shesaidgoforit: January 2018

Have a face in this world full of trolls and bots

By Teresa Gueco - January 21, 2018

I fight people back. Well, not really fight-fight, but similar.

We always hear people cry for their freedom to express, their voice and opinions, demanding everyone to acknowledge it and protest behind their backs. And I know the importance of it all, but is it still freedom of expression or just another way to impress people by having a chance to express sentiments?

Just recently a news broke about the issue regarding a hotel banning bloggers on their premise, and while I knew a lot of 'bloggers' out there, actually following most of their pages, I notice that nobody seems to have a stand. Except Ate Trisha of P.S. I'm On My Way.

Again, I'm not here to tackle the issue because I honestly don't know the whole story, but I'm writing this to say that people should have a stand and stand with it when times gets rough.

It's actually funny since a lot of people identified themselves as 'bloggers', but when the news broke which ridicule their 'status', nobody seems to want to identify themselves as such.

Another example of using the excuse of having the freedom of expression is when trolls use secret file pages to post everything under the sun! Just a few hours ago I was bash for condemning a page for posting a confession from an unknown sender about his/her opinion regarding an issue of a young girl.

I questioned the page for posting without scanning the content of the confession, which bears (wait for it and hold for dear life) the complete name of the youngster. Yes. First name, second name, middle name, surname, you ask for it and that post has it. It's already wrong that the issue is still fresh and still receives a huge backlash but it's one more thing to disclosed it to public! Underage girl being attacked just because of a lapse on her judgement.

I condemn the page for having the power to influence with their huge amount of following but still do things for 'fun' and 'reach'.

Someone also said that I shouldn't blame the admins since they are not the one who made the confession. That's your logic? Yes, I know that the sender is behind that confession but the admin has the power to post it. Without them the post wouldn't have been posted and garnered 5.3k likes and reactions (as of writing). So no, the admins has something to do with it.

The funny thing is that the people who bash me were all hiding behind fake and dummy accounts! It's really funny how people hide behind fake accounts just to bash and defend their own opinions. They could have used their personal account, it would have given them some credibility, and I could have acknowledge them having a stand. But no, they hid.

There's a thin line between expressing and practicing your freedom to express and bashing.

People can and should respect other people's stand but sometimes unsolicited opinions are just unsolicited opinions, better keep personally so no harm can be done.

0 Comments

Letter

How my younger self can still talk sense to an aging human

By Teresa Gueco - January 10, 2018

2 Comments

Adulting

Communication Student 101: Saving Tips for College

By Teresa Gueco - January 06, 2018

IG post from Toni Yee, our contribution for our snacks

I think everyone will agree if I say that being a college student is really expensive. I’m not even talking about the tuition fee, miscellaneous fee, and org fee because even the daily expenses going to school is definitely something we worry about (if not us, then our parents or guardian who supports us).

As for me, being a Communication major is a ‘butas-bulsa’ experience every day. IT IS EXPENSIVE!

When a subject requires you to come up and produce a fashion show in two weeks, you do it in two weeks! It doesn’t matter how many hours you sleep in a day, how much bucks you shed, or if you are still eating or not, you just have to do it. Find a model, get their clothes, chop chop!

I wasn’t prepared most of the time having a daily allowance of P75.00 from first to third year and P100 on my senior year). I always end up broke or in debt (thank you friends for helping haha) most of the time. But of course, there’s my savings and scholarship allowance to help me make do. My daily allowance may seem small but I made it through; P17 is for my fare going to school (P10 tricycle ride going out of our village and P7 jeepney ride going to school); P35 lunch meal allowance; and only P7 jeepney ride for my way back to our house since I walk from our village’s drop-off point to our house, it’s a walk-able distance but I ride tricycle going to school to prevent getting sweaty and late for my class but it’s different after school since I also enjoy walking and gazing in the night sky.

DAILY ALLOWANCE EXPENSE SUMMARY
FARE (TRICYCLE AND JEEPNEY)	P17
LUNCH (CANTEEN)	P35 (55 if we’ll dine at McDo)
FARE (JEEPNEY)	P 7
*TOTAL*	*P59*

*THE P16.OO REMAINING IS USED FOR SNACKS OR MISCELLANEOUS FEE (E.G. PHOTOCOPY AND PRINTING)

**Okay, P75.00 is the amount of money given by my parents and most of the time I have more than that on my wallet but it’s from my personal savings and the lots.

