Untold Confession: A Tale from the Fork Road
Robin G. Padilla
The Journalese
“…shifting is not something to be ashamed of. Rather, it is a brave act performed by people who know themselves well to act upon their dreams.”
Many times do people wonder if making the necessary choice is the same as making the right choice, and some college students never understand the difference.
Every year, thousands of students enter the final stage of their education in college. Some hoping to attain knowledge of what they wish to use in their dream careers, while some would rather endure another four or five years of schooling just to fulfill their filial obligations, or to appease their parents who have their best interests at heart.
In the current condition of the country, most students would opt for the most practical courses like Nursing, Medical Technology, and Pharmacy, among others, which are in demand abroad. And some, if not many, would rather chase after their own dreams than wasting time thinking about practicality.
And most of the people who are stuck agonizing in regret for not running after their desires end up slumped in limbo thinking of all the what-ifs that would have brought a full sense of fulfillment, taking up jobs that would never make anyone achieve self-contentment.
Robert Frost once said that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference, but it also applies to whether or not you have already walked down the straight and grass path of comfort.
Students who go by this creed eventually take up a process in order to transfer to the course they want in college, even though they have already started with one. The process is called shifting.
Every college has this prerogative for students because they have the freedom to pursue any course. In UST, shifting is not always an entertaining choice. Most students who initially grasp the idea of shifting usually take a passive stance and tell themselves that they should finish the course they have already started.
Of course, it is very tedious to fix transfer papers. Talking with the necessary officials just to make this plea possible can eat your hours, but it doesn’t end there. After all administrative papers are taken care of, a student will undergo accreditation to see which subjects he can or cannot take, or in some instances, subjects he cannot take anymore.
Never mind the new uniform or the new environment. The achievement is in the success of the transfer.
Stranger in Paradise
At first glance, a shifter might enjoy the new freedom he has achieved. He has started to walk down the destined path.
But together with that decision is the pesky reset button. You go back to square one with your social life inside a new college – in this case, a faculty – to restart your study habits, restart your sleeping pattern, and restart your mindset, because everything new needs a mind that is ready for change.
Walking along the halls of AB, you see the manifestation of liberal arts in the students itself. The freedom that was never recognized in your previous college becomes reality here.
But along with the accreditation and unusual class schedule, one becomes what the university calls an irregular student, student who has no permanent section, a wanderer from class to class to take subjects.
Most students would think that irregular students are at an advantage since they can choose their schedules, where most students more likely envy their option not to take morning classes. But no one can choose their friends or force them to take the same schedules.
This writer, perhaps, has experienced taking courses in different classes more than a typical irregular student. In a 24-unit semester, which is already the full load and comprises of eight three-unit subjects, he has tried sitting in seven to eight different classes. Amazing, huh? But not quite.
Some would think this is an opportunity to make new friends, finding their own niche, but not every classroom would cater to your interests and attitude. While some are accommodating, some would not jive with you. Exclusivity becomes your weakness and isolation becomes your only option.
Though it may be hard to adjust every day to people you have to interact for the sake of academic progress, it helps to keep in my mind our dreams and goals on why we chose this. Eventually, by fate and discourse, we will find the people who will help us achieve these, and become your friends, if not for the next three or four years, beyond the four corners of UST.
Against the tides
However, the main issue of shifting.
As with this writer, the support that can be received from parents is the most valuable. They are the ones who fund your education, the ones who feed you and nurture you, the ones who have molded most of you in Christian values and good conduct. Some parents would always react violently to such action. In uncommon cases, they would detest such defiance.
Such was the fate of this writer, who, in an attempt to bend to the will of his parents, took up a pre-medical course. His father explained that it was the best action to take to ensure the future for the writer was to become a doctor like him.
This scenario is not new. Filial piety has always been a strong trait of a Filipino individual, and parents, in a manner misconstrued as a misunderstanding, tend to capitalize on the obedience of their children in order to set their future.
Perhaps children today would call it unfair when they voice out their opinions and wants to their parents. People call children rebels when they go against their wishes but most would not understand what these students go through in just the idea of shifting itself. Dreams cannot be formed by enforcement and adaptation but with passion and self-discovery.
As proof, this writer has been acquainted with watching the news since he was a child. It helps when the writer’s father come home seeking refuge in front of the television for information after a long day at the hospital.
By the time this writer was in high school, he has discovered his interest in writing and how it can be used in relaying information. Added to the fascination towards journalism while watching Jessica Soho and Louie Beltran in Brigada Siete, and Angelo Castro Jr. in The World Tonight during his years in grade school, this writer has come to realize his dream of being a reporter.
This writer may or may not represent a sizeable population of shifters in the university, but he believes that passion is something that cannot be discarded for the sake of income or wealth. Passion in itself is self-wealth that is exclusive and unwavering. It is the same for his passion for writing and truth.
If anyone asks him if he ever regretted shifting to the Journalism program despite having one year left in the Pharmacy program, he would answer that shifting was the best thing that ever happened to him, right after writing for the student publication of the university.
In contrast to the academic mindset, shifting is not something to be ashamed of. Rather, it is a brave act performed by people who know themselves well to act upon their dreams.
