Sa wakas! Senior ka na!

It's UPCAT Season once again! And I've been getting a lot of hits for "UPCAT Tips". So I'm posting another piece I wrote for my org's survival kits for high school students in its CEER.

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Sa wakas! Senior year na! Surely, you were so looking forward to this school year. Bakit naman hindi diba? Kahit sumingit ka sa pila sa canteen, walang mag-rereklamo. At kahit pinakahuli kang dumating sa service, sa may pinto ka pa rin makakaupo. Kung ikaw pa ang pinakasiga, sa may harapan ka pa laging nakapuwesto. You get the prime roles during co-curricular activities. Mas malamang kesa hindi, ikaw pa ang Champion sa Intrams. At sa gabi ng prom, ikaw ang pinaka-maganda / gwapo. In short, ikaw ang bida at boss ng campus.

But, like Uncle Ben said, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. With more and better perks, comes more and harder requirements and duties. Not to mention greater expectations. Andyan ang mas pinahirap na algebra at trigo; makikilala mo na si Engels, Smith at Marx; magiging idol mo si Newton; not to mention ang iyong sort-of thesis, atbp. Kamusta ka naman diba? Idagdag mo pa ang mga iba’t ibang entrance examinations at career orientation. You are practically driving into a rotunda of your life. Whichever avenue you turn to (ie, the course and school you’ll choose) will practically define the rest of your life. Kaya naman, there should be no room for mistakes. No pressure, right?

Your last year in high school is definitely a turning point in your life. It should be the best year of your high school life. Nasa iyo na yan if you’ll make the most and best out of it. If there’s a year where you can be yourself with the least inhibitions, it should be your senior year. Without breaking the school rules naman ha. Don’t make too many enemies din. If you want to change for the better, start now. Keep in mind that your reputation until you graduate to your peers will stick until you start your own families. Unless, of course, if you’re the type who’d still see each other in college and thereafter. Come to think of it, when batchmates whom you never talked to come across your yearbook and see your page, they’ll will think: ‘ah eto yung school snub nung high school!’ I'm sure you’d prefer ‘eto yung laging naka-smile at very friendly’ diba?

Siguro di ka na rin makahintay to get out of high school. You can't wait to get out of the clutches of your principal’s rules. You can't wait for college where you’ll have more freedom. Pero, the thought of you and your barkada going to different schools probably makes you anxious. You’ve been with them all these years of growing up from being kids to being adolescents tapos ngayon ay magkakahiwalay na kayo. Oh well, talagang ganyan. Kahit naman sino na-feel ang nafi-feel mo ngayon.

At the end of the day, eto lang ang ma-aadvise namin sa iyo: enjoy your senior year or should I say the rest of your high school life. What they say is true: that you won't feel the importance of something until you lose it. Feeling mo, ang 8 months to your March graduation is too long for a wait. Subalit ngunit datapwat, pustahan tayo, come January, kung hindi lang importante ang magkaroon ng high school diploma, you wouldn’t want to get out of high school. By this time, you feel like you're having the time of your life. Feel na feel mo na ang pagiging Senior. More so, while you still can get a perfect score sa quizzes kahit nung lunch break ka lang nagbasa ng El Fili, seize the chance! Dahil malay mo, pagdating ng college, kahit mag-sunog ka pa ng kilay, babagsak ka pa rin. While you still always have the weekends for gimiks, treasure all those free time. When you’re in college, free time to just rest is already in itself a valuable treasure. Siguro ngayon, halos i-fast forward mo ang oras para makatuntong ka na sa college. Easy ka lang. Dahil believe me, kapag nasa college ka na, the freedom you were yearning for will make you wish that you were back in high school, where you have nice teachers to tell you what to do.

Di mo ba napansin na your teachers are always telling you to learn to be more independent as preparation for college? Kesyo you’ll experience the ‘real world’ daw when you’re in college. It’s absolutely true, except for the fact that the ‘real world’ is always the next level. Sa college naman, the ‘real world’ is the professional world, where you’ll have to earn a living for yourself. In short, kanya-kanyang oras lang iyan. Lahat ng ito ay kailangan pagdaanan, dahil lahat ng experiences natin sa bawat stage ay magagamit natin sa susunod na level. Magsaya ka habang nasa high school ka. Pero syempre, don’t neglect your studies dahil may effect ang grades sa magiging course at university mo. Don’t worry, pasasaan at ga-graduate at magiging college student ka rin.