Learning to live a life after high school

Ask people what the most significant event of their senior year in high school is, and you’d probably get graduation for an answer. That’s the instinctive reply, since the ceremony highlighting graduation is shared with the all the important people in one’s life (family and friends). It’s also one of the best documented milestones of the high school experience in both photos, videos, and memorabilia.

But for me, the most significant event in my senior year is preparing to go to college — from choosing what course to take, to creating a short-list of schools, taking the entrance exams, and finally selecting the most suitable choice from your final options.  Most colleges and universities with stricter entrance requirements usually release lists of qualified students about this time of the year.  I imagine that countless high school seniors are now seriously weighing out the options available to them. 

Choosing which college or university to go to is not a simple, single-day affair like graduation day.  It’s a process that begins as soon as when one enters senior year. For those whose high schools have a career counseling program, decisions are guided using a methodical approach by experienced advisers. My own school had one, albeit not as sophisticated. Nevertheless, it was easy enough to figure out what to do and play it by ear.

There’s a lot of waiting involved (the process consists of a lot of paperwork, after all), but the experience is quite thrilling, especially to those who are serious in mapping out his/her direction in life.

Truth be told, the sole driver for my choice of university is Pinoy rock. Two of the bands I idolized at that time — the Eraserheads and Yano — originated from the University of the Philippines. They were outspoken, they set the standard and generally pushed the limits. They challenged public opinion by constantly singing about mature subjects (such as the flesh trade, economic differences, use of prohibited drugs, etc.) or questioning puritanical systems (like religion and government). They’re pop, but they have guts.  I just had to go to the same school where these guys went.

Fortunately, I did manage to pass the UPCAT and the final stages of the process were easy.

Despite the shallowness of the initial reasons behind my choice of school, things did turn out to my advantage.  The program that I got into was strongly multidisciplinary, allowing its students to spend a significant amount of attention on other areas. I was introduced to one of the most sophisticated performing spaces in the country and discovered what would be my life’s passions — writing and theater. 

Fortunately as well, education at the University of the Philippines is quite affordable — the fees are certainly but a fraction of what other schools charge. This became like a security blanket for me.  It was the late ’90s, the country’s economic situation at one point became all too difficult, and one really couldn’t underestimate the costs of private schools enough. Had I chosen either of my other choices (all private institutions), my family would have had a more difficult time making ends meet. 

Tertiary education is not as easy for other people.  For some, the question is not which college to go to, but whether they can still afford to go at all.  I was certainly very lucky to belong to a family that was financially equipped to support a college education. 

A typical cliche associated with finishing secondary school (repeated over and over in numerous commencement exercises) is: “This is where life begins.” High school prepares you to pursue your dreams, and in college, you live these dreams.  Personally, I’d imagine that a more apropos statement would be: “This is where one begins to learn how to live a life.” You don’t live after high school, whether you pursue higher education or not.  You take baby steps, mapping where to go carefully. 

As far as tertiary education is concerned, things either work out as planned or go entirely to the opposite direction. One may make choices, but they either work for you or they don’t. Either way, one must learn how to be ultimately flexible to whatever is thrown one’s way.  That’s education working — when you learn both from your experiences and missteps. 

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The author can be reached via e-mail at  jaclynjoseforever@yahoo.com.