Baking College Vigor

By
Frauline C. Tadle

It is my pleasure to be speaking in front of you, ladies and gentlemen. This will be an

honor that I will bear for the entire time of my existence. In which, the period to have the once in
a lifetine chance to carry on the ideals of my dead Alma Matter as I bid my temporary goodbye,
along with my colleagues on April 2011.

Four years have passed rapidly yet it’s only like yesterday when I found myself, which
was 12 years old then, standing behind the podium to represent the 365 graduating students of
Francisco E. Barzaga Memorial School. And it will be another two months until that one who
will be pronounced as best among us shall deliver the words that has been supplied by the 1800
graduating students he/ she will be representing, in that one momentous moment of a sacred
ceremony. We may be more or less 1800, but to Bob Ong’s book, “Aba, nakakabasa na pala
ako?!” there is a dozen types of students on a teacher’s point of view: Clowns, Geeks, Hollow
Man A and B, Spice Girls, Da Gwapings, Celebrities, Guinness, Leather Goods, Weirdos, Mga
Anak ni Rizal, Bob Ongs and Commoners. But they are in high school. What about college? 
College surely is another different world apart from elementary and high school. According to
Wikipedia.com, college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational
institution. It may be a degree- awarding tertiary educational institution, an institution with a
federal university, an institution offering vocational education or a secondary school.
Nevertheless, we can never deny that it is the most crucial level of our education, both in
difficulty and financially and it plays the biggest part in sculpturing our future.   

    Which university you’ll enter doesn’t even matter compared to the hard work, passion
and your own will to achieve your star. In any case, Philippines is university-rich country that are
well- respected even in international affairs. As what 2010 University Web Ranking posted for
its Top Universities in Philippines, University of the Philippines Diliman top-billed the list. It is
followed by University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines Los Baños, University of
the Philippines Manila, University of the Philippines Visayas, Ateneo De Manila University, De
La Salle University, University of the East and MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology.  As you
enter for first year in college, orientation awaits you to help you adapt to the new environment.
Educators are no longer being called as Ma’am, Sir, Mr. or Mrs. Instead Professor and Doctor.
You are expected to help yourselves to provide your own notes, and also, professors have their
free time intended to entertain students for clarification about important things. You are expected
to budget your time wisely and balance it between academics and your social life. You have to
stand in your own. You are no longer that little child that still hides under the skirt of your
mother of behind the strong back and legs of your father. Now, you have the unlimited chance to
voice out what runs into your mind rather than keep yourself being stocked to your chair.
College life opens it hearts, minds and ears to hear you opinions regarding the things that are
happening around you. This is the way college prepare us to enter the adolescence in which
nothing will protect you from harm rather than yourself. You need to be strong and confident to
yourself that you can do it. And to attain that strength, you need to cultivate your self-
confidence.     

Being a college student sure is that microscopic hole that you need to get through to
pursue your dreamed profession. It takes a lot of effort and money before you can say, “I survive
college”. Cramming may become a daily occasion along with pressures from all corners. Just
remember, enjoy your college life. Balancing may be tough but it is necessary to build the
strongest foundation within ourselves. It is the foundation that is hard to build but easily be break
if you’re brittle enough to face the truth of life. It is the foundation of believing in you self and
your skills and talents. No one knows you better yourself.  Always do your best and you know
that God will do the rest for you. Again, I don’t bid goodbye. I thank you for the good memories
and hope for your success for your chosen path. God Bless you all.