Post 0009: High School Life

Today was even worse than expected. Sure, Alan's here now, but we still didn't have any calls (I just read a lot of past articles from Mark Rosewater's Making Magic column and did this entry), and something shocking happened this afternoon. He was talking to someone over the phone and started raising his voice. It seemed that he got into a heated argument with someone and he kept saying the word “YBM”. After that, he went out and still hasn't returned as of this time. Strange. I just hope that the argument had nothing to do with our work.

I didn't want to depress myself with negative thoughts so as always, music therapy ako to keep my sanity and to fuel my train of thought para makapagsulat nang maayos sa blog. And as for my treat for today, it's all about...*drumroll* high school life!

First Year.

Nung first year ko, akala ko sa medyo mataas na section ako mapupunta since first section ako nung grade 6 – first section out of three, to be exact. Ang bagsak ko? Ayun, seventh. Nun ko lang na-realize na ambaba talaga ng grades ko nung elementary (I was too scared to look at them, haha). Iba na pala talaga pag high school na. Subjects, approach, even the way you think will be changed. Etong mga panahong ito rin naming naranasan ang ibig sabihin ng “terror teacher”. Kumbaga, nung tumapak kami sa paanan ng eskwelahan namin (Saint John Academy, ngayon eh Saint John Colleges, literally a breath away from where I live), nag-molt kami agad into young adults. Yung mga medyo childish na laro namin e napalitan ng sports. Yung mga girls, puro mga TV shows at pop music na ang pinag-uusapan. There was nothing very memorable about this year, apart from the fact that I started playing Magic: The Gathering during this time (saka na yang kwento na yan) and having interest with this naïve girl from section 5 who'd often refer to me as “Section 7's Windbag”. Keep up with me and I fucking swear you'll just laugh after you find out what happened afterwards.

Second Year.

Section seven pa rin. This was, in my opinion, the year that I started my journey towards becoming what I am now. My musical inclination started when I got involved with a couple of students who had an Oasis cover band. They kicked their vocalist out because he was basically being an ass, and took me in. We never really got to perform sa school fair but we enjoyed all the jamming sessions we had. Though there was this one occasion that I got to perform sa school fair, and it was the first and last rap-rock performance by students sa history ng SJA. I did the rap and my friend was the human boombox. We did a couple of covers (Gangsta's Paradise and a Dog Eat Dog song pero limot ko na yung title) and then a freestyle. Much to our surprise, the audience, majority of which composed of rockers and chicks, were really down with our performance. There were even groupies who wanted to get me and my friend as blind dates. The best part of it was there was this local rap posse who wanted to feature us on their street party, pero syempre with the emergence of poser gangs (yung mga “gangsta”) I declined, baka kasi mauwi sa rambol yung party. Nung mga panahong yun kasi sobrang frequent ng gang-related violence sa amin. Also, if my memory serves me right, it was also the year when boybands and girlbands really started to skyrocket into popularity. I was actually (and still am) a closet Spice Girls fan. Haha. Now you have something to ridicule me with. On with the story. This naïve girl I've been talking about, Marcia (not her real name), was starting to grow fond of me because I started to flirt with her (along with two other girls, which up to now hindi nya alam). Exhanging letters almost every day, asking her on dates and shit, the typical puppy love crap. I didn't even know why I was into her at the time. By the time that we were having a mutual understanding, our classmates were starting and ending relationships just as quick, sometimes even swapping boyfriends/girlfriends. How hardcore is that. And of course I didn't want to be a part of that stereotype so I stopped seeing her without even explaining to her why. Hindi lang siguro ako seryoso sa kanya.

Another signifcant happened that year as well. SJA closed due to the administration apparently not giving the teachers their rightful benefits which led to a strike. Syempre nung una tuwang-tuwa kami, thinking that makakapag-bakasyon kami sa kalagitnaan ng school year, pero after a couple of weeks after, saka namin narealize na malilintikan din kami dahil maghahanap kami ng bagong school na papasukan. Kumbaga, pinatapos muna kami bago tuluyang isinara yung school.

Third Year.

Laguna College of Business and Arts ang pangalan ng rival school ng SJA at alma mater ko nung elementary. Dito rin ako pumasok ng third year at natuto ng kung anu-anong kamunduhan. SJA students were generalized as the studious and wussy type, and LCBA students were like the fucking Satan's army in-training. I often dubbed it as “educational hell”, dahil sa dami ng delinquents na pumapasok despite the school's prestigious name. Tapunan ng mga siga at bobo sa madaling sabi. The high school department to be specific. It's like Cromartie High. If you hang out with me a lot, I've probably told you my funny experiences here. Sa school na to, pwede kang mag-barge in sa kalagitnaan ng klase para banatan yung kagalit mo sa kabilang section, bara-barahin yung titser na ayaw mo hanggang sukuan kayo o ma-stroke, at hindi pumasok sa klase pero magkaroon ng highest na grade pagdating ng report card. Of course I was influenced to drink, smoke, and all sorts of shit. Nung una I was into it kasi syempre may peer pressure pero I realized I was starting to become someone I didn't want to be so I looked for other geeks and befriended them. Tambayan namin? Arcades. PlayStation houses. Magic shops. And we spend a lot of cash on our hobbies, mas maganda na yun kesa sa ubusin namin sa yosi, alak, or worse – drugs. By the way, most of the SJA students also enrolled here so there were a lot of familiar faces, including Marcia. Pero syempre, I didn't give a damn about her. I was more engaged with my hobbies and surviving that school year. Oh, and by the way – the Junior-Senior Prom here totally SUCKED.