Carrie Jones once said that the secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage. Perhaps now, when your world becomes dark, courage makes all the difference. J
The Journalese
“…shifting is not something to be ashamed of. Rather, it is a brave act performed by people who know themselves well to act upon their dreams.”
Many times do people wonder if making the necessary choice is the same as making the right choice, and some college students never understand the difference.
Every year, thousands of students enter the final stage of their education in college. Some hoping to attain knowledge of what they wish to use in their dream careers, while some would rather endure another four or five years of schooling just to fulfill their filial obligations, or to appease their parents who have their best interests at heart.
In the current condition of the country, most students would opt for the most practical courses like Nursing, Medical Technology, and Pharmacy, among others, which are in demand abroad. And some, if not many, would rather chase after their own dreams than wasting time thinking about practicality.
And most of the people who are stuck agonizing in regret for not running after their desires end up slumped in limbo thinking of all the what-ifs that would have brought a full sense of fulfillment, taking up jobs that would never make anyone achieve self-contentment.
Robert Frost once said that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference, but it also applies to whether or not you have already walked down the straight and grass path of comfort.
Students who go by this creed eventually take up a process in order to transfer to the course they want in college, even though they have already started with one. The process is called shifting.
Every college has this prerogative for students because they have the freedom to pursue any course. In UST, shifting is not always an entertaining choice. Most students who initially grasp the idea of shifting usually take a passive stance and tell themselves that they should finish the course they have already started.
Of course, it is very tedious to fix transfer papers. Talking with the necessary officials just to make this plea possible can eat your hours, but it doesn’t end there. After all administrative papers are taken care of, a student will undergo accreditation to see which subjects he can or cannot take, or in some instances, subjects he cannot take anymore.
Never mind the new uniform or the new environment. The achievement is in the success of the transfer.
Stranger in Paradise
At first glance, a shifter might enjoy the new freedom he has achieved. He has started to walk down the destined path.
But together with that decision is the pesky reset button. You go back to square one with your social life inside a new college – in this case, a faculty – to restart your study habits, restart your sleeping pattern, and restart your mindset, because everything new needs a mind that is ready for change.
Walking along the halls of AB, you see the manifestation of liberal arts in the students itself. The freedom that was never recognized in your previous college becomes reality here.
But along with the accreditation and unusual class schedule, one becomes what the university calls an irregular student, student who has no permanent section, a wanderer from class to class to take subjects.
Most students would think that irregular students are at an advantage since they can choose their schedules, where most students more likely envy their option not to take morning classes. But no one can choose their friends or force them to take the same schedules.
This writer, perhaps, has experienced taking courses in different classes more than a typical irregular student. In a 24-unit semester, which is already the full load and comprises of eight three-unit subjects, he has tried sitting in seven to eight different classes. Amazing, huh? But not quite.
Some would think this is an opportunity to make new friends, finding their own niche, but not every classroom would cater to your interests and attitude. While some are accommodating, some would not jive with you. Exclusivity becomes your weakness and isolation becomes your only option.
Though it may be hard to adjust every day to people you have to interact for the sake of academic progress, it helps to keep in my mind our dreams and goals on why we chose this. Eventually, by fate and discourse, we will find the people who will help us achieve these, and become your friends, if not for the next three or four years, beyond the four corners of UST.
Against the tides
However, the main issue of shifting.
As with this writer, the support that can be received from parents is the most valuable. They are the ones who fund your education, the ones who feed you and nurture you, the ones who have molded most of you in Christian values and good conduct. Some parents would always react violently to such action. In uncommon cases, they would detest such defiance.
Such was the fate of this writer, who, in an attempt to bend to the will of his parents, took up a pre-medical course. His father explained that it was the best action to take to ensure the future for the writer was to become a doctor like him.
This scenario is not new. Filial piety has always been a strong trait of a Filipino individual, and parents, in a manner misconstrued as a misunderstanding, tend to capitalize on the obedience of their children in order to set their future.
Perhaps children today would call it unfair when they voice out their opinions and wants to their parents. People call children rebels when they go against their wishes but most would not understand what these students go through in just the idea of shifting itself. Dreams cannot be formed by enforcement and adaptation but with passion and self-discovery.
As proof, this writer has been acquainted with watching the news since he was a child. It helps when the writer’s father come home seeking refuge in front of the television for information after a long day at the hospital.
By the time this writer was in high school, he has discovered his interest in writing and how it can be used in relaying information. Added to the fascination towards journalism while watching Jessica Soho and Louie Beltran in Brigada Siete, and Angelo Castro Jr. in The World Tonight during his years in grade school, this writer has come to realize his dream of being a reporter.
This writer may or may not represent a sizeable population of shifters in the university, but he believes that passion is something that cannot be discarded for the sake of income or wealth. Passion in itself is self-wealth that is exclusive and unwavering. It is the same for his passion for writing and truth.
If anyone asks him if he ever regretted shifting to the Journalism program despite having one year left in the Pharmacy program, he would answer that shifting was the best thing that ever happened to him, right after writing for the student publication of the university.
In contrast to the academic mindset, shifting is not something to be ashamed of. Rather, it is a brave act performed by people who know themselves well to act upon their dreams.
Carrie Jones once said that the secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage. Perhaps now, when your world becomes dark, courage makes all the difference. J