The Class 2018 - Vol.63

VOLUME 63 NO.1

VOLUME 63 NUMBER 1 | JUNE 2018

JUNE 2018

THESPECTRUM FO U N DE D 1956

facebook.com/thespectrumusls thespectrum.usls@gmail.com VOLUME 63 NUMBER 1 · JUNE 2018 Joshua Martin P. Guanco EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Katherine E. Co ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Victoria Marian B. Belmis MANAGING EDITOR

Robert H. Jerge III EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR

NEWSPAPER EDITOR Starlene Joy B. Portillo MAGAZINE EDITOR Hezron G. Pios ONLINE PUBLICATIONS EDITOR Martini M. Falco LITERARY EDITOR Alvin Brian S. Legario PHOTOS AND VIDEOS EDITOR Mariano O. Javier ASST. PHOTOS AND VIDEOS EDITOR Ena Louise P. Apelo LAYOUT AND GRAPHICS EDITOR Glen Jed J. Descutido

NEWSPAPER WRITER Christiana Claudia G. Gancayco ONLINE WRITERS Ida Sarena M. Gabaya

Charlene Marie D. Lim Maria Angeline M. Mayor LITERARY WRITER Chad Martin Z. Natividad PHOTOJOURNALIST Nicci Bernelle D. Aguilar VIDEOGRAPHER Kyle Jyrax D. Sevilla ILLUSTRATORS Karen D. Panganiban Andrea Danielle A. Gamboa WEB ADMINISTRATOR Keanu Kent B. Gargar EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Keanu Joseph P. Rafil PUBLICATION MODERATOR

Jean Lee C. Patindol The Spectrum is the Official Student Media Corps of the University of St. La Salle. Its editorial office is located at the USLS Student Activity Center, La Salle Ave., Bacolod City, Negros Occidental 6100; it can be reached through the telephone number, (034) 432-1187 local 172 and e-mail address, thespectrum.usls@gmail.com. All rights reserved. No part of The Spectrum may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Media Corps. All contributions become The Spectrum property and the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to edit all articles for publication.

All of my life, I have thought of pauses as nuisances to the very low of time. In essence, life is realistically linear— it never stops moving forward. It will low for as long as time continues to sponge age in this corporeal vessel of ours. But why do certain moments require a temporary stoppage? For in reality, it is like a paradox, leeting from our senses with the probability of never returning again.

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To be wonderstruck is to temporarily withhold time, all the while basking in the glory brought about by our naivety, like a child seeing ireworks for the irst time.

To be wonderstruck is to suspend all judgment just to taste food that has never brushed your tongue before. To be wonderstruck is to ignore the ticks of seconds passing by as your mind processes the height of the jump you’re about to take, all the while admiring the cerulean mystique of the ocean that is going to catch you. To be wonderstruck is to begin again; to regress back to naivety and expose your senses to all the awe you’ve had on your irst-time experience.

I have come to the point in my life when I realize: time waits for no one. That is why we all eventually grow up and biologically age. However, despite its straightforwardness, time still gives us a leeway to pause certain moments of our lives in order for us to fully appreciate it—to be wonderstruck by these very ephemeral fragments of human experience. And now, I don’t view them as nuisances anymore, but as blessings, a means of savouring the joys and wonders in this fast-moving continuum called ‘life’.

Leave the pauses to the non-wonderers and continue being wonderstruck, my friend.

JOSHUA MARTIN P. GUANCO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

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KATHERINE CO ASSOCIATE EDITOR

MARIAN BELMIS MANAGING EDITOR

ROBERT JERGE III EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR

Hearing HAIM’s Falling, I’d always feel like lying, and maybe a little soft-mad dancing, and lost in an extremely good way.

I wake up every day, wondering about how every day, A wakes up in a different body in Every Day.

1776 by David McCullough.

STARLENE PORTILLO NEWSPAPER EDITOR

HEZRON PIOS MAGAZINE EDITOR

MARTINI FALCO ONLINE PUBLICATIONS EDITOR

ALVIN LEGARIO LITERARY EDITOR

Harry Potter. Always.

For more than a year, Sia’s House On Fire still blazes in a mode akin to passion: destructive but illuminating.

Cherry Wine by Hozier.

I’m still hungover from the masterpiece that is Three Idiots. That ilm is single-handedly the reason why I chose engineering.

MARIANO JAVIER PHOTOS + VIDEOS EDITOR

ENA LOUISE APELO ASST. PHOTOS + VIDEOS EDITOR

JED DESCUTIDO LAYOUT + GRAPHICS EDITOR

KEANU RAFIL EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

How to Get Away with Murder, because it amazes me how they can ind solutions to the problems even if it seems impossible.

Himizu—I was as delighted as the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

It quite annoyed me at irst but as soon as I learned about its slick lyricism, I was nadarang by Shanti Dope’s Nadarang.

I listened to Lavender Kiss by The Licks while on a ride bound to Siquijor—hits right in the chest.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY: KEANU RAFIL | JUN RUZZEL DESTUA | DALE GUGUDAN | ENA LOUISE APELO | KYLE JYRAX SEVILLA | MARIANO JAVIER | STARLENE PORTILLO | JOWAN GUIDES

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Two suspended igures stupefy your vision. The water’s lush, greener, pivotal. Petals bloom in sterling hues, arrayed as if they were sparkles. In here, there’s only a threshold of awe.

This plane of existence trances in a slow tempo. It is a haven both perplexing and novel. It is where statis and submergence congeal synergy.

Thus, tether yourself on the course of the stream. Float as if you can sink in the same breath.

You’re at par with repose, unhinged from rotes—just like them.

Reality’s off the grid, and changes depend on your volition.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

MARIA ANGELICA APE LYLE JOHN BALANA ADRIENNE CARL CALVO ANDREA NICOLE FAROL IAN KRISTOFFER GA

CEDRIC LANCE MILITAR SHARA MAE PELAYO SETH PULLONA IRIS DENISE RIVERA

A strange occurrence seems like a lightning strike: impulsive, sensual, and with monumental impact. Its split-second sight warrants a sense of stupor and one guiltlessly revels in it. When there’s too much light, and too less caution, surmising something beyond becomes laborious. Thus, reaction enters.

Even if the cache of possibilities were thoroughly explained through a crash course, nobody would be fully interested. The ardor towards the unexpected is just intact: wheezing wind, a chorus of lilting frogs, and a shorthand prayer for defense. You no longer fathom the bizarre event as an act of logic or Mother Nature. Instead, you disengage. You liken the scheme to a surreal body of work.

So, dear you, isn’t that an exhilarating concept? By means of openness, any design of wonder is branded, is unapologetically experienced, by you and you alone. When the next lightning strike hits, anticipate it with glee. Note to yourself its onceness—and that should be enough.

----The Spectrum would like to thank our dazzling cover models, Denli and Thea, for exhibiting the marvel they can mass in spite of the shoot being menaced by afternoon rain the Aguilar residence for their hospitality and ebullient dachshunds IMPRESS for sheltering the team during our layout session and the moments that stood out nonetheless, seized in memory. Our hearts are humbled and grateful.

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ART BY: KEANU JOSEPH P. RAFIL

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY: STARLENE JOY B. PORTILLO

The university closes around 10 o’clock. On that February evening, the only sound I got to hear was my own fast-paced footsteps crunching cement in an attempt to outrun what I thought lurked in the dark corners of the empty campus and now, the streets.

Save for a few lickering orange lamp posts and the loud neon signs of convenience stores, there was not much sign of life. For the brief moment it took for me to pass from Gate 2 to Gate 1, lashes of faint cellphone lights drew me from a distance. Upon closer inspection, I recognized the crouching igure of then Communications senior Gila Inefable painting along with a few friends in the shadows. “It’s part of a project,” I recall her saying when I asked her what was it for. After we waved each other good night, I knew that she was up to something bold.

NO DRESS CODE FOR RAPE greeted me the next morning. The words were etched above four painted clothing types of varying length, all laid out on a blaring orange wall where grafiti previously stood. It caught the attention of almost every passerby and over the next 24 hours, people posted on social media about the mural, and shared it with personal comments or anecdotes.

A month later saw Senator Risa Hontiveros personally taking a photo of Gila’s work. To date, the senator’s post has garnered 9.6k likes and 6,940 shares. Five words with so much power, the senator expressed. The street art was only the irst leg in

Gila’s many artistic ventures for her advocacy.

“Project Express is my Senior’s Project Advocacy for a major Communications subject. [The choice of tackling rape culture] was based on personal experiences as well as accounts I have heard from friends,” Gila shared. She added both that women and men don’t deserve to be sexually harassed because in the end, we are all just people who merit the same amount of respect. “Why do we have to teach victims what to wear, what not to drink, or when to go home instead of teaching culprits not to commit rape?” she stressed.

Ever since the second grade, young Gila has started to iddle with her sketchpad, in an imitation of the women she looked up to—her grandmother with her fondness for painting landscapes, and her mother’s cross-stitched religious igures.

Even then, the thought of creating something thrilled her. Her soft spot for drawing branched out in high school, where she experimented with different mediums. She credits her versatility from drawing, sculpting and building to her relentless idgeting, where instead of listening to class discussions, she would make wound prosthetics out of glue and pen to prank her teachers. Or else, when she had no one to talk to, she would hastily fold origami pieces and paper straws. Gila initially planned to focus on ilm upon enrolling in Communications for college, but

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even fate seemed to think that she is better off learning more about her irst love.

“I was chosen to handle all the big projects for our batch as the Production Designer (PD). From our Bakunawa short ilm, it quickly escalated to designing entire sets for our theatre play and horror rooms,” Gila said.

Other than the mural, the fresh Communications graduate has staged Untold Stories Never Heal, a mixed media art exhibit at the House of Frida which featured artwork, photo, and literary submissions in line with the advocacy.

“Having been put in a similar situation, I had friends with whom I can share my experiences about.

And even then, it felt painful. I keep thinking how worse it must feel for people who have no one to turn to, those who are silenced,” she mused. Through the messages embedded in her art, she hopes to increase awareness and sensitivity among people regarding rape.

“It feels great to create something and have people speak up about it, and even have healthy debates around it,” she expressed.

Now four months after the mobilization of her advocacy, Gila is attempting to update her online platform more frequently, in between juggling her time as a newly-employed graphics designer based in Makati. She plans to post literary entries coupled with artworks on her Project Express Facebook page to stretch her audience reach.

“You know your passion and talent has a purpose if you are using it to promote an advocacy.

Because then, you’re dedicating it for the good of others, for the greater good,” Gila concluded.

WORDS BY: IDA SARENA M. GABAYA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: NICCI BERNELLE D. AGUILAR

Climbing the ladder to success won’t come easy but with a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, or having someone to share the burden with makes it all worthwhile.

This is where team player Gabriel “Gaby” Lacson comes into the picture: a poster boy for a capable and a willing student servant to his fellow clubmates and the student body. You’ll notice from the Philippine lag pin attached to the collar of his crisp white polo that he is keen on patriotism.

Gabriel is a Political Science major graduate, the former president of his course-afiliated club, and a recipient of the highest Latin honor.

When asked what drew him to take up Political Science for college, he shared that it was one of those moments where politics would always come up during family conversations. “We talked about what was happening in the country: public affairs, local governance, and about the rise of the cost of living,” Lacson stated.

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It was on that day his interest in Political Science was piqued as a ield of study. Although his original plan was to take his collegiate studies in Ateneo de Manila, it did not work out due to inancial reasons. So, he took it as an eyeopener instead of being upset and doing nothing.

“I had to get out there and fulill my purpose,” he shared.

His irst extracurricular activity was being one of the senate secretaries working under the University Student Government (USG) for two years.

“I was heavily involved in our 2016 general election campaign— we used strategies that I learned not only from my classes in Political Science but from watching other sources,” he said.

He realized that being a member of the USG does not necessarily guarantee one a seat when running for a position; whether in the senate or any higher position. “It’s just one of my biggest realizations

in life, that sometimes not getting what you want is actually the best thing God has planned for you,” he shared.

Gabriel also explained that what also made him more inclined to his studies in Political Science was during his trip to Singapore where he saw the difference of Singapore and the Philippines in terms of governance. He did a comparative analysis and saw what made Singapore a more productive country—a parliamentary system with openness to foreign investors and respect for culture.

Lacson then confessed that he voted for the presidential candidate whose platform promised to adapt a Singaporean system type of government. He voted for Duterte. “I’m not ashamed to admit that. [I voted him] because of his federalism, parliamentary democracy, and open economy,” he shared.

