Grad-waiting

Its the time of the year again, when students proudly change their Facebook profile photos with their well-earned toga pictures, and when they begin posting stuff about how thankful they are with the four ( or sometimes more) years of studying. The time of the year when you go out on the streets and corsage vendors roam infront of school gates, and you see photographers taking pictures of students with their ever-proud parents beside them. Oh yes, no matter hard life has been inside the school, nothing can compare to the moments that each student will remember in their lifetimes, when they finish their studies and graduate from school.

To some, they just can’t wait to graduate – students who are so eager to head off to a new chapter in their lives. Others, find it difficult to say goodbye to friends who they may not see that often anymore – ones who would go on to different universities, studying different courses, and eventually meeting up not that frequent unlike when they were together inside the four corners of their Alma Mater.

And for people like me, well, its more of a complicated case too. Being delayed for a year, and with the uncertainty of a Chemistry Major’s life in AdU, I’m not sure anymore when it comes to my year of graduation. Maybe that’s why whenever my calendar strikes March, I feel all gloomy, whenever I remember how my classmate once said it: Gagraduate naman tayo eh. Hindi lang natin sure kung kailan (We’ll all graduate. We’re just not that sure when that’ll be)

I laugh it out, and shrug off the nostalgia. But whenever I hear my former colleagues talk about their Summer On-the-job training in the industry, I couldn’t help but sigh. But then again, my mom would tell me that I always had my choices, and she believed in them. Now, my self-motivation is that dream of actually getting to march at the PICC in 2 (or 3) years time, and actually get my Chemist’s License.

So for the meantime, I would just have to settle for that green-colored high school toga pic, for now. And despite my delayed status, I know I’ll get there. I will.

Posted from WordPress for BlackBerry.

Advertisement

On Motivation

Last Monday, my classmate Zoey and I got a chance to take a few minutes off our own problems, and sentiment with some freshmen who (unfortunately) failed their General Chemistry 1 subject. They were waiting outside the Instrumentation Room, where some of their ‘regular’ classmates were having a post-laboratory discussion on their General Chemistry 2 Laboratory Class. My classmate and I happened to finish early for our Physics class, and went straight to the Chemistry Lab since we have a 2:00 – 5:00pm class there.

There were 5 girls waiting outside the Instru Room, and they were huddled near each other when we passed by. The girls waved their hands, and we smiled back, and chatted with them.

One of the girls were asking us questions about keeping up with the demands of our course. She came nearer and asked me, while looking at her lengthwise piece of paper: “Kuya, papayag ba si Sir na pipirma siya sa Dropping Form ko?” (Kuya, will Sir agree to sign my Dropping Form?) Upon seeing her dropping form, I saw that she was about to drop the laboratory subject that her classmates were having inside the Instru Room. I, couldn’t help but be baffled over the form. Was she really dropping this subject? But GC2 (General Chemistry 2) is an off- semestral subject, and she wouldn’t be allowed to take the subject with anybody else but her fellow Chemistry majors?

Having known the situation of these girls, kinda made me a little bit worried about our future graduates, especially if most of them flunked the basic subjects. Some of my blockmates would tell me “Buti nga pinapatagal pa sila dito sa Department, at hindi sila pinagshi-shift? Isipin mo po, GC1 na lang, naibagsak nila. Paano ba kaya kung higher Chemistry na?” (They are fortunate that they still belong to the (Chemistry) Department, and they were not asked to shift out to other courses. Think of it, they flunked GC1. What more, if they were to take higher Chemistry subjects?)

My classmates seem to be very confident at times, but they do have a point. And the Department does take note about our class: Majority of our 20+ population taking up both Quantitative Analysis and Organic Chemistry 2 simultaneously, have good grades (not to mention taking up a 5-unit Calculus with Differential Equations subject). But the freshmen population of 21, was cut down to a small number of 9 regular students is not a good sign.

Not wanting them to cut down in number further, and to at least help them in a “moral support”-ish kind of way, I tried to do a motivation talk with these girls (and controlling Zoey not to scare off the freshmen with our very tiring schedules), and making them think over decisions that they might only regret in the near future.

But a thought came into my mind, as the girls left the laboratory and I hung out inside the Instru Room – was I the ‘right’ person to do that kind of speech? Me, who’s struggling to catch up with my academic standing, yet earning decent grades? Someone’s who’s eager to finish chemistry (now), but had second thoughts early on? I couldn’t help but wonder.

Posted from WordPress for BlackBerry.

Sophie First Sem Chronicles Part 3

As I draw near to the conclusion of this 3-part blog series,  I would just like to thank some of my friends who continue to read my busy, yet boring blog site, especially the first two parts of this post. While most of my friends are busy spending their semestral breaks outside the house, I waste my time in front of the laptop, and compose blogs for my followers. :)

The first 5 months of our sophomore life seemed like a rocky road for all of us. We were faced of our individual fears, and anxieties that usually led us to escapism, or even doubt of passing. Most of the time, some of us felt like transferring to another course, or leaving PLM because of our course’s fate. And the extreme stress due to our 15-units of horror (Chem 113, Chem 111 and Math 113).

But one thing was for sure. Chemists have all the solutions.

Me and my blockmates may have been discouraged, or set back by our troubles, but we have emerged triumphant this semester. There may be times of quarrel, but of course, life is not a bed of roses. There are thorns and we should always prick it out so it can heal faster. And together, we outshone the other blocks, not just because we shout louder than them, but because we rocked. And we loved to rock hard.

And because of that, I am so thankful that I was blessed with 16 great friends. To be honest, it was the first time that I was able to be so close with the whole (if not, almost) class. Like duhh, mang-away pa ako edi kasinungalingan na yung ‘No Man is an Island’ Hahaha.  

If only things turned out the way I hoped it to be, maybe I couldve gone with you all the way to taking Biochemistry with Ms. Labaclado. :)

But this is no adieu. Rather, it would be a start of something new. (And it feels so right, to be here with you, yeaaahhhh. Hahahaha) I know all of you guys can get through the next 5 months, and we will be Chemists in no time!

I think someone's missing here. Ced, Yoni?! =))

Much love guys! :D