Life is a journey. And in each stop overs we do, we touch
someone’s life, meet friends and take along with us memories that we will
treasure as we continue to move on. Human beings are nomads. We travel
continuously. Searching for a place where we feel we belong.
One such journey ended twenty five years ago, my college
days. It ended before I even had the chance to cherish the moments and capture
the memories that I have been intending to keep.
Twenty five years ago, I left the portals of my Alma
Mater with one goal in mind: to change the world. It was a spine tingling
moment the first time I wore my graduation toga. There were butterflies in my
stomach when our school president ordered us, “Tussles to the right”. Then came
the rain of our graduation cap. When I left the portals of Sacred Heart
College, I never looked back. I wanted to change the world, immediately.
But, when I walked the last few steps to the main gate,
memories came rushing back at me.
The wild chase to submit our practice sets. The happy go
lucky attitude knowing that as college students, I am responsible for my
education. That every quizzes and exams will reflect on my grades which will
reflect on my standing, which will reflect on my job hunting prospects.
But being young and free, I didn’t care. I was enjoying
the newfound freedom that accompanied being a college student. Not young
anymore, but not an adult as well.
Friends call my school as a “bulokis” school. But again,
I didn’t care. For in this school, I found acceptance. I found true friends. I
found my self- worth.
Within the walls, I gained the option to become who and
what I wanted to become. There were few and fleeting moments when I felt I
cannot go on, but the drive to have my own identity beckoned.
Sacred Heart College gave me that rare opportunity to be
who I am, not someone other people wanted me to become. I entered this school
as a sign of protest when I wasn’t allowed to pursue my dream of becoming an
engineer and study in Manila. But that protest turned to be an opportunity to
be who I really wanted to be.
SHC taught me to be self-reliant. To depend on no one
except myself. It was a dog eat dog world when I faced the rat race, but I was
amply equipped with necessary tools to survive the race.
SHC taught me to get to know my Redeemer. Some say it was
a waste of units, but the real test and usage of what I learned from those
“unnecessary units” came when I faced the corporate world. Being a banker then
gave me access to all the client’s and bank’s resources. But tempting as it may
sound, SHC solidly built in me that trait that trust and honor far stood
important than any riches in the world.
There are so many treasured memories I have in college.
Most of my true and close friends I met in college.
I guess, quarter of a century later, their mission
statement still holds true to this very day.
