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From the excitement radiating in us as our beloved university welcomes us home to counting the days when we exit the Arch, isn’t it such a shock that it has already been four years of our lives?
We were part of the pandemic batch which means our freshman year was purely online. If you are part of the graduating class of 2025, then most probably it was during our sophomore year when we finally got to step foot on our campus and finally put faces to the people we only saw on our screens. It is in our sophomore year that we have truly lived our Thomasian lives.
So much time has passed since then, and soon enough there will be a new streak of young tiger freshmen as we, the seniors, leave the familiar structure of the university we have grown to love. If I could rewind time and meet my freshman self, here are the things I wish I could tell her.
It is true that college is different from high school. In college, professors may be more lenient but the workload makes up for it. This is where I emphasize effort. Put in effort and do your best in everything you do. I don’t mean being the best or the smartest in the room— what I mean is to continuously show up and do your work. Grades do not define who you are but they do matter. Your work ethic defines you. As they say “daig ng masipag ang matalino.”
And if you want to procrastinate and cram, when the adrenaline of that 11:59 PM motivates you more than ever like me, you can do that on your individual outputs, but I beg you, please do not do that in group settings.
In line with this, let’s talk about priorities. I still remember my senior high school politics and governance teacher’s advice to us when it comes to college and that is to know what to prioritize and accept that there will be trade-offs. A lot of times, the load of college is overwhelming. In a day, you can have 3 quizzes, 2 presentations, and even 4 essays. Know what subjects are the most important, what tasks can be put off for a while, what subjects you can make up to, and most importantly, listen to your body when it wants to rest.
Sometimes studying for 2 quizzes may lead to a harder time on answering during a recitation because you exhausted your energy into studying for the quiz, and that is okay. Tao ka lang, and sometimes we also crack when under a lot of weight. Again, that is okay. Sometimes your 10% is your 100% on tiring days. Show yourself some grace.
2. Say Yes to Growth
You do not know how many doors can open for you if you say yes. The world is so big and full of opportunities, it is just waiting for you to seize them. New things, growth, a new environment— all can be daunting but a little tip I have for you is do it scared. Do it anxiously. Do it while having a silent crash out. Because even with that fear in you, saying yes to things outside your comfort zone is considered as growing.
3. Don’t be afraid of cringe, Go document!
Ever dreamt of being a college youtuber or as our generation calls it, a college student influencer? During my younger days, it was Pham Swing, Alliana Dolina, and Joerella who were the known Thomasian youtubers and I’ve always dreamt of being like them. But here I am, almost graduating, and still no new youtube vlogs on my channel. Videos filmed yet only stored on my drives. All thanks to my fear of being cringe or awkward.
So from me to you, do not let cringing take over your life. Go document your college days, film funny moments with your friends, behind the scenes of the projects that you do, film the food trips, yap sessions, the debriefs, and whatever else you deem worthy of being captured by your camera.
One day, these things will be all memories, proof that you once lived. So go whip out your camera and post it. Life is meant to be lived, remembered, and savored, not tucked away out of nonchalance and fear of being cringe.
4. Your Sense of Self and the People from Different Walks of Life
My mother always reminded me that college is the place where you meet different kinds of people from different walks of life. People who have a different upbringing than you, different morals and attitudes, people from different places, even different privileges. Some of them you will instantly click with, some you will clash and have conflicts with. And college is the place where you will learn how to deal with them. And these people you meet will also help in shaping your sense of self.
The best friends you meet in college will make you more loving and will remind you to live more in the moment, the groupmate who has a different work ethic than you will make you more patient, and even the blockmate who disrespects you will make you stand firm on your boundaries and advocate for yourself.
There is that beauty in knowing that we are a mosaic of all the people we have met as well as a piece in their mosaic that makes them who they are.
5. On Changes and Friendship Break-ups
I had my fair share of friendship break-ups throughout college. Truly, all of them are heartbreaking in their own way. But I realized that if there is something in common in all of them, it is some sort of outgrowing—- some sort of change.
Changes can be drastic, or can be quiet, but most of the time, it is uncomfortable. They say that your new life will cost you your old one. And I guess that is something we all have to cope with as we grow up. All of us change and at some point we become incompatible.
Some people stay for a season, a lesson, and maybe forever, if both parties brave the waves of change. Change is inevitable but it is also the ultimate truth teller in friendships.
So enjoy the company of a friend. Lead them to the door when it is time to leave, thank them for the time shared, and say welcome to those who want to get to know you better. The friends you meet in your freshman year will most likely not be the ones you exit the Arch with but these friends you meet later in your college years are the ones who end up as your lifelong ones.
6. It is NOT the End of the World…
Let me remind you that it is not the end of the world if you have a low grade. It is not the end of the world when you fail. It is not the end of the world when you experience a friendship break-up. It is not the end of the world if you do not pass your dream university or dream course. These things may feel like it is the end of the world but time will pass and you’ll realize that they are pieces to a bigger picture. All rejections are always redirections to something better and meant for you.
7. You Belong
Competing with others is so high school, the only competition you have in college is yourself. University is one big battlefield of impostor syndrome. When things get overwhelming and doubts start to creep in, remind yourself that you belong. You are a Thomasian. You deserve to study in this prestigious institution and you deserve to wander in its historic halls. Most importantly, you would not be here if UST did not see your potential and what you have to offer to the world.
You already embody the 3 C’s—- Competence, Commitment, and Compassion, and you will hone them in your stay here in the university.
May it be the invisible string theory, or the butterfly effect, or God’s plan, all of them show the truth that you are meant to be here— at UST.
So to the newest streak of tigers reading this, or the next graduating tigers after our footsteps, college may not the best four years of your life but these years will shape your character, your ambitions, your mind, and your dreams.
Then again, It is also important to take this list with a grain of salt and remember that your college years are uniquely your own so bask in it. Enjoy it. Because in just one blink, everything will be a supercut as you walk out of the Arch of the Centuries into adulthood.
