college,
I’m in my fourth (and final!) year at Diliman now, and I realize now that I didn’t choose the easy road I thought I did when I chose UP -- it’s been a roller coaster three years for me, to put it mildly. But I also realized that college, especially at UP, is when your classes teach you so much more than academics -- it’s a preview for the real world where you’re free to make mistakes and learn in the process.
So what have I learned from my mistakes? A lot more than I ever expected.
1. Academics matter. Whatever anyone says about grades not being the only basis for intelligence or achievement, at the end of the day they matter. Don’t devote every waking hour to making sure you get an uno or don’t forsake actual learning for high grades, but don’t take your classes for granted either. It’s all about balance because the freedom of college allows for so many distractions. You are in this university to learn to the best of your abilities — grades being a concept forced upon students does not give you the right to completely disregard them. Remember that most of your tuition is paid for by the Filipino people, majority of whom can’t even afford to send their own children to school even if they work their entire lives. I’m sure UPIS teachers tell you this all the time, because it’s true. So while grades may not be the only way to measure how much you’ve learned, they are one of the many ways.
2. It’s important to have a work ethic. It’s very hard to juggle acads, extra-curriculars and “real life,” especially during hell week. If you think high school exam weeks were difficult, think again -- it’s not called hell week for nothing. The “whatever I’ll just do it the morning of” attitude you and I adapted in high school is not going to work in college. Trust me, I know. I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve never crammed, because I have — I spent an entire semester studying Japanese during my morning theory classes because the theory readings took entire evenings to read and the class itself was the only “free time” I had. But my point is, that semester taught me how to manage my time. While I would never recommend studying for another subject in class -- I myself would never do it again -- I do think figuring out how you work best will be very beneficial in college. Are you the type who works best under pressure? Are you OC? Are you ridiculously punctual? Figuring these things out will help you put some order into all that juggling you’ll be doing for the next four years and will hopefully keep everything from crashing down.
3. You cannot control everything. S*** happens. College will have it’s bad days to go with all the great ones, but those are all learning experiences you should take one at a time as they come. There will be times when you can’t see any endings any time soon, especially at the start of hell weeks when you look at everything piled up and just want to sleep through it but personally, those were the experiences I learned the most from. Not just acads-wise, if you get into messy relationships — boys, girls, friends, whatever (and you most probably will) — most of the time all the problems will come pouring in at the same time. What I learned from those instances though is that there are times when you need to step up, and there are times when you just need to let things run their course. This was a very hard concept for me to grasp because I’m a type A, OC, over thinking control-freak, but college managed to teach even me to chill once in a while.
4. College is a clean slate. I say this as someone who was a super wallflower, relatively okay but not stellar student, and more awkward than awkward during high school. I even have the FB photos to prove it! In my second year of college I lost a ton of weight (50 pounds at least), started dressing the way I wanted to, and was taking subjects I genuinely enjoyed — I was a lot happier, and I think it showed. It may not have been an ugly duckling to swan transformation because I’m not exactly a swan, but it taught me that most people don’t really care if you were cool or not in high school — they care about what kind of person you are now, in college. And not in terms of looks or anything, but in terms of how you carry yourself and what you can bring to the table. So if you were a wallflower like me in high school, college is your clean slate. And if you think you did okay in high school, then college is the chance to keep proving yourself.
5. Take classes you actually enjoy. One of the reasons why I hated high school was because I hated math and science. I did okay, but I’m the type of student who will do well if I know I can do well — and I just didn’t have the math or science gene. When college came around of course I still needed 15 units of math and science, but what’s that compared to four years of comparative literature, Japanese, humanities and social science requirements — majority of which I genuinely enjoyed. I would’ve majored in Economics if it weren’t for the heavy math, because I like the analytical aspect, (I really liked 4th year high school econ!) but I know that given my strengths and weaknesses CL was the right choice because it has allowed me to enjoy school one way or another. In college you have the (relative) freedom to choose, so take advantage of that to enjoy what you do. And if you’re stuck in a major you’re not head-over-heels for, that’s what GEs and free electives are for!
6. Figure out what you want to do in the near future. When I entered UP I thought I had my entire life planned out. One year in, that plan changed. The next year it changed again to something more plausible because freshie me wanted to rule the music industry after graduation, whatever that meant. But the point I want to make is that these goals are good, and it’s okay if they change. My goals — becoming a professional music critic, getting jobs at this place and that— were what kept me going during hell weeks and the many existential crises I went though. At least once a semester, without fail, I find myself asking why I chose my major and doubting myself, thinking that I’m not actually any good at it. Then I remember what I want to do, what I want to become, and why I chose my major in the first place. Many times this is the only motivation you will have, because professors will demand more than you think you’re capable of, friends and classmates will be just as stressed out as you are, and you’ll be forced to fend for yourself. They don’t have to be big goals, they can be as immediate as goals for tomorrow — but you need something to aim for, otherwise what are you in college for?
