Pride

[WARNING: LONG POST ]
The question I have the most difficulty answering is, "Where did you graduate from?"

In Manila, there are a handful of elite universities that command the most respect. They are, in no particular order, The School on a Hill, The Parking Challenge, and the Home of the Naked Runners. Of course, there are other institutions of favorable repute, but the past few decades have seen these three emerge as the academic heavy weights.

Needless to say, alumni of the three are held in very high regard; while those who were accepted but politely declined continuance are often frowned upon and generally pointed out to young children in a manner akin to the biblical treatment of lepers.

Now, while the leper reference may seem to be a little harsh I'll vouch for the veracity. Because I am one such leper.

I am one of the unfortunates who squandered the opportunity to avail of the best academic facilities in the country, learn from the sharpest minds in the field, and graduate with the future leaders of our soon-to-be-proud-again nation. I am one of the fools who spent his future inheritance in malls, bars and dark corners while the others squeezed the marrow out of their university experience.

I barely felt my fall from grace -- too numb from abusing myself and too secluded in arrogance to admit my foolhardiness. When I finally stirred from my proud haze, I was sitting in a dimly lit classroom in a foreign campus while a strange professor explained Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in front of the class, a freshman in a fifth-choice institution.

So while my batchmates had joined the corporate game and were moving up the ladder, the only mobility I experienced was the commute to and from my new school. I was starting from scratch, my self-worth was shattered, and I had three more years of studying ahead of me. And Lord help me, I did actually study for those three years.

Channeling a dedication I hadn't displayed since high school, I aced every test and every subject, I took full loads over summers and tried to overload every term, I also applied for reinstatement at my former university, but that was a shot at the moon and I knew it from the start. I did odd jobs to earn some spending money -- technical writing, stock market analysis, even internships at law offices, anything to scrape some experience together. I was so focused that a lump of coal would have been crushed into a diamond had I stared at it long enough. I was so determined that I took on a full time job as a software engineer during my graduating term while I completed my thesis.

And after seven years, one ex-girlfriend, and thousands of kilometers traveled to and from schools I finally got my degree.

Three months later a multinational invited me to apply for a Systems Analyst position and fortunately I've steadily risen through the ranks from that starting point.

So where did I graduate from? Not from the hill, not from the home of the naked run, but rather from the humble institution that sits across the parking challenge. I graduated from The College of St.Benilde. My only shame is that it took me this long to say it.