Kamusta ka, UP?

Aaminin ko… when I was a freshman back in the ‘90s (won’t say what year hehehe), I used to be really proud to be an iska. Being the probinsyana that I was, I stayed in Kalayaan (the freshmen dormitory). Thus, my entire freshman life revolved around UP. I went to mass at the UP Chapel, had meals at the dorm or CASAA or shopping center. I took frequent walks around the academic oval and sunken garden. I bought UP stickers and pasted them on my books and folders (I didn’t have a car back then). I proudly wore UP shirts.

But after a year of studying, I realized that being in UP is not a bed of roses. I experienced a lot of not-so-pleasant things in UP. I had my first quatro (4), singko (5), incomplete and dropped. I have tried writing a song at the black of my blue book during an exam in Math 53 just to kill the time, so that my terror teacher would not castigate me for turning in a blank blue book. I have been wrongly accused by a teacher of plagerizing a book in one of my reports (of course, I proved him wrong, and I got a 1.25 in his class). I’ve been burned really bad not just in academics, but in a lot of things that a gullible probinsyana is not used to.

But… although UP may not be a bed of roses, it became my enclave, my shelter and my comfort zone. Until now, when I’m at the lowest of lows, I drive around UP. Just seeing the familiar trees, green grass, the old buildings and dormitory, smelling the familiar scents of the shopping center, and feeling the UP air, I suddenly become enveloped in a blanket of peace and quiet. It’s as if I have put on a cloak of invincibility. I leave the campus feeling lighter, calm and composed.

So a few days ago, I did what I’ve been wanting to do since a few months ago. I went to UP with the dyosas to shoot the Oblation. Sitting in front of the oblation, memories of my undergrad and graduate years came flooding back. I felt content just sitting at the Admin Building, shooting Oble in different angles, while waiting for the sun to set.

Salamat UP, for being very interesting, accommodating and open. I owe a lot of what I am today to you.


10:29 pm
26 Feb 2008
Fairview, QC