Tuesday marks the day I can officially call myself a college student. Today I bade goodbye to my hometown and hopped on a plane to NAIA, thence on a car to UP Diliman. I spent roughly an hour and a half in Kalayaan, filling out forms and stuff (red tape for the win), pausing every once in a while only to walk to the nearby Shopping Center to buy index cards, papers, envelopes, and whatnot. I will make the necessary payments and have my forms notarized on Monday, but for today I threw all my stuff in my dorm room (basement, baby!) and headed to SM North Edsa to buy things I needed for the dorm.

Kalayaan’s state is deplorable, to be honest. You’re lucky if your locks are broken—at least they’re not missing. The wood on the cabinets is rotting. Vandalism has soiled the walls, although artistically so. All things considered, though, the place is livable, because these days all you really need is electricity, running water, and, most important of all, WiFi. It could be much worse.

Tonight I’m in a hotel in Pasay City. Tomorrow will most likely be spent in MOA, primarily jejebusting but also finishing my pre-school-year shopping. Then in the afternoon or evening, I will go back to Diliman to spend my first night as a Kalayaan dormer.

Above is a picture of everything writing-related that is in my bag. I have many more books at home, and I wanted to bring all of them, but as I was packing I realized that space is scarce and that I’m not keen on the idea of bringing a boxful of dead trees with me to a small dorm room, so this is all I brought:

• Green Apple spiral-bound notebook, where I do most of my writing.
• Moleskine ruled notebook, for journal entries.
• “Basic Journalism” by Estrada and Nem Singh. You’ll have to squint really hard if you want to see it in the picture. I bought this two or three years ago, although I’ve been referring to it since elementary.
• “Feature Writing For Filipinos” by Genove. As an elementary and high school campus journalist I participated in the Feature Writing category.
• A small copy of the 1986 Constitution.
• “Twisted V” and “Twisted 8 1/2″ by Jessica Zafra. I read her blog and just started following her columns on the Star. I’m a firsthand victim of her viciousness, but she is entertaining to read nonetheless.
• “Youngblood” and “Youngblood 2.0″, anthologies of the popular Inquirer column.
• “Killing Time In A Warm Place” by Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr. My thoughts on the book.
• “Stainless Longganisa” by Bob Ong.
• Barron’s Book Notes of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man And The Sea.” Perhaps the best book I’ve ever read.
• My small fountain pen collection: a basic Pilot and a big-nibbed Parker. The Pilot is a pump converter; the Parker is one of those newfangled ones that use refill cartridges. My Quink inkwell is not in the picture because I forgot to pack it.
• Canon PowerShot A650 IS. I love this camera. Sadly, months ago it went priapic. Its lens won’t retract. I’m hoping I can have it repaired tomorrow, although from what I’ve read online it can be cheaper to buy a new camera than to send an old one in for fixing.
• Sterling daily planner.
• That little orange guy that keeps the pages in place when I’m reading a book. Given to me by a very good friend.

In less than a week I will leave my hometown to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. As a kind of countdown, I thought I’d take a look back at the past few years of my life throughout the week and connect them to what lies ahead for me. Specifically, I’ll be linking to blog posts or websites that I think are worth pondering on and discussing them briefly.

* * *

“NSPC 2009: Notes From Naga City“, published here on February 25, 2009; “NSPC 2010: The Tagum Invasion“, published here on February 28, 2010.

I have been a campus journalist since the fifth grade in elementary. Ever since I started I have been a feature writer, and thankfully I’ve won several awards in that category, including two at the national level.

In UP Diliman I will be a student of the Department of Journalism of the College of Mass Communication, working under the tutelage of some of the Philippines’ brightest minds in journalism. For someone who has regarded himself as a “budding journalist” for so long, it’s a great honor to be studying at the CMC.

I often think about how lucky I am to be able to pursue my life’s interest. Opportunities like these don’t come to many people, nor do they come often. I will try my best not to make fortune regret knocking on my door.

In less than a week I will leave my hometown to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. As a kind of countdown, I thought I’d take a look back at the past few years of my life throughout the week and connect them to what lies ahead for me. Specifically, I’ll be linking to blog posts or websites that I think are worth pondering on and discussing them briefly.

* * *

“Moryo-Moryo: A Ray Of Hope“, a project I took on along with four of my Junior year classmates that focused on the plight of children who lived near our city’s dumpsite. Despite my deplorable HTML and CSS skills, the project won Best In Community Impact for Smart Schools’ first Doon Po Sa Amin Learning Challenge.

Perhaps the most iconic and enduring symbol of the University of the Philippines is the Oblation—a naked man with arms outstretched, offering himself in service to his country. No less than this attitude of self-sacrifice is expected of all UP students.

The Oblation made me think about when I decided to take on the Moryo-Moryo project. The prospect of winning a cash prize enticed me, of course, but much more than that I welcomed the opportunity to help a worthy cause. Every time we visited the school, we got to see the children whose eyes sparkled with hope despite their dire situation. That really hit me in two ways: it reminded me of how lucky I was to have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a house to come home to everyday, and inspired me to do everything I could to help. I cannot justify with words the fulfilling satisfaction I felt in telling the story of Moryo-Moryo, in working for a cause bigger than me.

It feels good to be part of a community that cares so much about service to country at a time when the Philippines is so overridden by greed and selfishness, in city streets and in corridors of power. I hope I prove myself worthy of the tradition of service to country that UP fosters.

In less than a week I will leave my hometown to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. As a kind of countdown, I thought I’d take a look back at the past few years of my life throughout the week and connect them to what lies ahead for me. Specifically, I’ll be linking to blog posts or websites that I think are worth pondering on and discussing them briefly.