Looking back I’m glad I made those mistakes, that I was allowed the chance to do so, that I made and learned from them in UP. It’s true what they say about college being an almost life-changing experience, whatever school you’re in. / by Nicole Rivera, Associate Editor (English), MC 2 2011
Feature (Submission): Lessons College Has Taught Me
Back in grade 10 I was fortunate enough to have a choice of where to go for college -- I qualified for similar courses in UP Diliman and Ateneo and although my parents had their preference, ultimately it was up to me to decide. It was difficult, but to cut the long story short I chose UP -- chaotic, frustrating system, tough acads and all -- over the orderly, privileged, and more or less equally academically-strong Ateneo. Coming from eleven years at UPIS, I chose UP because it was familiar to me. I’d been at UP all my life so it wouldn’t be hard to adjust to college life, right?I’m in my fourth (and final!) year at Diliman now, and I realize now that I didn’t choose the easy road I thought I did when I chose UP -- it’s been a roller coaster three years for me, to put it mildly. But I also realized that college, especially at UP, is when your classes teach you so much more than academics -- it’s a preview for the real world where you’re free to make mistakes and learn in the process.
So what have I learned from my mistakes? A lot more than I ever expected.
1. Academics matter. Whatever anyone says about grades not being the only basis for intelligence or achievement, at the end of the day they matter. Don’t devote every waking hour to making sure you get an uno or don’t forsake actual learning for high grades, but don’t take your classes for granted either. It’s all about balance because the freedom of college allows for so many distractions. You are in this university to learn to the best of your abilities — grades being a concept forced upon students does not give you the right to completely disregard them. Remember that most of your tuition is paid for by the Filipino people, majority of whom can’t even afford to send their own children to school even if they work their entire lives. I’m sure UPIS teachers tell you this all the time, because it’s true. So while grades may not be the only way to measure how much you’ve learned, they are one of the many ways.
2. It’s important to have a work ethic. It’s very hard to juggle acads, extra-curriculars and “real life,” especially during hell week. If you think high school exam weeks were difficult, think again -- it’s not called hell week for nothing. The “whatever I’ll just do it the morning of” attitude you and I adapted in high school is not going to work in college. Trust me, I know. I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve never crammed, because I have — I spent an entire semester studying Japanese during my morning theory classes because the theory readings took entire evenings to read and the class itself was the only “free time” I had. But my point is, that semester taught me how to manage my time. While I would never recommend studying for another subject in class -- I myself would never do it again -- I do think figuring out how you work best will be very beneficial in college. Are you the type who works best under pressure? Are you OC? Are you ridiculously punctual? Figuring these things out will help you put some order into all that juggling you’ll be doing for the next four years and will hopefully keep everything from crashing down.
3. You cannot control everything. S*** happens. College will have it’s bad days to go with all the great ones, but those are all learning experiences you should take one at a time as they come. There will be times when you can’t see any endings any time soon, especially at the start of hell weeks when you look at everything piled up and just want to sleep through it but personally, those were the experiences I learned the most from. Not just acads-wise, if you get into messy relationships — boys, girls, friends, whatever (and you most probably will) — most of the time all the problems will come pouring in at the same time. What I learned from those instances though is that there are times when you need to step up, and there are times when you just need to let things run their course. This was a very hard concept for me to grasp because I’m a type A, OC, over thinking control-freak, but college managed to teach even me to chill once in a while.
4. College is a clean slate. I say this as someone who was a super wallflower, relatively okay but not stellar student, and more awkward than awkward during high school. I even have the FB photos to prove it! In my second year of college I lost a ton of weight (50 pounds at least), started dressing the way I wanted to, and was taking subjects I genuinely enjoyed — I was a lot happier, and I think it showed. It may not have been an ugly duckling to swan transformation because I’m not exactly a swan, but it taught me that most people don’t really care if you were cool or not in high school — they care about what kind of person you are now, in college. And not in terms of looks or anything, but in terms of how you carry yourself and what you can bring to the table. So if you were a wallflower like me in high school, college is your clean slate. And if you think you did okay in high school, then college is the chance to keep proving yourself.
5. Take classes you actually enjoy. One of the reasons why I hated high school was because I hated math and science. I did okay, but I’m the type of student who will do well if I know I can do well — and I just didn’t have the math or science gene. When college came around of course I still needed 15 units of math and science, but what’s that compared to four years of comparative literature, Japanese, humanities and social science requirements — majority of which I genuinely enjoyed. I would’ve majored in Economics if it weren’t for the heavy math, because I like the analytical aspect, (I really liked 4th year high school econ!) but I know that given my strengths and weaknesses CL was the right choice because it has allowed me to enjoy school one way or another. In college you have the (relative) freedom to choose, so take advantage of that to enjoy what you do. And if you’re stuck in a major you’re not head-over-heels for, that’s what GEs and free electives are for!
6. Figure out what you want to do in the near future. When I entered UP I thought I had my entire life planned out. One year in, that plan changed. The next year it changed again to something more plausible because freshie me wanted to rule the music industry after graduation, whatever that meant. But the point I want to make is that these goals are good, and it’s okay if they change. My goals — becoming a professional music critic, getting jobs at this place and that— were what kept me going during hell weeks and the many existential crises I went though. At least once a semester, without fail, I find myself asking why I chose my major and doubting myself, thinking that I’m not actually any good at it. Then I remember what I want to do, what I want to become, and why I chose my major in the first place. Many times this is the only motivation you will have, because professors will demand more than you think you’re capable of, friends and classmates will be just as stressed out as you are, and you’ll be forced to fend for yourself. They don’t have to be big goals, they can be as immediate as goals for tomorrow — but you need something to aim for, otherwise what are you in college for?
Looking back I’m glad I made those mistakes, that I was allowed the chance to do so, that I made and learned from them in UP. It’s true what they say about college being an almost life-changing experience, whatever school you’re in. / by Nicole Rivera, Associate Editor (English), MC 2 2011
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