It's been a century since the University of the Philippines was created (June 18).
Thank God that it still exists!
Why? Because my alma mater, my beloved UP ...
... provided me with a very good education! We did not have the finances to go to private schools. Thank God I was able to enter Diliman!
... trained me to be independent. Students are not spoon-fed. You learn how to find answers. Yes, you get bonus points for being present in class but the important thing is the result. Show that you learned something. Make sure you submit the requirements. Pass the exams. Research has become my middle name.
... gave me access to a big treasure's trove of books! I devoured the books of Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Shakespeare, etc. Patiently, I went up the stairs of the Main Library to borrow books from the CAL section. I did this almost weekly! I discovered and lived in far-off worlds. My vocabulary grew. I learned to take care of books! (most are already brown!)
... allowed me to meet different kinds of people. Rich and poor. Kikay and simple. Genius or just normal. Filipino or foreign. Girls and guys in long skirts, pants or mini-shorts. Sosyal or provincial accent. It was a useful orientation to a world I would later on enter, a world of diversity.
... made me think. Analyze how language changes. Learn about the role of women in politics. Understand how grammar rules work. Study the economics of society. From Voltraire, Socrates, St. Aquinas, to Rousseau, Camus, Nancy Reagan, Alex Magno and Rizal. They all helped form my mind.
... gave me good friends and mentors. Many of them I no longer see or are in other parts of the world. I am still thankful though for the times we watched movies, laughed together at the tambayan, shared food at CASAA, grilled the applicants of organizations, crammed overnight for projects and exams, fell in line to get a subject or pay our tuition fee, xeroxed readings, etc.
I cannot list the so many, many more forgettable and unforgettable events. All I wanted to do is to thank God, I was able to study in UP!
Fight UP! Fight!
