Confession 1.0: First Glimpse
Karl Cedrick G. Basco
The Journalese
"He overcame the jitters but it is still a long path… They must embody the qualities of a true Thomasian Journalist; compassionate, committed and competent for three more years."
Time runs so fast that one can’t entirely believe that he is already in his second year in college.
A Thomasian’s rude awakening, his first year, almost made things easy in that transition from high school to college, surviving one year and looking ahead to three more years of conquests. He finds it pleasant to reminisce about the crazy events of the freshman year; those distant days that he was still adjusting to the routines of his chosen field, journalism.
Just like a line from a Journey song, “just a small town girl living in a lonely world,” the feeling is mutual. The transfer to a prestigious University was a challenging journey, admittedly feeling the rigors and pressure which come with it.
Adapting to the new culture and system in college is a tall order. One must find his company in a pool of strangers – talkative strangers. Does that imply that they are approachable? It was his first day and while walking upstairs, he was shocked with the loud buzz in the building: most students are busy chatting with their friends. Later on he would discover that AB students are dubbed as “the noisiest student group in UST”, a claim we cannot debunk nor take credit for.
He was further surprised to find out that most of his block mates speak in English, unlike his classmates in high school. Yes, it is absurd to know that he suffered a communication trouble with them. Lucky for him, they gradually spoke Filipino more often. It was not easy to conform to or deal with his new friends who each had different attitudes and beliefs, really different from what he was used to. Each had their antics: Some seem to join rallies every now and then, with critical attitudes towards government. Some were usually concerned with food while others have a crazy habit of taking pictures to kill time.
But within a week, the individuals started to mingle as a jolly class. His predicament does not end there, though. He met college student’s number one enemy: the professors. It really took him time to fiddle with new and varied
methods of teaching of his professors.
He had to adjust to regular recitations which required him to study his lessons thoroughly. Then there are teachers who divide the class into several groups and give them topics to report in class. It might be a bit annoying as professors expect much of a journalism class, because they had the notion that future journalists must have the skill of in-depth researching. He felt that he must hold his dictionary every day to avoid word repetition and gullibility in his essays. A reaction paper here, a critique paper there, and review paper everywhere. It might have been a habit he would have loved to commit suicide on, if not for the realization that this is only the beginning – a beginning of a journey towards the path he chose since day one of entering UST.
But despite the troubles he underwent, he learned a lot in that span of one year. He was pushed to practice his writing and speaking skills in English, he learned the importance of proper citation and attribution whenever he got information. It is an ironic notion that majority of those who are pursuing the journalism course are not that interested in reading news, or even giving attention on it. Aside from being obliged to read or watch news daily, he was trained to be more observant and even critical to the issues that impinged society. Most of all, he was taught to be responsible. They were constantly reminded that as part of the liberal society of UST, it is necessary for them to have a sense of affection to everything that surrounds to them. It all seems so simple but it would matter greatly for the future. Call it as saving the seeds for winter, but that is just what it is.
A few paragraphs would not suffice to tell everything from the day he entered the historical Arch of the Centuries, that moment when he opened another chapter of his life, pages and pages of challenges, and an episode of triumphs. He may be just at the beginning of a long journey but the memories he already had were genuine and long lasting, the start to his quadratic term in the University.
He overcame the jitters but it is still a long path he and his fellow freshmen shall walk. And it is time to march forward. They must bear in mind that it may be relatively easy to enter UST but from it, it is definitely hard to go out. They would need great patience, determination and hard work and as future media practitioners, they must have the burning passion and the ability to leave behind biases. They must embody the qualities of a true
Thomasian Journalist; compassionate, committed and competent for three more years.
Challenge accepted. J
The Journalese
"He overcame the jitters but it is still a long path… They must embody the qualities of a true Thomasian Journalist; compassionate, committed and competent for three more years."
Time runs so fast that one can’t entirely believe that he is already in his second year in college.
A Thomasian’s rude awakening, his first year, almost made things easy in that transition from high school to college, surviving one year and looking ahead to three more years of conquests. He finds it pleasant to reminisce about the crazy events of the freshman year; those distant days that he was still adjusting to the routines of his chosen field, journalism.
Just like a line from a Journey song, “just a small town girl living in a lonely world,” the feeling is mutual. The transfer to a prestigious University was a challenging journey, admittedly feeling the rigors and pressure which come with it.
Adapting to the new culture and system in college is a tall order. One must find his company in a pool of strangers – talkative strangers. Does that imply that they are approachable? It was his first day and while walking upstairs, he was shocked with the loud buzz in the building: most students are busy chatting with their friends. Later on he would discover that AB students are dubbed as “the noisiest student group in UST”, a claim we cannot debunk nor take credit for.
He was further surprised to find out that most of his block mates speak in English, unlike his classmates in high school. Yes, it is absurd to know that he suffered a communication trouble with them. Lucky for him, they gradually spoke Filipino more often. It was not easy to conform to or deal with his new friends who each had different attitudes and beliefs, really different from what he was used to. Each had their antics: Some seem to join rallies every now and then, with critical attitudes towards government. Some were usually concerned with food while others have a crazy habit of taking pictures to kill time.
But within a week, the individuals started to mingle as a jolly class. His predicament does not end there, though. He met college student’s number one enemy: the professors. It really took him time to fiddle with new and varied
methods of teaching of his professors.
He had to adjust to regular recitations which required him to study his lessons thoroughly. Then there are teachers who divide the class into several groups and give them topics to report in class. It might be a bit annoying as professors expect much of a journalism class, because they had the notion that future journalists must have the skill of in-depth researching. He felt that he must hold his dictionary every day to avoid word repetition and gullibility in his essays. A reaction paper here, a critique paper there, and review paper everywhere. It might have been a habit he would have loved to commit suicide on, if not for the realization that this is only the beginning – a beginning of a journey towards the path he chose since day one of entering UST.
But despite the troubles he underwent, he learned a lot in that span of one year. He was pushed to practice his writing and speaking skills in English, he learned the importance of proper citation and attribution whenever he got information. It is an ironic notion that majority of those who are pursuing the journalism course are not that interested in reading news, or even giving attention on it. Aside from being obliged to read or watch news daily, he was trained to be more observant and even critical to the issues that impinged society. Most of all, he was taught to be responsible. They were constantly reminded that as part of the liberal society of UST, it is necessary for them to have a sense of affection to everything that surrounds to them. It all seems so simple but it would matter greatly for the future. Call it as saving the seeds for winter, but that is just what it is.
A few paragraphs would not suffice to tell everything from the day he entered the historical Arch of the Centuries, that moment when he opened another chapter of his life, pages and pages of challenges, and an episode of triumphs. He may be just at the beginning of a long journey but the memories he already had were genuine and long lasting, the start to his quadratic term in the University.
He overcame the jitters but it is still a long path he and his fellow freshmen shall walk. And it is time to march forward. They must bear in mind that it may be relatively easy to enter UST but from it, it is definitely hard to go out. They would need great patience, determination and hard work and as future media practitioners, they must have the burning passion and the ability to leave behind biases. They must embody the qualities of a true
Thomasian Journalist; compassionate, committed and competent for three more years.
Challenge accepted. J