eng 1 the dream school i did not dream of

8/12/2019 Eng 1 the Dream School I Did Not Dream Of

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Cherry Walnut February 13, 2014

The Dream School I Did Not Dream Of

Back when we were still little kids, we all, or most probably most of us, had a dream

of becoming a doctor, a teacher or even an astronaut. I experienced wanting to become all

of those. Becoming a doctor was my mothers neglected dream and she always told us

about how she wanted one of her kids to fulfil that dream for her. As I went to school, I

became inspired by my teachers to also become like them. My last childhood dream was

created by the shows and movies I watched on the television. They made outer space travel

look so amazing and becoming an astronaut seem so fun.

It did not last long until my mindset got confused in high school. I graduated from

grade school wanting to be those three professions but I am a very indecisive person.

Reality might have hit me and also because of many things I experienced I realized that my

dreams were farfetched. I realized that I can only choose one and I got pressured from the

thought of that decision which could change my life forever. Several other degree programs

went to mind but the various aptitude tests, career talks and campus tours we went to

brainwashed me and made it seem like choosing the right school was more important than

choosing the right degree program. It felt like peer pressure but more of in a positive way

since all of us wanted to go the best school there is and that school is Ateneo de Manila

University.

During my third year in high school, our school organized a campus tour for us to go

and visit many universities like UP, UST, Ateneo, La Salle, CSB and Enderun. I was very


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excited since that would be the first time I would be able to go inside the different

campuses and get the chance to imagine what my future would be like in these schools. I

was especially looking forward to going to Ateneo since I have always thought that the

campus had such a nice balance of nature with it and I found that beautiful. True enough,

Ateneo was just as I imagined and more. The sun shining brightly on the campus made it

seem like it was glowing. The wide spaces, the green grass and the white and brick red

buildings made me feel so healthy and free since in my old school all you could see is a

much polluted Pasig River. DLSU and CSB had all the technology and the modern libraries,

UST had such beautiful old buildings and Enderun looked and felt like a real hotel, while for

UP I could not say anything good at all. We went down and lined up under the sun only to

find out that the room reserved for us had a class inside so the only thing we could do was

to stay inside the bus while going around the campus. Someone from UP was at the front of

the bus, near the driver, and was saying things we could not even hear from the back. All in

all, it was not a very good experience.

Senior year came and it was the time to take the UPCAT. It was the first entrance

exam of the year and I was not prepared for it. Because of that I did not expect to get into

UP at all. I also took the entrance exams for De La Salle University and University of Santo

Tomas but they all did not really matter to me because all I was thinking about was passing

the ACET to get into the most prestigious Ateneo de Manila University. As the results came

out, I felt much fulfilled to have passed all four exams and I even got into the Top 10%

passers of the DLSUCET. Before the results, I had my mind set to studying in Ateneo but

when the results came out I just became confused. I chose different degree programs for all

four schools and the thought of all those opportunities overwhelmed me. I was


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concentrating too much on the importance of choosing the right school over the

importance of choosing the right degree program. I just wanted to be where all my friends

were going and where I felt like I could be more comfortable and easily be on top. That

would be the ideal for every student. And that is why I wanted to go to the Ateneo.

In my whole high school life, I never thought of studying in UP. Neither did my

parents nor my school encourage me to. I even remember my dad telling me as he dropped

me off to take the UPCAT, Just do your best. You wont be studying here anyway.I am not

sure if he was trying to encourage me or if he was trying not to pressure me or if he was not

expecting me to pass either. For some odd reason, back in my high school UP was labelled

as a dangerous place, a place where people get beat up and a place where many strange and

unusual people study. All I knew was that it was our state university and that there was

nothing really special about it. The campus tour we had back in my junior year did not even

help at all. My thoughts about studying in UP changed when I saw how my teachers and my

family members reacted to the fact that I passed the UPCAT. They were all so proud of me,

even my dad who was indifferent from the start kept telling his friends about me. I have

never seen my dad so proud. I felt like I was one of the best of our generation and that

made me feel so good about myself.

From the start, I really wanted to go to Ateneo but my dad always told that he would

not want me to go there. He would choose any other school from UP, UST and DLSU over

Ateneo. I did not understand what he meant but he always told me that if I study in Ateneo,

I would change and I would no longer be the same person. And with change he definitely

did not mean something good. That conversation with my dad went through my mind for

days but in the end I realized that he knows the best and just wants the best for me. I


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decided to go to UP even if most of my friends went to Ateneo and La Salle. Around 70 of us

passed the UPCAT but only 10 of us went to UP.

I enrolled in UP and experienced the hardest and most tiring enrolment process

ever. I have never seen a line like that before. I felt like right then and there, school has not

even started yet but my mind was already being tested. That experience taught me how to

be extremely patient and calm and prepared me for more stressful events to come. In UP, I

also learned how to become more independent. I now know how to ride a jeep and I am

now sure that I can get home by myself without getting lost. UP exposed me to different

kinds of people with different personalities, status, race and culture. Only in UP did I find

out that our school tuition fee was so much higher than the tuition fee in other schools. In

UP, I have met a lot of Filipinos from the province and foreigners from Japan and Korea.

These people have such a different culture from me but it is fascinating to all of us getting

along in one place. I was also quite shocked to know about how open and strong the LGBT

community is in UP. I never experienced all of this this back in high school since my school

was a Chinese Catholic school and we all had similar family backgrounds and we all kind of

looked the same. The people I met have opened my eyes to the reality that people in this

world are not living equally and fairly. Realizing this made me more socially responsible.

This also made me realize how lucky I am to belong in a family which has had no problems.

UP is also where I realized that I am not as great as I thought I was and that there are

always many more new things to learn. UP is where I learned and experienced so many

things I could not have at any place else and UP is where I have grown a lot as a person.

Going out of my comfort zone, I experienced a lot of culture shock but that did not frighten


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me. Instead these experiences opened my eyes to the real world and made me even

stronger.

Now that I have been in UP for almost two years, I can definitely say that my dad

was right. When I first went out with my old friends again after getting into college, I

realized how different our views became. I felt a strong sense of elitism from them. My

friends in Ateneo became too proud and too full of themselves. They always liked to talk

about only them and that no one can beat them since they are the best there is. It is never

wrong to be confident but there is a thin line between pride and arrogance which we

should never cross. My high school friends always ask me, Isnt it scary to study in UP?

and I always tell them that it is completely safe. I really want more people from our school

to change their view about UP being a dangerous place. It is such a waste that so many

people are missing out on all the life changing experiences they could have had in UP. This

was not my first choice but I never regretted choosing UP even for a bit and if I were to be

asked, I would never want to have my college experience in any other way.

UP was not where my group of friends went to but UP is where I met even more

people I could learn from and relate to. UP was not the most comfortable place but UP is

now my second home. UP was not where I could easily be on top but UP is where I realized

that being on top does not constitute to honor and excellence. UP was definitely not the

ideal school for me but UP is the best school for me.

eng 1 the dream school i did not dream of

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