Most of us Comm majors aren’t financially ready. We often buy sulit meals for lunch and sometimes we skip it all together since every minute of our day counts for us, we actually don’t mind not eating at all because we are often too busy to even remember! Sometimes my expenses are way higher than my allowance, especially when friends decided to eat on fast food chains or cafes (laser glare to you guys).

I hate being broke the most. I feel so vulnerable when I’m broke or even just being close to being broke. That’s why I want to share some tips I used to save during my college life. This definitely helped me in so many levels, I can’t guarantee the same to you but it’s worth the try.

Here are they:

1. PACKED LUNCH

Sooooo elem. I know people will raise their eyebrows on this since it seems childish but trust me, it’s not! College students can also do it too!

Shy or scared that you will be mocked? Don’t worry because you’ll be amazed how others will find this nostalgic and will join the bandwagon and be your lunch buddies. You’ll be amazed how many people will ask for a bite of your lunch and say how they missed it and there will be others who will say they are jealous of you because you can do it, other households were often too busy to even make breakfast for their family because of their works so packed lunch is an instantly no go for them.

You just have to have a group of friends who wants to save! Actually this packed lunch thing helped me and my college friends a lot. During lunch breaks (if we remember to eat) we spend almost an hour just arguing and deciding where to eat, so whenever we bring packed lunch we always save money AND time. For me, this is one of my biggest lifelines in college since lunch is my biggest daily expense. Having trouble on what you’ll bring to school? Don’t fuss, you don’t need to go all out for your lunch. Mostly I bring sunny side up eggs (I LOVE SUNNY SIDE UP EGGS!), processed foods since they can be easily cooked (longganisa, tocino, embutido, fish, or meatloafs), and less messy compare to Adobo, Sinigang, and the lots. Just remember to have enough amount of rice and fruits if you can. A little weigh on your bag is definitely worth it.

2. BRING ENOUGH MONEY

This tip is probably the best and most effective advice I can give to anyone because I saved using this tip.

So during college there will be times where your class schedule only starts in afternoons or that some class will be moved to another time schedule, hence unexpected expenses since you’ll be waiting for hours. In my case there are times where we only have classes for the entire afternoon so I’ll eat at home for my lunch and only bring money for transportation (this plus Tip #6 is a perfect combination).

There will be moments where you’ll be tempted to buy stuff and foods especially when you see that they are on sale or that a new product is out. Most often than not our thinking will let us buy that thing because we know that we can, recalling the stash of cash we have in our wallets. So leaving your excess cash at home will make you extra careful to buy anything.

When I used this on my senior year (with P100 daily allowance) I only bring around P30-40 max and there will be excess on that adding to the P60 I already kept at home.

EXPENSE SUMMARY
DAILY ALLOWANCE	P100
SAVINGS	P60	*SAVINGS WHICH IS LEFT AT HOME
EXPENSE	P24	*ROUNDTRIP TRANSPORTATION
TOTAL SAVINGS:	P76

With this tip I saved more than half of my daily allowance! Imagine, that is P76 per day and P304 in a week (we don’t have classes every Monday) so if you continue that for a month you’ll have P1,216.

3. BRING SNACKS

During my freshmen year we always buy snacks while waiting for our class to start. We buy cold water (oh please, the heated weather here in the Philippines is no joke) and snacks from a convenient store near our campus which sells product at a double cost. Clue: It’s a 24/7 convenient store and I think everyone will agree about how expensive some of their products are and give them credit for that since it is open anytime). So during my freshman year I spent almost half of my daily allowance just for a snack that will only last for a couple of minutes and looking back now I’m ashamed of how carefree I am back then.

But thankfully, I learned my lesson.

There was a time wherein I had a bad day (girl stuff) and my uneasiness just won’t go away, still experiencing them sometimes. And then I discover that eating makes me feel better to the point that I bought a whole pack of plain Rebisco crackers (the honey something flavor is still not available that time) and ate it continuously for the whole day. My friends even laugh at me wondering how on earth can I eat all of it remembering how plain it tasted.

And that’s how my Rebisco cracker ambassadorship started (self-proclaimed ambassador HAHAHAHA). Every single day I have one or two packs of it in my bag and since then most of the time my classmate will always go to me and ask for food when our class becomes too long. Even during seminars, graduation practice, and graduation ceremony, I always make sure to have some and my classmate and friends can attest to that. There were even a couple of times wherein my friends from other class go to ours just to ask for food! Hahaha Imagine that? Food > Me. HAHAHA Kidding.

So there, bringing snack not only helped me and MOST of all my classmates and friends to prevent from starving. It also cut my expenses big time. From around P45-50 daily (inclusive of drinks and snacks) to P51 weekly (1 package x 10 packs can last up to one week).

4. DO I REALLY NEED THIS? MANTRA

I am a compulsive buyer.

I’m not proud of it because I know how bad it is especially in my case since I’m not financially stable yet (being compulsive while being financially stable is not good too)! But let me share how I slowly ease the effect and how I surpassed temptations out there.

So as a maarteng tao I always tend to buy this and that or try those and these, especially if it has a golden red tag or if I’m in a second hand store. My mind will say that it is wise for me to go and buy it since I’ll be getting it on a lesser price. Maybe at some point that thinking will make sense but most of the time, the items which are on sale aren’t really needed that much. That’s how they do it, making you think that you need it and that it is a great deal when it’s not. Okay, let say that an eyeshadow palette is on sale (say 50% off) but is it the shade that you are using on a regular basis and/or appropriate to your lifestyle? How would buying an item that will eventually become just another clutter be called saving?

I’m a thrift shop fanatic and around 40% of the clothes I bought there still haven’t been used by me that much. Maybe it’s because I’m more of a casual shirt and pants kind of girl (most of my thrifted clothes were leaning towards formal and corporate wear) or just plain money-consuming-human. This, being compulsive, is my number one problem especially if I am out there in the open circled by different shops. When I really feel like buying certain items I tend to do tip number 2 where I bring allotted money for it but there are times where I don’t know what to buy (times wherein I want to treat myself) so I bring more than enough money with me.

Most of the time we are conscious on how we spend too much but just shrug the mindset off because the thought and feeling of owning new things is just plain addicting and satisfying! I do this (clothes or foods) mostly after every final examinations or stress-inducing activities.

So if tip number 2 wouldn’t work then I’ll shift to this saving tip, or what I also called as a guilt trip tip. When I see a great deal I’ll stop for a sec and think about it thoroughly.

How much is it.

What is the status of my savings?

Why do I need this?

How many times will I be able to use this?

You have similar items like that, what makes you think it wouldn’t end up like them, dusty and forgotten?

Most of the time those above lines worked for me, although I can’t assure you if this will work for you since you are the one who knows yourself better than anyone else. I also advised you to use your weakness or fandom, in my case it is reading and unforeseen concert.

This item almost costs a book!

Get a grip! Troye (and many more faved artists) will be releasing a new album so there will be, probably, a tour so just freaking save your money!

5. MAKE A LIST FOR YOUR SAVINGS

Not just a list, but more of a goal on how much you have to save for a specific week/month.

When I was around 16-ish to 18-ish I’m always frustrated on how to make do with the small allowance I have plus the fact that I always wonder how my money just disappears on thin air without my knowing where I spend it. It really gets frustrating since I literally get lost on every aspect of life because money is very important, and we all need to agree on that. There were times where I thought I still have this amount of cash then found out hours later before I go to sleep that I don’t have it anymore, trust me I always can’t get myself to sleep because of frustration.

Just this year I started doing this spreadsheet thingy that adults seems to do to manage and view their finances personally. The spreadsheet helps in managing and controlling your expenses by putting your daily/weekly/monthly expenses and savings so you won’t overspend on the following days.

In my case I made a 4-column spreadsheet, renaming the top tabs as follow; Week Number, Target Savings, Actual Savings, Total.

WEEK NUMBER	TARGET	ACTUAL	TOTAL
Week 1	400	400	400
Week 2	360	360	360
Week 3	380	380	380
Week 4	340	340	340
Week 5	400	260	-140
Week 6	360	240
Week 7	380

To further monitor my savings I don’t just write down the amount but also when I acquired that amount of savings. So for example my target savings is P400 for the first week, for that whole week I’ll keep my mind on saving and at the end of the week I’ll encode my actual savings on the spreadsheet. Hopefully the actual amount will be equal or more than the target savings. Note that there will be times where your actually savings is less than your target but it’s still okay. We can’t help those times when projects and activities just keeps on coming. The main goal of this activity/tip is not just limited to achieving the target savings but also to not overspend your expenses to your savings. It is about knowing how much to splurge on things for this day without spending yesterday’s savings.

6. HITCH

Get a grip because it’s not about getting a ride when you are lost from a hiking or trip from someone you don’t know. It’s more of like carpooling on a lesser level.