“Do I regret supporting him?

No. I pray for him, I pray for this

country. I don’t give up hope like that, I’m not your typical activist,” he cited.

Lacson was also selected as the class mayor and for him the important thing was to establish unity and cooperation. He claimed that he was able to strengthen the bonds of class unity and that they were active as a class in participating in extracurricular activities without neglecting their studies. He boasted that in his class there were two Summa Cum Laude, two Magna Cum Laude, nine Cum Laude, and four academic awardees.

Although Lacson is not the typical student who struggles with his acads, he still had a few bumps in the road but he wouldn’t made it this far without his classmates by his side.

“One of the most important things I learned in college was the value of family—forming a family with your classmates really helps you get through it all,” Lacson shared.

As Lacson ventures into Law school at Silliman University this June, he is prepared to welcome a new milestone in his life, a place where his “destiny is calling.”

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WORDS BY: CHAD MARTIN Z. NATIVIDAD PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

Four years ago, Kimberly Asan Siazar wrote on a small whiteboard that she had kept in her room.

Written on the board were personal aspirations or priorities she wished to achieve.

Correspondingly, yet unknowing then, were four unwritten years before her to make those dreams a reality. Time skip to the present, and almost all but two items have yet to be checked out as “accomplished” from her mini-dream board.

Graduate as Magna Cum Laude (labeled “ML” on her board): checked. Garner a The Outstanding Students (THOS) award: checked, and counting. These are but a few of her accomplished goals, and out of the two left in her quota, one has had positive development as of late.

Siazar is no stranger to the world of student leadership. She was elected President in elementary during 2009 to 2010, and was President of their Supreme Student Government last 2013 to 2014 at Luisa Mendel National High School (LMNHS).

Upon entering college in the University of St. Lasalle, her love for service only grew. She took the responsibility of level representative for both her irst and second year in the university.

The following school year, she became Vice President of the club ASSET or Alliance of Synergized Secondary Education Teachers, the

accredited club of the College of Education (CEd). Finally, to end her service streak at La Salle, she was elected as Vice Governor in her last year of college.

As Vice Governor, one of her main responsibilities was to sustain their college’s outreach efforts. “I decided that we [should have a] community that’s consistent [in our] program, all throughout the year,” Siazar shared.

Her irst accomplishment, to maintain consistency, was accomplished by adopting a speciic school for their college

Last June, Kimberly nabbed a spot among the Western Visayas inalists for the 57th Top Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) awards. TOSP is an awards program seeking young role models of the country who have academic excellence, exemplary leadership, and a sense of social responsibility, all anchored on moral values.

Since elementary to high school,

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outreaches. They were able to tap her former high school, LMNHS, and therefore established steadier communications and activities for selected communities. Next, she initiated FLELC or Future Lasallian Educators Leadership Caravan. In FLELC, their college would visit different public schools to conduct targeted leadership trainings. “[We are the ones who always] conduct leadership trainings, [but we are the] participants. This time, [we wanted it that we would be the] facilitators and [it’d be our turn] to develop other student leaders,” Siazar explained.

Just last year, as Youth President of their purok, Kimberly opened her own advocacy that involved mobilizing a “walking library”. Through that program, a modiied pedicab is equipped with donated books and several instructional aids. With the collaboration of her co-oficers and nearby cousins, they would visit several puroks—two Saturdays a month—and invite the local street children playing near their houses.

They would teach basic subjects and train the kids how to read and write. “[It was] one way [for us] to contribute to our community especially for me because [I’m now a]

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teacher, so I want to use my profession [to] contribute [to my] community,” Kimberly conided. She made sure to ind time for her advocacy despite the load of academics and her active resolution to plan and provide better activities for the CEd. Now a graduate, Kimberly says that though “student” may come off from the title of student leader, the aspect and duties of “leader” can still live on, even after university.

As inal advice, speaking from 10 to 11 years of leadership, Kimberly said that the foundation of outstanding service has to boil down to four things: academic, leadership, social responsibility, and values.

“When you have those four, you can really achieve your goal because, naturally, when you practice this, everything will follow. Focus in your dreams, future plans—it will organize all these. And time management, it should be continued onwards,” Kimberly expounded.

A point comes when several things work so well together that they become one of the same. They bring out the best of each other, like instruments in a grand orchestra. Kimberly did just that with teaching and leading, two spices mixed to bring out a new level of future-directed education. Last on her board, and pending for now: Korea!

WORDS BY: HEZRON G. PIOS PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

features.

This was something else, Michael pondered.

Romans 8:28 Primarily accepted at the Holy Infant Orphanage at Brgy. Sum-ag, Michael was later transferred to Bacolod Boys Home Foundation.

There, he found God and the grew up to the Christian way. It became his refuge and reformed his life routine. This was Michael’s irst miracle.

Growing up, he was circled by religious individuals, mostly by his mentors and guardians which he considered as blessings. Their positive and empowering impact have surely reminded him of his dreams and personal pursuits, and what he must do to achieve them.

However, Michael’s pictureperfect life never really withstood time. His peers at school soon bullied him for his lack of biological parents. Later on, the accumulated amount of his frustrations had lunged him towards the edge, playing the blame game with God.

had answers to.

In the digital ethers of Facebook, miracles are arguable—except for the case of Michael Merosa.

Unearth how a namesake curbed a coincidence into a recap of faith, an excavation of a family secret, and a bridge towards acceptance disclosed by this Lasallian educator.

Michael Merosa sent you a friend request “I was surprised when he added me on Facebook,” Michael shared.

He immediately conirmed the stranger’s request and asked him questions he wasn’t sure if they

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Is your name Michael Merosa? asked Michael.

Yes, replied Michael.

Is your mother named Erlinda Merosa? asked Michael.

Yes, but how did you know her name? replied Michael.

That’s my mother’s name registered in my birth certificate, said Michael.

We must be brothers then, replied Michael.

We’re not sure yet. Perhaps you can ask her if she had a son left here in Bacolod, said Michael.

Apparently, there were two Michael Merosas: one in Bacolod, and another in Metro Manila. The former stalked the latter’s proile page, skimmed through his photos and noticed the conspicuous similarities between their facial

“I thought of committing selfharm,” he recalled with a hint of remorse.

From adolescence to adulthood, Michael redirected his focus on self-reconciliation and responsibly following the Holy Scriptures.

“God wants us to face trials in order for us to go back to Him— ask His guidance and protection because if our lives were too perfect and complete, how will we ever recognize Him?” he asserted.

Due to his maturity and study habits, he plucked a 100% scholarship in the Bachelor of Education major in General Education while multitasking as a student assistant and a yearbook scholar.

He even marched with an Academic Achievement Award and

was also recognized as an Outstanding Educational Cultural Ambassador to Thailand since he was one of the ambassadors sent by the university.

Michael meets Michael On December 31, 2014, a random number called Michael on the phone. He had no clue who the person was so he dropped the call. When his phone rang for the second time, a voice forcefully announced, Don’t drop the call, it’s me Michael! The one chatting you on Facebook.

Right now, Michael eyes volunteerism especially in the LSVP or Lasallian Volunteer Program of the De La Salle Philippines, with no hard feelings for his past but only hopefulness for a traced future.

Michael Merosa found his miracle in the form of a namesake and everything now makes much more sense.

An uncontained adrenaline plummeted on Michael afterwards.

Okay, what’s wrong? asked Michael.

I’m your brother! Mama told me about everything and we’re so sorry for what you had to go through! answered Michael.

Michael rebuffed the claim. It seemed the concept of family had always been impermeable for him not until that moment.

A woman’s voice was heard over the phone, rambling and explaining in haste. It was her speculated mother, Erlinda Merosa. She asked for Michael’s forgiveness, wailed because of the mistakes she did, how all these years her son had been second-guessing his true blood’s existence, how her son had been alone but not lonely because of his faith in Him. Ma, I forgive you, said Michael.

Son, can you go to Manila? We’d like to meet you in person, asked Erlinda.

He hesitated at irst. He sought his teachers’ and friends’ opinion, and they urged him to book a light to Manila right away.

When he just arrived at his family’s home in Manila, Michael was taken by surprise when a woman suddenly dropped her bag and sprinted towards him: an instance of elation and relief for the both of them.

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WORDS BY: VICTORIA MARIAN B. BELMIS PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

He failed UPCAT. Not many may have known that one heartbreaking moment for Drexler John “Drex” F. Villan was when he received the news that he wasn’t able to pass the admission test of one of the most prestigious universities in the country, the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT). Quite embarrassed and disappointed of the news, Drex doubted himself. According to him he was so down that he wasn’t able to eat properly, but this didn’t stop him to push forward. After all, he realized that everything happens for a reason.

Weeks after the news, Drex received a letter informing him that he was one of the few who passed the country’s premier Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholarship program. That very letter led him to what he is now: a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Magna Cum Laude. Many may think that for a constant Dean’s List awardee, engineering is just a piece of cake, but he also has his share of struggles as what Drexler shared, “My whole engineering life was a challenge.”

Before, Drex wanted to take a different path. His irst choice was to take up a premedical course like Radiologic Technology, but the DOST scholarship came along and he was drawn to embrace the science that is Chemical Engineering. His college journey started rough as he was diagnosed with Stage-4 dengue right before freshman year. A lot of things and what ifs went into his mind, he thought: “What

if I die? I won’t be able to give back to my parents.”

Thankfully, by God’s grace, he was able to survive and go to school. Missing a week-long of classes, he was overwhelmed by his course at irst; but because of his interest in solving problems, he learned to love his craft and worked hard to be the best that he can be even though at some point in his senior years he was struggling to balance out thesis, review classes, and his other major subjects.

It can’t be avoided that with all his academic achievements, people are expecting more from him.

Drexler admitted that he has a fear of failing those who believed in him and that’s the reason why he doubled his efforts. With his hard work he became a consistent Dean’s Lister. “It feels like all my hard work and struggle are paid off by receiving that award,” he said, adding that the annual accolade he received inspired him to strive more on his studies. And for Drexler, his achievements deine him. “What am I without my achievements?” he always told himself.

Aside from his academic achievements, Drex also ventured on the ield of student leadership despite his hesitations. He shared, “I doubted myself, I was afraid that I’ll compromise my academics. But then I asked myself, If not now, when?” As he accepted the opportunities that knocked onto his doorstep, he became the Academic Committee Head of the Engineering Society and the Treasurer of the Junior Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers (JPIChE) in his third year. The next academic year, he became the

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President of JPIChE and was the Undersecretary of the Department of Academic Affairs of the University Student Government.

When asked to give an advice for those engineering and non-engineering students alike who are struggling right now in their studies, he said: “Always remember that there is always light after the dark.

Don’t give up.” He also shared that knowing how to set your priorities and proper time management is a great help in surviving the engineering struggle.

Also, Drex mentioned that learning and mastering the fundamentals and basics of various engineering principles is a key tool to make studying easier.

Moreover, he added that there is nothing better than having a good set of friends who will accompany you in every step of the way, to be with you in group study sessions, comfort you in times of need as well as to play computer games with you to get out from stress.

For him, enjoying what you do makes anything easier.

Graduation is just the beginning of another chapter in Drexler’s journey. He admitted that there’s a lot of pressure on him, especially that he’ll soon take his Board Exams. Nevertheless, he stays calm and focused on his goals. There is an unknown future that lies ahead of him but with great determination, he assures himself, “Que será, será. But whatever the future may bring, I am ready for it.”

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WORDS BY: KATHERINE E. CO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

We have all been through those times when we were confronted whether or not to step out that line which houses our zone of comfort, safety, our predictable space, and maybe even our peace. It all may not have happened the same way—or ended in the same way— for most of us, but here is a story out of the millions out there that presents this human experience that could deine a future we will have—a consequence of what we decide in this very moment. This journey was trodden in a path distinct with the rough roads and edges a Chemical Engineering student and a student leader are all too familiar with.

For Marty Yanson, the make-or-break decision that shaped the course of his life was joining the Engineering student council—an oath to student leadership and service. It was in his inal year when he inally said yes to running for the position of the College of Engineering and Technology’s (CET) governor. This was preceded with experiences as the college’s council treasurer and council vice governor, making this the biggest challenge for him to date. “At irst I hesitated to take this opportunity,” he recalled, “but one thing that went through my mind was that I was more than willing to learn and discover more of what myself can do.”

