After apathy
“I am getting so desperate for activities. Hinahanap-hanap ko na ang stress,” I told a friend.
“‘Wag mo hanapin, darating ka rin dyan. Pag nagtrabaho ka na, hahanap-hanapin mo naman ang pahinga,” she replied.
A month after my graduation, I was preoccupied with the Tertiary Paulinian Student Leaders Congress and Campus Journalism Congress (TPSLC-CJC), of which I was a coordinator, and the post-production of my documentary output in Unlimited Productions, Inc., a subsidiary of Probe Productions, Inc., of which I was an intern.
I enjoyed the days of the second month after my graduation as an intern at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), befriending summer interns who were communication juniors from Silliman University, UP Visayas, UP Los Baños, and SPU Quezon City.
Three months after my graduation, nada, I just stay home, occasionally meeting with friends.
SPU Manila has been my home, literally and figuratively, for four years. The decision to enroll in the university was never mine to make, however; I did not even know it existed until the very day I stepped into the gates of Pedro Gil to submit my requirements and take the entrance examinations in July 2008.
Graduating high school students were all busy reviewing for UPCAT, or DLSU-CET, or ACET, or any other college entrance examinations then. And I, well, had to face the fact that my fate had already been sealed. I hadn’t taken any other entrance examination.
Embittered for some time, I saw the faults in the school administration and in the academic system of the university. I was very open about my misgivings, but I remained objective nonetheless. No institution is ever perfect anyway.
It was my graduation day that officially neutralized my disparaging spirit and ushered me to thoughtful retrospection.
^ With Ms. She, secretary of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Services
^ Rona Magsanay is one of my first friends in college;
she is also my closest non-Mass Communication friend in the university.
^ Manong Manny, my “tatay-tatayan” in the Mass Communication Program
^ The Salazars waiting for the graduation rites
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ With my father; a Botong Francisco mural painting in the background
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ Awarding
(Photo by Ate Ciela)
^ Most loved SPC Sister, Sr. Vianney, at the background ;)
(Photo by Eunick Nobe)
^ Proud moment
(Photo by Julius Riogelon)
^ One of my truest friends, Katrina Bulgar
^ Taking my place as President of ISMS is Naida Perez.
She was also the stage manager in their class’ theater production as I was in ours.
^ My favorite college friend Ate Megumi Taguchi =^.^=
(Photo by Thea Cuajao)
^ THE (always smiling) Eunick Nobe
^ Nanay Emy Silverio of the General Services
^ The talented Kuya Arvin Aldo with David and Net
^ My high school classmate and good friend Franz
came all the way from Quezon City for my graduation.
This is our only photo together.
^ Together, we are PusAmpy.
I am the pusa (cat); she is the ampalaya (bitter gourd).
^ Auts survivors: Pierre, David, and Net
^ Father Mike, the personification of Mickey Mouse
^ The Salazars with Father Mike
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ Ate Ciela and my niece Apro
^ Ms. Redz Buceta of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education (CASE)
^ Ms. Amelia Callos of CASE
^ Then head of the Student Affairs Office, formator and friend, Ms. Maribel Corcolla
^ Ate Aneen and Ate Agnes of the residence hall
^ Rosette, one of the greatest Manila Paulinian singers!
^ One of my most favorite persons in the world, MaAnn Termulo
^ Dawn Zulueta and Gretchen Ho (look-alikes)
^ Executive Secretary Ms. Ivy Coronel
^ My beloved professor, Ms. Marge Revilla
^ Waiting for dinner (L-R: Ate Ciela, Apro, Tita Salve)
^ One of my closest friends, Armand, had always been more excited for my graduation than I was.
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ My sister who is prouder than I am
(All photos by Maricel Salazar unless otherwise stated;
post-processing by yours truly.)
These are some of the faces that made my four years in the university not just tolerable but also worth remembering.
