MILESTONE

Graduation day.

It was the day we've all been waiting for. Suddenly my constant whining about school stuff and about how sleep-deprived I was during my five years of college became nothing when compared to this. March 25, 2009 was definitely well worth the wait. :]

On the day that marks a great milestone on my simple life

I remember feeling like something has come to an end. After all, going to school was something I've done for seventeen years, I was happy, relieved, excited and hopeful. This marked the end of getting up in the mornings to put on our white and green uniform, it marked the end of our fifteen minute walk from the entrance of the university to our college building. It marked the end of countless problem sets, laboratory reports and exams. It marked the end of lunch with my closest friends at the canteen then in the student's lounge, huddled together in our group sharing stories, laughing and most of the time cramming for assignments and quizzes until the bell rang. It marked the end of our barkada bonding after class, our movie dates, shopping with the girls or patiently waiting for the boys while they bask in on computer games. This marked the end of my 5 minute- powder break turned 15 minutes chikahan session with the girls in the CR while the boys wait by the door; I will never forget their exasperated what-took-you-so-long looks when we finally had the urge to come out. :]]

I will surely miss my dearest friends and the rest of the ECE 51. They are the very reason why I still look forward to going to school everyday despite the very heavy workload that awaits us each day and a serious form of fatigue that goes along with it. It sucks that the two belonged to a single package.

I will definitely miss my professors, and I will always be grateful to them for giving us the benefit of their wisdom.

The most important lesson I've learned isn't about the stuff I learned from textbooks or laboratory experiments or from the long hours of sitting in class. It is the lesson I've learned through meeting the people who touched my heart.. and still do until now! :]]

What Pays Off?

I:
officially became on vacay! a week ago.
wanted to blog weeks ago but kept procrastinating because I know this entry is going to be looooong.
and most importantly..
I:
got pass thesis and case study and pre-board exams!
am graduating on March 25!
am finally done with school for good. :)

Here's a rundown of the important events that happened while I was taking a Blog-leave.


February 6: Final Defense

The original schedule was at 8'o clock in the morning but at 8.30 we were still 2 panelists short and our thesis adviser was nowhere to be found. Luckily, we managed to find the right substitute for the panelist who called in sick and even though we started late, everything went smoothly as I hoped. We passed with minor revisions on the paper.

Minor revisions and more than a thousand bond papers later...



February 26&27: Pre-board Examinations

These were the 2 days everybody was dreading. You're lucky if you have good history on the previous comprehensive exams, but if you don't (like me and everybody else), the pre-board exams were clearly a matter of life and death. It sucks that these two days can put your chances of graduating on time in jeopardy. And unfortunately, for most of us, it did.

March 2: THE Results.

At around 4 in the afternoon, we were asked to enter the Dean's office one at a time for the dreaded results. At that moment, we were immediately branded into two. Those who passed and those who did not. Immediate relief awaited those who passed while sadness and disappointment greeted those who did not. During that time, I just felt that I can't be happy, it's enough that I am relieved for most of my dearest friends passed too. But seeing those people who cried because they didn't make it , even those I don't even know and haven't spoken to during my five years of college was heart breaking enough. I reserved my happiness for later and tried to comfort as many people as I can, especially those who are my friends. It's very hard to see them like that. I mean, we all did not sign up for this pre-board thing. How can they just drop a bomb like that thinking that everybody can handle it just fine. We were working on our thesis, doing internship and case study and we still have academic subjects, for Christ's sake! It's easy for them to say that all we need to do is study hard for the pre-board but I don't think anyone can be fully prepared especially if he has to juggle everything else on one hand including the fear of not graduating on time. Yes, it was easy for them to say that all we needed was to study hard, but I don't think they even thought about the pressure they were inflicting. And if they were in our shoes, I doubt that they could handle it.

March 6: First job interview.

This was a funny experience. I can't believe I did not take this seriously. I did not even think about the things that they might ask and how I should answer. I didn't even cracked an Electronics book open to prepare for the technical exam. It didn't even cross my mind. I just accepted their invitation, (I was lucky I was among the 6 people who passed their first exam) sent them my resume via email, then went to my first job interview unprepared. Hahah!
My excuse?
My mind was already in vacay! mode that time. And I'm not planning to land a job immediately, I still have the actual Board Exam to prepare for.
At least now I know what to expect for my next job interview. And I learned a lot of lessons, believe me. :)

March 7. Senior's Night: Black and White Party.

My friends and I are not exactly the type who go to events like this especially if the Student Council organized it. It's not that we have anything against them, it's just we think there are better things to do. Always.
But the Senior's Night was an exemption. After all, this was for us seniors. And we just couldn't miss the chance to be together in a Black and White Party. We are about to separate ways, so this may not happen again.


However, one bad thing about school events is that they always have a curfew. It was not even long after we got into party mode that the organizers were already calling the night off. It was a good thing we had a back up plan. It was a road trip to Tagaytay plus partying and dancing until 4am. :]]

So what if wearing heels sucked big time? I was just too happy that we were together.

So, what pays off? Patience and hardwork pay off. And love of friends pays off too. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if college life has been difficult, at least I have them. And I intend on keeping them, for good. :)