Five Guitar Strings

Right, they must be six. But now, how can I play, when one string seems to be missing?

It's been almost three years ago since I got hold of my first guitar and had my first strum on it. I was then so clueless - clueless on how to play it, clueless on how to take care of it, clueless on what it would be to me. But it was an uncertainty I ventured myself into, because it promises music. And music is the solace in times of solitude. It guarantees no loneliness, or at least a company in times of melancholy.

However, it was a venture I did not fully succeed in. Not that I did not learn how to play, I actually did, though not confident enough to play in front of a big --and a scrutinizing-- crowd. Nevertheless, it remained true to the promise I saw in it. That day I bought my wooden, acoustic Fernando guitar was the day I had found me a new best friend.

I remember, on its early days, getting home from school at lunch time (because I only have one class for the day), and I would grab my guitar immediately, watch some episodes of Death Note and play on it again. I've even brought it to my tutees' house to give them free guitar lessons, (although I am not an expert nor a professional guitarist) which eventually, sometimes, becomes the highlight of the session. A number of times my guitar has experienced the difficulty of commuting to be able to go with me to school; to spend breaks singing with friends and looking forward to the end of the day when we would go from CBA to NIGS to offer some music to a friend.

It's been almost five months since we've had one serious play. The many changes I have to adjust to have not been so kind to spare me time to give it a good strum. In fact, I have vetoed myself a little constraint in playing it, for the primary reason that at this point, there are far more huge and crucial lessons I have to study, and more important skills I have to practice. And it pains me. I no longer am the student who runs home, throws his bag on the floor, grabs his guitar and plays it at the sofa the entire afternoon. I no longer am the tutor who extends his time at some Korean boys' unit trying to introduce  to them the wonders of the six strings. And there isn't anymore a friend in the sciences I and my guitar would play to.

This morning, I tried to play with my guitar. I strummed ordinarily, but it sounded oddly. For a G, it sounded like only five strings sang, and one of them is mute. It felt like one string is missing, and I don't know how to bring it back. Or when..

At the end of the jungle*

Not so long ago, we entered college with a vague picture of what’s in store for us. Equipped with our high school learning, some beliefs about the University, and our own distinct student number, we all ventured into the jungle that is UP Diliman. Our four, five or even six years in college have seen us trail different paths in getting to where we are now. Sometimes, the road is smooth, the sun shines brightly, and if we are fortunate enough, we would find a basket of bananas at every corner. Other times, the road would be marshy, that we find it hard to run fast, and foggy, that we can hardly see the end of it. In the same jungle, we have seen a lot of new and interesting things—long lines at any imaginable event, fraternity boys running naked around, and blue books we submit with high hopes (which eventually are blighted the moment they were returned)—and have met a lot of species we have never encountered before—professors who are extremely kind to girls, anime characters coming to life for Math, friendly guards, and a genus of students sharing the same organization. College life was definitely one great adventure, and UP was a jungle of transformation, however we tried to resist. Now that we have reached this jungle’s exit, before asking what lies ahead, we contemplate on one big question: What’s the best thing that we have earned and deserved from college?

The degree—whether BS BA or BS BAA, we all worked hard for it. The sleepless nights we spent reviewing for an accounting exam, preparing for a marketing presentation, completing our papers for the tons of cases assigned to us, and exhausting all resources for that one feasibility/industry study all paid off. To be called a UP CBA Graduate is certainly among the greatest achievements we have earned and deserved from college. We have survived and made it to the finish line!

The honors and the recognitions—it is not every day that we receive recognitions for the fruits of our labor. Honors are additional blessings for the exceptional milestone students have surpassed. To be regarded as among the top students in the college, or in the university, is an honor that has been there to drive us to continue performing well. And these are but a proof that we have gone the extra mile.

We have made our college life meaningful through the momentous achievements and rewards we garnered. But the marvel of our college life as business students will continue to be treasured not only through the awards we can keep via certificates, envelopes and letters, but also through those we can share our lives with, even after graduation day.

The friends—if there would be one achievement from college life that we definitely have earned and deserved, it would be our friends. Having true friends means that we have spent the last four, five or six years unselfishly. For every hardship that our friends encounter, we have served as instruments to help them emerge triumphant; For every adversity that our friends go through, we have given them the inspiration to see the brighter side; For every short moment we ask them “Kumusta?,” we have erased in them the feeling of loneliness; For every uncertainty we faced, we have never left them. For having been able to do all these, from the friends in our previous colleges, to the friends who welcomed us in BA, we have undeniably earned and deserved them, in the same way that they have earned and deserved having us as their friends. Any other achievements, time can make trivial or obsolete; but our friends, they are timeless awards we can always be proud of.

For these, fellow graduates, let’s congratulate ourselves.

*an article for the UP CBA Batch 2011 Yearbook