It took me three months to realize the greatest lesson I could ever learn from my college experiences: After apathy, there is joy. •
“‘Wag mo hanapin, darating ka rin dyan. Pag nagtrabaho ka na, hahanap-hanapin mo naman ang pahinga,” she replied.
A month after my graduation, I was preoccupied with the Tertiary Paulinian Student Leaders Congress and Campus Journalism Congress (TPSLC-CJC), of which I was a coordinator, and the post-production of my documentary output in Unlimited Productions, Inc., a subsidiary of Probe Productions, Inc., of which I was an intern.
I enjoyed the days of the second month after my graduation as an intern at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), befriending summer interns who were communication juniors from Silliman University, UP Visayas, UP Los Baños, and SPU Quezon City.
Three months after my graduation, nada, I just stay home, occasionally meeting with friends.
SPU Manila has been my home, literally and figuratively, for four years. The decision to enroll in the university was never mine to make, however; I did not even know it existed until the very day I stepped into the gates of Pedro Gil to submit my requirements and take the entrance examinations in July 2008.
Graduating high school students were all busy reviewing for UPCAT, or DLSU-CET, or ACET, or any other college entrance examinations then. And I, well, had to face the fact that my fate had already been sealed. I hadn’t taken any other entrance examination.
Embittered for some time, I saw the faults in the school administration and in the academic system of the university. I was very open about my misgivings, but I remained objective nonetheless. No institution is ever perfect anyway.
It was my graduation day that officially neutralized my disparaging spirit and ushered me to thoughtful retrospection.
^ With Ms. She, secretary of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Services
^ Rona Magsanay is one of my first friends in college;
she is also my closest non-Mass Communication friend in the university.
^ Manong Manny, my “tatay-tatayan” in the Mass Communication Program
^ The Salazars waiting for the graduation rites
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ With my father; a Botong Francisco mural painting in the background
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ Awarding
(Photo by Ate Ciela)
^ Most loved SPC Sister, Sr. Vianney, at the background ;)
(Photo by Eunick Nobe)
^ Proud moment
(Photo by Julius Riogelon)
^ One of my truest friends, Katrina Bulgar
^ Taking my place as President of ISMS is Naida Perez.
She was also the stage manager in their class’ theater production as I was in ours.
^ My favorite college friend Ate Megumi Taguchi =^.^=
(Photo by Thea Cuajao)
^ THE (always smiling) Eunick Nobe
^ Nanay Emy Silverio of the General Services
^ The talented Kuya Arvin Aldo with David and Net
^ My high school classmate and good friend Franz
came all the way from Quezon City for my graduation.
This is our only photo together.
^ Together, we are PusAmpy.
I am the pusa (cat); she is the ampalaya (bitter gourd).
^ Auts survivors: Pierre, David, and Net
^ Father Mike, the personification of Mickey Mouse
^ The Salazars with Father Mike
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ Ate Ciela and my niece Apro
^ Ms. Redz Buceta of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education (CASE)
^ Ms. Amelia Callos of CASE
^ Then head of the Student Affairs Office, formator and friend, Ms. Maribel Corcolla
^ Ate Aneen and Ate Agnes of the residence hall
^ Rosette, one of the greatest Manila Paulinian singers!
^ One of my most favorite persons in the world, MaAnn Termulo
^ Dawn Zulueta and Gretchen Ho (look-alikes)
^ Executive Secretary Ms. Ivy Coronel
^ My beloved professor, Ms. Marge Revilla
^ Waiting for dinner (L-R: Ate Ciela, Apro, Tita Salve)
^ One of my closest friends, Armand, had always been more excited for my graduation than I was.
(Photo by Tita Salve Salazar)
^ My sister who is prouder than I am
(All photos by Maricel Salazar unless otherwise stated;
post-processing by yours truly.)
These are some of the faces that made my four years in the university not just tolerable but also worth remembering.
It took me three months to realize the greatest lesson I could ever learn from my college experiences: After apathy, there is joy. •