It has been quite a while since I was inside UP. Maybe this is something that Harry Potter feels everytime he’s at Hogwarts (or Lord Voldemort for that matter), but this place always feels like home to me.
It was a fine Saturday morning that I had to wake up earlier than usual. I informed Dr Carlos that I would be dropping by her class in the morning to get my recommendation letter. Yes, I will be going back to school next semester. However, she was down with the flu and I had to go to her place to get it. It was always a pleasure talking to her and I think a major part of my inquisitiveness can be attributed to her. There are things that some teachers say that just stick to you and I can still recall several of things she had uttered in class way back from 2009. Her drive, candor and, most especially, her optimism of the country.
The Sunken Garden viewed from the Peace Rock and a UP Ikot
I know that some people are too apprehensive of this prospect. It might take a toll on my health again, or is it wise to study again? I think that I am well capable of taking up classes again, but given that I am currently based in Makati and Diliman is a very long way for a travel, I had my eyes set on UP Open University.
Frankly, I feel like I need a mental stimulation. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy work a lot but this has made me realize that I have lots of things to learn. I also long for the intellectual rigors of the academic life. I might sound nerdy but I miss all the long hours reading and writing papers.
So this January, if I am lucky, I will be a UP student again. It is an endeavor for the whole of 2017, while I wait for my second year at work. From November 2017 onward, who knows, I might continue with the course in the Open University, take up PhD somewhere near work or take something else different. Nothing is written on stone for the year after.
I was thinking of taking the UP Manila Learning Center, but thought that I could not leave Diliman behind. I will have a valid excuse to go inside our libraries again on weekends just like the old days.
Walking along the Academic Oval
The Sunday after, I returned just to have dinner with Mon, Ikle and Gina. One of the quirks of this school was how many times I’ve witness the sun and rain together. Ikle and I were sitting at the walkway leading to the Main Library, our favorite spot since undergrad, when this happened in front of us. As Sunday was a biker and jogger palooza in the university, a lot of people also huddled behind us for shelter.
A union of Tikbalang
I was also surprised to see a new fixture by the College of Education. There was the Peace Rock
The Peace Rock
According to the plaque, it “was first raised in 1999, and rededicated in August 2015 to the memory of Rolando T. Abad”. This has got me thinking. Was the rock there all along since 1999 and not until it had a fancy arrangement around it that I did not notice it until that time? Have I not been inside the school since August 2015 for me not to see that it was already there? LOL Silly thoughts but one discovers new things everyday inside UP.
I still have several months to go before I get the results of the Open University. And based on what I had been reading online, they usually publish the information two weeks before the start of the next semester. Until that time, let me keep myself busy with other things because I am itching to study again.
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