And so, a lot of things have changed since then for Marty. But it was never without those recurring doubts that stain and haunt our thoughts every once in a while. “During my term as the CET Governor, I tend to doubt my capabilities and compare it to the previous governors. And so, having those thoughts lowered down my self-esteem and conidence,” he carefully

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narrated. But a question struck him: What will he— as no one else but himself—be able to do? “[W]ith the help of the encouraging words of my council members and fellow students, I realized that I needed to have my own legacy,” he said, which somehow kept the doubts at bay and pushed him instead more to extend his everything to the work in front of him.

His story would be half-baked without talking about what he truly identiies with as a student and what he believes he was truly called for in this life—being a Chemical Engineering student. Graduating, he said, was already fulilling in itself. “Though our journey does not end here, since we still have our board exams, surpassing the struggles as an engineering student [is something I would already consider] a relief,” he sincerely confessed with a hint of sentiment.

For this path he chose, his family was his inspiration.

Marty’s brother is a licensed Electronics Engineer, and his sister a licensed Chemical Engineer. “Both of them are my inspiration to strive hard in this career and be one of them someday,” he said with pride and determination. This aside, there was something else that mattered enough to him and his siblings that turned out to motivate them a lot more in the career ield. “[My] father was a frustrated engineer. [And so] that’s why, as his children, we want to continue his dream,” he explained with a comforting truthfulness.

This path wasn’t a walk in the park for him.

“Venturing out in student leadership, I’ve encountered challenges that somehow tested my capabilities in which I doubted myself at irst. Going through the process, now I can inally say that experiencing these kinds of challenges during my college years somehow prepared me for the future. And I think it’s maturity,” he delicately described.

But these were deinitely not faced and overcome alone, though. For Marty, it was his fellow council oficers that made his college journey special, memorable, and a lot more bearable. “They were the reason why I still manage to conquer all the challenges despite my busy schedules in academics and council works,” he truthfully stated.

For the brave soul who chose to defy the barriers of fear and uncertainty, this is how his story transpired for him. And for the man himself, it boils down to a powerful message he still holds dear: “It’s all about trusting and believing in yourself. [...]

In the end, you’ll never know what you can do and you will realize that you can do more.”

So take that irst step beyond the borders, with heart and spirit intact, and see what future you have brought about for your story.

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WORDS BY: JOSHUA MARTIN P. GUANCO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARTINI M. FALCO

For those who know the Lasallian journey of Patrick Millares, he is best remembered as the governor who—through a very exhilarating, neck-and-neck race with the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) during the 2018 Animolympics—was able to lead the Yu An Log College of Business and Accountancy (YAL CBA) to its sweetest yet hard-fought 12th overall win on the said sportsfest.

In fact, for Patrick himself, the fruition of the Yellow-Shielded Champions’ ‘Twelvolution’ on the annual intramural meet was one of the biggest moments of his collegiate life.

When YAL CBA’s 12-year Animolympics legacy was about to be dethroned by the orange-clad tigers of CET, Patrick witnessed a “sea of yellow” that never ebbed in all the challenges that lowed along their way to the top of destiny; that amidst the harshest of tempests, the former governor saw a light of wings that soared over their competition, a recurring feat that has earned the people of his college the moniker “Yellow Eagles” in the past. Months after his glorious ascent from college, Patrick, who is now a new member

of the workforce, was randomly asked online to narrate the story of his collegial jaunt behind his gubernatorial visage.

Prior to engaging himself in student politics, Patrick started on a normal track, not involving himself in any high-ranking organizational positions. Life before becoming a college governor was just a “good one” for him—he was just focused on his studies and playing volleyball, which he particularly had no problem on investing time equally. He was just a student who was best remembered as having one of the brightest smiles on and off the court as well as in the classroom. However, what spurred Patrick into running as the yellow college’s governor was the opportunity to bring change in any possible way he can. It was the call for service that became an impetus for Patrick to run for ofice.

Despite having little experience in student leadership, that impetus was strong enough for him to tread on uncharted waters that eventually opened his eyes into the real essence of service over power, a personal philosophy he strongly believes in.

Patrick entered the election without an opponent for the position. But instead of smiling on a guaranteed win, he had doubts.

His naivety for student politics petered down the moment he realized what was really at stake.

“I really wanted to have a rival for the position, so that when the voting comes, I would know if I was worthy to lead the people of [YAL CBA] to their 12th championship title in the Animolympics,” Patrick admitted.

Behind the triumphant glory, Patrick helped bring to his college are the untold stories of his personal struggles and hindrances.

He now had to balance his academics, his favorite sport, and his responsibilities as a student leader. Not only was he the governor who rallied his college to support their athletes in every game of the Animolympics, he was also a part of the cavalry that bled and sweated yellow in the playing ields. Furthermore, the pressure of senior year and its demands made Patrick juggle almost every

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aspect of his life—as a governor, student, friend, and a son whose main source of fortitude was his family, most especially his mother who supported and encouraged him to stay true to himself and to bravely face the challenges as well as overcome the hardships his responsibilities bring forth into the fray.

“I was able to handle it with the support of the people who [surrounded and motivated] me everyday. [I] can’t say that time management is the answer because of the urgent needs that might arise, [but I still believe that] discipline and focus are the most important things for me that can suppress the hassle of being a student leader,” he said. Through this, the former governor was able to take light and soar past his personal pitfalls.

Fast-forward to 2018, and now he can inally say that he is the type of person who did not need any high-end credentials and qualiications in order to lead a college, let alone bring them their 12th straight gold inish. Not only was Patrick Millares able to help defend the Yellow Legacy of his college, but he was also able to handle life amidst all the responsibilities he had to juggle—a former governor who balanced academics and extracurriculars while not forgetting to party in life.

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WORDS BY: CHRISTIANA CLAUDIA G. GANCAYCO PHOTO COURTESY: LARRY MARK BADAYOS

Some know him better as “Niko”, while most know him best as the alluring dancer who swoons the entire USLS Coliseum and make them go ballistic over his twists and turns. A member of the JeanBaptiste Dance Company, Larry Mark Badayos has performed hip-hop, contemporary, Latin, modern standard, and pop all his college years. He graduated last March with a degree in Operations Management, under the banner of the Yu An Log College of Business and Accountancy. Unsurprisingly, he has a ton of admirers.

THE WARM-UP Badayos admitted that when it came to academics, he was not the best nor the brightest.

He recalled that there were times when he skipped classes for extracurricular activities or gigs outside the university.

“I was no Einstein in class but I was tempered to be resilient to whatever comes my way,” Niko asserted.

He might not have aced his trigonometries or statistics, but he did not leave the four walls of his classrooms empty-headed nor empty-hearted.

While he didn’t gain academic accolades, he expanded his horizons by gaining exposure in the ield he targeted to tread.

“I met a lot of people and built my network of connections,” said Niko. “The relationships I’ve built remains strong until today.”

Although Badayos admitted that there were instances when he prioritized a gig he felt was too big to pass up over a class he was conident he can catch up on, he also did his share of sacriicing for his education. Before he entered college, he was faced with a tempting offer that took the young Niko a lot of thought, uncertainty, and will to refuse: Dwight Rodrigazo of the DancePull Dance Studio offered to train and help him pursue a career in

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dancing by being a prodigy in Ballet Philippines.

Badayos closed one door—a huge one at that—but then he was faced with another, which he has since been thankful for.

He passed up one opportunity to prioritize his investment on education, but he also got to invest on his passions along the way. It turned out to be the best of both worlds for him.

“My passion for the art of dancing is like a burning coal.

It’s not torrential lames spewing everywhere, but I know it’s deinitely there, burning deep in my core. Do I regret my decisions?

No. I turned out just ine and inished my education. It all boils down to balance,” he shared.

THE STAGE FRIGHT Stage fright does not discriminate.

All performers, no matter the stature nor the amount of skill, has experienced this. Niko is not exempted.

“Experiencing stage fright is

normal to everybody in one point or another,” explained Badayos.

He emphasized the importance of hard work and preparation, that no one is ever too good to be exempted from putting in the hours.

“As a performer, always come prepared. Go big or go home. [...] That little fright laced with excitement before performing isn’t really a bad thing. It keeps the adrenaline pumping, which makes you go further than what you actually thought is your limit,” he cited.

For Niko, this does not only speak for dance performances— but of life, too, in all of its grand entirety.

THE DANCE As of today, Niko is currently working as a celebrity assistant fashion stylist for ABS-CBN, one of the largest media organizations in the country, and has styled the likes of Iñigo Pascual. Niko always had this lair for styling, being an ardent fan of fashion.

“Almost every experience here is new to me, so I toughen it up because I can only rely on myself here. No mom to wake me up early, prepare food, do the laundry, clean my mess— and it makes me treasure her more. Living independently after I graduated is tough, but at the same time liberating. As I slowly adjust to this new life, I manage to learn how to fend for myself and grow day by day,” shared Niko.

One might drool at how smooth-sailing things are going for Niko right now, but this is not luck working out for the fresh graduate.

Rather, it is devotion, hard work, sacriice, and perseverance paying off after the years were put in painstakingly. This is inally the big dance; the stage fright that took the deepest breaths to overcome; this is the performance of Niko’s lifetime, the one his passion was meant for.

So, Niko thought he can dance?

He can and he did—with all of his heart.

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WORDS BY: MARIA ANGELINE M. MAYOR PHOTOGRAPHED BY: KYLE JYRAX D. SEVILLA

Not many of us are experts when it comes to time management. While some of us college students ind it hard to balance our schedules in school with our social and personal lives, it wasn’t the case for Althea Nicole Zamora as she graduated last March at the university coliseum with lying colors.

Aside from receiving her diploma in Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Althea was also a Magna Cum Laude graduate and a Clinical Competence – Silver Awardee for being able to accumulate a General Point Average of 1.73 in the Nursing Program.

Coming from a family of six—with Althea being the only daughter among the siblings—she made her family as her inspiration to study hard and maintain her academic scholarship. Thus, making her a consistent Dean’s Lister and a Magna Cum Laude graduate later on.

“Since I’m the only girl and I have three brothers, I thought that taking up this course would be an advantage for me so that I could take good care and monitor the health of my parents as they grow older,” Althea expressed.

But prior to reaching these achievements, Althea was still undecided which course she was going to take before she entered college.

“I asked my parents for an advice about it. They said, ‘It is your decision. Choose what you like.’ Until one day, there was something inside me telling me to take up [Bachelor of Science in Nursing],” she narrated, adding that her family was very supportive of whatever her endeavors are.

And that was when Althea knew what her choice of course will be, which she also believed was “a calling from God.” Althea explained that a major subject would usually last for four hours from 7:30 am to 12 noon with a 30-minute break, while general education subjects would sometimes last until 8:30 pm. She would just scan her notes once she arrives at home and then go to sleep for eight hours to have enough rest.

Aside from being busy with her studies to maintain her academic scholarship, Althea was also responsible for securing their class fund and in collecting payments from her classmates. She has been their class treasurer since the second semester of their irst year in college.

“Every year, our class adviser would ask if my classmates would want a new set of classroom oficers. My classmates would always say that it would be the same. Thus, I was in that position until I graduated,” she said.

On a funny note, she shared that every time she

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struggled and had failures along the way. But her positive outlook in life, telling herself, “Bawi na lang sa next,” had kept her going. rest and enjoy by watching Korean dramas. But, I make sure that I have done my schoolwork and am able to study some lessons if there are quizzes or exams,” Althea reassured.

approached anyone, they would mistakenly think that she will collect payments again and would tell her, “Manukot ka naman, Thei?”

But of course, Althea’s life did not only revolve around studying and sleeping. Deep inside this future nurse’s heart lives a little Korean drama (K-drama) and Korean pop (K-pop) fangirl. Althea is fond of romance-comedy K-dramas like She Was Pretty, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, and I Am Not A Robot.

“It is one of my ways to relax from stress,” Althea happily shared, adding that she also became a fan of the K-pop boy group Exo during summer right before her fourth year in college.

“During weekends, I really like to spend my time at home with my family and have this time to

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She was not very active in extracurricular activities, though.

For she sees herself as an ordinary student who only joins basketball during sports fests. She realized that before she graduates, she must do something she has never done before. And so, she joined the Lakad Lung 2017 Cheer Dance Competition, a contest among nursing schools in Bacolod, which turned out to be one of her most memorable experiences in college.

“My classmate asked me if I wanted to join the said competition . At irst, I was not sure if I could join since I was not really good in dancing. But I realized that this would be a great opportunity,” Althea expressed, also sharing that she had a lot of fun especially that it was her irst time.

Passing the subjects and maintaining the scholarship used to be Althea’s only goals before. But when she found out that making it to the Dean’s List makes her parents proud and happy, that’s when she knew she had to excel more.

