How Sweet It Is!

*I wrote this in 1999. Wow. I can't believe it's been more than 5 years.

Whoever coined the phrase "March Madness" must have been a 3rd year law student. Our first year was terrifying; the second year, a blast. Third year? It was, (notice the use of the past tense) as Charles Dickens said, the best of times and the worst of times.

Notice the pattern. First, third year lulled us into complacency. During the early stages of the first sem, the Dean was in Rome and our teachers were never in. In the second sem, Pebrero na nang makita ni Jenny ang iba nating guro. Then, before we could express our disgust (ahem) over the quality of education we were getting for six thousand bucks in peyups...it was time for our final exams. Much like a boxer intent on throwing a right straight and instead being hit by a sneaky upper cut, we ended up on the floor, bruised and dazed at the sudden turn of events.
I, for one, emerged a better albeit a battered person, from it all. Days after the last exam I ventured gingerly into the real world and walked amongst "normal" people. It was wonderful to be with those who knew not the meaning of SCRA. I touched the floors of Megamall and found to my delight that it was as dirty as it had always been. The supermarket clerks still don't give the exact change, the ATM's still don't work when you're out of cash, the jeepney drivers still drive as if the devil himself was after them. More importantly, there was PowerBooks and Tower Records and Starbucks and the Art Film in Glorietta and HBO, ESPN, AXN and Egyptian TV on cable. I was nearly in tears. 'Pinas was exactly the same as I had left it in early March.

It is indeed both humbling and gratifying to realize that the world just went on its merry way around the sun despite us. Or should I say, without us. Hopefully, when we recover enough of ourselves and decide to rejoin the rest of humanity this summer, we will find not only comfort in the familiarity of our surroundings but also wonder at the beauty of it all.