This article is something I wrote for our college, so, enjoy!
So you’ve
finally made it to the premier university in the country. But as a famous
saying in the campus goes “Mahirap makapasok, mas mahirap makalabas.” Passing
the UPCAT and enrolling in UP won’t mean anything if you can’t graduate, be it
on time or not. In short, you need to survive in UP! Since we are ‘sUPer
students’, where else can we look for advice but from the best super heroes out
there? So we would be looking at two famous super hero teams; the original
line-up of the Justice League, and the Avengers in the recently released movie
of the same name. Let’s start shall we?
The Justice League
First of
all, one of the most important thing to remember when in UP is to be quick and
fast, like The Flash. One must be
quick to think and fast to react. UP won’t wait for you to get yourself ready,
in and out the classroom. Being late is not an option, and always remembers
that deadlines are really deadlines.
Being quick and fast also helps a ton when it comes to buying your lunch
during jam-packed lunch breaks, or trying to catch a ride, be it a jeepney or a
cab, or being the first one to use the shower in the morning.
Most of us
are familiar with the concept of culture shock, and it should come as no shock
(pun intended) that a lot of iskos and iskas experience culture shock. There
would be those that came from province, or graduated from exclusive high
schools, and some even came from outside the country. Aquaman came from the City of Atlantis under the oceans before
spending most of his crime fighting time on land. You would experience culture
shock, or some variety of it, at one point or another, but that is not the
point. What is important is to be able to adapt. If you are a freshman reading
this, you would spend at least four years in the university, and you wouldn’t
be able to survive here without adapting. That does not necessarily mean
changing your lifestyle or attitude. It simply means getting to know how things
work around here, and then adjusting yourself to it accordingly. It is not easy,
it is never easy, but hey, you are in UP, where nothing is easy.
Speaking of
culture shock, most attribute it to being alone, to not having any friends to
be with, to the feeling that you are like a Martian from Mars that came to
Earth. Well, do you know who really (well, not really-really, but comic
book-really) came from Mars and was the lone Martian on Earth? Martian Manhunter (or less known as
J’onn J’onzz) that is! He was accidentally pulled to Earth by an experimental
teleportation beam, and thus, he was the lone Martian on a planet of
Earthlings. But hey, he found the Justice League who he considers as friends.
In the same vein, it would help your survival here in UP if you have your own
group of friends. You can find friends from your blockmates, or from various
organizations, such as hobby orgs, academic orgs, and provincial orgs. While it
is the common notion that UP promotes and develops independence, that shouldn’t
come at the price of being forever alone. To put it simply, let me say it this
way: The value of having friends can never be overstated.
Moving on, among the things that I discovered
to be useful while being in UP can be described using one word, “willpower”. The same willpower that, through his
ring, gives Hal Jordan, The Green
Lantern, his powers. There would be countless times when your confidence
would be shaken, when you would doubt yourself, when you would be demotivated
to the point that you would feel so worthless, when you would simply want to
give up. It is not an issue of IF, but an issue of WHEN. Trust me, it would
happen. The thing to remember is to be able to have enough willpower to
continue, to stand up after falling. No one gets out unscarred. You would get
hurt, you would lose and you would fail. But at the same time, you would stand
up, you would be better, and you would succeed. And that would only happen if
you have willpower.
Just a quick
question, do you recognize that Wonder
Woman has a lasso? She has and it is called the Lasso of Truth, which
forces anyone it catches to tell the truth. Now, I don’t know if this should be
filed under ‘survival tips’, or under ‘everyday things’, but while in UP, and
even out of it, tell the truth! I won’t make this long, it is not worth it to
lie, or cheat. Let me repeat that, IT-IS-NOT-WORTH-IT. Keep honest, tell the
truth, and just stay on the right track.
Okay, given
that you now a UP student, it only follows that you are one of the best
students in the country. Which means that you are pretty awesome on your own.
But you would even excel and achieve more if you are in a group. Much like Batman. Batman is an incredible
superhero on his own, but he couldn’t do it all alone. There are just some
opponents that could be bested with the help of the League. Like I’ve said earlier,
surround yourselves with friends, but in this particular instance, friends that
do more than just hang out with you. Have study groups before an exam, or have
a discussion about that long reading that was assigned to your class, or solve
problem sets together. Of course, you would accomplish an exam and other
individual requirements on your own, but that doesn’t mean that you have to
prepare for it alone. Not to mention that there would be a lot of requirements
that are to be done as a group, and learning how to work within a group is such
a vital lesson to learn.
