I accompanied my sister last Sunday to UP for her college admission test. Needless to say, she was pressured, both from the expectation of the family and probably her own self. It felt like so much is at stake on the result of that exam and no preparation will be enough.
I seriously can't remember much of my own UPCAT experience. I do remember that I went with a handful of my high school classmates to the campus, but we separated ways since we had different testing venues. It wasn't dawn yet when we arrived. I have no recollection of the questions either, not one, at all. I just remember eating only one of the three sandwiches I brought, and subsisting on candy and anxiety. I do know that I wanted to pass, that I wanted to study in UP.
 |
| The Gate(s) of Mordor |
 |
| Would I be as anxious if I were in the same situation? Probably. |
UP is not as fancy as the universities in my fiction fantasies – no scenic coastlines, no cathedral ruins, no castle chambers as classrooms, no Scottish pubs, no fancy and elaborate traditions and customs. But it's the university that is as familiar as the back of my hands. It is home.
My social ineptitude has probably hindered me from maximizing my UP experience, but I know that I am content at observing the vibrant student life take place. I have learned that I know so little, that I have a long way to go. UP life taught me patience, taught me how to look at the bigger picture. It robbed me of sleep, of my sense of self-worth when everything became so overwhelming. It taught me to fend for myself, to be able to make things work no matter how dire the situation.
I have this image of UP reluctantly taking me in its arms. Touch move. For both ends.
I still doubt if I truly deserved being under Oble's wing, but the experience has given me so much pride, and yet has been thoroughly humbling. It's the institution that I'm still trying to fully comprehend but respect beyond words.
It has its way of getting under one's skin, almost certainly permanently taking hold.
