High school life, oh my high school life

It was a warm Saturday afternoon when we found ourselves at the Office of the University Registrar in UP Diliman.  We had earlier heard a radio announcement that the results of the University of the Philippines College Aptitude Test (UPCAT) would be posted that day.  We went to the campus to check if a relative made it.  She did.

When we arrived, the lobby was filled with high school students and parents looking anxiously at the list of UPCAT passers.  Some persons were screaming with delight and excitedly conveying the news of their passing the test through their cellphones. Some looked dejected. Others were busy copying names and giving terse answers to persons calling them and inquiring if someone made it.

I thought about this scene when I heard a tv news show announce that at least three million students were graduating from college this year.   I wondered what would become of the students entering college this year when they graduate four years from now (hopefully, anyway). 

If they are lucky, they would know what path they wanted to take at sixteen.  If they are really lucky, they would do well in the course they picked freely, without any pressure from anybody.  If they are really, really lucky, they would also be very successful in their chosen careers. 

I don't know what the odds of this happening are.  I only know two people who knew what they wanted since childhood, who pursued their dream, and are making good money out of it now.  The rest of the people I know (including myself) have had to meander and change courses several times.

I remember what it was like to be a graduating high school student.  I did not know what course to pick.  My interests were diverse.  I liked my Photojournalism class.  I also thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life living in a farm and planting trees. I considered taking up either journalism or agriculture.

At that time, I did not know anyone who had taken or was taking these courses.  I was too chicken to pick either of these in the UPCAT application form.  I ended up picking Economics because it was a subject I did well in and it sounded serious and important enough for someone in the running for valedictorian. 

After one semester, I wanted to leave.  My general education courses allowed me to be classmates with students taking up Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Clothing Technology, Food Technology, Art Studies, and European Languages.  I regretted not paying more attention to the UPCAT from when I was filling it up.  There were just too many other interesting courses being offered and I did not even know about them.

On hindsight, I wish I had been given more guidance about what my options were.  We had an aptitude exam in high school and I was told that I could take up anything except courses that required mechanical reasoning like engineering.  That was not very helpful.

I console myself with the thought that not knowing what I wanted at sixteen meant having the chance to try out different things (I’m still at it).  In some circles, it is seen as an advantage to be “multi-disciplinary”.  I’m just happy that the people who paid my tuition also see it that way.

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