Fourth Year.

Everyone was surprised when word came out that SJA will re-open under the new name Saint John Colleges. The school had new teachers and featured a college department. Being the practical person that my mum is, she told me to finish high school here, at syempre tuwang-tuwa ako dahil makakatakas na ako sa kabaliwan ng LCBA. Syempre yung ibang originally galing sa SJA bumalik, pero yung iba, nag-stay at eventually dun na nagtapos. I really tried to make a mark this time by being an active part of extra-curricular activities - emceeing for events, being the editor-in-chief of the school paper and captain of the Sepak Takraw varsity team. You could say that I was known everywhere within the school premises, even though I declined running for the Student Body Organization because I've always hated politics. Going back to the puppy love story, Marcia was my classmate that year, which of course “rekindled old flames”. Out of the blue, I decided to make her my girlfriend. During the course of our courtship, she confessed that she felt the same way about me, and we became a couple nung October. Of course, this was the time for me to observe if my decision to date her was correct. Apparently it wasn't. She wasn't the naïve girl I used to know anymore. After three months and a simple snap of my fingers, I decided to ditch her for this other girl from section two (yeah, I know. It's Jeff-bashing time). Akane (definitely not her name) was this shy, mahinhin type. I've always wanted one of those back in the days, so I tried my luck with her. Eto yung progression ng events: I ditched Marcia during the Christmas Fair and immediately made my admirations for Akane clear in public. I was even requesting songs dedicated to her na nakapangalan sa akin. Everyone was like, “Whooooooooaaaaa...”. Tamang iritan at tuksuhan. A flamed Marcia tried to retaliate by hitting on my Sepak Takraw teammate but it failed kasi ayaw sa kanya nung guy. Haha. Anyway, Akane gave me the chance to talk to her about whatnots so we went sa balcony ng Science Building, where everyone could easily locate us (yeah, bash Jeff the jerk now). The courtship was a good experience – nagreregaluhan kami ng stuff kahit walang okasyon, we call each other, send letters everyday. It lasted until the prom night. Yun na yung panahon na inisip kong kailangan ko nang sabihin sa kanya verbally na I have feelings for her. Sa hindi-inaasahang pangyayari, natorpe ako bigla. Inatake rin ako ng selos dahil yung partner nya nung sayaw e yung kaibigan nyang lalake (who turned out to be a friend lang talaga *facepalm*). Tumambay na lang ako sa cafeteria at nagmukmok. Nakita ako ng mga classmates ko, and they tried to comfort me. Finally, after a joint effort of our common friends from our respective sections, my magic prom moment arrived. She went inside the cafeteria, and it was just the two of us (apart from the cafeteria staff whom I know were eavesdropping, LOL). The conversation went like this:

Me: (Nervous) Umm... Sorry if I've been acting crazy all night. It's just that there's something that I want to tell you pero hindi ko alam kung paano ko sasabihin. Kinakabahan ako.
Akane: Well... Why don't you give it a try?
Me: (Bumubuwelo, insert love song) ... I've always liked you. Hindi ko maipaliwanag kung bakit pero siguro naman alam mo na mahal kita. And I want us to be together. I've done a lot of sacrifices just to be here in this moment with you.
Akane: Leaving Marcia wasn't a good decision. Bakit mo ba sya iniwan?
Me: Because I don't love her anymore. Nagbago na sya. And it's you want to serve now, as this ninja's princess (sidenote: Flame of Recca was so popular during that time, diba).
Akane: (Sighs) Jeff... Hindi ko pa masasagot ang gusto mong mangyari, but I'm not telling you to give up as well. Kasi kung tayo talaga, tayo talaga no matter what, diba?
Me: (Nods)
Akane: Why don't we just continue with what we have and see how far we can go, di ba? (smiles)
Me: (Smiles) Yeah... Thanks.
Akane: Pano, tena, balik na tayo.

Hindi pa dyan nagtatapos ang drama. After naming magsayaw ng slow, Marcia approached me and created a scene by returning the ring I gave her during one of our monthsaries. I knew it was going to happen, so I brought mine and hurled both of them towards the school roof. She then left. Nung paglingon ko, nawala na rin si Akane. Apparently e sinundo na raw sya ng parents nya so I called it a day and went home. Sa sobrang bilis ng mga pangyayari, umupo na lang ako sa living room, binuksan ang PlayStation at naglaro ng Final Fantsay VIII hanggang antukin. Everyone evetually got over the entire incident before graduation. What happened to me and Akane? Well, after graduation I decided to pursue another chick so... BASH BASH BASH!

Looking back at all these things, it makes me smile to realize the journey I have taken to be what I am now. It might have been rough, but hey, that's what life is. Hindi sasaya ang buhay natin pag walang adversity, walang challenge. Amen? By the way, this was just a highlight of my high school life. Next time pag wala akong maisip i-feature, I'll tell you other stories from this part of my crazy life.

May you appreciate your past and live to be proud of what you have become. Until tomorrow, class dismissed.~