So in my case my biggest daily expense comes from food but I also have a fixed expense and that is my transportation. On a daily basis I’m spending P24-P44 (depends on the weather), although it may seems small for others but trust me that when you are broke, and still has to pay projects for school, even centavo is like a gift on a Christmas day for you. So at times I do this hitching to save more cash.

My mother is a public school teacher and she goes to school 5 x week. So every weekdays Papa fetches her back and forth to their school with our tricycle. To save more I managed to get myself up early in the morning so I can tag along with them, they usually leave the house quarter before seven. There was a semester where I had this 7AM class so tagging along with them is very convenient and efficient. But there’s a semester where my first class started around 8:30AM but I still tag along with them just to save more money. It’s actually fine since I am carrying our publication office’s key that time which is just a room next to our designated classroom so I just usually go there and do managerial task that needs to be done for that day.

But that’s not the end of it. During that time Mama tutors a kid so she usually ends up getting home late, say around 7-8PM (she is fetched by Papa during that time). No, I didn’t stay and wait for that long. Why would I if I don’t need waiting. As a Managing Editor and a student I usually do managerial works for our publication between every class or after class since COMM usually takes most of our time and in the process I always end up getting home late too. So no, I didn’t have to wait because I go home late too. They became accustomed with my schedule that they just usually text or call me to ask if where I am and their ETA to the point of where they will fetch me (usually at CityWalk). Viola! Cha-ching cha-ching cha-ching! This tip added to tip number 1 and 2 (if you missed tagging along one way or another/if you need to buy some school materials) is super wise!

Honestly, I don’t know if those above tips will float your boats, they did for me so I was hoping it will do the same to those who will try them. Just remember that without determination and discipline you will not be able to do or move forward so it will always be depends on you. Just you. So clear all the baggage and start anew.

Let’s hear from others, how did you manage to save or what is the weirdest thing you did to save money? I like to hear from you so comment down below.

0 Comments

Lifestyle

AMIGA, IT'S OKAY TO BE AWKWARD

By Teresa Gueco - January 06, 2018

Baguio City, Benguet

“I don’t even find him creepy at all.” Giving her friend a stare saying ‘You are the one who is creepy here, dude.’

Growing up surrounded with female species I find it too hard to break the ice around guys. I have limited guy friends that I can really count on and that list can be counted with my bare hands (almost half are gays by the way). Maybe it’s because I grew up with 5 girls as my siblings, a strict and traditional parents, and a grandma who always starts her story with ‘Noong panahon namin…’ (During our days…) so talking and befriending guys were a bit off for us (me).

I can say that I am independent, I do things my own. I took my High School entrance reading and written test without being accompanied by my parents, I kinda hitched with my friends back then. I processed my college admission requirements on my own (and with my friends again), lined up and paid my tuition fees, I can do most of the things on my own. I can even freaking watched movies and eat afterwards alone in the malls. Totally psycho? No, I just love how I can do the things the way I wanted it to be.

I never knew I was so independent until I realized how my social skills falter little by little.

I don’t find cheesy line cheesy, I find it creepy.

I don’t find people checking up on me sweet, I find it stalker-y.

I don’t find people asking what I was doing conversationally appealing. I find it like they are minding business they shouldn’t mind.

It’s just… not my jam.

I heard people rant and say how people have high standards and all, that they should lower their standards or otherwise they’ll end up alone. I think it’s a petty excuse and advice given by those people who are with someone just because they are scared to be alone.

Settling for less? And then what? How many times have I read and heard stories of unfortunate relationships just because they thought they were the one for each other?

Amiga, just because everyone around you is with someone doesn’t make you a lone wolf.

It’s okay to feel irate if you find his ‘palipad hangin’ (I don’t even know what that is in English, sorry) off. No need to feel bad if you can’t reply back, or even if you don’t want to reply, because you don’t know what to say!

You see, independent people don’t necessary need people to check on them. They know when to breathe, take a rest, and even eat. I beg to differ that they are awkward because some just strike a conversation the wrong way.

People, you don’t have to conform to the society. Just because K-Pop Boybands are in doesn’t mean liking Backstreet Boys and N’ Sync is bad and wrong! (90s music rocks!!) You just have to see things in a different perspective. Give yourself a break for being awkward and independent, let’s not think about how things should and should not be rolling.

Embrace it.

Be awkward, independent, and happy!

Share your awkward moments below!

0 Comments

Letter

How do you pray an identity away?

