I have these moments in life that I will never forget, moments that I will forever cherished. It was taken on 4th of May 2015, a graduation ceremony that was held in the gymnasium of Polytechnic University of the Philippines. It may sound so ordinary but there are stories of struggles and pain behind those smiles. Yes, I am wearing a make-up to give life on my face but what others don’t know is the rocky road that I have to take just to make my life up. Yes, my eyes are glowing but what others don’t know is the amount of tears that I’ve cried along the way. Yes, you can see the curvy lines on my lips but what others don’t know are the words of frustrations that I’ve uttered thinking of giving up on the curvy path of a long journey. Yes, it is just a simple graduation picture but not for me. It is a reflection of a woman who was once a dreamer, the mirror of her dark ages from the past.
The Big Day
In my four years in College of Accountancy, I was able to have many friends. All of them have different personalities and I think they are the perfect colors needed to complete my canvas, the ROYGBIV on my rainbow. I admit that there are times of misunderstandings in our department, some are school-related while some issues are more on personal matters. How can I forget the crying babies, crying because of the heavy pressure on our shoulders due to grade requirements that we must maintain. How can I forget the laughters and celebrations whenever we survived a semester. How can I forget the people who became my family in four corners of the classroom. They are the condiments that spice up my boring soup.
These are my closest friends and my seatmates as well. We also used to ate lunch and went home together after classes. Starting from the left, she is Gletcel. She’s very energetic and full of humor. She’s sharing with me her problems and I felt being trusted which makes me happy. The second in line is me, that’s me. I am the shy type among us. I prefer observing and listening on things around me rather than talking. It is one of the main reason why I love writing, it is my way of speaking. The third line is Jessica, she’s my bestfriend. I’ve known her since highschool and she’s my classmate way back then. We are always kidding around saying lines like, “You have no choice but to stay as my bestfriend forever ‘coz you girl know too much about me”. And this statement is true because she’s like my living diary. The third in line is Danicka, she’s organized in everything. She has a good penmanship and she’s fond of taking selfies. The last guy is Renz, the most generous among us. He is also the “brain” in our group. I can’t imagine college life without them.
I called this picture as “Pamela meets Pamela”. It is because we have the same name! I am Pamela Clamille and she’s Pamela Mariz. She’s also my classmate and it’s really fascinating to be friend with someone having the same name as yours. But the two of us are very distinct from each other. If I’m the quiet one, she’s absolutely my alter ego. She talks too much and also a jolly person. Since she’s the class treasurer, we labeled her as “madam” and I guessed it suits her so well because she’s very strict in terms of collection. She has this aura of “pay now or die later”. Kudos to your job well done madam!
I may not be able to have a picture with all of my classmates but they will always have a special place in my heart. I will also never forget our professors. They are the second parents who are willingly guiding and facilitating us. I am grateful to them for having the long patience in teaching even sometimes we are naughty and noisy. They also keep on telling us that they are only our teachers inside the classroom but outside classes, they are our friend. Hearing these words coming out from someone who is a lot older and professional is really touching. Professors who laugh, talk and walk with you. They taught us not only the academics but also the important humane way of living.
My True Love
She is my mother and my father was not able to attend my graduation because he’s not feeling well during that time. Whatever I am today is the product of their hardwork and perseverance. We are not rich but I am fortunate to have parents like them. We used to have a good life in my childhood but it all changed when my father became sickly. My father’s savings were gone when he was confined in the hospital. It happened when I was in grade two or three, he became very ill and a tube was entered from his mouth down through his stomach to sip the acids there. He was like that for a couple of days until acids are gone. Life for us started to became hard. From Manila, we moved back in our province in Laguna because we can no longer afford the high living cost in the city.
Entering college is like an impossible dream and God is really great for helping me to passed the entrance examination in PUP. I badly needed to passed here because this university receives subsidy from the government so it offers a very low tuition fee. I’m not smart but I’m blessed that God also allowed me to be one of Municipal and Governor’s Scholars. The grant that I received from my two scholarships help me survived in my studies but these are still not enough. I remembered a time that I have to sell my high school uniform in order to buy books. When new school year approaches, most of the students have new bags and shoes but not for my case. I welcome every semester with old stuffs. The truth is I envy those persons who can buy everything they want but I am still happy that I was given the chance to be in this university. I always convinced myself that it is better to have ragged things than to have nothing at all. Every time I look at my graduation pictures, it reminds me of a girl who wanted to give her family a better life.
Three years after, how is she doing now? She’s still the quiet woman who used to be but a woman who is now wanting to be heard in a platform called Steemit.
art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics