Enrollment in UP as a Freshman

                College has passed by so fast.  It seems as if it was just yesterday when I first enrolled into the university.  I remember it as clear as day.  I was so excited that time.  I was finally going to be enrolled in UP Diliman, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country! I was going to meet new people, and maybe even the friends I would keep for the next four years. I thought nothing could go wrong that day. Well, I was wrong. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for the enrollment process UP had, and still has.

Lines.  Lines everywhere.

                Growing up in the province, I was used to my parents paying my tuition fees for me and fixing whatever it is that has to be fixed during enrollment time.  My father new a few people in the faculty so he did not have such a hard time enrolling me.  The hardest thing he probably had to do was get the money for my tuition fees.  So this spoiled little piggy had no idea what was in store for her during enrollment day.  I honestly thought that the worst that could happen was a couple of machines breaking down which would result in us waiting a while.

               

                Finally, doomsday came. Lo and behold the lines for everything was unimaginably long.  It was supposed to be a day where only freshmen could enroll.  How the heck could the university have so much freshmen?!?  To make matters worse I had to walk to different buildings in order to get everything done.  To this day  I still hope that they find a way around this.  You have no idea how much time is wasted by simply transferring to a different building just to have someone sign on your paper or tell you that the subject you wanted is not available.  Anyway, sometime during the afternoon I finally arrived in the OUR where we had to pay for my tuition fees.  Surprise, surprise, there was another line waiting for me yet again.  I felt like I was waiting for ages.  It was so hot at the waiting area, I could even see the sweat rolling off my seatmates face.  Now that I think about it, maybe those were tears of frustration. I am not that sure anymore.  By the time it was m turn to pay it felt so good to part with my money.  Never in my life had I thought I would be happy to see my money go into the hands of a total stranger and watch it disappear into a drawer full of cash of other sufferers like me.  It was my first taste of the enrollment process in UP.  A premonition of the next years to come.

              

               I thought it would not be that bad the second time since I already knew what to expect.  Guess what? I was wrong.  Always ALWAYS expect the unexpected from UPD.  The second semester was three times worse.  I could not get all the subjects I wanted in the CRS, so now I even had to line for the subjects I needed.  I had to line up for an hour or more for a single subject!!! Unfathomable.  Why do you have to line up for something that you are required to take? But as my high school religious teacher always told us “It could have been worse.” True to his word, the next enrollment was worse.  Enrollment as a ‘regular’ student is an all together different kind of hell, meant to test your patience to the utmost limit.  But that is a different story

Nicola Fionna F. Delos Santos

Source (Photos)

https://aitsalimbay.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/tumblr_m592b0ewta1qgznsuo1_500.jpg

Haunted Subject

After two months of vacation, finally the time has come for me to face the real world of college. I was really excited back then to experience a new kind of environment, to meet new people, and take different subjects which are related to my course. I was so positive before about these things, but later on, one of the subjects I took turned everything around. Because of it, I discovered that I don't know much about college, and I need to work hard to be able to survive this stage of my life.

During my first sem in UP, I had a professor from one of my subjects who taught me a lot, but at the same time, made me so afraid every time. That prof is one of my most unforgettable teachers for my entire life, not because she's my favorite, but because, she made me cry a lot of times and somehow broke my heart. She was the reason why I always read the prof guide in UP, and as bad as it may seem, I am certain that I would never like to have a prof like her again.

During our first day of class, our prof looked nice and easy to be with. She's a tall woman, I think between 50 to 60 years old, short-haired, and the way she looked tells that she's really an intellectual and very intimidating person. For the first few meetings, we had reporting. It was not alphabetical, instead, we randomly picked our schedule. Unfortunately, I was scheduled to report on the third meeting. I was so nervous back then because I don't know how college students do the reporting, and at the same time, I am not used to do that on my own because when I was in high school, we usually do that by group. But even though I don't know how it should be done, I still did my best on that report. I prepared a very catchy visual aid, and said all of the concepts in a very quick but comprehensible manner, and I could say that it just went well. I received compliments from her. She even told the class that I really know what am I saying and all of the reports should be done like what I just did. I was so happy back then, and because of that, I thought that she was a kind prof. But as days and reportings go by, she started to be angry and scolded every reporter. She even embarrassed most of her students even though they just committed a small mistake. She always shouts to us, and I feel pity for my classmates who received a low grade for that report because I know that they exerted a lot of effort doing that and they deserved a good grade. Gradually, my thought about her being kind slowly changed.

The second half of our sem for that subject was more of the writing part. We had many writing breaks which I considered a break also from the emotional stress our prof gave us. The first thing she asked from us was the topic, and we prepared at least three. We need to present our proposed topics in front of the class. When my turn came, I presented mine with so much effort and grace. I explained to her as briefly as I can the topics, I also used the right words to persuade her. After I said my chosen three topics, my prof's eyebrow suddenly went a little up, revealing her wrinkles, and shouted at me saying that I should change my topic because the presented ones were too broad and I should find a narrower one. I felt so shameful and embarrassed that time. My eyes want to cry but I stopped myself and still managed to smile and comprehend all of the bad comments she said. I thought that I was not the only one who experienced that cruelty from my prof, actually, all of us faced that same circumstance so I must be brave and endure it. When our class ended, my classmates and I looked so hurt and wearisome. As much as I told myself that the embarrassment was needed for us to be stronger, my mind and my heart can't still accept it because I absolutely believe that any teacher should teach their students in a calm way, for if they showed their angriness first, then the fear of students will overtake their eagerness to learn.

The sem went on, and as usual, our prof always embarrasses us in front of the class to the point that we got used to it and don't mind it anymore. At the end, we just submitted our paper and guess what, I ended up having 3.0 for that paper. I actually can't accept it because I really did that paper with a lot effort, but what can I do? Maybe she doesn't find it excellent.

The sem ended, and when I looked at my CRS account to check my grades, I was so shocked to see a 1.25 for that subject. Maybe she felt guilty for all the things she had done to us, that was the first thing that came up in my mind after I saw my grade. At least, I received a grade I deserved. I felt really happy because of it.

That subject and the prof from my first semester really left me with dismay. I could compare it to a haunted house, full of terrifying things inside, because both of them can leave horrifying memories. When I told my friends about what had happened in that subject of mine, they said that next time, I should read prof guide first before enlisting any subject, and I promise, I will certainly do.

Cyrishlyn Aira E. Malubay

(Description)

Source (photo): http://blog.passedtense.com/boredom-and-anxiety/

Living in a Dormitory

For almost seventeen years of my life, I am dependent on my family. Elementary and secondary school had never been tough for me, until I got to college. Because I want to be one of the best engineers in the country, for the first time, I am studying and living away from my family. Upon entering my new school, I needed to find a place to stay for the whole year. I had three choices– either to live in a boarding house, an apartment or in a dormitory. But because renting a boarding house or apartment was too expensive, I chose to live in a dorm - three times cheaper than the two. Dormitories are built inside the campus, a location perfect for studying. The cost of living is much lower than living outside. It is also safer to live in a dormitory than to live off the school, although incidents of crime do still occur inside the campus. In a dormitory, there are R.A’s, maintenance/staff and security guards who maintain the safety of everyone. Living in a dorm means having to live with a roommate, but for me, that’s better and safer than living alone.

When I started living in a dorm, my father and my sisters had less of a say of my everyday life’s dos or don’ts, which I find to be great. I call it freedom.  I can do what I wanted to do and I can go where ever I wanted to go. But beyond this, studying and living far away from my family taught me how to live independently. I learned to prepare my own food, to wash my own dishes, fix my own things and to take care of myself alone. But at times, I feel sad and alone. I also feel home sick at night as I sleep, but this feeling led me to become braver and matured. After a few months living here, I have adjusted. Now, I can already stand on my own.

Living in a dormitory also helped me to perform better in academics. That’s because I am closer to the things I need, like the library and friends whom I can ask for help regarding my lessons. Before my exams, I study with a group of friends or dorm mates. It is easier to study if you have companions. We always have something to eat and we stay up late reviewing and teaching each other almost every night. I learned to share my experiences and socialize with different kinds of people. I improved my studies and at the same time had more friends when I lived in the dormitory.

Going to college and living in a dormitory is a learning experience that is worth having. It’s probably the only time in my whole life that I would live in a community of people with different cultures, beliefs and traditions. In just four months of stay, I learned to become mature and independent.  I learned to socialize, to decide on my own and have self-discipline. I will never learn all these things if did not live on my own in a dormitory. Overall, this is the most unique and one of the best experiences that I had in my life.

By: Mark Lesther M. Jacinto

(Causal Analysis)

Sources(Photos):

downloaddailymotion.com

http://melthealchemist.blogspot.com/2012/11/yakal-at-last.html

 

Blind Date

Strong winds and strong rain smashing through my dorm room woke me up from my steadfast sleep. It is, too, the day for our comm 3 date. I’ve always felt nervous when thinking about this day, and who would have thought that I would start this day with the eerie sound of a tropical storm? The nerves have started to kick in real bad. It is a blind date after all. This is all for the interpersonal experience of dating, which was announced by Sir OJ last Wednesday night. He gave me the cellphone number of my date and I introduced myself to her. Her name is Audrey and she is a an athlete.We talked about some personal information like age, course, and then talked about the date itself. Since we had no free time during the weekends, we decided to hold the dates next Wednesday, August 21, 2013, at Technohub.

The days flew by and the dreaded blind date came closer and closer. As for my blind date and I, we both decided to meet each other at the Molave gate. We are both dormers and we wanted to meet halfway. I was coming from Molave and she was a dormer from Kalayaan.

I arrived at the gate, and so did she. She was wearing a jacket and jeans. We exchanged greetings and smiles. We then both waited for jeepneys that would pass by Technohub. We got on one bound for SM North. As we were seated in the jeepney, we talked about our courses, and UP. She also met some UP seniors on our short trip. . We then got off the jeep at a Philcoa gasoline station and started walking towards Technohub. We then talked about family, interests, subjects and this comm 3 date. We walked around Technohub and chose to grab some grub at the Ministop. 

We each ordered desserts. She ordered a choco banana cake and I ordered a crema de fruta. We then continued our discussion about the scrapbook, relationships and other commitments for the day and also talked about horror movies. We talked of our eagerness to watch “The Conjuring” and also talked of some watched horror movies. We talked of plots of stories like scenes in Sinister, Mirrors and Mama.

After a bagful of laughter and interests in horror movies, we had finished our cakes. We then wondered if Time zone was open already at this hour; however, it was still closed and will open at 12 noon. So we decided to go back to UP. We walked from Technohub to Philcoa to get a jeepney. We then got off where we first met in the Molave waiting shed where we thanked each other for a great experience.

By: Benedict Guinto

 (Description)

Sources (Photos):

http://www.clarkisit.com/surviving-rainy-season-philippines/
http://mylovefordesserts.blogspot.com/2011/06/ministops-crema-de-fruta.html