Bottled Sky

It has finally happened. I’m a college graduate! It won’t be official until they release the final list of second-semester graduates in December, but I have completed all the requirements for a UP Journalism degree. I still can’t believe it. The whole thing is surreal to me. I feel so overwhelmingly relieved that it’s over, but at the same time it seems somewhat anti-climactic. Is it because I finished in October instead of March? I’m not sure. However, I am quite grateful that I managed to get through college mostly unscathed.

I say mostly, because I did hit a couple of speed bumps along the way. I had originally chosen to major in Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE), because I mistakenly thought a math lover like me would be most suited for an engineering degree. I very soon realized my mistake, and this blog became host to my rantings on the evils of ECE. To get a better idea of how much I disliked my old course, check out what I doodled at the back of one of my ECE readings:

Of course, this one has been digitally cropped and colored. The original doodle shows the three stages of ECE insanity, complete with accompanying text. Hmmm, maybe if I had spent more time concentrating on the actual lessons instead of doodling I would have done better… Nah!

However rough my academic life had been in ECE, I can honestly say that I had a lot of fun there. I made many wonderful friends in ECE and managed to keep them even after shifting to Journalism. Cue cheesy photo montage.

Unlike ECE, Journalism was fun because of the coursework. I’m not saying it was easy, but it was challenging in a manner that I liked. There was a lot of room for creativity in Journalism, while in ECE there was practically none. I got to play reporter/photographer/producer/poet/etcetera. I interned at a fashion magazine, where I met many “interesting” people. I was even able to apply my favorite hobbies (drawing and designing websites) to my academic work. I would have never been able to do any of those things had I stayed in Engineering.

Another thing that would have been impossible for me in ECE: I got a cum laude average! Well, I’m not actually getting the honor because of a silly technicality — I wasn’t able to complete all my Physical Education classes within the first four semesters. Funny, huh? I really don’t mind, because I’m not the scholarly type, and grades don’t matter much to me. Still I can’t help but feel good about myself that, despite my procrastination problem, I managed to do well in that respect.

With or without honors, I’m just happy to graduate! I’m finally done! Woohoo! So now what? Unfortunately I still don’t have the answer to that, hehe. Until further notice, I am a bum. Oy.