WORKED TO THE BONES – and it was still not worth it
By: Sam Brodit (written a few weeks before graduation)
Not being pessimistic about my title (although I do have to admit that I’ve been under the weather lately) but it is true. In our English class, we were asked to recall our memorable moments and to write it down together with how we feel about the ending school year/graduation. Thinking of nothing else to write for the title, I wrote…can you guess? ...Nothing.
In that theme I wrote whatever popped out of my head since, as my experiences have proven, the ones that do pop out are the truth. Honestly, why bother thinking up a lie…unless you can get a 90. Is it not a wonder why I finish my theme writings so quickly?
Anyway, I recalled the past 4 years of my life… reminisce… reminisce… reminisce. This took about ten seconds or so. Oddly enough, the first thing that I could recall were lying in bed doing home work drinking pills to stop the headaches, stomachaches and all types of aches caused by sleepless nights doing projects and burning eyes typing in front of the computer. This is followed by stressful mornings where everything seemed to be in fast forward and finally the undying fatigue, when I come home and I would just fall on my bed (without getting to eat my dinner!!!) and sleep only to wake up at 11 or 12 to do some more school work. How stressed am I? uhm...let’s see J
WOW! What precious memories of high school life. Whoever said that these four years were going to be memorable sure wasn’t kidding. J I could just go “woohoo!” and scream…YESSS!!! IT’S FINALLY OVER!!! J
Don’t get me wrong people. It wasn’t all that bad. But then again, it was never really good also. I mean the good things that did happen, the ones that I would really call meaningful or memorable were the ones that did not include the subjects math, science, English, social studies, Filipino, religious education, computer, music, arts, PE and health. The ones that didn’t demand for me to be awake at odd hours, who didn’t make me weak, who didn’t cause bacteria to eat my lungs, the ones who didn’t need me to be stressed or pressured or WORKED TO THE BONES. These were the ones where I learned and actually applied what I had learned in everyday life. What are these good things? Well, that’s in another article.
Looking back at these past four years made me depressed even more than I am now. Sure there were moments of glory, camaraderie and the value of family but still. All that time I had buried myself, almost to death, in my studies. When I finally stopped digging my own grave, I was less than half way there. My health was impossible to return unless a money tree suddenly grew near our house then we could have afforded the exercise facilities for the sick or had a new house to drive me all the way to cleaner air. Nope, I was stuck in smoky
Now, I’m finally graduating. I may not be the honor student I was in my primary and elementary grades but I managed to get through more than “ok” in high school. And then, I realize, it wasn’t worth it. My health, my time, almost my entire short life spent for what? It is for nothing more than a fancy paper with my name on it. It’s something that could’ve been duplicated in Recto. It is nothing more than a walk up the stage. Nothing more than something that can be eaten by moths or decayed by time. Nothing!