussion English class. Our teacher was talking about a show he watched last week. Suddenly, my classmate burst out her emotions. It was my first to witness a student reacting to a television show with such serious reaction. Her look was so sincere. I did not know how to react with what happened. I just the understood that there are many interesting characters here.

Our university is very popular in different kinds of food. There are street foods, expensive foods, and foreign foods. I already started my food journey last week. After knowing that we will have no class in Geography, I went home. Outside Palma Hall, I saw a lady eating corn kernels in a plastic cup. I was curious because I have not seen it before. So, I bought one for me. I was surprised that even street food here are "sosyal". The vendor gave it to me with a tissue paper. It is definitely unusual. I was very amazed.

All of this things certainly define the uniqueness of the University of the Philippines. It is a school where students can be who they want to be and can experience the most outrageous events they have not encountered before. As a freshman, I am looking forward to more weird things that will happen in the next years.

Experience

As John Legend said, "Experience is a good teacher." I strongly agree to this statement because most of our lessons in life come from our experiences. Our experiences may be good or bad but surely it will affect us in different ways.

Life without experiences would be boring. Especially now that I am a freshman, I am very eager to face various challenges that I have not encountered before like, for example, living in a dormitory. I have not stayed in dormitory overnight without my family so this is challenging. It is my first time to share a room with someone I do not know. Also, even though my food is already prepared, I am used to the delicious food at home. But I believe, this chance will help me to be more flexible in dealing with others.

When there are good experiences, there are always bad. And one of those are the embarrassing moments. It maybe be blushing or humiliating but I am pretty sure that everyone has his awkward incident. Some of these are getting inside a different class, sliding on a wet floor, riding in a wrong jeepney and many more. Without these, we will not have one of the most enjoyable experience.

Do you know one of my worries in college? It is the academics. Particularly now that I am in the University of the Philippines, I will never know what to expect. I feel anxious of what will happen every single day. Just like last Thursday, even though I know that my first quiz in math will be short, I was still very nervous. It is maybe because I still do not know the teachers' styles in giving exams or activities or how they grade each work. But I know, I will eventually cope with their different approaches.

After two weeks of classes, I can say that my experiences are not many yet. It is because my routine is the same when I was in elementary that after school I will go home directly. Not like in high school that I still bond with my classmates. Most of the time, I went home late due to the fact that we still talked together. But all is different in my freshman year. I maybe do not get along with my classmates since I just met them or maybe I cannot understand their jokes for it is very different from our jokes. While I am alone after class, I still look forward to the fact that they will be one of my good friends.

As a national university, I have a lot of expectations in UP. Having many enjoyable activities, memorable events, learning while socializing are just a few of what I'm looking forward to in my stay here. I believe that this university will help me to experience all of these.

Experience is an important part of our lives. With these, we will be able to open our minds into new ideas that came from experiences. We will distinguish right from wrong. We will be inspired to experience more. We will be able to build our different characters. We will be able to understand the things that happen now because of the events of the past. So live and learn from your experiences.

Independence

Time flies so fast. It seemed like my childhood years were just yesterday. The first experiences, the people, the challenges, these memories gave meaning to my existence. As I open a new chapter in my life, the demanding world of college, I must use these to be able to live through it.

One certain thing about college is independence. In this moment, I will have a glimpse of what may the real world is. I should learn how to work on my own and not to always ask for the help of others. It is because I know that they do have the same test as me. I will face different trials that would push me to my limits. Trials that I have not encountered in my life. But I know that these will help me in becoming a better person.

Being far from your loved ones may be the hardest part of college. This is the first time that I will be very away from them for a long period of time. Ever since I was a child, I am very close to my family. We almost do all the things together-bond, talk, eat, pray, and many more. We always share jokes and stories with each other that we are almost like friends. This is the reason why it is hard for me to be distant from them to live my own life.

But being independent is an advantage since it will teach us to rely on yourself. It is a characteristic to be proud of. Maybe we will still need help from others but not as consistently as before. This, I believe, is very important lesson in our life. There will always a time in our life that we must solve our own problems, we must stand for what we think is right, we must live on our own. We must also not forget that even in being independent, we can still ask for the help of others especially if we cannot bear it ourselves. Just believe that there is always someone who could help us.

Freedom is also part of independence. We became free due to the fact that we live our own lives now. We are now able to express more of ourselves. We are becoming strong in what we believe in. We already know how to decide for ourselves. But all of this will be useless if we do not know how to be responsible. Responsible enough that we must accept all of the consequences that will arise from our actions.  That we will able to conquer the after effect of these decisions.

Independence is a vital aspect in our lives. We cannot avoid it. It is a reality in life that we must accept. It is one of those things which can make us better persons. Without it, we won't be able to stand for what we believe in. We won't be able to choose of what is right for us. We must do everything we can to become a independent person.