Category: Week 17

Makalipas ang isang semestre, napakarami kong natutunan na mga bagong kaalaman. Mapapang akademiko man yan o sa pang araw-araw na buhay. Sa ilang buwan sa aking pamamalagi sa UPLB, masasabi ko na tila nakagugulat nga ang buhay kolehiyo. Ibang iba ito sa aking nakagisnan, ito ang aking unang pagkakataon sa maraming mga bagay, tulad ng pagkalayo sa aking pamilya, magbudget at mag-isip ng mga pangangailangan ko sa pang araw araw. Higit pa rito, mas nasubok ang pagaayos at paghahawak ko ng aking oras. Dahil dito, marami akong mga nagawang pagkakamali at pagkukulang. Kahit na ganoon, marami parin naman akong natutunan mula sa maliliit na pagkakamaling ito. Kaya naman kung ako siguro ay tatanungin kung ano ang aking gustong sabihin sa aking sarili sa simula ng semestre, marahil itong mga salita ang aking sasabihin sa aking sarili.

Una, nais kong sabihin sa aking sarili na .

“Louisse tao ka, wag mo pahirapan ang sarili mo, hindi ka robot”.

Ang mga salitang ito ang madalas na naririnig ko sa aking mga kaibigan. Dahil sa paniniwala ko na gawin ang lahat ng mahusay, madalas ay sumusobra na ito. Halimbawa, may mga pagkakataong dalawang pahina lamang ang kinakailangan ngunit dahil sa aking kakulitan, inabot ako ng hanggang labing-apat na pahina. Ito ay dulot ng labis na pag-iisip kung sapat na ba ang aking nagawa o hindi pa.

Kaya naman, ito ang gusto ko sabihin sa aking sarili, maari namang gandahan at gawin ng mahusay ang gaawin ngunit, kaagapay sana nito ang pagkakaroon parin ng sapat na pahinga at alagaan mo ang iyong sarili.

Sunod ay

“Maniwala ka sa sarili mo, huwag ka matakot.”

“Pwedeng magkamali, di nakamamatay.”

 

“Lumabas ka sa comfort zone mo”

Pinagsama sama ko na ito sapagkat lahat naman ito ay may pagkakatulad at ito marahil ang mga bagay na medyo nahihirapan akong gawin. Kahit na marami naman akong bagay na kayang gawin, madalas ay natatabunan ito ng takot at pangamba dahil sa kung ano ang sasabihin ng iba sa aking mga ginagawa. Madalas akong natatakot na maging iba at gumawa ng bagay na hindi ko alam ang kahihitnan.

Kung gayon, nais kong sabihin sa aking sarili ang mga katagang iyan. Napagtanto ko na paano nga ba maniniwala ang ibang tao sa iyo kung ikaw mismo sa sarili mo hindi mo kayang paniwalaan ang mga kaya mong gawin. Huwag pangunahan ng takot dahil ang buhay ay parang gulong, hindi sa lahat ng oras nasa taas minsan kailangan bumababa para tumuloy ang ikot nito. Pwede rin magkamali kung minsan, hindi ka perpekto, tao ka lang rin naman.

Panghuli ay

“Focus lang”

Sa dami ng mga ginagawa, maraming deadlines at mga babasahin na dapat tapusin. Kaya, madalas mahirap magpokus. Kaya naman, Louisse, mahirap man pero focus lang, alalahanin mo lang kung bakit at para kanino kung bakit ka nandito. Tingin lang ng diretso, wag paligoy ligoy, wag tumingin sa mga bagay na maaring makagulo at wag mag-isip ng kung ano ano. Focus lang sa pangarap, focus lang.

Sa totoo lang, napakarami ko pang gustong sabihin sa aking sarili. Pero masasabi ko na kahit na ganoon, masaya ako sa kung ano ang tinatahak ko ngayon. Kahit napakakulit ko, napagtanto ko na hindi naman natatapos ang pagkakataon noong sinimulan ko ang kolehiyo. Pero may kasunod pa namang semestre upang mas pagbutihin ang mga bagay na dapat ayusin. Ang mahalaga may natutunan.

