Me, at 21, shortly before I graduated. This was taken by Mhadz Cadang, my thesis partner and friend.
I first arrived in UP Diliman as a chubby, 17-year old insecure English major. I graduated the valedictorian of a class of 38 kids, confused, a little glad that high school was over, but scared of what the future may bring. The first few months of my stay in UP were the hardest—I had a hard time fitting in, I couldn’t find my way through the library’s chaotic system, and I really missed my high school friends. What made it hardest though, was that I wasn’t performing well in school. I was simply not prepared for it. As nice as my high school teachers were, they were nowhere near the calibre of my UP professors. The first year was, to put it mildly, a completely pain in the ass.
Things changed though during my second year. I accepted the fact that I wasn’t cut out to be an English major, and shifted to another course. In my new course, for the first time, I met people whom I could really be friends with. I was no longer just jumping from one classroom to another. I met teachers who liked me, and whom I liked in return. I accepted that I can’t always be the best, but it doesn’t hurt to try to be. I also learned that it’s okay to miss a couple of classes, as long as you don’t make a habit of doing it. I learned how to deal with the conyos and the jologs of the world. I learned that you can choose to be both, and be proud of it. I learned not to care about what people may say, just as long as what I was doing was true to what I really am. I learned how to stand up for myself. I learned how to charm my way to a professor’s conscience. I learned how to take care of myself. I learned how be an adult.
Now that I’ll be going back to school, I miss UP. I miss walking in campus. I miss eating in the cheapest, dirtiest carinderias of Krus Na Ligas. I miss my professors, and their infinite wisdom. And yes, I miss the conyos, the jologs, the tibaks, the artists, and even the apathetic kids. I miss all of them. I miss all of it.
It’s strange to fall in love with a school. But I guess I love UP. And even if I’m going to study in one of Asia’s best universities, I’m sure, I will never love it as much as I love UP. Never.