* * *

“Regretting Section One [RANTING/BITCHING]“, published here on July 4, 2008.

When I was a first year high school student, I was part of Section One of the Special Science Curriculum of Agusan National High School. The Special Science Curriculum, or “Science High” as it’s colloquially called, is the most advanced curriculum ANHS offers. To qualify for it, incoming freshmen must pass a rigorous testing process (admittedly, it was easier then compared to now, but it was hard to get through nonetheless). Being in Section One of Science High, therefore, means being part of the crèmè de la crèmè of the school.

Needless to say it was an honor for me, a so-so student who had never gone to public school before, to make it. I felt proud.

At the end of freshman year, I found out that my dismal grades meant that I would probably be demoted to a lower section of Science High. So as a sophomore, I bade goodbye to the glow of Section One and said hello to Section Three. At first, I felt awkward, ashamed even. I had fallen from grace. As the year wore on, however, I found myself having the time of my life in Section Three, feeling no pressure and being able to enjoy high school as a high school student should.

When I qualified for reinstatement to Section One as a Junior student, I hesitantly accepted. Barely a month into the school year, not having recovered from the euphoria of Sophomore year, I wrote the above post, lamenting the seriousness of Section One and wishing for a return to simpler times.

I thought of this as I was preparing for UP and all the pressure it will give me. Admission into UP was one of my biggest dreams, and now that it has come true, I wonder if I should have been careful what I wished for. I know, of course, that for its notoriously rigorous environment, UP is an almost-absolute guarantee of future success for its student. Pressure, they say, forms diamonds after all. But I think it would be more apt to think of UP as a trial by fire for me. If I’m really made of gold, I will come out shining brighter than ever; if I turn out to be anything less than is expected of me, I’m screwed.

It was easy for me to whine about the pressure that comes with being part of the cream of the crop as a high school student, but I resolve to look at the pressure that comes with being a student of the country’s premiere university in a different light. I know it will be anything but easy, and I can’t say I’m confident about my chances, but I’m more than willing to have a go at it.

This is it. Pressure na. Kaya ko ‘to!

Click for full-resolution image

Results of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test or UPCAT, which I and my batchmates took last August, were released today. Although results are still unavailable online due to technical difficulties with Globe Telecom’s connection, I was told I qualified for admission to UP Diliman’s Journalism program, praise be unto God!

To qualify for UP is probably one of the most coveted achievements a high school senior can hope for, and although Journalism was my second course choice (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accountancy being my first), I’m still shocked that I even passed the UPCAT. I remember how dizzying I found the Mathematics and Science portions of the exam to be. Certainly, I passed the UPCAT not because I have the smarts but because a Higher Power willed it.

Here is my secret to passing the UPCAT.

***

If you live in the Philippines and watch a good amount of local news, you will probably remember that the Iglesia Ni Cristo (of which I am a member) held massive gatherings in different locales around the country and the world in celebration of its 95th founding anniversary. What fewer people know is that beginning one month prior to the celebrations, we held daily devotional prayers (panata in Tagalog) for the success of our celebrations. Beginning June 22 (if I’m not mistaken), I made the daily ride to church right after school. Although congregational prayers in our locale were scheduled for 7.30pm nightly, I sometimes had to hold my own personal devotional prayers whenever I had UPCAT review classes to attend and couldn’t make it to the congregational prayers. Of course, I prayed primarily for the success of our celebrations (that was the reason for our panata, after all), but I also prayed that the Lord guide me during the UPCAT, that He bless me with a bright future if He so willed, and that above all, His Will be done. I asked Him to allow me to pass UP so that I wouldn’t have to enter a secular university in order to earn a proper education (INC members are highly discouraged from entering secular schools). I so prayed every day for more than a month, even after our July 27 celebrations, in the days leading up to the August 1 test date.

When I took the UPCAT, I felt my prayers were answered, inasmuch as I felt His presence and guidance. Sure, I found the test difficult, but I didn’t feel threatened (if that’s the right word). The moment I finished the test, I knew that I had been granted victory, the results notwithstanding.

Last week, in anticipation of the releasing of the results, I decided to hold another weeklong personal panata, this time asking that He give me the strength and wisdom to accept His Will. I asked Him to teach me how to use the outcome of the test, whatever it may be, to better serve Him.

Today I found out that I qualified for admission into UP. He heeded my prayers. He didn’t leave me alone. Praise be unto God.

I am fortunate to have been brought up learning to place my trust in the Lord. I was always taught by my parents and my elders in Church that no one and nothing in this world can be trusted, that my trust should be placed in the Lord, in the Lord always, and in the Lord only. I was always taught that He will never turn a deaf ear to the prayers of His chosen people so long as we never turn away from Him.

Today I once again saw that He has never deserted me and will never desert me.

This victory is not mine but the Lord’s. Praise be unto God!

Last Sunday, I had the distinct honor of guesting on the podcast of the Pakbet crew, the non-leaders of opinion, together with Inay Jenny. The recording’s been edited, mixed down and uploaded by podcast meister Rain, so please to listen to Pakbet Podcasts Episode 4: The Jenijenjen Song, nao na!

On this episode (where I repeatedly make sabat, giggle and speak too fast), we talked about:

• The Plurkfiesta at Banchetto
• Update on the Bebigerls
• The Failon Incident
• The boy who killed the cat
• And the world debut of the Jenijenjen Song

The voices on the podcast are those of Pakbet Boys Rain Contreras, J, and Gilbz, as well as “Trainee” Crushie Di, along with me and Jenny.