Fresh

A hug from the Dean :)

Last 28th of April, I graduated.

It was anticlimactic for me, climbing that stage and receiving the diploma. Yes, it is a symbol of a job well done, a ceremony to honor what we have accomplished after 5++ years.

I'm not saying it was not meaningful, because it was. My family was there to cheer me on, the ceremony itself was meaningful (though the venue could be better), I graduated along with my cousin, who finished her Molecular Biology degree from the same university, and of course the friends and batchmates were there.

But after passing each requirement, after going through the thesis deliberations, after having our books signed and after getting our grades, I feel like success was handed out to me in small doses. Graduation was just there as a culmination, something that symbolizes the end of a six five-year frolic in UP Diliman.

I was sad to leave of course. I will miss college life: the camaraderie between classmates, the guidance of professors, the times spent with friends, and the chance to meet people from random colleges and sectors that one can learn things from. But I know for a fact that UP is always there.

I end this post with the lyrics of our university hymn, UP Naming Mahal, by Nicanor Abelardo. Yes, it's cheesy to end the post this way, but it totally sums up the way I feel about the university as an alumnus.

U.P. naming mahal, pamantasang hirang

Ang tinig namin, sana'y iyong dinggin

Malayong lupain, amin mang marating

Di rin magbabago ang damdamin

Di rin magbabago ang damdamin.

 

Luntian at pula, sagisag magpakailanman

Ating ipagdiwang, bulwagan ng dangal

Humayo't itanghal, giting at tapang

Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan!

Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan!