i got my undergraduate degree from the ateneo de manila university in the philippines. i hear a lot of people say that they enjoyed their high school more than their college but it seems to be otherwise for me. i've always held the notion that college was a real natural progresion from high school, not an abrupt stop of everything that was fun. i had great friends, had amazing teachers and mentors and had a very nurturing environment. at thar time, i considered it to be the best time in my life (athough my philosophy has always been that this year is always better than the last).

it was such a joy then to go back to ateneo earlier. i'm proud of my alma mater and it showed while i was touring yelle around the campus.

we were supposed to watch a play by tanghalang ateneo at the library theater in the campus earler in the evening but the tickets were sold out. we went aroud the college campus instead, saying how this changed and that remained the same.


the conversations that i have with my college friends sometimes delve into how things have changed in the campus today. they say that the students act and dress differently now: how it's not the same ateneo as it used to be; that all idealism got sucked out of the campus when we left  (i hear every graduating batch say that.); that there's no opposing force that moves them out of apathy. i actually bought into those conversations for quite a while now, not knowing that it's eating up my own idealism.


having a few moments to kill, we snooped around other events in the campus, curious why the field has been set-up for a concert and a party. i thought it was just part of the christmas festivities held in campus every december. it wasn't.

it was actually a protest in support for the sumilao farmers from bukidnon. i actually didn't know much about it but listening in, i saw how their cause came about and why they are fighting for the land that they are supposed to own (i for one now support their cause). but more than that, i also saw how a new generation of ateneans are giving themselves to something other than themelves: to giving up their beds for the evening for the famers, to passing around cans over the past weeks as fund-raising, to creating the event today to spread awareness to others.

just imagine a group of developmental studies students take on this task with other sectors in the campus with full ardor. young ones very much willing to expand themselves, and listening and heeding to calls early in their lives. it is interesting to see how they are willing to see what breaks their hearts and do something about it. strong yet caring souls. amazing.

i suddenly saw how it once was, when we supported the removal of our own president through peaceful means. i believe that event completely changed my life: i was never the same since then. imagine holding on to something that i believed in, dearly and come into fruition and for the first time in my life, i really felt what it was like to be a filipino, to love the country i was born in, and hope that this country will prosper.

and here they were, ateneans and fellow filipinos, inspired to do something about the current plight of their countrymen. (wow.) i am very much privileged to witness such greatness in people and see that there are still generations of filipinos willing to make a stand for this country.

these individuals still show me what this campus has continued to teach in it's halls over the past 150 years. they are no different from us or from the batches before us. in fact, they breathe life into the legacy of what it means to be part of this heritage. we continue to be the change that this country aspires for (and hold hands with other filipinos who do so).


actually looking at the students now, they dress the same as we do, albeit more refined and fashionable than we were. it's still the same ateneans that i've come to know and believe in.

and so last night i learned how to bike. oh, yeah!

(by next year, i'll be off to mountain trails! oh, yeah!)