That Maroon school in Diliman.

The Oblation.  "Ang pag-aalay ng sarili sa bayan."

University of the Philippines. Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Home of the Fighting Maroons. The number one school of the Philippines.

I started to hear college talks from people every now and then when I first came into high school. At first, I could care less and wondered why they are all fussing about college so early, but eventually, in my Senior year to be exact, I realized the importance of choosing the right college or university for a better future. Most signs pointed to the so-called Big Four which consists of the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University. Many Seniors strove hard to pass the admission exams of any one of the Big Four universities, but most people chose to take on the UPCAT and try their wits and luck at it. My school conducted free review classes to prepare for the admission exams, but it mainly focused on the UPCAT itself which is said to be a pretty tough exam to deal with. That's when the UP fad started for all of us in our batch.

Many students became really serious about getting into the country's finest state university. That included me, because my parents said that I should get into UP because would be a great help to our family if I graduate from there. I have to admit, I am one of those people who thought highly of UP. I mean, who wouldn't want to go to a school with topnotch education for a low price?

Then, there came the dilemma of picking my choices of course for UP. Of course I knew what course I wanted to take, I've thought about it for a long time, and in the end, I chose BS Architecture. But, I still doubted what courses should I fill up the application form with because my mom might not approve of what I want, which I hoped would not happen.

And so, I talked to my mom about it and said that it's okay but she still preferred that I take BS Computer Engineering because she thinks I'll have a better future when I become an Engineer, instead of an Architect. That made me think.. Should I follow my mom? Or should I just put the course I think I'll be happy in? Then, a light bulb lit up in my head. I should follow my mom and make BS Computer Engineering as my first choice of course, and put BS Architecture as my second choice of course. I figured I wasn't smart enough to even pass the UPCAT or maybe if I did, I'll just end up with my second choice, never first. I thought it was a brilliant plan, the best I've thought of in years.

I took the UPCAT with struggle. The exam made me dizzy and made me want to vomit numbers because of all the hard questions especially during the Math and Science Proficiency parts, because those two are the subjects I'm weakest in. But still, I did my best to answer the exam accurately and pushed my luck to the limit.

After that, I applied for UST and DLSU. Like UP, I also put BS Computer Engineering as my first choice of course for DLSU because it is said that they're known for courses like that. But I made another decision that no one else influenced but myself. I put in BS Architecture as my first choice of course in UST, and hoped for the best because I wanted to study there, for they are known to offer a really good BS Architecture course.

Next thing I knew, I passed all the entrance exams, all first choices of course, and I was so happy. But the problem is, my mom said before that if I pass the UPCAT, I'll study in UP for sure. And I didn't really expect passing the UPCAT at all. So I was already prepared to enroll for UST, but yeah, it didn't happen because of my deal with my mom. Goodbye, Architect dreams.

Now, I am officially an incoming freshman in University of the Philippines, Diliman with the course of BS Computer Engineering. It's really nerve-wracking because I suck at Math and Chemistry. But, I decided that  I will try as much as possible not to shift courses. Whatever happens, I'll just do my best even though I don't like my course, for my family.. It's always for my family. I will try and finish this course, to try to graduate in this course, in the best way I can..

So help me God.