Year 2002, I was first year college then and was sooooo reclusive. I entered UST knowing nobody, even previous school mates in high school. The first day of class, I was lost. You are a freshman if you look so ignorant and missing that you would ask every single student and guards on your way to your class room. You did not care about what the senior students say about you, all you care is not to be late on your first class. That was all you cared about. Thinking back about that brings me the feeling of humiliation. What if those senior students were really laughing at me, that I really looked like a strayed sheep on a huge field? I must have cried then if I was conscious of it, well, that was history!

Anyways, good thing was, I arrived on time, but the problem was, I got in the wrong classroom. My registration form said that I should go to CAL-2 for my Zoology class, so there was an L in the name of the room, so maybe it’s a laboratory since it is Zoology. I got to the main building where a guard, whom I wanted to curse by the way, led me to CL-2, a computer laboratory!!!! Oh gosh! panic mode again. This time, it’s for real because few more minutes I was expecting to hear a bell, like in high school and worst was, what if I got in late for that class, all my new classmates would witness my dramatic arrival and the professor would be mad and things like that were running on my mind.!

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Well I was late but I wasn’t alone! What a relief! The reason was, I got run into another girl who seemed lost as well, and I soon found out that we were headed on the same class. She happened to be my first ever buddy in USTE. Her name is Anna Margarita Cruz. I call her Marge until now. We were inseparable in our first year in college. We waited for each other going to our first class, ate out for lunch, studied in the library, boy watched together in the field, seatmates and groupmates forever. The two of us basically was considered a clique in that sense. I remembered that I would not go to any GA or parties without her. I would sleep over to their town house behind GMA Network, talked about what music and books we like, our love lives, her family, plan our ukay ukay trips, listen to the Master Showman production numbers on a late Saturday night, that used to happen outside the GMA building (by the way that was so funny!), etc. We would know if we did not like the party and needed to go to a different place to continue to enjoy.

But she transferred to Ateneo the next school year, that was a real shocker! I found myself not knowing how would I be when she’s gone.

More or less 6 years after that, communication and meet ups are cut up. We rarely hear from each other. Our schedule could not meet, she’s busy in med school, my time is eaten mostly by my work and other community activities. Ending, I miss her so much!

That separation opened my door to new friendships. If that didn’t happen I wouldn’t have stood on my own and haven’t started to explore what college life is. I wasn’t secluded anymore by the four walls of my house, school and our friendship. I formed new relationships and was able to survive, hence I was able to experience the things a normal college student must have gone through.

This morning, she texted me and she said we could meet up next week since she is on vacation and I am pretty much too. I am so excited to see her again after maybe 2 years. I think the last time I saw her was days before my birthday back in 2006, when I went to Ateneo to help her out with her study/ thesis then. Well, it’s been a while, let’s see what would happen. Can’t wait!