A student’s journey

A young and adventurous student named Zeke is faced with the decision of picking his college course, the hardest decision he has ever faced since he is fully aware of how heavy this decision will weigh for the rest of his life. Every time he dwells on what his choice will be, he feels a crushing sensation on his chest, like a boulder is holding him down. He knows that his desired course does not have as many high-paying job opportunities as opposed to his other option, which is an option solely based on the fact that Zeke is somewhat competent in regards to that field; he is not interested in it by any means whatsoever. Upon filling in the form for his college registration, he feels the weight of the world on his shoulders; he stares at the screen for what feels like an eternity as all kinds of thoughts enter his head one after another. He feels immense pressure like how an air balloon is inflated with too much Helium to the point that it can pop anytime if thoughts will enter his brain more and more. He consults his mother, his guardian angel, for advice and upon consultation, Zeke has mustered the courage to select his desired choice, because life is too short to be doing something that you do not enjoy, which is the precious advice his mother gave him and it was like a pleasant gust of wind, a push that he needed to pursue his dream career. Fast forward to a year later, he finds himself studying Psychology at UP Diliman, his dream school. Zeke feels as if he’s on cloud nine as he roams around the campus, admiring the view that he has so longed for. As he stands in front of the oblation, he feels delighted, as if he has already succeeded in life, but it is only the calm before the storm since staying in UP is a completely different battle from UPCAT. As time passes by, he feels drained every single day, as if he is a phone that is constantly with low battery, charging for insufficient hours through 5-hour rests every night. After every school day, he would be walking back to his dorm, extremely tired, but he never fails to visit and admire the oblation everyday. It has been a habit of his and he considers the oblation as his beacon of hope. He refuses to lose the privilege of attending a prestigious school that he has worked hard for, and he is filled with determination that gives him the courage to fight, just like how a car is filled with gas to be able to continue to function. He works hard every week, day and night, getting minimal rest, but he thinks to himself that this will all be worth it in the end. As he approaches his final days as a college student in UP Diliman, he stands in front of the UPD oblation one last time as a college student, and gives a hearty bow. It is his own form of closure and farewell for both the happy and sorrowful memories that he has made during his college journey. As the graduation day arrives, thanks to his diligent and continuous efforts, he has managed to graduate as the top of his entire batch. He finishes his college life and graduates with flying colours. As he looks back to his high-school life, he is thankful for the decision that he has made to pursue his desired course. It wasn’t as smooth as he envisioned college life to be, he had his ups and down and he even doubted whether or not if he made the right choice, but that’s what life is all about. Life is a ferris wheel, there will be times in our life where we will feel like we are at the top, and there are some where we feel like we are at our lowest point with no more hope of going back up. For Zeke, as he walks away from UP Diliman’s campus, he feels as if his ferris wheel has stopped, with him remaining at the top. He feels as if his life will continuously be at the top from that point on, which will hopefully be the case for Zeke as he tackles a completely new chapter of his life.

Reviews

[mariposa]

I love the analogy of a Ferris wheel, it inspires me. The way you wrote this, I could understand how Zeke felt like wanting to be in a course that he would enjoy. I really like how you were able to write life advice that also makes me reflect on my perspective with my life. Your story is invigorating and I hope that a lot of people specifically graduating students would read this so that this can serve as their inspiration in achieving their dreams. I love how you wrote his story of not only reaching the top but also showing what lows he went through. Altogether, The choice of words and sentence construction is straight to the point and expressive at the same time. Please continue on inspiring people

[pearl]

This work is totally relatable!!! This gives me a push to reach for my dreams. This is really beautiful huhu It's very descriptive

[gabby]

AWWW GIAN!!!! i got teary eyed, its well written and i can feel the emotions of Zeke through the screen. I relate to your piece because just like Zeke, UPD is my dream. i also see parts of yourself in Zeke and his journey, thank you for putting bits of yourself in your story, it makes it more real. i love this :)

[Juancheeto]

I can tell that the work is very heartfelt and close to you just by feeling how much weight you put in the work, it's as if Zeke is a portrayal of the author in the story and what exactly he's going through right now. The work is very relatable and kindhearted, but I wish he gave something to make us sympathize with Zeke more, I wanna understand his struggles and why he's so worked up about college, I wanna who exactly Zeke is. Overall the story is really good, hope that you become a psychologist that graduated from UP in the future :)).