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.
*an article for the UP CBA Batch 2011 Yearbook
