#STCTaughtMe trended worldwide on Twitter last night! Can you imagine that? It was probably the first time in history when Theresians took Twitter by storm and posted their learnings from the school in 140 characters or less before heading to the worldwide trends. When I learned of the news today via my batchmates’ tweets, it made me feel more proud of being a Theresian - which I was a year before but will always remain one to the deepest core. For 11 years, I studied in this school where I grew up and learned a lot of life’s virtues. Since 140 characters is not enough for me to express what my alma mater has taught me, I will just blog everything about it here.
- Be happy with what you have. - I will always remember these exact words by my CWJ teacher when I was in 4th year. Our class was tasked to write our thoughts on paper, and I decided to write about the things others had which I didn’t own. A week later, our notebooks were returned, and I read those words from my teacher. She added, “Even with making changes with yourself, you would still be recognized who you are.” During my entire HS life, there were lots of times when I wanted to be in the shoes of another girl who was more beautiful or got higher grades without exerting much effort, not to mention she has the gadgets and clothes and the number of friends that I want. Let us face it: there would always be someone who would always be better than you. Nonetheless, the grass is always greener at the other fence of the yard. In the crowd, you could pinpoint someone who is prettier, smarter, wealthier, or more talented than you but one thing for sure is they can never be you. And if they’re better than you, then there is someone out there who is more superior than them. Yes, envy and comparisons cannot be avoided but we should learn to count our blessings. I have to admit that I still get envious at times but I try my best not to overtake my life.
- Pain is temporary, pride is forever. - This was my schedule back in senior year: wake up at 4:45 AM, arrive in school at 6:30, get home from school at 5, dinner at 7, study from 8 until God knows when. But in the third quarter, the requirements started stacking up and I began experiencing repeating episodes of insomnia and stress. As much as I wanted to have a good night’s sleep, I resisted myself because I wanted to accomplish them all so I could get a good academic standing then graduate with flying colors. Nothing can ever beat the power of hard work even with the struggles you face. After the endless hours of studying for the sciences and language arts, I was able to graduate STC with a smile on my face - and a fresh diploma at hand.
- Learn to appreciate your batch and the tight bond you’ve had. - Truth to be told, I appreciated my batch more in my last two years in STC. We grew up together: we wore the same pastel colors in Prep, played under the same heritage tree as grade schoolers, made the transition from Friendster to Facebook together, and made the same final march in the Calamba Gym during our high school graduation. After going through a lot back in the years prior, I almost wanted to surrender. Then all of a sudden, a downpour of new friends came to my life and my faith was restored. I realized that three or four years can make a huge difference in each person’s character. I’ve seen a lot who changed for the good although there were some who made the opposite direction. My batch was so tight we didn’t want to let ourselves go from the bond we made. Especially in senior year, I was surprised when people started to change their impressions of each other. True colors were revealed and stereotypes slowly faded into obscurity. Haters turned into friends. Doubters turned into believers. Slackers turned into achievers. It was never too late for us to change in order to give a lasting legacy to our school. Every time we were with our classmates and friends, we were so happy and comfortable being with each other. Whenever I hear Theresians today talking about the Bandfest or Family Day, I would always remember how special my batch’s bond was. Somehow, they became my adoptive sisters being an only child myself. I miss my batch and I hope we would be complete again the next time we see each other.
It has been a year since I graduated from STC. It has been six months since I last stepped on the grounds of my the school located at 116 D. Tuazon St. at the heart of Quezon City. I haven’t seen 75% of my HS batch since graduation partly because only a few of us who went studied in DLSU for college. Sad to say, S6T has yet to have a proper reunion since we haven’t had a hangout since April of last year. But I was glad to see most of IV-3 during debuts and class gatherings and being apart from them made me miss them more.
Before I end this post, congratulations to STC Batch 2012 for a job well done! I wish you all the best in your college life and future endeavors. I hope to see ID 112 Theresians this coming May :)