Nonetheless, Althea admits that the journey wasn’t easy. She also

Until the irst semester of her fourth year in college came, Althea began doubting herself. There was a time when she had to focus on one certain subject because she had to make it up to one of the tests she has failed. And although she doesn’t want it to happen, her grades in her other subjects were being affected at the same time because of it.

But all these struggles and challenges were paid off the moment when Althea saw her name among the list of candidates for Latin Honors on the bulletin board.

“Just keep praying. Never give up. Because God will give you something that you deserve,” Althea sincerely advised.

Now that Althea has inally inished her journey in achieving a bachelor degree in nursing, she is one step closer to reaching her dream of becoming a successful registered nurse, seeing that this milestone “is not the end but a new beginning to a new horizon” of her career.

“Of all the skills we will ever learn as nurses, the greatest one that we will ever hold is the healing touch of a caring heart. Therefore, we’ll continue to extend a helping hand to other people because God brings us to this unique caring profession,” Althea concluded.

WORDS BY: JOSHUA MARTIN P. GUANCO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: KYLE JYRAX D. SEVILLA

Whosoever said to “not play with lames” may have not understood the whole nature of this enigmatic entity that has blessed us since time immemorial. In fact, whoever said that phrase may have not been aware about the very polarities of lames; that despite its destructive nature, it can still bring forth a blessing in the middle of a crisp, cold night; and that beauty and mystique lie beneath its indomitable fury—which only a few dare to unravel and understand.

Just like the sigil of her college, Daniza Lorraine Ramos fell and rose through the lames of life—8,222 miles away from the people she loved the most. Last 2013, Daniza moved from the United States to Negros in order to pursue a degree in the nursing ield, and she did—without her parents, who were working hard in the United States in order for her to study here in their home province due to the costliness of education abroad.

Being born and raised in the States, Daniza was culture-shocked on having to live alone in a place she hasn’t been before. The idea of having to get by the next four years without the support system she grew accustomed to plunged Daniza into the darkest pitfalls of her entire life. She was all alone. She had nobody at her disposal. And at the expense of her mental health, Daniza was lost amidst the lames of life—a phoenix that was slowly being engulfed by its very conlagration.

Upon the start of her trail as a phoenix of the College of Nursing, Daniza found herself in a class illed with people that were already acquainted with each other since high school. Despite coming from outside the province, she initiated conversations and tried to join with her other classmates to form barkadas. Even though the lame of her efforts sparkled as she was trying to make new friends, it was quickly dampened by her feeling isolated and unwelcomed. It was at this point of her collegiate journey that the lames of life razed her wishes to have friends in this province a thousand of kilometers away from the place she called ‘home’—and all that was left by these ires were the ashes of her efforts and her former self. Gone was the phoenix who glistened through the radiance of achievement and the comfort of the people she held close to her molten heart. It was just Daniza, shielding the remaining ember of her once sparkling blaze. The very ember that symbolized her getting through the harshest winds of college to get a stable job in a country she was not born in, and have her parents retire here and inally say to them the words ‘I got this. You guys can rest. I can handle this now.’

The thought of that ember turning into something brightly ablaze kept Daniza at light, as she slowly regained her inner lame as a red phoenix. But before inally achieving the thing she coveted the most, she still had to balance life, academics, as well as her mental health.

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Freshman year brought drastic changes into the life of Daniza that made her confused and surprised at the same time—the education system, the people around her, and most especially the stereotype tagged to her being a FilipinoAmerican. Because of her foreign upbringing, she got jeered for her proiciency in English, labelled as a ‘liberated’ teenager with vices, and even got teased for being too rich just because her parents work in the States. All of these were hurled at Daniza with the premise of extinguishing the ember she was trying to keep alame—a phoenix hurting from the stones thrown by those who did not know who she truly was.

“I ind it extremely unfair, because [not all Filipino-Americans are] like that. I was raised by parents that wanted me to live with Filipino values. They were very strict on that, because they would always remind me that ‘You are not going to be Americanized; our family is not like these families around here that just leave their children to do what they want. You are a Filipino and you will live by these Filipino cultures,’” Daniza explained with utmost conviction.

As the years inched closer to her graduation day, a lot of hindrances arose as well. She had to equilibrate her responsibilities as a student nurse: all the duties, quizzes and exams, signing of charts, unwanted dramas and misunderstandings with certain people, and most especially her thesis. This phoenix had to ascend from the lares of hardships brought about by the new life she was having here in Negros. So, Daniza had to keep a stern facade just to withstand all of these columns of ire that surrounder her; that in order for her to continue her ascent as a phoenix who was slowly being consumed by the blaze of life, she had to dive down and embrace herself in those very lames to come out anew.

And she did. Despite living almost alone all throughout her college life, Daniza did not go to the University Coliseum last March 25th by herself—this time, she had her whole family with her. It was on that day when Daniza sparkled the most, to inally graduate and show her parents that their hard work, sacriice, and struggle were all worth it.

“God always has a reason for things that happened in your life.

He has a plan, and He won’t give you anything you can’t handle. And no matter what happens, your life is in His hands,” Daniza said with a hint of joy and contentment.

Throughout her life, Daniza encountered the many faces of the ires of life: she got burnt and had her dreams almost razed yet just like the phoenix, she found life through these very lames. By plunging herself into the lames that supposed to have ushered in her hardships and dismay, Daniza ascended anew—and even with a rekindled trail of blaze—as she inally was able to turn the ember she was trying to protect a breath’s closer into the lame she herself have envisioned four years ago.

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The sun is at its peak and the water is calm and lat.

The vast ocean before you—serene and peaceful—is at your mercy. It seems as though it can’t get any smoother than this. Don’t be deceived, however, because in a snap of a inger everything can change.

You must know that sailing isn’t always tranquil waters and warm ocean breeze, for a bright sunny day at the sea can suddenly be followed by a dark, blustery night. So better be ready—always.

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor,” and Ma. Mycka Luzcia “Timay” T. Navarro believes irmly unto that.

A daughter of an OFW and a Lasallian English teacher, Mycka strove to balance academics, varsity, and student leadership during her stay in the university. In her fourth year in college, she held the position of Vice President (VP) in the University Student Government (USG) while taking up a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

loves to go ukay-ukay shopping and dress up.

In her 21 years of sailing through the ocean of life, Mycka stood strong amidst the storms she experienced.

Before assuming vice presidency, her sole experience in student leadership was when she was elected as the secretary of the College of Arts and Sciences council in her third year. She was hesitant to run at irst, but the encouragements she received pushed her to try student service. “People believed in me. I think that’s the sign I have been waiting. Knowing there are people who see my potential, I decided to run,” Mycka shared.

Before venturing to student leadership, Mycka devoted her time and effort as a varsity athlete. She played volleyball for the institution since her sixth grade. And wanting to focus more on her beloved sport, she chose to refrain herself from being a student leader in her irst two years in college.

Having only a year of experience in student service made Mycka feel overwhelmed when she took the post of vice president. It was her irst time being a member of the USG’s executive branch thus, Mycka was anxious and worried because she thought she lacked the experience. “[The applicants for the cabinet] knew more than me. It seemed like I should be the one being interviewed not them,” she said reminiscing her time interviewing applicants for the different ofices of the USG. “There were times that they were the ones feeding me information instead of the other way around,” she added.

Moreover, Timay also shared that despite being an intense player in court as well as a stern leader, she is a very loving daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She also

However, that’s not the only obstacle she faced as a vice president. During her irst two months in ofice, her president got suspended while her treasurer

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resigned. Mycka performed three duties at once and at that time she shared that she was near the point of breaking down. “I cried a lot. I asked, ‘Why me? I’m just a newbie.’”

But this certain downpour in the sea did not last that long for the voyager that is Mycka. With the help and support of the whole USG and her strong will, they were able to pull off the Club Fair and other succeeding activities. “I’m really thankful to my USG family, and also to my president who, despite of his suspension, really checked on me, helped and kept me updated,” added Mycka.

She had a lot of struggles in her term as VP and she surpassed all of them, but that’s not the only storm Mycka overcame. She confessed that despite being the third of ive children, she is the irst one to graduate out of college. With her older siblings taking up different paths, she took the responsibility to help her younger siblings and give back to her parents.

“I need to be strong. I don’t want to disappoint my parents. They work hard for us and I want to give them the life they deserve,” Mycka stated.

Mycka’s voyage was a tough one. She encountered waves so high that dwarfed her ship, winds so strong that her sails almost fell; but she never let go of her ship’s wheel. She stood determined and spirited amidst all of the tempests she faced. Indeed she is a very “intense” woman: in the volleyball court, in student service, as well as in her family.

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WORDS BY: KATHERINE E. CO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

Dean’s listers of the university for the past few years would remember the young Mathematics major with the near-1.1 grade averages who would give a few of the most eloquent and relective speeches one could most probably come across within their limited experience. Though, any student and teacher must have probably also heard of him just because of the inhumanly high grades plastered onto his records.

And yet, like almost all things in the world, there lies a mystery after every detail after every mystery— something that we have to incessantly discover.

Anthony Gran Jr., a graduate of Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Mathematics and a Summa Cum Laude awardee, is one of the many created beings in this world that hold that type of mystery. For the College of Education Governor of the previous academic year, his college journey was a series of questions in itself, with the one question that was of all importance to him being, “Why did I ever come to this existence?”

Anthony believed that the trait that deinitely served him well all throughout the four years was his relective habit. “Initially, this allowed me to assess my weaknesses and strengths, and to accept all these as my uniqueness,” he cited. It helped him take pauses when his student life was becoming out of control.

“Above all, this trait caused me to be drawn closer to my purpose and my Creator.”

An academic prodigy and a man of envious spirit

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and faith, Anthony might convince you that even though he’s different, he’s not that much different at the same time. “[T]he main trait that made my college life dificult is my tendency to procrastinate,” he comfortably admitted. “When tempted by new music video releases or movie updates, I would delay my school works,” he added.

This same person also claims he doesn’t have a study habit, rarely reads books, and does not take down notes in class most of the time. A reasonable question to ask would be, “How?” [A related fun fact: Anthony enjoys listening to show-tunes, Disney, and K-pop.]

Does he ever get those lower-than-average scores a number of college students could easily earn without batting an eye? “Yes” was his irm answer.

“In Physical Education, mostly. Things related to performing physical tasks are my Achilles’ heels,” he openly admits. Well, nobody’s perfect, even if you could easily pass as being so (cue in Anthony).

But seeing him make the quirkiest poses and the outrageously hilarious self-roasting jokes makes me personally want to ask: “Is he really the person I imagined him to be?” And a similar mystery lies somewhere in his heart, where as much as there is the joy of love, there also is, undeniably—pain.

Anthony’s father leaves for work overseas every

two years. School would mean lesser time he would have with his family. “The struggles actually focused on missing a family member and missing them as a whole,” he expressed. His parents are his biggest role models. “I’ve seen in them how kindness can thrive in the world’s wickedness and how love can heal pains.”

He believes true education is not “inishing a level or earning a degree,” but the “constant learning of one’s meaning and purpose as guided by the knowledge revealed to the world, and the principles and values one has earned.”

He left a message to those who are still venturing in their own college journeys, and it’s something we should probably think about a little more deeper and relect a little more wholeheartedly: “From my own eyes, I have witnessed that college life is not about the test of one’s knowledge or skills.

It is a test of one’s character and principle. Truth is, we do not need lifelong skills. What we need are lifelong values. For when we have the values essential to our existence and purpose, the knowledge and skills relevant to our time and needs will simply follow.

With these said, focus more on exploring yourself, build and strengthen your relationships with your family and peers, and remain grounded in your faith in Him. Enjoy playing your role in His kingdom!”

It’s one thing to believe in the source of your very own strength, but to be able to live out what you believe in, and to be faithful to your purpose till the very last—that is gold.

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WORDS BY: CHAD MARTIN Z. NATIVIDAD PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

He looks out the window from inside the cafe.

Lightly holding a headphone recorder with one hand, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology graduate Roger Venzal is speaking softly and in reminiscence. He is—and this also afirmed him—one of those students in class that you’d mark as shy and quiet, at irst glance. Who could have guessed, from among the few customers in the cafe, that inside the bag he brought that day was a portfolio detailing the experiences of a college life well-served on the base of a stage and along the frontline of leadership.

Unrushed, he could have spent college for its primary purpose, merely for the academic dream.

But, for the motivated student, college always has more to offer in terms of learnings. The unseeming Roger knew in his heart he had passions; the irst, he adopted even before he entered college, and the second, he found along the way.