Now, we go
to the man in blue, one of the most famous superheroes of all time, Superman. The Man of Steel has often
been referred to as being the boy scout among the superheroes. Unless you’ve
been living under a rock, you know what they say about boy scouts, that is that
boy scouts are always ready. Likewise, UP students should also always be ready.
Do not go to your classes unprepared. Do your homework, read the assigned
readings, always have your course syllabus with you, have some extra money in
case of emergency, always bring an umbrella, and never forget to bring your pen
and paper. It goes a long way to at least have an idea of what you is being
discussed in class. UP is a microcosm of the real world, and much like in the
real world, there would be a lot of instances that would and could catch you in
surprise. The only preparation against this is therefore to always be ready for
any situation that may arise.
The Avengers
Having an observant
eye could be one of the most underrated skills to have while in UP. A sharp
eye, like that of Hawkeye. For
starters, your teachers most of the time would write a lot on the black board,
or flash text heavy powerpoint slides. Do not be surprised if your teacher does
not wait for you to finish copying everything before they erase the notes on
the board or move on to the next slide. It is imperative therefore to be able
to have a quick eye and spot all the important words and key ideas in all those
texts presented to you. During exams, it would also greatly help if you would
be more stringent in reading the instructions, the questions, as well as the
answers. For instance, there would be some true or false exams that would
instruct you to write F for true, and T for false, or in Math, multiple choice
answers whose only difference is the sign or placement of the decimal
point. Outside the class room, being
observant also help. Room numbers most of the time follow a pattern, and
getting familiar with said pattern greatly helps. I’ll give one more example
that maybe even the non-freshmen hasn’t noticed. Have you noticed that Ikot and
Toki jeeps have yellow roofs? While Katipunan bound jeepnes are
marooned/browned roofed. Going to Philcoa? Ride the jeepneys that are of green
roofs with yellow on its side, while if you are thinking of going to SM North,
or MRT, or Pantranco, the jeepneys with the pure green roofs are the ones to
ride.
So you are
surrounded by the following people: The God of Thunder, a master assassin
proficient with the use of deadly arrows, a hulking green giant with anger
management issues, a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist with a super
powered suit of armor, and a legendary super soldier that lives up to the
legend, how would you feel? Most would feel like an ant among people, but not Black Widow. Even among all these
marvellous beings, she does not shy away and actually holds her own. The
message is simple, even if everyone seems so special and you seem to be normal
does not mean that you can’t do anything. You’ll encounter a lot of people that
make it seem like getting a grade of uno is a part of their daily routine. The
key is to not compare yourself to these people and just hold your own. Do your
stuff, and do it in your absolute best. If you keep comparing yourself to
others, your just wasting time that could have been used to actually catch up
to them.
Quick question! What is one thing that Thor can do that no one else can? Lift
up his hammer, the Mjolnir. No one else can do it. Likewise, there would be
things that only you can do, or at the very least, be the best in doing it.
There would be always someone better than you, that is just a reality of life,
but even to those people better than you, there would be specific things that
you would do better than them. It all goes back to having confidence.
It could be
said that UP is an obstacle course that challenges your physical limitations,
mental prowess, social capabilities, and emotional capacity. With that in mind,
keeping your emotions under control actually helps a lot during your stay in
UP. Being the master of your emotions is a big thing, just ask the Hulk. All kinds of emotions could work
for and against you. There would be times when you would be sad and depressed
for whatever reason, be it a failed exam or an important paper that you failed
to pass before the deadline, or a subject that you did not pass. The important
thing is to not sulk in depression. Angry because you got late or missed a
class because of whatever unfortunate accident that wasn’t your fault? Don’t
let your anger get the best of you. Because if so, then you risk losing even
more, without even actually having to gain something. Your emotions is the
proverbial double edged sword; if used properly it would motivate and help push
one to newer heights.
I’ll go
straight to the point for this next one; learn to step up as a leader, a leader
like Captain America. Some of you
reading this might have been leaders already before, while others might have
shied away from the responsibility of being a leader. Nonetheless, you would
have to take on the mantle of being the lead guy or girl on a team. As I said
above, there would be a lot of group requirements, and at one point or another,
you would have to lead. Even outside the classroom, such instances would rise,
be it in your group of friends or in your organization. Learning to lead sooner
rather than later would be a crucial survival tip while staying here in the
campus. After all, we are UP students – future leaders of our generation.
Finally, we
go to the final superhero on the list, Iron
Man, who is all sorts of awesome, which translate to a survival tip
of...well.... just be awesome. That’s it. Be-freakin’-Awesome.
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