Hey human! This is Lester. If you're reading this, thank you. I know reading a long-ass blog post is a thing of the past, but I appreciate you taking the time doing something that's soooo 2010 —that's me desperately trying to sound young.
As plastered on top of this page, I'm a 38-year old college student. As odd as that sounds, that is my reality. I went back to university in 2019. I was then 35, married, with a daughter who just turned three, a full-time job handling the top store of a retail apparel brand in the country. Old.
First time I realized that going back to school will be weird (I don't really think it's weird, but let's go with that word), was when I asked the guards at the campus entrance where the admissions office is. I was, of course, asked, "nasaan po ang anak niyo?" Those 5 words basically kicked off my second attempt at getting a college degree.
What followed next was a few weeks of reviewing. Ok, fine I admit, I was treating the admission exam like I was taking the Bars. I even took a leave from work a day before the test to get in a light review and relax my head. I was afraid my stock knowledge would not cut it out. This is a State University, after all. Free education comes with a price (see what I did there? *wink emoji) But hey, I guess that shows how bad I wanted that degree.
Fortunately, I was able to pass the exam and was cleared for admission. I enrolled as a regular student, "block section" as they call it. I knew that scheduling will be hard, given that I was going to do full-time for both work and school. But, like I always say, "ginusto ko 'to."
I was both excited and anxious in the days leading to the start of classes. I mean, you would too, if you were a full blown adult going to school with kids young enough to be your children.
First Day High
For the first few months all freshies were allowed to wear civilian. Most students love the idea of wearing something casual for school. I was in the minority. Obviously, wearing civilian clothing would make me stand out like a sore thumb in a crowd of teenage pinkies.
True enough, just like the shit you see in movies, I found myself in front of a room full of noisy teens talking, catching up and maybe getting to know each other, this is college anyway; everybody came from different schools. Before I entered the room, I asked one girl seated at the door if 'this' was 1-1. Before she answered with "opo", she fixed how she was seated. In my head, I knew she thought I was the prof.
Did I say just like the movies? It was. As I entered the room, I was looking for a vacant seat up front. I found one opposite the door, so I had to cross the room to the other end.
As I was making my way to the seat I was eyeing, the room fell quiet. You could literally hear a pin drop. I was telling my feet to move faster, fast enough to make my classmates realize that I'm taking the student's chair.
When I sat down, there was a few millisecond of murmuring before the room erupted again to the familiar furor of a college classroom. Everybody talking in unison, a few laughters here and there. It was a welcoming and comforting noise.
The First Few Days
Since I was enrolled in a block, I tried to remember as many faces as I can. The subjects were spaced out throughout the day. So there were times that I went back home during vacant periods. You see, my university is atrocious for TBAs (To Be Announced) for room assignments. The faces I remembered came in handy when I needed to confirm that I was entering the correct classroom.
Apparently, this was the same strategy that some of my classmates use. See, I think like a Gen Z too!
I confirmed this when some of them would stand at the door stretching their necks until they see a familiar face before they entered. For some strange reason, everyone who does that seems to look directly at me. I figured it out a few days after, that I just became the class' pinned location point. I can't blame them though, how can you not remember "kuyang matabang singkit."
Estudyante Ka Pala!?
I went to school dressed in work clothes since I had to go to work after classes. I usually wore collared shirts. I would always be greeted by some students whenever I walked around the campus. I was always mistaken as a prof. During the first few days, I just smiled back. It was funny. Annoying, but funny. After a time, I just rolled with it, to the point that I sometimes ask "s'an nga ba kita estudyante?"
I knew that I would be mistaken for a professor, I'm old enough to be one. I was ready for that. But I never thought that even the non-academic staff of the campus will mistake me for one.
One time, while waiting outside the room for the previous class to end, I sat crossed-leg on the floor with some of my classmates. The librarian passed by the corridor, so I greeted her, like any model student would. To my surprise, the reply was, "bakit ka diyan nakaupo, Sir?" I just smiled. My classmates who overheard that exchange started to giggle like school girls. They were boys.
Another time, one of the maintenance people who is stationed at the parking area uttered the funniest rendition of "estudyante ka pala!?"
I'm guessing Kuya was in his 50's and has been working in the campus for the longest time. He was always chatty and would small-talk me every time. He would sometimes point me to the shady part of the parking area telling me that hindi na maaraw diyan hanggang mamaya. He would also open the gate for me when I would leave the campus. I never sensed that he thought I was a student. I just thought mabait lang talaga siya.
This went on for the whole of the semester. I can't blame him for mistaking me as a prof, I filed for a uniform exemption for the sem, since I was a working student. Imagine the surprise in his face when he realized I was a student.
That happened when he suggested that I parked upfront. He said to park under the new building "para hindi maarawan yung motor mo." I was surprised. All along I thought he knew I was a student. When I said that I wasn't allowed there, since I'm a student, his "estudyante ka pala!?" reply to me was filled with surprise laced a little bit of I-want-to-punch-you-in-the-face-right-now vibe. We eventually laughed it out.
We still have our small-talk sessions whenever he's around the parking area. However, I approach parking there with caution. I look behind my back every time after that incident, baka bigla akong kutusan ni Kuya eh. 😂
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