A soft-demeanour Roger bemused his teachers for the irst time when he ran and was elected for the position of Batch Representative in Psychological Society (Psych Soc), the afiliate student club of his department. He held that position for three straight years since irst year. And in his inal year, he ran for a different yet slightly related position, emerging as the Public Informations Oficer (PIO) of the Society.

Another passion that Venzal enjoyed before college was writing. Through scriptwriting and poetry, he could express himself in unconventional ways. To put that script into action though, was a different story.

Once upon a college life, a friend of Venzal was auditioning for Masskara Theater Ensemble (MTE). This friend of his possessed a lair for theater since they were still in high school. She was adept in character impersonation and declamation, often participating in provincial competitions. Venzal, per contra, had no prior background in acting, whatsoever. His interest aligned more on writing alone, both in Hiligaynon and Tagalog, and occasionally, in English when his nerves would get to him. He was determined to watch his friend did what she does best.

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In the end, they both got in. Soon Venzal would surrender himself to workshops, the irst of many in the years to come. It likes becoming glass, he compared, entering a workshop meant letting go of prior knowledge to make room for new learnings. Eventually, he became the Production Coordinator of MTE in his 3rd year, and Treasurer in his 4th year.

Those two passions—leadership (the one continued) and theater (the one found)—both brought a mutual case of dificulty: time.

In Psych Society, as year-level representative, Venzal would regularly go on room-to-room trips, giving announcements and pooling ideas from the other members of the Psych Society. In MTE, Roger is a performer, consistently involved in different productions organized by his Ensemble, during his time.

of

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Roger had to face the call friendship. He sacriiced a

lot of hang-outs and debuts for meetings and practices. “Those were the struggles for me,” shared Roger. “At the same time, there was pressure from productions, where I had to inish things within a given time, pressure from plans for the Psych Society, and pressure from thesis, especially since I was already in 4th year.”

“Miracle is another word for hard work.”

In his fourth year, he felt his hard work paid off when he garnered an institutional award in culture and arts in Corps de Elite, a university recognition ceremony for outstanding student performers in different ields. Through MTE, Roger represented the school in Ugnayan sa Sining, a nationwide production with distinguished theater groups.

For him, extra participation in things he was passionate about served more as an advantage rather than as a hindrance. It gave him more motivation to attend his classes each day. And, while none could have been predicted in “expect the unexpected” moments, Roger said it all comes down to trusting the process when it came to getting things done.

He had core mindsets for each of his passions. In leadership, his motto for his campaign days was “Consistency is the key to success.”

In theater, his armed belief is that

Complement that with a dose of spontaneity, because you might never know whether you’ll love something until you’ve given it a shot.

Presently volunteering in the Negros Museum and reviewing for the Psychometrician board exams during the weekends, Roger believes that if he were to liken his life to a theatrical play, it would be based on one he wrote himself.

WORDS BY: ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: KAREN D. PANGANIBAN

Noli Sanchez, a man of few words with a tremendous heart to compensate for it, admitted he was feeling a little under the weather on the day of our interview.

Separated by a blue medical mask covering his mouth, he gave off warm greetings accompanied with a handshake while being politely reassuring of the fact that his only cure to feeling under-theweather would be getting out of the house and meeting new people. Nothing short of being considerate, it was apparent that Noli had a big heart, which made him undeniably the right choice to represent the Center of Lasallian Ministries (CELAM).

As a child, Sanchez had watched the stories of hopeful young people on television growing up to become successful adults. Observing the lives of these characters struck something in him, ultimately inspiring him to want a better life for him and his family. He emphasized his desire to be always the irst among his

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peers and in his family—it comes with no surprise that his drive had pushed him to be the irst to graduate college.

Initially, he took up Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Operations Management to appease his father and in order to continue managing the family business. However, Sanchez later on opened up about his true passion: teaching. Although pushed aside for the time being while he pursued a slightly different degree, he maintained his love for instilling values in other people through his time in CELAM. The opportunity to join the organization seemed to have literally fallen onto his lap, when a friend handed him a form to apply as a working student. He had always been a devout Catholic, so it seemed like a no-brainer to take the job. However, something about the opportunity prompted a sense of urgency in him.

Sanchez spoke about the role God has played in his life. He never asked for things, rather, he would

pray for the well-being of other people. “I just realized that it’s okay to ask for things for yourself,” he said, explaining that others’ success is enough for him to be happy.

Sanchez focused his attention on the role of humility in his life.

Modesty was always a big part in the way he went about his daily routine. He had always been talented, kind, and honest, which made him approachable to his teachers and colleagues. Having always been picked to be at the forefront for most things in his life, he wanted more than anything to share the recognition with others.

CELAM became a way for him to reach out to people. Seeing other people volunteering became an inspiration for him. Through the course of the interview, he was acknowledging the fact that many people helped him get to the place that he is now.

The demanding nature of working while being a student had always posed a challenge for

Sanchez, as he never “had the chance to be more active in school events,� he explained. He always stressed the importance of servitude and the power in action, so sitting idly by without a chance to expand his views and be of service to others had put a damper on him. However, joining CELAM became an opportunity for Sanchez to meet new people; something he had previously said had made him come alive, regardless of how tired or mundane a task might have been.

However, the joy in helping people and sharing the blessings that had been shared with him was much more of a fulilling reward for him.

His dreams remain the same to this day: to become successful not only for himself, but for his family. He recounts the day sitting in his seat at graduation, where he truly felt that the memories he garnered during his time in school with the people he met gave him the feeling of accomplishment that he had always searched for.

Sanchez only hopes that more people ind that sense of fulillment in volunteer work as he had in his time at CELAM. His principles of modesty and service continue to drive his passions and career today, as he hopes to continue his family’s business and ind an outlet for his desire to teach. For now, his legacy lies in the relationships he has made in La Salle where, by no doubt, he had planted the love for Christ and for helping others in the people he has met.

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WORDS BY: ALVIN BRIAN S. LEGARIO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: CHRISTIANA CLAUDIA G. GANCAYCO

On a ield of shamrock leaves, a single lower tainted with purple and gold entices the attention of an Emerald Swallowtail butterly.

It hovers above the blossom, preparing to engage in the ageold dance of lora and fauna: pollination. How did such a magniicent creature blossom into a modest little caterpillar? The reason: metamorphosis. It luttered beyond its limits. But before it debuted its elegant wings, it underwent four different stages of drastic change, just like the college life of Ellen Aligaen Tribunsay.

It all starts at the axils “During my freshman year, I was very non-participative. I was just focusing on my studies. I had no social interest at all,” Ellen shared, reminiscing her irst year in college.

She focused on her then-course, Accountancy, then strived to get high grades. Although her efforts were great, she was not able to keep up. It was a tough time for Ellen: she shifted to Business Administration major in Marketing, and decided to join an organization

to keep her mind diverted and busy from the fact that she just shifted courses.

“And then I heard about Balayan.

Actually when I was in irst year, I was already interested [...] but I realized that maybe I won’t be able to manage it because my attention would be divided and I really wanted to focus on my studies,” she said, looking back when she made her decision. Little did she know, this was a blessing in disguise.

“Unbeknownst to me, two of my friends secretly joined Balayan.

During orientation we all met and considered it a major coincidence.

A happy one at that,” she said.

Female butterlies lay many eggs during their short life to ensure that even a small number of these will survive. For Ellen’s case, she was one of the buds that survived.

Of caterpillars and chrysalis’ Caterpillars constantly feed and due to this, growth happens at an

astonishing rate. This stage lasts between two weeks and a month.

Leaves are their main source of nourishment and for Ellen’s case, her source of this “nourishment” was her experiences from Balayan.

Before Balayan, Ellen’s daily routine was simple: she would wake up, ix her belongings, go to school, and when the day is over, go home. These mundane tasks lasted until her second year when she decided to join Balayan.

The experience was all new to her because prior to joining the organization, her only background in volunteer work was being a part of her church choir, but this did not hinder her from doing the best that she could. She used her doubts to fuel her determination into becoming a volunteer not just for the organization but for her colleagues as well, and it paid off. Ellen worked hard, her social skills were improving, and she felt like she was more responsible in terms of helping the community.

However, with great effort comes great risk.

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Thankfully, Balayan proved not to be the reason for Ellen’s stress, but instead the alleviation of it. Her fellow students, the staff, and moderators helped her in coping with the weight of stress. They were the catalyst that helped Ellen metamorphosed into what she is now. “That is probably why our bond in Balayan is strong because we are open. Our relationship is not cliché,” she said with a smile on her face.

When a caterpillar reaches the right size, it prepares to wrap itself in its chrysalis for the inale.

Ellen’s fourth year in college proved to be the inal stage before she inally lew.

Floating like a butterly After traversing high and low, the simple caterpillar breaks open its chrysalis and spreads its exquisite wings for the irst time. However, butterlies do more than just paint a pretty picture. They help maintain the delicate cycle of life, and through this, its beauty is magniied into greater heights.

Looking back, becoming a volunteer of Balayan was a cornerstone in seeing the paths Ellen had made in her college life. All the sweat and fatigue were worth it after every event—when immersed in a certain environment, you see not only the people around you, but the actions they do as well. “Seeing the lasallian community unite for a common goal, it elevates the soul,” Ellen added.

But after all this, the question remains: what would a butterly say if given the opportunity to speak to its primary state? “Don’t be afraid. Be conident and set your mind free. Don’t hinder yourself from reaching your true potential,” Ellen said, poised and proud.

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER MODELS: DENLI CHAVEZ & THEA MUSCOSA ART DIRECTION: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

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CONCEPT & PRODUCTION:

STARLENE JOY B. PORTILLO NICCI BERNELLE D. AGUILAR HEZRON G. PIOS MARTINI M. FALCO GLEN JED J. DESCUTIDO ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA IDA SARENA M. GABAYA MARIANO O. JAVIER MAKE-UP : ENA LOUISE P. APELO & THEA MUSCOSA 60

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BY: MARIA ANGELICA M. APE PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

For the last ive years, I walked from classroom to classroom, counting down the days I have left in the university. Finishing college never really sank in until I was in an ofice waiting to be called for a job interview roughly three weeks after graduation. I remember wanting to get to this point ever since I was young—no more classes, independence, and being able to go where I want and buy what I want, and experience the “real world” (I hate calling it that). If you’re thinking about similar things, then you are not ready to be an adult. Ako man gani.

For the most part of it, I have been complaining about the terror professors, the unrealistic deadlines, and a whole lot of stuff before, but I somehow ind myself in a very familiar situation now.

CAUGHT IN A LANDSLIDE, NO ESCAPE FROM REALITY There were days where we have to inish ive PowerPoint presentations, thesis revisions, and study for a 3-chapter quiz and since we have very poor time management, we ended up skipping a class just to tick things off the list. We may have missed that day’s lesson (okay, maybe a quiz too) but at least we were able to get rid of the bigger stressors that have been haunting us all morning. I know we shouldn’t even consider skipping class in the irst place, but let me tell you: sometimes you just have to. In my case, if I hadn’t skipped a class or two, maybe I would have cried in front of my professor and the block

that I’m in because I was under too much stress. I wish I could do the same at work.

Look at the bright side, if you don’t feel like listening to an hour’s worth of lecture, then you can freely choose not to—and it won’t be affecting your pocket unlike this post-grad situation: For every absence and tardy, you’ll be given a deduction from your salary.

Imagine having a twenty-peso deduction (or higher) for every tardy you get from your school allowance.

BEELZEBUB HAS A DEVIL PUT ASIDE FOR ME You know that dreadful feeling walking to that class because you just don’t want to see that professor who you feel like has some sort of personal vendetta towards you?

But what really makes a professor “terrifying”? Some would respond by saying they are short-tempered and unapproachable, while others claim that they are just trying to push us and rigorously prepare us for whatever industry we proceed to after graduation. I know it sounds like as if it’s obligatory for me to say it because I already

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have to deal with it and do what you were tasked to do so that you’ll get your grade or your paycheck.

I’M JUST A POOR BOY I wish I could go back to the simpler times when our parents would be leaving money for us on the table for us to spend that day. Before, my 100 pesos would actually be able to buy lunch and coffee to last me the entire school day. Now 100 pesos is just for lunch or just a one-way commute to work.

graduated, but it’s true. It wasn’t until my 4th year until I truly understood my “terror” professors.

Having a professor who had that “Darth Vader” effect on me made me work a little bit harder. Since I know that despite my tears and having to force my parents to talk to that professor, my grade will still be the same because it is translated to the amount of effort I had given for that class.

Having a “terror professor” in the professional world is much more intimidating—you can’t just sit back and wait until the registrar’s ofice calls you out for not validating your enrollment form so you can switch classes and don’t have to deal ‘Professor X’.

You can’t just leave anytime soon (Well you technically can, but there are conditions!) when you ind out your boss is a dragon.

EASY COME, EASY GO Choosing to avoid people in university is doable, but in the industry, you can’t hide from your colleagues.

Especially if you don’t like them. Think of it as a group project where you’re an irregular student in a block section class but you get paid. In school, it’s easy to drop toxic people with a snap of a inger. In the work setting, you can’t just drop your work just because you don’t like your supervisor.

Even if you don’t like your group or team, you just

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It really hit me hard when I irst had to budget my hard-earned money. It wasn’t as easy as buying a C3 meal at a fastfood chain to end a successful shopping trip. In fact, it was nothing like that at all. I remember my Tax 1 professor telling the class that we should be mindful of our parents’ money.

She even demonstrated it to the class by showing a month’s worth of income and how it goes to a lot of contributions and bills yet we still demand a bigger allowance. I felt guilty for not realizing this sooner and how I’m in a situation where I’m having to budget my money and I don’t even have a family of my own yet.

ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS I feel like most yuppies have their fair share of encounters with their real-life version of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, but I learned that all of this is normal. We’re all trying to igure things out and we’re all doing our best. I guess some would say that it’s karma, but I feel like this is my wake-up call. Sometimes, you just need a good slap in the face to realize you need to grow up.

I would honestly prefer sitting back for hours waiting for my number to pop out of the monitor screens in the Business Ofice rather than waiting in line for three hours just to catch a jeepney that would only hold half of my butt.

I guess nothing much has changed after graduation.

I still ind it surreal how everything I worked on so hard for the last ive years was done. No more long payments at the Business Ofice, no more 100-peso photocopied handouts, no more case digests, no more graded recitations. I honestly don’t know if you inished reading this article or may have picked up anything of signiicance or meaning. But my advice?

STAY IN SCHOOL, KIDS. Char. Don’t take your student life for granted. They’re right when they said you’re going to miss school when you graduate.

BY: LYLE JOHN L. BALANA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

Life for me is like a racoon trap. There is a snuggly crevice, where the reaching hand can span unaware, which houses in its smoothbore jaws a shiny object of delight. The phalanges that crave may acquire it, but upon seeking egress the hand inds itself trapped within the hole. What came as a strand left as a ball, massed around a burning desire, and try as it might, the hand cannot remove itself with its prize and must move on as it is.

In my journey through college, I’d like to think that I was a hand that slunk out of a racoon trap. Within the conines of pedagogy lay measureless logic, rules arrayed in geodesic combinations which became inlated verbiage to the uninitiated, and sometimes, to the master maddened by years of Sisyphean labor in the crucible of academia.

Everything held small lighty lames which I sought to grasp, to understand, but I must come away from all of them empty and alone.

This is not to say that I am a man who had no friends, for there are still those that count themselves as mine. Nor was I speechless, nor was I a shadow splattered across errant shades of light. I did join in, and participated the best that I could. I simply did not leave enough of myself to matter, most of the time.

Writing became my refuge. In writing, I could think freely, and spin clunky webs of prose that shot out

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and formed a network of pixels and binary and ink. In writing, I could put on the shoes of those that walked the soft way, the ones that dip softly into our lives when we hesitate before a door or when we skitter across the hall from something to be feared, or loved.

In writing, there was no cross-reference, there was no overbearing concatenation that tied what could be from what could be not.

But of course, that was also a lie. That in itself was also another racoon trap.

Writing is as much of a science as everything else, as most everything else is a collection of knowledge that is utilized by different levels of senses and experiences.

Writing has rhythm. It has relevance, it has drafts, it has editors and writers and audiences, it has operative meanings and designated avenues, and it had paths as much as it had cracks.

Writing became as dificult as it has been with most of the others—so many factors to grasp, to forget, to live with.

Thus, what I loved became a burden. I had to unspool, and slip away, and let it fade into the ether.

In my four years as a member, I wrote under several different kinds of racoon traps. In the irst trap was tight darkness—comforting and structured in its tension, wrapping around the hand like silk. The commentaries about the work was harsh, the ofice environment was sterile, controlled, professional, the

meetings were frequent and brusque. There were smiles, too, and lilting voices that offered an oasis of warmth. Maybe some of it was through the lenses of a cautious irst-year student, but it still feels right in my mind, my memories of that rigid administration.

Then came a change of culture, or perhaps an opening of perception to the other sections of the trap.

There were factions within and without, policies that were tenuously stretched to their logical conclusion, emotional issues that boiled over into petitions that were signed discretely, as though the offending party would dash it all to smithereens should they so much as meet the signature-burdened paper face to face.

There was talk of declining dedication to quality, of a turn towards the insular, where the direction where everything moved became curved and curled into an echo chamber of comforting noise.

And then came a semblance of balance, where the shufling of personnel stopped, the workgrid became stabilized, and the triumphs of the trap became more obvious. The free food every time a milestone was breached, or afirmed, the birthdays where random snacks would profess themselves as free, the Christmas parties and gifts, the warm feeling of a job well done when a seminar or a workshop was successfully pulled off—they became much more meaningful, much more nuanced. In a world geared towards production, the times where the objectives meld into goals where you could actually rest and examine what you have done, and agree that it was beautiful became a very meaningful aspect of the trap as I knew it. Perhaps this is why the ist refused to unfurl, despite the improbability of breaching solid matter. The knowledge of the thing nestled within the puckered up palm was reason enough to stay.

But alas, all things must come to an end. The hand must be unspooled and set free, and build better animal traps where it could languish for the rest of time. College life wasn’t everything that I’ve hoped and feared, but it had lots of delights that I cannot describe in detail, only the sense of what they were— small, incessant points of pressure in the quivering reach of my hold. I can only hoped that in the end, I was passably productive. For all men will inevitably leave something behind, but what matters is what others after them resolve to leave with.

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BY: ADRIENNE CARL S. CALVO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARTINI M. FALCO

to the library.

DISCLAIMER: This certainly isn’t a review for Zedd’s hit song.

This piece is a bumbling attempt at composing a eulogy. One that is dedicated to the writer himself as a legacy that he wishes to leave behind.

While that sounded like the beginning of a ictionthemed book, the writer obligates the reader to think iguratively and understand the message within this inept presentation.

Although the writer isn’t even dead or dying as of the moment, he would like to compose his own eulogy for he believes that the person best suited to describe him and how he lived is only himself.

Does the idea sound familiar? Yes, it surely does.

The writer admits to getting inspiration from John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars, for this attempt.

What he was like For breakfast, he likes his eggs cooked with the sunny side facing up and the bottom golden and crisp.

He wets his toothbrush before squeezing toothpaste over the bristles. He always walks carefully so that his every footstep its inside the tiles’ perimeters. He likes collecting pens. He loves reading and he often went

Living with two siblings, he has grown to love competition. He was a certiied mama’s boy. He has a knack for writing and a love for the arts. A constant placer on the honor roll.

That’s not all. He’s tried many sports and excels in some. He’s a perfectionist. He swears a lot. He’s talkative, noisy, and loves to gossip. He enjoys partying and having wild nights with friends. He believes that love is like a rosary – so full of mysteries.

This would have been a perfect slam book entry if not for the real purpose of this narrative.

Where he was In the middle was where he found himself stuck.

He wasn’t an excellent child growing up; he didn’t excel much in anything. He was mediocre or average, if you knew him back then. He never topped in any endeavor. He always inished in the middle.

Being a middle child, he wanted to prove that he wasn’t just an average person. He tried his best to excel whenever he puts his mind into something. In many cases, he does.

In grade school, he wanted to become an artist just like his brother. He joined an art club and it gave him courage and conidence. He later won some of the

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poster-making contests.

In high school, he wanted to become sporty just like his brother.

He joined the volleyball tryouts despite his cranky and puny frame, and to his surprise, he got a spot in the team.

He also joined their high school publication as a writer. It was a challenge then when he juggled his commitments to the publication, the varsity team, academics, and his membership in organizations.

He survived that phase and it also gave him the boost of conidence that he could survive college.

Come college he did the same thing. He juggled with academics and extracurricular activities. He survived one hell of a ride.

How he lived Adrienne Carl S. Calvo had a permanent residence at a crossroads. He didn’t know what he was doing. Uncertainty was his life’s oficial hashtag and confusion became a constant trending at number one.

At age eleven, he became a middle sibling when his little sister was born. With a tinge of innocence and slight pettiness, he diagnosed himself with the Middle Child Syndrome.

According to an article in Wikipedia, the effect occurs when the irst child receives more privileges and responsibilities while the youngest sibling gets indulgences. While this statement doesn’t necessarily relect his family’s setting, he still found himself under that category.

Setting the bar as high as his older brother’s achievements and accomplishments, he pushed for greater heights and fervently tried to surpass them all. He had great success at some.

Several articles have mentioned

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that a middle child loves to compete to prove his or her worth—and so, he did. At irst, he struggled with the subjects and got low grades despite giving much effort. His self-esteem also went down when he discovered that almost all his classmates were exemplary high school graduates.

He eventually made friends with them and soon found comfort.

The struggle became bearable and he then got his grades up.

When he enrolled for the course, he chose Electronics Communications as his irst choice because it was his brother’s major too. It was a very tiring journey for an average person like him.

At some point he got tired.

When majoring time came, he decided to change paths and transfer to Chemical Engineering— his bravest decision to date. He wasn’t even good in chemistry

and other sciences. Why the change of heart? Perhaps, some peer pressure? Or was it just an attempt to break from his ways?

He still doesn’t know the answer. It may be a rash decision, but he never regretted it. All those sleepless nights, tensionilled days, and all the sacriices that were made; they made him the person that he was. Chemical Engineering was the perfect escape from being in the middle.

The end Earlier in his life, he took a systematic path that seldom gave him joy and contentment.

After meeting the right people and changing his ways, his life took a huge turn and from then on, he never returned to being in the middle.

Now that he met his end, let us remember him not as a middle child, but as the boy who lived.

BY: ANDREA NICOLE C. FAROL PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

times, either why I didn’t just take up a course related to writing or why I still engage myself in journalism when I’m in engineering. The answer is not simple, either.

After all, I dreamt of outer space long before I could memorize the multiplication table and by the time I did, writing had arrived and knocked me off my feet so I could look up to the stars.

When I was ive, I wanted to be an astronaut. When I was nine, I was randomly whisked into a journalism seminar (Golden Pen, anyone?) and I never looked back.

When I was 14, by the time I inished my breakfast I wanted to be a chemical engineer. College scared the hell out of me. My small stature always gave me doubts on whether people would take me seriously.

But I wanted things, and desires always push people beyond what they think they can do. And so I killed everyone who bullied me. Kidding! Nobody bullied me that way. Or maybe, that much. Now you know I could say anything I want and you wouldn’t know if I’m lying.

Just saying.

Howtosurvive.ppt I won’t be making a Cosmo magazine article. I’ll try hard not to. But here are slides of my ive years in this university and how I came out alive.

Hi! (Should I have put a smiley or not? Does the exclamation point make me look too eager?)

If you’re looking for an article which would make you laugh and amuse you, I don’t think you’re in the right page unless you ind my life a joke. If you’re looking for something tragic or a tearjerker, again my life is not that eventful to make you cry unless you agree that seeing a pizza slice fall on the university parking lot is sad as hell. If you’re looking for something thrilling, the scariest moment I had in school was the time we were ghost hunting and my friend silenced us so we could hear his fart. If you want an inspiring story, I’m sorry, stranger, but I might only inspire short people.

It was never easy to explain where the two meet.

Faceball Because Lasallian education requires us to join any sport no matter how bad our coordination, I tried. I couldn’t handle the practices of Cheerdance in my freshman year (yes, I joined) so I opted for another sport. More of the studious student, I naturally found afinity for the board sport Othello. But I’m too restless for just that so I joined Tchoukball. The irst few practices, I was horrible and I had a weak throw. Then, one day, we were practicing and I threw the ball in an uncalculated angle. It bounced back to my face and I fell on my butt. I played this sport until I graduated.

Writing and my course, I mean. The stories start at different ends and it‘s only logical to assume it’s hard because I can’t pinpoint where they intersect. But rather, it’s because it feels like they’ve always been traversed by one line. And I’ve been questioned many

Horror room When someone asks you out, you need to have friends you can annoy until they leave a volleyball game to accompany you. Because chances are, he’s going to bring his friends too.

