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.