Teenage angst: Rights

I was on my way to sign out when I saw a group of teenagers, say high schoolers, in a commotion. Two girls were crying and the boys were trying to comfort them. From what I've heard, there's a misunderstanding within the group. I think it was about the girls having no role in their play because of reason I didn't overhear. And then I realized...

When we're young, we tend to think that fighting for our own rights is the most courageous thing we could do. Everything is a big deal to us. We tend to think we're always right and we must be heard. But as we grow older and become more mature, as we let God mold us, as we love more, our rights become less of importance and we listen more to people's opinions. We learn the therapeutic use of silence when our pride wants to shout in rage. We think of ourselves less and more of others. We give more and take less. We let go and move on. We keep going.

little HIGH, little low..hello Highschool!

I know my title is boring and corny but who cares? I want it that way haha

First day of high school put me in a clutter. Who wouldn't? It was my first time studying in a government school and that is not just a school. You have to fight your way through to finish until the end. Before entering, I have heard countless stories of students being kicked out, of hundreds of sleepless nights they have to endure, of thousands of bucks their parents have to spend for a project, of hours and hours straining their neck reading and memorizing or doing homework. It felt to the 13-year old me that the moment I stepped into the school grounds was the moment I stepped in a fun-sipping lair, taking all the fun out from a teenager and imprisoning her to books and geometry and history. (Well, I love/fascinated with history! And biology's my favorite.) I dreaded being suffocated with facts and numbers and equations and signs, and even following me in my dreams. I was used to studying 'til my brain explodes but not being pressured. In short, high school freaked me out.

And so the first day came. I knew a handful of classmates but they were just acquaintances. I remember not talking to my seatmate. We both faced the opposite direction. My classmate near us was laughing at us. Then we were asked to get a small piece of paper (1/8) and to write something I forgot. I handed my seatmate a small paper but we still didn't talk that day. It was hilarious, I tell you. My laughing classmate still remembers it up to this day. That's my only clear memory of my first day.

I remember our multipurpose green skirt. It can be used to sweep and shine the corridor floor or as a dressing room before CAT. You can also use it as a linen to lie on. Or you can use it simply as a skirt. :)

I remember our precious fingers. They are used to take all 10 stones in one hand or do "tuldok" and "around the world" to win the class tournament of Jackstone. They can also hold precious gems to defeat the gruesome opponents in "Pusoy Dos" tournament. I remember our class having a new name, the RP2, short for Republika ng Pusoy 2 because in every corner of the room, you can see students having Pusoy Dos tournament. We even go home late just to finish the tournament. We had this game where my friend had the aces and twos but she still lost (haha!). And of course, we use our fingers to copy endless notes, design our notebooks like a journal, type numbers on calculator or multiply numbers using them, and answer brain-draining exams.

Mini boodle fight was never absent in high school or maybe in my case. When you have food, you share it (even if you don't want to haha). I remember always packing 2 servings for lunch because my classmates would share with my baon. They would sometimes get the best part! haha! There were classmates who would roam around the room collecting viands and they would return to their seat with a fiesta-like lunch on one of the other student's box lid. There's a saying, "When you have a jug, everybody gulps."

 

And there's our sturdy flagpole. We used it as one of the bases in Outan Base / Moro-moro. Moro-moro is one of the class games. It is fun and at the same time, a very serious game. People got injured and went home with abrasions on palms and wrecked jogging pants and blood-stained knees. We also played Marco Polo, Stop!. It is a physical game and needs balance, flexibility, and presence of mind. Yes we smelled awful but who cares? We had fun and the time was ours!

Our minds exercised their creativity in designing our armchairs. Yes, armchairs! During the first week of the school year, we were given time to decorate our armchair. We put pictures, doodled words, covered it with cartolina, glitters, anything we want, then we put plastic cover for protection. Yes, we treasured our armchairs very much!

We also had a reading nook. The back part of our classroom was decorated to look like a mini library. Ours had plant pots and a trailway! We had all sorts of books that we rarely touched any of them for fear that the pages may tear! Most were old books. It was donated by who-know-who. I think we won the contest.

I think that's all for now. There's so much about high school that I want to share but this entry is getting looong!

-to be continued on another entry....hopefully :)