Musings on a Friday night

There was nothing particularly arcane about that Friday night. Just like any other school night, I was exhausted. Just like any other Friday, I knew I’d find myself back in school the next day. My legs were killing me but I was almost galloping to the gate. I was raring to get out of school. I was fantasizing about the long snooze I would enjoy on my way home. My feet were tired, considering I had worn my most trustworthy and comfortable sneakers (which was apparently no match to being on your feet all day and moving from building to building). My eyes were strained from the glaring computer screen. My brain was worn out from thinking, re-thinking, and finally, programming it to UN-think (which I sucked at big time). My body was aching from lack of sleep, and my stomach painfully grumbling from the absence of grub. To cut things short, I was pooped. Pushed to the limit, on the verge of collapsing type of exhaustion. And to think, this was an ordinary day. Now, if only you could imagine what would a hectic day would do to me.

There was actually a scarcity of words to describe my tiredness. (Hard to imagine, I know... what can I say, I’m a natural at story-telling). It was insane.

Like a zombie desperately making my way through Miguel’s halls (Miguel is my building at La Salle), I had passed the computer laboratory. Ha! The ever trusted computer lab where we secretly crammed for our other assignments, where we checked e-mail when we had nothing else to do. I also passed the Photo lab. My college life would not have been the same without the photography laboratory. There was a time I spent more time there than I spent sleeping or staying at home. The smell of fixers and developers were second nature to me. The dark room became my second home. There were times when we’d haggle to stay in school until 9:30 at night just to reach a very deadly deadline.

I can only muster a smile when I look back. The sense of accomplishment outweighed every ounce of effort I gave. And I can only chuckle at the thought of our late night fast food dinners along the corridors that softened the blow. I do get nostalgic when I pass those corridors. Sometimes, I swear, I close my eyes and I can still hear the laughter and still feel the tears shed out of frustration. Once in our lives in La Salle, those corridors were witnesses when we muttered or even screamed (when it was needed), "I wanna get out of here!" or "I’m quitting!" Only to find out that a comforting pat on the back was all we ever needed.

There’s that place where you always hung out with your friends, but as time passed, you found yourself with fewer and fewer friends due to busy schedules. There are friends who can assure you of the same intensity or depth of friendship even if you only see each other sporadically. There’s that crush you’ve been so embarrassingly obsequious around. There are familiar smiles that make you believe you’re OK and there’s no need to panic.

On my way to the gate, I decided to take the longer route, the one that kind of gave you the mini tour. It was close to eight in the evening, and there were only a few stars that lit the night sky, the cold wind kissed my cheeks gently. There was something about the lights surrounding the greens within school. Somehow, it added a certain glow. It illuminated the school and provided me with an inexplicable feeling of warmth. There was something with the sound of the trucks, jeeps, buses and cars that hustled and bustled outside the campus. They were noisy, all right. But they were home. The familiarity of the noise, the smell, the lights... they were all home.

It was pretty surreal to think that I would have less and less time to spend in school and the world had less and less time to prepare for me. Soon, I will be out of school. I will finally be done with college. I know for others, the remaining time I would have to spend schooling is still relatively long. But somehow, I knew this year will pass too swiftly. Hell, it still seems that I’ve only graduated from high school yesterday.

Surely, there would still be countless sleepless nights to be expected. Tears of frustration will still be wept. There would still be that classic crush, all worthy of obsequiousness. There will still be many a friend to meet and many smiles and laughter to be shared.

Suddenly, I felt myself walking more slowly.

To the college freshmen – It’s going to be a short journey, but you can always make it worth the walk.