But if you’re looking for something that could be a mix of those things, and if you believe some point in our lives we were in the same frequency, then, take this from someone you don’t know: you might enjoy my story.

Choices.txt

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Sugar and Spice Being a irst year student entitles you to long vacant hours, curiosity, and the guts to join various organizations. Before any engineering club, I badly wanted to be in The Spectrum. The exams and interviews were all just a blur of pesky editors, crazy videos, words, and dinosaurs. Word of advice: semi-casual doesn’t mean a polo shirt and jeans and don’t stutter in the three seconds you’re given to interview the dolls. It was a nerve-racking year of being lowly newbies, as if we weren’t already in the bottom rung of college hierarchy.

Iced Coffee You know it’s the unluckiest day of your life when you lose the highest latin honor you’ve been chasing for four years. And you don’t just settle for second—you drop to Cum Laude (please let me brag just this once) in just one day. You don’t bawl in front of the faculty room, you have iced coffee with friends.

Because, at the end of the day, “at least”. At least, you’ll still receive a medal. (But how to tell your parents?)

Flash When incomplete, always leave a space for your classmates. Even in the graduation class photo.

simultaneously giving quizzes made me want to hide. But when you see everyone working hard to hold on to the dream of marching on the stage, it gets a little easier to know someone else feels the struggle.

Our batch had a hard time and the last semester of our college life is a time we will never forget.

Bitterness and heartbreak beneath the joy and triumph were what accompanied us when we got on the stage. And although the summer after has let us be complete, there are things we missed and we cannot bring back.

UptownFunk.mp3 In laboratory class, I broke an expensive burette. I thought it was the worst thing that could happen to me. But it was nothing but a little bump in my college life. The irst three years were fun. But when our hell year came, it went all out. I wouldn’t lie to you and say that I never questioned myself why on earth did I subject myself to the torture that is engineering.

Although I would be scared of dificult subjects during my irst three years, this time it was pure dread.

People look at you with so much expectations. They already see you receiving the award. The pressure of maintaining my grades honestly made me sick of it. I felt like I would faint whenever I checked grades online. Seeing the amount of stuff I have to study for different subjects

Now, I think it’s the true baptism of a Chemical Engineering student, to question your choice of profession. It’s when you inally come to terms that although you already know it would be hard, it was more dificult than you imagined. And you still choose to go on.

Home.jpeg When I used to think of The Spectrum, it felt like a cage in the way that the required presence to me felt really like an obligation rather than a natural thing of being part of an organization. As introverted as I am, I could not easily make friends. I mean, I’m in good terms with everyone but I don’t have the ability to easily hang out.

I was scared of interactions with people I was not close with. Work

was easy to do because I knew it was a responsibility but social interaction did not dictate how I used my energy so I preferred to be awkward. And so I snuggled myself to the company of the few friends I had since I was a newbie. Thus, if I knew they were not in the ofice, I would not stay.

But on a year when the biggest change happened in the publication was the year a close friend and I almost called it quits. But on that year the ofice didn’t feel cold and cagelike. It felt like the sun inally seeped into the glass windows and I could see better. It was warm. And it felt like home.

Some of the best days of my life have been in this place and in the company of the people who were and are still in the ofice. It has took me places, let me meet so many people, let me know so many stories, and let me realize what a group of students can do. Its best interests are what I’ll always keep at heart and I hope those who are and will be part of it will do, too. More than anything, I’m thankful for The Spectrum for letting me grow here, as a leader, a writer, a colleague, a friend, and a person.

It’s a family I will sorely miss.

And I hope, stranger, in the halls of this university, you’ll ind yours too.

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BY: IAN KRISTOFFER V. GA PHOTO COURTESY OF: THE LA SALLE YEARBOOK

“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”

These are the last words of a French poet named Francois Rabelais, which I have come across a couple of years ago as quoted from my favorite book, Looking For Alaska. My then sixteen-year-old heart could not basically fathom the depth of life described in such brevity, maybe for the lack of experience or wisdom; or maybe a circumstance, either favorable or unfavorable, has to unfold right before my very eyes in order that I muster its precise, if not correct, interpretation; or maybe like any rhetorical question, it is profound and daunting. You either have its meaning at your grasp or it is just really comprehended as it is.

I was just any one of those wide-eyed, high-spirited freshmen brimming with youth and courage. You don’t mistake college as that of a high school setting, where almost everyone knows everyone. College will strip you of your popularity and even the accolades on your belt back in the day. You start off as a clean slate, a blank paper, and a pristine former high schooler ready to be subjected to varying pressures and degrees of dificulty. You can redeem your glory days in high school but it’s a tough job because in college, you will meet a myriad of people who are better than you are. Anyhow, don’t sulk on that fact. Fare college life with conidence because you are in no competition to anyone except yourself.

Yes, it is in college where you’ll gradually know the real you, your strengths and weaknesses, and your ideologies and fears. It is even a struggle if you are living in a dormitory. For the most part, you have to tend for yourself. However, never forget to still text your parents whenever you are spending the night somewhere, be it for thesis or just a sleepover. Filial trust is the key. There will be days when you are having a fever yet no family member is around to pamper and care for you. There will be days when you have to deal with only a handful of eateries and fastfood chains, especially on a Sunday, when “real food” is scarce and all you have been craving for is lutong bahay. There will be days when you feel all alone in the midst of dry laundry and unkempt pile of books. I tell you: college is a test of character and endurance.

If you think you know better and have igured life already, think again.

Never have I thought of at least joining one campus organization because I deemed myself as low-proiled, not to mention joining one can meddle with academics.

What was at the top of my mind was to survive college with my sanity intact. But then, doors opened and opportunities knocked, and suddenly, I found myself juggling my academic, school publication, and club duties. I must say the irst semester of my senior year held me in tight grip. I could be preparing for

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the club’s liquidation report at one point while submitting and editing articles, alongside studying for a make-or-break quiz the other time.

I can sum up my senior year with that (run-on) sentence. In another parallel universe, I would not have taken the road less traveled by. I would have spent my senior year with less responsibilities on my plate; but if I had to do it all over again, I will still choose that same fate. It has taught me with valuable lessons and provided me with a sense of fulillment no opportunity loss would amount to. I tell you: college is peppered with lessons, from nuggets of wisdom to handy life hacks, so be open for learning.

Nothing is certain in college.

You can lunk a major exam and ace the next one. You will meet temporary people and maintain lasting friendships. But take this to heart: college is a precursor of what lies ahead the real world, where success is not achieved in just a wink of an eye and where failure is a fact of life. Both college and the real world are not for the faint of heart nor for the unbeliever of

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dreams, although the latter is way ahead of the former. Along your way to claiming that hard-earned diploma, you are faced with looming setbacks and diversions.

Besides, no college student is ever always sure of himself/herself.

You will be pressed with selfdoubts and disbelief; however, it is nothing but normal. So don’t feel like you are doing it wrong, like you are out of the labyrinthine game of A’s and F’s. I have been there. Any other college student has dealt with that at some point.

Just make sure you don’t drown yourself with doubts. You may be eating doubts for breakfast, but make sure before you sleep, you have appeased them all or else doubts will consume your dreams.

Buoy yourself with courage and perseverance and you will fare just well. Remember to use every failure as a springboard for greater heights and you are good to go.

If after four or ive years you still feel lost, be still. If you feel like you are not going somewhere or the end destination is so murky, be steadfast. You still have not

sought for your Great Perhaps.

You are running after that sense of purpose which liberates us from the thought of pointlessness and emptiness. Remember that your Great Perhaps is mightier than your countless buts and what ifs in life. Never forget to cherish every single moment while seeking for your Great Perhaps.

Every moment is part of the great scheme of things. Your story will always be one for the books.

My Great Perhaps is an endless pursuit of seeking joy and meaning. It has become my motivation to grow gracefully at my own pace and to trust the whole process of enriching oneself. As I am writing this, my Great Perhaps may be doubling, even tripling, its pace than mine as I go seek for it. I have always believed that my Great Perhaps is out there waiting for my ecstatic heart and zealous soul to traverse it. I may not be able to seek my Great Perhaps anytime sooner, but I am conident that when I ind it, everything will fall into its perfect place.

BY: CEDRIC LANCE M. MILITAR PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARTINI M. FALCO

You have probably heard of inspiring stories about students who triumphed over college and people who lead afluent lives. Success, however, is relative— it could be a small achievement or a great feat.

Everybody has their own take on what it is to be successful and here’s mine: it is the rocky climb of altering my lifestyle and overcoming the struggles that came with it.

I’ll begin my success story (if that’s what you call it) by taking you down to memory lane. I used to be this plump little boy who had puffy cheeks and as a consequence, I was almost always pinched by whoever saw me. Heading to my elementary and high school days, imagine that same kid but only a few feet taller. The pinching was, of course, lessened.

Throughout those years, I never complained about my body nor did I become unhappy about it. Although my body had limitations due to the accompanying weight, it didn’t stop me from doing what normal kids would do and from being consistent in my academic performance. On that note, I shoved whatever food I wanted into my system, not realizing the pounds that were gradually adding up and eventually, tipping the scale over. The price that I had yet to pay shot higher, as my negligence and excuses piled to dizzying heights.

Upon reaching college, changes ensued—my body got exhausted easily and my focus began to dwindle.

The drive to study was still brazenly lit but, how was I supposed to fuel that burning desire if my well-being was compromised? To put matters into worse, I had sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder wherein a person’s breathing temporarily stops during slumber. That was the red light of my life which signaled for an immediate and irm resolution.

In 2017, my mom enrolled me at a nearby gym— and that was where I met the love of my life: running.

For a few months, I enjoyed the usual routines my instructor designed for me, which, eventually, involved a lot of running. I was especially fascinated by the

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feeling it gave me—aside from the burning of my lungs and soreness of my legs, it was the sense of liberation it provided my spirit and, for a moment, it was just me, the wind, and the pavement.

All that time and effort on running had to be tested, so with full support and encouragement from my cousin Colleen, whom I consider my coach, I signed up for a 3-mile race. During the race, I was pretty sure that it was the last one I would ever join, but reaching the inish line gave me a sense of euphoria that made me want to do more.

Speeding through the months of my itness journey was a breeze and the pounds I shed off were merely a bonus for me. Little did I know, however, that I was yet to face my greatest adversity. Most runners that I saw (both in person and in social media) have small built so the notion that being skinny equates to becoming a better runner rang in my head like a mantra. So, I trained harder, ran faster, and ate scarcer. I sure did reach the goal but I felt extremely deprived, prone to injury, and looked frail. It was a constant battle between what to eat or not, and when to run or not. But, just like any other race, another turn loomed before me: I became mentally and physically weaker as each day progressed. I needed to go back to the drawing board and devise a better strategy with a more realistic goal: to become stronger not skinnier. Rewiring my brain into thinking that each day is a chance to be better and to be whole again was necessary before I take further steps.

The tough tracks taught me to ind solace in everything that I do, to maintain the equilibrium of my life, and to not let others dictate which path I should take. Just like a race, life may seem as an endless stretch of road—others will be faster, others will be slower, but a inish line surely awaits us all. Your every stride will bring you closer to the inish line, so set your pace right.

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BY: SHARA MAE L. PELAYO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

In today’s generation, education is everything.

It’s like a key to a door of endless opportunities.

Going into college is like being indoctrinated with an amalgam of culture and other things we never learned back then. We try to pursue the degrees we are most interested in, and we thought it was only a matter of our interests, but it was not. It was a concept of discovering new and wonderful things.

Entering college was easy, but choosing my college degree was a major decision. I have always wanted an Engineering degree ever since high school. The thought of how great seeing the preix “Engr.” before my name makes me extra thrilled. The question was which one, as there are many engineering ields. This was not easy to pull off since you have to consider the fact that you will be studying it for ive years.

My choices were trimmed down between Computer Engineering and Chemical Engineering (ChE) when I passed the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholarship.

Before classes started, one of the engineering faculty interviewed me on what course to take and why. “Why?” was the hardest question ever, but I answered BS in Computer Engineering since I was always fond of computers and was hoping I could learn more in the graphics aspect. But I had it mistaken; my heart was never really hooked on it.

First semester passed and I spoke to the ChE Department Chairperson if I could transfer to Chemical Engineering and if she could recommend me to DOST regarding my shifting. Chemical Engineering was

never really an option; for when I was in high school, I really hated Chemistry, particularly memorizing the periodic table. But my grades from the irst semester were good so both the College of Engineering (CET) and DOST approved my petition and that was where it all began.

