WALLS INSCRIBING US

[originally post here: November 07, 2008]

What did you do when you first entered your first classroom as a pre- schooler? Some were too excited that they made new friends right away, some boast of their newest stuff for school, some were too shy that they stayed as quiet as possible and some cried and begged for their parents to stay beside them.

As we enter Daycare, Nursery, Kindergarten and Preparatory, we were able to sing the alphabet song, count from one to ten, know the shades of every color, differentiate each shape and discover whether we are right- or left- handed.

We also learned how to use phrases for everyday conversations like, “good morning”, “How are you?”, “I’m fine, thank you” , and the process of asking someone’s name and giving yours in return and in just a blink, you found a new playmate.

Boarding to the second stage is next —– Elementary level. If in pre- school, you only knew red, now you know red- orange. If then you only knew ten, now you know ten thousand. What we gained from the pre- school is just a preparation and the knowledge we consumed will be added with more sets of it.

If then, your mother still needs to prepare everything for you and still brings you to school, in elementary, you will be more responsible of yourself. Your values will change too, you mature and become conscious, then you start to demand for more needs and wants.

Ofcourse, words such as barkada, tambay, love teams,and more were used during those years, which only show the evolution of a simple playmate to a friend.

Now, here comes High School life… another stage, not just a stage, but a higher stage. Bigger adjustments await you. Just look how big it is: red à red- orange à fuchsia; 10 à 10, 000 à 10 100; from six subjects, now you have 10- 12 to pass and from a dismissal time of 3 P.M., now you go home 4:00- 6:00 P.M…

Tougher days approach from the head banging lessons, exams, and projects to the most exhausting days you can ever experience. Yet, high school is not just about stress, pressure and anxiety, high school is indeed something to be treasured, a part of our lives that cannot be replaced.

In this chapter, we meet different beings where first impressions arise. Good or bad, we somehow learned how to cope with these individuals, if not yet, atleast we’re trying to. From them, we found our coolest best friends, our partners, our accountable mentors or advisers —– our second family. A family that helped us attains real- life adventure. A family that introduced the process of decision- making to us. It is whether we choose the right or the left path which will mold our tomorrow.

Yes, we have finally grown from those little kids to boys and girls and we continuously grow as the clock ticks.

Now, look at those walls in your classroom… four walls have been there since you entered that room. During your pre- school and elementary years, as you transfer from one room to another, those walls are there, standing still. You, being enclosed within, are unaware that you are actually growing. Those walls have witnessed everything. From the most painful shred of tears to the most heart- whelming comforts, from the craziest laughs after hearing the wackiest and corniest joke ever to the biggest fight you ever had with a friend. The reactions after hearing that there’s no classes, after announcing the latest project you ought to pass the next day, after breaking another class rule and after facing the unending “sermons” of our teachers, all of those are just some of the factors that shaped us while studying and sitting inside that room.

Isn’t it funny that years from now, we were crying not wanting to stay in our classroom? But now, we are crying not wanting to leave our respective rooms, afraid to leave every memory inscribed inside those four walls.

xiXi =3

This is my first article for my column entitled AFTERGLOW for our school paper The Gleaner..
Hope you guys appreciate it,i would be grateful hearing your feedbacks..thank you..