If I were to go back in time as if this sem was only a FREE TRIAL I would consider so many factors that I would love to change. I admit that I take this sem easily as if I’m just playing but it turns out it should not be treated that way. There are a lot of things I am not proud of during the first semester.

Here are my top five actions I would tell my freshie self to have a productive and meaningful semester. This is also my goals throughout my stay in UPLB excluding the first semester because it is not something to be proud of.

DO YOUR BEST, TAKE THINGS SERIOUSLY

First and foremost, you need to do your best on the first day! I should’ve said this to myself earlier so that I didn’t forget that I am studying in THE University of the Philippines. I should’ve taken into consideration that UP is not like other school that you can take easy. As the university’s saying goes: HONOR AND EXCELLENCE.

MANAGE TIME WISELY.

               As a student that loves procrastinating, I should manage my time wisely so that I can use my time as effective as possible. I should set clear goals and have discipline and prioritize the things that is important and do other works ahead of time to avoid cramming also to use time effectively.

DON’T ACT LIKE A KID, BE MATURE.

               Don’t take things lightly as if you’re not a college student, focus on your goals and in achieving it. Act as your age and know what to prioritize. You should always know when it’s time for jokes or if it is time to take it seriously.

FAILURE IS NORMAL.

               You shouldn’t degrade yourself even if you have a failing grade, there is always a next time, a time for improvement. You did your best and that is enough, you do not need to prove yourself to others. Your goal should be to impart knowledge, not to impress people nor to brag about your achievements. People have their strengths and weaknesses, maybe what you are good at is their weakness and vice versa. Failure will teach you what you did wrong so that next time you encounter the same obstacle you know what to do.

My first semester in the university was indeed one hell of a roller coaster ride. There were times when I just want to scream as loud as I can to release all the negative energy. I admit that all these that just happened was not what I expected it to be. I know for a fact that UP life is hard, but I didn’t know that it would be THIS hard. However, I still have no regrets, and for surviving, I congratulate myself.

To you Thresha at the beginning of first semester,

Do what you can do today.

I’m not saying that you should finish all your assignments already. What’s important is that you were able to at least start doing them so that when the deadline comes, you will not be pressuring yourself because of cramming and multitasking. If you feel tired to start anything, rest for a while and after that, go on with what you need to do.

Take care of your health.

Do not be hard-headed. Take the advice from your family and friends. Reduce your intake of softdrinks and junk foods for they are not good for your kidneys. Make sure to drink lots of water and get enough sleep.

Do not just keep everything to yourself.

You have a lot of people around you who cares about you. If you are feeling something heavy inside, go and tell them. Sharing your problems to someone may not solve everything but at least it will lessen the heaviness that you feel. Do not suffer alone.

Continue doing what makes you happy.

No matter what other people will say, if it makes you happy, there’s no turning back. Do not doubt yourself whether you are good enough or not. It’s your passion and no one should stop you from doing it. If it makes you happy, and as long as it does not affect your studies, trust me, you are doing the right thing.

Just be yourself.

You do not have to prove anything to anyone. I am already proud of you for being where you are now. Keep on fighting, Iska! You still have a long way to go.

Dr. strange used the time stone to peak through the future and go back in time. He also used it to see the 14, 000, 605 possible outcomes of their conflict with Thanos. What if I had the time stone? I would probably go back in time to talk to my first semester self.

14, 000, 605 pic.twitter.com/0r4tZRshz1

— rokkuri (@aubryannarosaaa) December 11, 2019

I’d tell first semester Aubrey to focus. That’s what I think that I’ve lacked on the first semester. I have not given enough focus on my academics because I was probably overwhelmed with the college life.

