Let me tell you a little story.

I was a senior high school honor student then. Career talks were scheduled for our batch because we’re about to enter a new world: college. Parents, relatives, teachers, classmates — everyone had an opinion to which school I should go to.

But ultimately, I’m the one who’d make the decision.

I took quite a number of entrance exams in different universities and I fortunately passed all of them. I was blessed to have these open doors and I just had to choose. And that, young girl, is the hardest part because I believe that all of those universities are great in their own way.

How did I know which university to go to?

I chose the one that made me feel happy.

I still remember how giddy I was when I results came out. I felt like doing cartwheels and somersaults despite me not having even a single athletic bone in my body.

That was it. That was what made me decide to go to UST. It was the only university which mattered to me. All the others just faded in the background. And I’m not saying that UST is greater than this university or that university. I’m simply saying that UST is my university.

My four years were not wasted (four and a half, if you include the review for the board exams). I was taught by intellectuals, graduated from a Center of Excellence, passed the Board Exams, and met wonderful people. And I, for one, can assure you that there is more to this university than what other people would tell you.

I have spent years with people who are exactly the opposite of what you say Thomasians are. I have been with wise professors who have Latin honors and triple doctorate degrees. I have been with Americans, Canadians, Nigerians, Koreans, Chinese, and even those from the islands of Visayas and Mindanao. I have had wealthy friends and not-so wealthy friends. I have met people who grew up in the mountains, who speak with accents, who eat without utensils. I have met different people who believed in different things.

And I guess the diversity is what made my college life unforgettable. It was in the confines of UST that I’ve witnessed how rich kids devour street foods like I do. That you really don’t have to be fair-skinned or straight-haired to be called beautiful. That you can trust people whose personalities are different from yours. That you can become a better person with the help of your friends. That you don’t judge a person by their IQ because everyone is smart in their own way. And that even in a 400-year-old university with 21.5 hectares of land and almost 50,000 students, one can find a best friend. Or best friends if you’re lucky.

Max Ehrmann wrote, “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”

Build yourself for yourself, not because you want to be better than somebody else. Comparisons never did anybody any good. If you want to fly, then fly. Nobody is stopping you. Just don’t step on people while you’re on your way.

This world is harsh, but that doesn’t mean we should be harsh too. We can’t get everything we want, but that doesn’t mean we should stop others from getting what they want.

Words are double-edged swords. One could never fathom the extent of the effect of words. Choose your words wisely, because they might just come back at you when you least expect it.

And lastly, respect. Respect elders. Respect others. Respect yourself.

You are young and you still have a long way to go. Make sure it matters.

Micah Danao, RN
UST-College of Nursing Batch 2010 

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8. jepoy reblogged this from supermicahness and added:

   Very well said, fellow Thomasian :)

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