By Teresa Gueco - January 06, 2018

Urbiztondo, La Union

As an individual living on a Catholic environment I was raised to believe in God and prayers. Have problems? Pray. Ask guidance and you will be heard. Those are the common practices that I was taught to by my parents.

We commonly hear the line ‘Pray the gay away’ especially when being gay seems to be an issue. The traditionalists often associate being gay as a sinful act of defying God’s creation. And I won’t discuss or elaborate furthermore about the topic on gays, I opted not to.

I used that phrase to emphasize how a person was made to believe that prayer can make things better. It always does but in different way.

Recently I had some problems regarding my life and how stressful it is. I wasn’t expecting this turmoil at all. It almost breaks me. It’s not the people; I wouldn’t let them break me. It’s the thing they ask me to be. The things they ask me to aspire and become.

I’m an introvert and making friends, extending my arms to reach new people is so hard. I don’t talk to a person unless he/she talked to me first. I’m not a conversationalist so making a small talk is like hiking Mt. Everest as my first hike ever. Deadly.

They always say how we should think outside the box, live outside of it. But it’s hard to break the box you are into when that box sheltered and saved you so many times. It’s hard to blame the fault on the box who only tried to save and mold you. I just don’t have the heart to break it and find a bigger box.

Respect. That’s a virtue our parents and other people taught us to practice. A virtue that is being erased when people starts to have their own opinion, when they think their belief is greater than others, by the people who taught us what respect is.

Respect then becomes a closed-knit virtue. It’s no longer respect for everyone but respect to a person with authority and his/her views and opinion. It’s now respect for a one-sided view.

If only we respect each other’s characteristics and beliefs then no one will be bullied just because of their way of living their lives. No one will be feeling wrong about how they see things and how they live their lives.

Using the phrase ‘pray the gay away’ I want to tell you that being different is not a sin, it is a privilege. I do believe that gays shouldn’t be condemned but they should be given respect for having the courage to be themselves. It is hard and full of trial but it is a privilege.

You cannot pray the gay away, neither the introvert/extrovert in you. It is saddening how people think that a specific characteristic of a person is a flaw of that individual, a sin that needs to be ashamed of.

It’s funny how people use Him to justify people’s insensitivity towards other people. Praying the gay (or other characteristic that people think is negative) is invalid. You do not pray for it to go away. You pray that everything will soon be fine, that everything will be better. You pray and hope to God to give you enough courage and bravery to face people and their eccentric views in life.

You cannot make the introvert go, you just cope to every life’s experiences. You just need to be strong.

Do you have something you have to cope with? Write it down below.

0 Comments

Personal

THE ART OF LETTING GO

By Teresa Gueco - January 06, 2018

RS Building Hallway, Tarlac State University

“Ano hindi ka na papasok?” You wouldn’t to go to school then? That’s my mother’s line when she wakes me up during my pre-school and elementary days whenever I go back to sleep for another 5 minutes after getting up around 5 AM. And I hate it, big time. I hate that it is a reverse psychology tactic used to make me feel guilty for not keeping up with time because I hate being absent on my classes.

Just recently I encountered emotional battles. I was a fresh graduate with nowhere to go. I have plans but my plans seem to not be working because I did not anticipate how hard it will be after college.

All my life I know that I am good in the academe. This is not me being braggy, this is me saying I found the academe my safe haven. I get good grades and enjoy the feeling when I know what or how to answer a specific question on a test paper after hours of reviewing. It’s stressful but knowing I did my best and getting a good result after makes me feel good. Maybe the reason behind my academe fondness is psychological, pleasing people around me with the good grades so they think I’m good and worth to be friends with and be proud of?

My mind and body was set for academe, attending class, making reports, taking notes, listening, answering test paper. So imagine how devasted I am to find out that I no longer have to do it. How can you stop doing the things you were coded to do so? It’s like being a singer without her voice. You feel empty and lost.

After college I know I want to have a stable job and after sometime go back to the academe, yes I still have plans to go back to the academe. But the struggle began with how much I invested myself in the academe and forgot to invest in myself.

After the graduation rite was over I took some time off, much needed break after years of studying. And somewhere between those times I realized how doomed I was.

I don’t know how to move outside the world of academe.

Yes, they say it is really different in the working industry, probably heard that line multiple times already, but what I felt was different. I was accustomed to work and got my fair share of trainings for being part of the college publication and college student council but I still feel at lost.

I became undecided. I don’t know what I want, where I want to go, and what I want to be. I sent curriculum vitae to various companies in Manila and yet didn’t go to most of my scheduled interviews because I chicken out.

I was not ready.

Months passed by waiting for a job that doesn’t seem to be coming (government position) I went beyond breaking point and started questioning what happened to me? I was disappointed with myself plus the fact that people around me thinks high of me especially with the awards I had.

Some started to think that I was choosy with jobs. I started hearing how I happened to have a high standard in finding a job because of my awards. And that’s when I lost it.

I cried.

It’s already hard not finding yourself in a path/plan you wanted to see yourself in but it is worse to hear people talk about you like that as if they are only the one who gets disappointed.

I was in denial during those times. I was so disappointed with myself I can’t accept lost. I know I was losing; people talk about it so I know. I woke up feeling empty thinking how my day will probably be one of those passing days. I was in denial and the pain almost slaughtered my hope and happiness.

Friends told me otherwise. They told me not to put pressure on me since the world seems to take it as its job to rain discouragement on me. Friends told me to take it easy but how can you take it lightly when it feels like your whole being depends on it?

And then I accepted defeat. Or at least that was I thought it was.

I started acknowledging how eff my life was and how I was wasting my time. The sadness was still there together with the determination.

I think that was the storm which destroyed my life so that I can put it back together.

Am I happy? I don’t know.

But I am living and striving, isn’t that what life was supposed to be?

I’m trying to let it go. I’m trying to move passed the academe, I know I won’t fully move on but I’m trying to let go some part to accommodate other life’s opening.

They say art wasn’t supposed to be beautiful, it’s supposed to make you feel something. And this, letting go of the academe as my safe haven is not beautiful but it made me feel different kinds of emotion.

There’s no beauty in letting go, just the emotion.

0 Comments

Letter

Dear Vita, I'm thankful but pressured

By Teresa Gueco - January 06, 2018

CASS kamiiii (3rd or 4th year?)

Dear Vita,

When I was on my junior year in college I didn’t get it why people, graduating students to be exact, construct and make long posts. Is it to brag? To remind their families and relatives they are finishing college? Or is it just because for the mere number of likes they’ll get? Honestly, at that time, it feels like they are bragging and I cringe and at times, roll my eyes whenever I see graduation post.

But senior year came and I now understand them. It was different. Our junior year was probably the most energy consuming year because most of our school requirements were project based plus other classroom discussion and exams. We only had 9 units in our second semester in senior year but unlike junior year, there’s no do over here. Time will always be a factor, we were running to polish every unfinished business to be able to march and get our diplomas and there’s no room for failing or incomplete grades because there is no next semester (if you don’t want to be graduating late) to cope up with your failings.

While I now understand them, I still did not changed my profile picture with long post of my journey yet (I don’t know if I will), although I uploaded group pictures of family and friends during the ceremony with a long message to thank all the people I want to thank because they deserved it.

I honestly don’t consider myself inspirational and my journey is less adventurous than the others. Yes I graduated as Cum Laude but I didn’t have extraordinary life adventure. I study, joined different organizations, serve as a student leader, joined the college publication (got accepted on my third attempt tho), and study. That’s it. Not novella worthy story. But one thing I want to say is, if you really want something then go for it, do not live your life regretting why you didn’t even tried or wondering about the what ifs you’ll have.

Whether you graduated with awards or not being entitled with a diploma is something we all must be proud of. We were all students, we experienced the same dilemmas, studied for an examination, had sleepless nights, got caffeinated more than necessary to stay on the game, had our breakdowns, got angry at someone, and even did some bad stuff throughout college and that is okay. Believe me when I say that graduating without an award is something you should still be proud of. Of course there are incentives accompanied with the awards but trust me, it is not always about the perks.

For me, Cum Laude is just a title. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond happy that I graduated with an award, I prayed for it every time I say my prayers be it on church during Sunday mass service or just ordinary prayer, but it also has some burden.

People expect great things from me as if I can move the sun to rise in the west. They’ll see you differently as if you can be Moises who can part the sea. They thought that this award can give me an easy pass to have a good career path but I doubt it.

Hundred thousand, if not millions, are still unemployed so how on earth will a company still choose me? In this life everything is fair since life is unfair to everyone so all you have to do is pick up your baggage and start sashaying towards your goal and stand up whenever you fall.

“Life is a race” That’s what Professor Virus from 3 Idiots said. So it doesn’t really matter what awards and recognitions you get as long as you are racing forward.

Love,

Ma.Teresa M. Gueco

Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Batch 2017

~~CUM LAUDE~~ UNEMPLOYED(as of August 2017)