Second is, review as early as possible. I do not have the superpowers to memorize a whole lecture in one night.  Reviewing earlier will help me to learn the lessons easily because I would have more time to review.

pic.twitter.com/wBolGLaoDn

— rokkuri (@aubryannarosaaa) December 11, 2019

The third thing that I would tell first-sem-Aubrey is not to cram. For the love of your grades, just don’t. Yes, it may be true that cramming may cause some adrenaline rush, making your brain boost more thoughts/ creativities, but it is always better to do your things ahead of the due.

Unfortunately, I do not have the time stone. So, it will be a battle between me and the present and learn my mistakes from the past to improve my future in my academics.

To my old self that I’ve been longing for,

Remember the time in highschool you were awarded best in research, with high honors, and even passed the UP College Admission Test? You were jolly back then; I can see your smile and the excitement that you’ll get studying in the premier state university of the Philippines.

Everytime you imagine studying there you are filled with so much dreams and aspirations in life. You even wish to visit all the UP campuses all over the islands in the country.

But what happened to you now? I know you’re scared right at this point, anxious, disappointed, and down. Who killed those dreams of yours? Tell me, for I’ve been also longing for you all this time.

I have been searching my self every time because I’ve lost it when I started my journey. And I don’t know what happened, I don’t know where the shits came up and consume me even until now.

Hey self, if you ever read this letter in the past, please do something for me in the present. Follow these advices I will keep to you; promise me you’ll be better for the future.

First. The secret to college is genuinely listening. Do everything you can to make sure you capture 100% of the lesson to avoid being left behind. Even if it means having to type a transcript of what your prof is saying just so you can keep up with the explanations, do it. The more lessons you have, the greater chances of passing or even getting a higher remark.

Second. It’s only you from the start. You entered UP by yourself, and it’s only you who you can depend on. Yes, you’ll have friends, orgs, or tropas, but at the end of the day, the real battle will be only for yourself. It is not being selfish or stopping you from socializing with them, what I’m trying to say is, the only person that can help you, boost you, and strengthen you is yourself. Life here is a survival, you’ll experience many failures and stepping ahead independently is a must.

Third. The ground is bigger and competitive. The game changes completely in college in more ways than you’ll ever expect. I remember my prof in one of my class told me, “you excel in your high school years because it’s only a small pond, here in UP we have a great sea full of bigger fishes”. You’ll meet many smart and amazing people that you’ll feel small whenever you’re with them. BUT that’s okay, this is only your freshman year and you still have time to adjust and years to excel in your chosen field. Just remember, learn to humble yourself and work harder than you ever have.

Fourth. UP is hard and dead serious. In junior high school and senior high school, you can get a passing or high grade just by attending class and completing the requirements. In UP, this is a game of the smartest and skillful. Anyone who is intelligent and talented will stand out. Those who remain mediocre will be only at the bottom.

Fifth. There are lots of unique and amazing students in UP. This is the mirror of the real world, you’ll meet extremely liberal people, people who dress differently, people who openly criticize God and, basically every kind of person you’re not used to being around. Hold back on judgments and give everyone a chance. This culture shock because of differences was only in the start, they can be your friends too.

I know you’re trying your best, self, and I know you have that fire in your heart to succeed in everything you want. Just keep going and show them what you’ve got. I know you can do it. I always believe in you.

Remember all the people that are always there for you, the dreams you’ve made when you were still a kid, and the experiences that made you stronger, hold on to them. Padayon Isko! Padayon.

Love, Christian.

“This moment requires focus. Before you can focus on the future, you have to focus on the now.” This line is from the commercial of Stephen Curry, an NBA player. I can relate the line to studying in UPLB because as the line say, I need to focus and think about the present before the future, which I think I failed. If I will have the opportunity to give advice to myself, I will tell him the things that he should do so that he will finish the semester better than what I did before.

Sleep right.

This is the most important part of all the tips. Sleeping will not only make you feel energized before doing school works, but it will also help you maintain your body health so that you will be in good shape in attending classes. There will be nights that you are sleepless but you need to cope and adjust yourself to sleep even a bit. It may be painful to wake up immediately after sleeping with incomplete hours but at least your body will have some energy later because you rested.

