time flies so fast, isn't it? one day we're entering pisay, the next thing we know, we're throwing our togas and singing the pisay hymn for one last time. now, we're going our separate ways in college. here's a poem that i've read to remind us of how far we've come..

The first day of kindergarten
He hurried to the door
Shrugging off his mother's hugs
He didn't need them anymore
For he was all grown up now
Too big for all that stuff
Instead he waved a quick goodbye
Hoping that would be enough

When he came home from school that day
She asked what he had done
He handed her a paper
With a big round yellow sun
A picture quite imperfect
For he'd mess up here and there
But she didn't seem to notice
Or she didn't seem to care

The first day of junior high
He hurried to the door
Running from his mother's hugs
He didn't want them anymore
He ignored her calling out to him
As he hurried down the street
Near the intersection
Where his friends had planned to meet
He hoped that she would understand
Why he had to walk to school
Riding with his mother
Just wouldn't have been cool

And when he came home from school
She asked what he had done
He handed her some papers
With Xs marked on more than one
The teacher clearly pointing out
The wrong answers clearly here and there
But his mother didn't seem to notice
Or she didn't seem to care

The first day of senior high
He hurried out the door
Jumped into the driver's seat
Of his jacked-up shiny Ford
He left without his breakfast
He left without a word
But he turned and looked back
Before pulling from the curb
He saw her waving frantically
As he drove away
He tapped his horn just once
To brighten up her day
He saw a smile across her face
And then he drove from sight
Onward to a different world
A new exciting life

And at his graduation
As tears shone in her eyes
He knew the time had come
To bid his mom goodbye
For he was off to college
Off to better days
No more rules to abide
Alone to find his way

Suitcases filled the trunk
Of his dirty beat-up Ford
He couldn't wait to get to school
To check out his room and dorm
She opened up his car door
Closed it when he got in
Then smiled proudly at her son
As tears dropped from her chin
She reached through the open window
Wished him luck at school
And them she pulled him close to her
And broke the "no hug" rule
He felt the freedom greet him
As he pulled out on the interstate
At last his life was his alone
He anticipated fate

College life was more challenging
Than he ever could have hoped
There was no time to respond to letters
His mother often wrote
He was a grown adult now
Too old for that stuff
His visits during holidays
Would have to be enough
Besides, midterms were quickly coming
The pressure was immense
He studied late into the night
His need to pass intense
He wondered how he'd manage
How he'd ever cope
What if he failed his tests?
Would there be no hope?

As if he had a calling
He headed down the interstate
Driving at full speed
The hour getting late
He pulled up to the curb
Where once he used to roam
And went through the open door
Of his mother's home
She was sitting at the table
With a drawing in a frame
Memories from the past
That brought both joy and pain
She didn't need to ask
Why he was home from school
Because she knew the answer
When he broke the "no hug" rule
His arms around her tightly
Peering at the drawing he had done
Lots of trees, imperfect branches
And a big round yellow sun
She smiled a knowing smile
And then she spoke aloud
"Son you always did
And you always will make me very proud
For look how far you've traveled
From that little boy so brave
Heading off to kindergarten
Your hand up in a wave
And through the years you've made mistakes
But son I've made them, too
Being perfect is not an option in life
Simply do the best you can do
And don't expect more than that
For life is supposed to be fun
You've only got one to live
Do what is best for you son"

Sitting in his dorm room
When the pressure seems too much
And all that he is striving for
Seems completely out of touch
He peers at the drawing
Of a big round yellow sun
And then he is reminded
Of just how far he's come
From childhood to manhood
Fighting back many a fear
Through trials and tribulations
Holding back many a tear
Knowing that being successful
Isn't passing every test
And the only way to falter in life
Is by failing to do his best
And the biggest lesson he's learned
One he did not learn in school...
That it's okay, even for a man
To break the "no hug" rule

we don't know what college may bring for us. just remember that if we get lost in the world out there, always remember that our friends and family will be there for us all the way.. good luck to everyone! Go Batch 2007!

i did not spend my whole summer vacation thinking about my post-Pisay crisis (refer to my previous post). i was preoccupied for about a month because of Headstart, an academic advancement program given by Lantaka, a youth club and study center. Headstart aims to give sophomore and junior high school students a taste of the lessons they will learn for the incoming school year. i was invited to teach chemistry 1 to incoming sophomores.

i accepted this invitation to teach because this will give me the opportunity to improve and harness my teaching skills. i have developed a passion for teaching, and i have always dreamed of teaching at pisay after i graduate from college. so if i want to be a teacher someday, i have to act like one sooner or later to train myself.

well, things did not go as planned during Headstart. first, the day of election was unaccounted in making the schedules, and the schedule was fixed, giving me less time to teach everything. i had to readjust, so i had to teach for elongated periods everyday. second, our pace was much slower than what was planned, especially because i could not control my class. i admit to this being my greatest weakness in teaching. and i am still learning to impose more control on my students. this and a lot more factors resulted to my students learning less than half of the lessons in store.

this was the first time that i taught chemistry to anyone. so i admit that i know little on how to teach chemistry in the most efficient way. i know and admit that i did not give my 100% in teaching. and to that i apologize to my students.

but what do i get? a week after Headstart, there was a closed retreat. a co-teacher, eduard (also from pisay 2007) went to the retreat, including some other headstart students. he told me some students of mine that were also there spent some nights imitating me and my "mannerisms". (i didn't know if i had any.) so this is what i get after striving to make them learn. to be backstabbed and everything.

this is where i realized that i was struck by bad karma. last year, we made fun of one of my teacher's mannerisms, like "so that", "but then", "electron, order!", and so many more, behind her back. [her identity will be kept secret.] worse, we once tallied every mannerism that she says during class. we also made fun of her teachings because she said something like "negative times negative is negative", and so on. now, it's my turn to be made fun of during my back.

i reflected on this, and i realized that i was not appreciating how much the teachers spend many sleepless nights just trying to understand every concept that they are about to teach, making it easier for the students to understand. i did not appreciate how teachers strive to make their students learn. i felt ashamed by making fun of what they had spent so much time to prepare.

to those who backstabbed me and made fun of me, i hope you realize what you have done as i had. never make fun of your teachers. because you owe a lot to them. they have sacrificed everything just to make you learn, and i hope you appreciate their sacrifice, despite of their mistakes and mannerisms. and so i apologize to all the teachers that i had made fun of, especially that teacher which i mentioned. i have come a long way, thanks to all your efforts to push me forward.

(good luck and have a happy school year to those we have left in pisay. batch 2008, you have control of the school now. do your best. continue to uphold pisay's reputation.)