An Open Letter to Incoming Freshmen

First of all, congratulations on passing the UPCAT!

I still remember the moment I found out about my UPCAT results--it was a hot afternoon, and I was mindlessly scrolling through my Twitter feed when I saw a barrage of tweets. It was a mixture of my batchmates thanking God for helping them pass, comforting those who didn't, and promising to be an iskolar ng at para sa bayan. Images of the Oblation, sunflowers, protests, and the ever-famous sablay swirled through my mind, filling me with excitement for college. With my Form 5 and newly-bought UP shirts from Upbeat, I was 101% ready for UP.

Or so I thought I was.

After finishing my freshman year and summer class, I realized that no amount of freshie primers, maps, campus tours, or orientation programs could have prepared me for the storm that is Unibersidad ng Pilipinas--that no matter how many blue books I bought or chapters I'd read, UP would always be two steps ahead of me. 

Freshies, let me tell you something--your first year in UP will undoubtedly be one hell of a ride. Trust me, I've been there.

You'll fail--lots of times. You'll fail the Kas 1 quiz you spent a whole night studying for, and you'll probably curse yourself for not remembering even the tiniest detail about the Philippine revolution. You'll fail your Math 20 exam because you spent the previous night at UP Fair, but trust me, you won't regret seeing Hale and Munimuni live. And if you're anything like me, you might even fail Math class and retake it during midyear. 

And I'm just not talking about academic failures. You'll fail in friendships too--you'll lose touch with a handful of high school friends whom you promised to go out every week with, and you'll even gain the wrath of some. You'll feel as if you've failed your parents every time you receive a blue book with a grade below 60%. You'll even fail dating--that guy who you were supposed to watch Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap with? He's gonna ghost you after a few weeks (kids, stay away from Engineering majors! Kidding.).

You'll cry too. You'll cry on your first night in your freshman dorm with your back turned against your roommate's side of the room while disguising your sniffles and sobs with upbeat Taylor Swift songs. You'll cry while trying to cram forty chapters of Heywood two nights before your POLSC 11 finals. You'll cry when you celebrate huge milestones--like birthdays--a thousand kilometers away from your parents. You'll cry when you realize that your best will never be enough for UP. And you'll cry when you realize that no one's gonna take care of you while you're puking your guts out at 1AM the night before your Math finals. 

But it won't be the end of the world, because if you're as lucky as me, you'll meet amazing people along the way.

You'll fail, but you'll have blockmates who would willingly spend all-nighters with you at your dorm's study area. You'll brave terror profs, pop quizzes, deadlines, and pamatay finals together, but you'll also laugh over inside jokes and a certain blockmate falling on top of a plant by the PolSci department. They'll also be your first family in college--you know you can always count on them to have your back. 

You'll have friends and orgmates (ily apsm) who'll listen to your stories, eat lunch with you, and even try to call your crushes when they pass by your tambayan. You'll find Ates you can count on for dating advice, and Kuyas who'll offer to beat up guys who hurt you. 

You'll have dormmates whom--despite also being as homesick as you are--you can count on for hugs, smiles, or even a napkin during girl emergencies. You'll also have a roommate you can gossip with before bedtime! And if you're as lucky as I am, she's also gonna be from the same province as you.

You'll have an RA who'll make your dorm feel like home and act as your second mom, making sure to hug you before you sleep and check on you when you're sick. 

You'll have an older orgmate who'll treat you and your best friend like his children and bail you out during 3AM run-ins. 

You'll have a best friend, and you'll both find yourselves walking around the Acad Oval at night,  chilling at Sunken and Quezon Hall beyond curfew hours, or just spending a quiet night at room 238 while hogging her bed. After two sems and half a midyear with her, you'll wonder how you ever survived highschool without her by your side.

You'll find out that your close friend would turn into your boyfriend after spending two semesters studying with him until the wee hours of the morning at your dorm's study area. And he'll even bring you to the UHS when you're sick, buy you Gatorade, and watch Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap with you. 

Just like you, I was also scared and excited for what college had to offer. And just like me, you'll also discover that UP isn't all sunflowers and kwek-kwek. It's a horrible mixture of failed grades, missing units, and long walks from Kalay to Math. But if you're as lucky as me, you'll meet amazing people during your freshie year who'll make the journey feel like less of a burden and more of a roadtrip. 

Freshies, if you're as lucky as me, you'll meet people like them along the way--and when you do, don't ever let them go.