Make friends.

If they do not thought of talking to you, then you should try and talk to them. Without friends, you will be moving forward slower than everyone. Most of the courses taught encourage you to interact with others, so why not try that?

Be industrious.

Work with assignments, projects, and activities given to you as soon as they are given. Do not let your tasks to pile up. It will just make you fully exhausted in working everything in one day or less.

Fix your things.

Reading and doing school works will be easier if you have a neat and tidy place. Arrange your things properly so that you can work efficiently. Do not choose on fixing them later because in the end you will always be procrastinating in doing that.

Avoid distractions and too much leisure time.

You will face a time after long hours of doing school works, you will decide to rest a bit for a while. Just be careful because it might affect your time for more important things. Do not let yourself forget that you have other things to do after relaxing.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e3J3H3FZnMNUK-Prfc_DH6PuHdsmcrgR

As the first semester is coming to an end, I want to say that it has been a rollercoaster hell of a ride. As someone who was shocked on how UP works out, I’ve committed a lot of mistakes because I was new to the environment and I need to cope up with things.

With that, here are my top five things that I want to say to my old self for me to have a smooth semester ahead. This will also serve as a reminder for me to the upcoming semesters that I will be facing during my stay here in the university.

Learn to assess things, learn how to say no.

I was exposed to a world full of endless of possibilities. There are many opportunities that was presented on my table and I took them all. There are certain points in my life that I became very exhausted due to that my extra-curricular commitments were happening at the same timeframe, plus I need to deal with my academic demands.

With that in mind, I should learn how to assess things soundly before I will give my ‘yes’ to someone. I need to solve my own problem regarding impulsivity with the succeeding semesters to come due to the fact that once you’ve committed yourself into something, it is hard to back out.

Don’t be afraid of failures.

As a consistent academic achiever and an active org person in the past years, I became very afraid of failures in my university life. All of the eyes of my family members are on me due to the fact that I am in UP, and also, they have high hopes for me in the future. So my mind tells me that I should be fooling around things. However, despite of the fact that I did my best and poured all of my efforts into something, I think my best wasn’t good enough.

To give you an example, I got a failing mark in my first long exam ever in my UP journey, and I cried a lot because never in my life that I got a failing grade for an exam. I never felt so inferior that time. However, as days gone by, I take that as a motivation to still push forward on things and I redeemed myself from that subject.

We shouldn’t always connotate failures into bad things. Some failures are igniting a spark to improve something from your self. Think of it as a slap of reality, and for me that is indeed a good thing.

Use your time wisely.

I became used to the idea of procrastination since I was in high school and my first semester of dealing things here in UP was not exempted. Because of my fixation to cramming, when the deadline of an academic requirement is fast approaching, I’m always pressured and stressed out. Instead of sticking up to my intended schedules, I sometimes cancel out what should be needed to dealt with that time. For example, instead of socializing with my friends, I just allocated my time to cram my papers.

Time is precious here in the university and it needs to be spent productively. Every lost minute will have an impact to your academic and social life. Yes, it will be hard to get away with your habits, but think of the long lasting consequences of the unproductive use of time.

Take care of your health.

Whenever I went back to my city, my friends, and my former teachers always said that I lost weight after I went to UP to study. They were shocked on my changes, but my parents were the most worried because I was rushed to the emergency room last April because of a sever heart ache I endured. The doctors told that I should rest whenever I’ve been into a stressful situation and eat healthy. However, I sometimes still pulled out all-nighters and skip meals.

You shouldn’t be abusing your body. Don’t wait for an another emergency room situation.

Love yourself.

I never been so lonely in the past few months here in UP. Because of that, my quest to seek happiness drove me to an abyss of things that I know I will regret for years. Before you should channel out your love to others, you need to make sure that you love yourself first. No one will love you more than yourself. Cling yourself with those people that you trust so that you have a strong foundation to love yourself more.