Promdi [1]
Words by The Curly Reads
When I first entered UST, I was anxious. For reasons I wasn’t certain of. I mean, as cliche as this may sound, this is my dream school. But I could vividly remember how uneasy I was.
That was April 26 — my schedule for enrollment. I boarded the plane with only a backpack and dreams running wild. Right after landing, we booked a grab going to España. Looking around, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop and observe. I was the only one who didn’t have that one paper — the enrollment confirmation. I processed everything without my parents’ solid yes. I acquired all the requirements from both my junior and senior high school and sent everything to the Office for Admissions (OFAD) via a service courier.
For the first time, this idle and shy girl took charge. I may have had mixed feelings about it but ‘hesitant’ was never on the list. They say that I’ve only ever known how to be smart but never in the real world. That notion almost got into me a lot of times when people close to me would discourage my University Belt aspirations. And that day was one of the many days that their pessimism struck me. I didn’t even know the right steps for enrollment because the first essential for the first step wasn’t even with me.
I called Ma’am Lorna from OFAD, the one I got in touch with at that time. That moment, she assured me that I could enroll. And so I did. I braved the line without knowing exactly what to do. But in the end, I was able to enlist my name in my section- 1P3. It was a prideful moment for someone always so belittled especially with responsibilities like this.
I went on to buy my uniform from the Main Building, and then to find that specific dorm where my favorite artist stayed when she was a Fine Arts student in UST. At the end of that day, I posed in front of the Main Building, near the tiger. That made into my Instagram feed, with a caption, “Officially enrolled. UST 1P3 CLASS 2023 🐯”.
When I first left UST, I was delighted — I was officially a Thomasian.
A lot had happened during the Freshmen week. I really felt like I belonged there. I was alone in a big city. I was in charge. I was doing okay. Until my mother left for the province and I was literally alone then. I realized that If I wanted to live the terrific sides of being in the Metro, I would have to go alone.
On the first day of our formal classes, contrary to what I felt during the whole Freshmen week, I was overwhelmed. Being presented the books available on the same day the professors orients you kinda shocked me. That day, I went home with three thick books for the major subjects. The next day, same thing; but brought home only two.
They say as in all things, the first few times are always the hardest. I learned it the hard way. It was hard to have your companion and distraction being the same source of your anxiety and agitation — readings. One morning, as I passed by the corridor, I saw the qualifications for a Dean’s Lister (a GWA of 1.75) and St. Albert the Great (a GWA of 1.40 and above and two subjects with 1.00 GWA). I remember how disheartened I was, realizing that I probably wouldn’t come close to my goal of having a Latin honor.
I reached the point of finding someone from the province too, to share our sentiments. But as days went by, I enjoyed the small things. I enjoyed having to wake up at 5 am to prepare my own breakfast, the walk going to and home from UST, and my trips to study workspaces and nearby coffee shops. I was reading and reviewing a lot. I established a love-hate relationship with my course.
I experienced the heat while walking around the four streets around UST; the torrential rains that had us hoping for a suspension, but sometimes it would be too late for that because we would go home to an ankle or knee-high flood; the windy and gloomy days spent with friends, stressing over acads and laughing our frustrations out.
I especially loved my first ber-months in university. Every night, I went home with a brightly-lit UST after bloody sessions in the library. Then, Agape and Paskuhan came. I was surrounded by a community of Thomasians. I was in a sea of yellow during events, just like what I have always dreamed of.
They say time flies when you’re having fun. Before I knew it, grades were released. I ended up top 5 not only in our class, not only in my course, but the whole College of Science.
At first, no one believed that I, a promdi, shy, and dependent girl could survive at one of the “big four” schools in the Philippines. But I guess the phrase “prove them wrong” was made for situations where the protagonist chooses to be deliberate, taking one day at a time. And now, she is really getting there.
