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Save a Drop
With arms wide open
We dream of being in the university where that proud naked man will welcome us with open arms. That naked man is none other than the Oblation, and that university is no less than the University of the Philippines.
This is every Filipino student’s dream, but not everyone gets the chance of living it. The competition is stiff, the requirements are overwhelming, the probability of getting in is too low ― the exact reasons why most remain as dreamers.
Only about 10% of the 60-70 thousand UPCAT (University of the Philippines College Admission Test) takers gets the chance to be qualified to study in UP. However, the UPCAT result only covers half of the admission process― it does not guarantee that you’re really in. The other half relies on high grades all throughout secondary education.
Those who get in gets to be called the crème’ de la crème’ and enjoy “special privileges.”
Standing on the pedestal
Being one of the chosen few, we are given bragging rights ― rights that we milk every chance we get, because we are deemed as “superior”. But in truth, we realize that we are not special at all. We are just one of the many ― and many more are better than we are.
When we get into UP, we call ourselves “Iskolar ng Bayan”. The people pay for our education, but that was before. Now, once we get into UP, people call us “sosyal”. The tuition increased, there are many cars on the parking lot, and majority of the students already bring laptops to school instead of notebooks.
Outside UP, people set high standards and expect a lot form UP students. In pageants, a UP candidate is expected to be both beauty and brains, flawless in question and answer portions, outspoken and witty. An epitome of a well rounded woman, a complete package. But a single mistake could ruin it all. Once you are in UP, a small mistake is equivalent to a major crime. Expectations lead to vulnerability to mistakes and these mistakes are magnified.
Must (but doesn’t) have
UP students are ideally smart. We are known to have an advanced curriculum. One subject is a combination of two or three in other schools, and somehow, we pass. But in reality, many of the students fail in some subjects, and there is a significant number of delayed students.
UP students are ideally principled. We stand firm for what we believe in, we fight for what we think is right, and we will bring you anywhere just to prove our point. But in reality, some of us cannot fight our biggest foe ― conformity. Some enter groups for the sake of being with friends, thus defeating the purpose of hardline principles.
UP students are ideally socially aware. What we should do always be for the benefit of the masses, in service of the Filipino people. We are supposed to give back what they have invested for us. But in reality, social awareness remains only inside the University. Some UP students only make use of their degrees to look good in their résumés and work abroad, in private companies ― or worse, under capitalists, all for the sake of their own gains.
UP students are ideally assertive. We push through our beliefs, put them into actions, and persuade others to do the same in order to stir or effect change. But in reality, we are becoming the outcome of the supposed change. We are easily influenced. Thus, we become mere products― the effect, not the cause of change.
UP students are ideally versatile. We are well-rounded individuals who could excel in any situation given the knowledge and skills that we possess. But in reality, we are the ones limiting our growth, allowing ourselves to become subjects of stereotyping and unfair labeling. We are aware, but we do nothing to change the backward trend.
Save a drop
Like a drop of water going back to the sea, and becoming only a part of the majority― leaving the university gives us no choice but to immerse in a bigger social context, and blend in.
We come to realize that Philippines is not UP, and we cannot bring everything we have learned inside the campus, there would really be some that we will be left behind. Because in the outside world, it is totally different. We are just one of the many trying to survive.
But in the end, we go back to a touchstone, and realize that the ocean will be a lesser ocean without that single drop that has been denied of it.
So we have every choice to stand out.
bubie-chan