The irst two years went by fast. Since there was no much hassle, I explored some co-curricular activities like joining clubs and playing Ultimate Frisbee during the sportsfest. I was not into athletics back in high school, so I was surprised when I joined the CET Frisbee team. It involved strenuous runs under the scorching heat of the sun, but I was that butterly all set to go out of its cocoon: This is college, the last phase of my student life. On my third year, I decided to join The Spectrum and luckily got hired as a Layout and Graphics Artist. Since I love designing graphics as a hobby, I thought, Why not practice it on something beneficial?

As I have said, entering college was easy, but staying was the hardest part. All the struggles began in our fourth year or what we call the “hell year”.

All major subjects were a pain in the ass! Here you would sometimes realize that having a grade of 75 was actually a blessing (but not what I prayed for as there was a maintaining grade for my scholarship).

My afternoons were often spent on group studies with my friends and we would sometimes pull an allnighter studying and cramming if we couldn’t inish what were on our study list. After a week of exams, we would always celebrate, have fun, and isolate our brains from stress. It is a good thing to surround

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yourself with a great set of friends who would teach you the way to live and enjoy life.

By the end of fourth year was our on-the-job training. This is where I learned to love and appreciate the ield of Chemical Engineering. The equipments that we can only view from slideshows suddenly turned to tangible objects that we could actually operate.

We were trained how to operate controls, solve daily reports, analyze lab samples, observe several parameters desirable in a process, and many more.

All of these irst-hand experiences were totally helpful to my studies. It was a fun internship experience meeting senior engineers adept at their ield of work and also other engineering interns from other cities.

Finally, ifth year, the bluest year of all. Our batch felt sad not because we were graduating, but rather because we were marching incomplete. A lot of tears were shed a week before graduation, but those times only made us stronger and united. The idea that we will have less work in our second semester is a little bit of a myth. I ended up with what may seem like more work because of those sleepless nights making thesis, reviewing on upcoming weekly quizzes and contributing works for the school pub simultaneously.

However, the moment you walk towards your diploma with your classmates, wearing the same outit, the cap and the gown, is when it all becomes brighter.

Graduating was a blend of happiness, relief, and a tinge of sadness.

Chemical Engineering might not be my irst choice but I had learned to love it through time. Though it might be a rough ride to take, but never did I have second thoughts. As the saying goes, nothing worthwhile comes easy. Despite the learning pressure, I was able to relish the moments of my college life.

It was a perfect fusion of joy and hardships. I may be an alumna now, but one thing is for sure—learning never ends!

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BY: SETH V. PULLONA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: KYLE JYRAX D. SEVILLA

Hi, I am — Seth Villarosa Pullona; B.S. Psychology (with H.R. certiicate); a jack of all trades; furious to have received the valedictorian award in grade school instead of being the most well-groomed; barely getting by; went to La Salle mainly because of the color.

———————————————————— Everything was monotonous, not until I became a part of what I considered the “ones-who-freedthemselves-from-the-bondageof-educational-system”.

Moving forward from warming every designated chair in nine classrooms on a daily routine to warming my own swivel chair for a whole 9-hour shift is a big leap with no forms of transition whatsoever. They were right about the difference between school and adulthood, each of which is its own reality.

And the latter, in all honesty, is not a no-brainer.

Hearing how simultaneously excited and hesitant students are to enroll for another semester (we all eavesdrop to strangers’ conversations unintentionally, right?) makes me a little jealous.

Imagine the love-hate relationship

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towards everything in college— from waking up for a swimming class as early as 7:30 AM to staying up late for a thesis that’s already a week overdue, only to throw myself in a cubicle full of stacked papers and a monitor screen.

My student life moved on a less calculated pace: fun, study, and play are synonymous. Unlike now where everything seems to be segregated. Do I sound like exaggerating things a bit? I hope so. Don’t get me wrong. This is not a grievance, but rather an appreciation to one of the best highlights of our life.

If you ever come to that point where you think school is hard, consider thinking about it thoroughly. In every student who thinks so, somewhere in the world, an adult is shedding tears of regret as to how he wants to be familydependent and be studying again.

So, hold that thought just for a moment. Reassess and equip yourself to whatever is next.

For a short span of being a former student who jetted his way to joining the workforce, which I tell you is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg of what’s a-coming for me, I have jotted several gists as of how differently I was molded as

a student to how I am now as an adult. I feel like there is a need for me to let you know how beautiful and grotesque at the same time stepping into the post-college life could be, just to shed a bit of light to some of you who’s nearing on the verge.

Resource: Allowance/Salary First thing, the source of money!

Mindlessly asking for allowance is something I missed from school.

The anticipation of how much I’m going to get for the day from my parents is the exciting part of my mornings. Will I be lucky enough today to get 200 pesos? Or will it be a 50-peso bill for fare and packed food from home? We’ll never know! But one thing’s for sure, it will never be not climactic.

Now that I am generating on my own, sipping on my favorite beverage (hail the two-tailed siren) is my version of a pat on the back for surviving the two weeks’ worth of stress and intense budgeting.

Never in my life have I thought of having a tall cup of bitter water as an award trophy. But here I am.

The habit of asking for money will surely be missed.

Environment: Classroom/Ofice I once read a Tumblr thread about asking why is it that schools don’t teach students the ‘basics?’

Basics like ‘How to deposit money in the bank?’ or ‘How do taxes work?’ And then it hit me—I was asking the same things in my mind as well. When I stepped into the real world, a collection of requirements and standard operating procedures that I never learned the how-to’s at school welcomed me with all arms.

Stuttering was so frequent that it sounded like a new form of language. My greeting smile was so unconvincing that I had to practice it over the mirror before tucking myself to bed. Discourse alone has become a rocket science of human interaction. School on the other hand is where comfort is: I get to enjoy the company of staple faces everyday. The only nerve-wrecking moments I ever had were the times when I had to do something that required talking to a faculty member (don’t get me wrong on this), and when I’m in front of a class/panel to present a report.

These things always makes us weak at the knees, am I right?

Seniority: Teachers/Bosses Believe it or not, when you’re an adult, someone ACTUALLY seeks for your presence, time, and attention—maybe not in a romantic way. However, there is an exchange between two parties of addressing a demand and compensation between you, the employee, and your employer. When you manage to integrate these aspects smoothly, then kudos to you who igured this out while in school; your reservation for a plane ticket to adulthood town has been conirmed. Being a student, I never really think

of my hours as measured. So, when I started working closely with the big bosses, that is when I realized time is also budgeted. This sounds horrible and scary that I am counting my hours, especially that I tend to become existential in the most random occasions. But that’s what it is: I’ll have to embrace it or I’ll ind myself complaining over something inevitable. Fortunately, I have learnt to deal with it for quite some time.

College clothed us with the concept of readiness and expected us to launt it to a world where ‘concept’ is no longer the trend. The aftermath? We think of ourselves being not good enough, held back by the fear of what’s out there, and imprisoned by the thought that we might not be the sharpest tool on the shed. But here’s the catch: we will never be the sharpest tool on the shed, that’s for sure, but when you come to think of it, the functionality does not narrow down to what it can only cut. We are all different tools. We have our own fortes. We utilize our own resources. So, it is always up to us to direct over ourselves to what we think our purpose is.

Reality is not something we can decide whether to partake upon it or not. It is a series of choices representing our successes and failures that deines the pavement towards who or what we will become.

It’s all up to you. SVP Regards, Seth Pullona

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BY: IRIS DENISE N. RIVERA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

’

A lost little girl softly taps a glass door. She’s been waiting outside for a while now, and she’s thirsty from the heat. Finally, someone from the inside notices her and brings her in.

And that’s how I found and adopted my cat.

Coincidentally, that’s almost exactly how I got into The Spectrum.

It was late afternoon the day I applied for a writer position in the publication, and I was a bit lost. I didn’t know who to give the illed up application form to, so I was planning on just slipping it through the door. I was a mess because I ran around the street looking for a place to print my requirements, buy an envelope, get a photo taken, etc. After a few more moments of sneaking around and looking suspicious, a girl walked by, all smiles, and asked me if I was applying. She took my envelope with the price tag still stuck on it in with her. And a few days later, I was in! There’s a tedious process for it, but I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about my cat (if you didn’t catch that from my lame pun in the title), because if anyone here deserves an article written about her, it’s Joanne Illusion.

It was late into the irst semester when one of the Spectres found a gray little kitten being played with by a group of kids outside the ofice. We coddled it for hours, letting it lap on sterilized milk from a jar lid, and smearing off some of the dirt on her fur with a pack of baby wipes. The former Editor-in-Chief was a huge fan of Lady Gaga and the then-recently released Lady Gaga album, which was how the cat got named “Joanne Illusion”. Fun fact: this is one of the few signs that led me to believe I was meant to keep this baby, as I was also named after a song.

At the end of the day, one of the editors told us

to toss the kitty back on the campus. Now, I’m more of a dog person and I’ve never taken care of anything outside of myself (arguably, not even myself). But I pack-bonded with this cat so hard in a span of 2-3 hours and I could not bear parting with it so I decided to take care of her.

She was small enough to it in my purse so I kept her there with the zipper open when we passed through the gates. As soon as we got home, I prepared two small bowls, one illed with milk, and the other illed with water. I left her for two minutes to grab dinner and by the time I came back out, she was gone.

I looked through the potted plants and under the car but I couldn’t ind her. I was devastated, of course.

This was my irst shot at caring for a pet, and it didn’t last an hour at my house. I called it quits and went back inside to inish my dinner. She was a stray and I igured the call of the wild (or in her case, the streets) will always be louder for her.

I was about to head back into my room when I heard some soft mewing from outside. The little brat came back. I took her to my room and she’s claimed it as hers ever since.

We later found out Joanne Illusion is actually a tomcat but we didn’t bother changing the name or the pronouns we used for her. She didn’t mind (unlike

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humans, cats aren’t very particular with the names you call them).

She doesn’t answer to anything or anyone, anyway. She also turned out to be a white cat who was just really really really sooty. It took a couple of washes to get the dirt stain off of her. I have scratches on my forearms to show for proof.

Taking care of a pet wasn’t the walk in the park I thought it would be. A few months after taking Joanne in, I was just about ready to put her up for adoption. She was a luff ball illed with chaos running around the house, clawing at my bags, and pooping on the clean laundry. I had to place her under a hamper several times so that she wouldn’t bite or scratch the visitors. It was exhausting, but it made me appreciate how parents can manage their spoiled kids. But then again, human babies don’t have claws, so what do I know?

As soon as she grew out of that stage, Joanne was easy enough to take care of; she had an afinity for warm places in air conditioned rooms, long naps, and invading other people’s personal bubbles.

She steals snacks from the dinner table when no one’s looking and steals snacks from the dinner table when I’m literally sitting right in front of her. She’s practically my protege; I’m proud of her.

Her habit of sprawling herself on my lap and belly came in handy during a handful of dark college moments for me. As a teenager going through the motions of university life with my parents miles away, having a living being to care for kept me from slipping into a rut. Even if Joanne’s version of caring is leaving mild abrasions on my skin from her rough “grooming”.

There was one time where I was on the brink of a meltdown

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because I overslept and couldn’t make it to an event that was worth my endterm grade for a class. It was my fault completely. I had the brilliant idea of staying up the whole night so that I could leave by 8 a.m. I fell asleep by 7:10 a.m.

Anyway, there I was panicking in the dark of my windowless bedroom and Joanne pushes my door open (I really need to get the locks ixed soon) meowing loudly. She climbed on top of my bed and proceeds to knead my face with her paws, claws out. She was probably just hungry because it was near lunchtime but it was exactly what I needed to get myself out of bed and apologize to my group mates. I didn’t fail the class surprisingly, but I did forget to prepare Joanne’s lunch so she ignored me as soon as I got back despite all my attempts of bribing her with tuna.

I’m probably projecting my life onto my cat, but we’re so similar in so many ways that it’s hard not to. We’re both growing up in an unfamiliar environment without our parents around and with no idea how to take care of ourselves by ourselves. But with all that going on, we still manage to ind time to worry about other people and each other. I sound like a crazy old cat lady at this point but never you mind that. See, every time I look at Joanne, I remind myself that I put up with that little shit for almost two years now.

She used to be about the size of my palm and now she’s bigger than my thighs, and I have huge thighs! I don’t know much about fate or destiny, but I’m grateful for whatever brought that cat into my life. After all, if I can manage to take care of a loud, spoiled, and aggressive baby of a kitten, and raise her to be a loud, spoiled, aggressive but cuddle-loving sweetheart, I’m pretty sure I can manage just about anything.

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