Just like a year ago, I’m here waiting for a vacant room at the pedia ward. It’s a long queue.
The earliest we can be admitted is Aug 20. IDS said it’s fine, it’s not an emergency procedure anyway.
My stomach is full of acids because I had been so tense the past 24 hrs. The admission still says “GI TB rule out lymphoma.” We were never in the clear. 🥺
This morning when I left home, the traffic was horrible inside the university campus. I thought it was college admission test day. My guess was confirmed because there were a lot of people milling around outside UP Manila. I heard the staff at the PGH admissions office talking about the test.
I remember my exam 29 years ago… I didn’t do any cram studying. I just relied on the review sessions we had at our high school during the summer break until the first quarter of the school year. Then on the exam day itself, I brought with me bars of Snickers and a jug of water. Easy-to-eat sugary stuff was best for brain-numbing exams, I learned. I thought I breezed through English/Filipino reading comprehension and abstract reasoning. Science was ok but I was squirming in my seat during Math. I would have been confident about my high chance to pass but Math made me doubt my whole existence.
The results were out by mid-January. I passed my first choice course. After I saw my name on the board (in those days, you can only see your name on physical boards), I immediately computed my grades. I figured if I flunk all of my subjects in 4Q, I would still graduate from high school. From that day on, I stopped caring about my academics and just concentrated on enjoying the remaining days of high school. I carried a point-and-shoot film camera and took photos of random stuff, people, and the rehearsals for the school play (I was part of the principal cast). I was documenting memories. Most of these photos ended up in our yearbook and the playbill.
It was as if the university admission test was the end-all and be-all of my young existence. Getting in my university was my parents’ goal because 1) they don’t have to pay for tuition again as part of the faculty privilege; and 2) they thought our prospects for employment would be brighter.
I would worry about this when my kids start 10th grade. Review/cram school starts in 11th grade but I have to prep them at 10th.
