Finals Week - SY 2006-07

The semester is on its final week. I’ve taken all my exams and am just accomplishing my clearance. This term also concludes the school year hence I anticipated the excruciating requirements poured upon us.

I remember being told that when the talahib (a tall, wild grass) flowers, it is the season when snakes are most venomous. I haven’t verified yet its truthfulness and have no plan of researching on snake matters but it just hit me that perhaps, the final grading period especially of the second semester could be for some professors, a comparable “hunting season”. You see, the final grading is critical to know who’ll be marching up the stage and shaking hands with the school officials. Optimistically, let’s just say that some instructors had grown very fond of their students and what soothes their pain of letting go is to see our eye bags drooping and skin pale due to lack of sleep and only then shall they be fulfilled saying, “Awww…I’ve played a significant role into molding the youth into hardworking citizens”

A couple of weeks ago, I found a feature in Yahoo! News bearing the title “It's true – stress makes teens break out”. The article writes about a research by a professor of dermatology and his colleagues. Their respondents/subjects for the research were students from Singapore where the researchers considered the climate stable and the study revealed that the acne of students worsened after taking an assessment exam for college. They found therefore that stress is a stronger factor rather than grease and diet. So much with these facts, all I wanted to say is that I had been a living proof. My two-week struggle to beat deadlines gave me a pimple below my lips. I come home very late at night with stomach grumbling and eyes tired from staring on the monitor.

I had to make a Powerpoint presentation and a research paper for General Chemistry. I am even thinking that our instructor had this idea of requiring a research just because of me for I learned from his previous students that he never required them one. He was a long-time acquaintance since I was in grade school but it was only this year that he became my teacher. No he didn’t require the paper because we had a conflict but perhaps he just wanted to see whether I learned how to write a research paper which was among the core programs of our curriculum in high school where he was the department head for Science. His subject could really get tough sometimes but it was a challenge I took positively. My high school chemistry got me entangled with the 1s2-2s2-2p6 electronic configuration. Thankfully this time, I understood something more than the definitions of Chemistry and matter.

Another paper which drained me was the comparative study on the Preamble and first 5 articles of the 1973 and 1987 constitution. I had no choice but do this really well because this is the sole basis of my grade for the semester. This is an alternative requirement for my Philippine Constitution subject because this class had been moved to noontime since pre-finals which of course I cannot attend because of my job.

As for my Rizal class, I had to study 12 chapters of Noli Me Tangere to make up for 2 quizzes I missed due to being occupied with the two aforementioned subjects. I thought I wouldn’t be this busy because I have no major subjects enrolled for the semester but… *sigh* thank God though it’s over. I’m just waiting for the release of grades.

I’m hoping I did well in my Chemistry exam; anyway it’s easier than pre-finals. As for Rizal, I was overjoyed to receive a text message from my teacher saying that I have been exempted because the autobiography (mine) I submitted was “impressive”. Last week, I had also been pulled on-the-spot to be a panelist for the oral defense of 2nd year students graduating from Associate in Computer Technology. I felt flattered of having been invited because I think, as a current student myself, I don’t deserve the honor yet. It has been a nice experience.

After several “no-TV” weeks, I enjoyed watching “Big Momma’s House 2”, “My Super Ex-Girlfriend”, and “You, Me and Dupree” over the weekend.

Although I won’t be able to enjoy an indulgent summer vacation as lax as students because of my job, I’m enjoying the same feeling of fulfillment nonetheless and I’m still looking forward for a meaningful summer.

I’m sure to miss my many friends who graduated as well as the instructors who resigned but I share their gladness for their achievements. I wish you the best!