The Choice
The course I wrote as my first choice in the UPCAT application form was BS Speech Pathology. My brother then was advised by his pediatrician to go to a Speech Therapist before he entered school. I accompanied my brother to his sessions and I was awed. So, at 16 years old, I was all set. I was going to be a Speech Therapist and earn my degree from the country’s premiere university.
It was after my first semester when things didn’t go as planned. I hated my science classes and my knees got weak when I read the course syllabus. This was in the year 2001 but I remember that day well. I read the name of a future major course – “Disorders of the Cleft Palate.” Wait. Is this really what I signed up for?
And so, like all other well-meaning students who have accepted they made a mistake, I decided to shift. My first choice then was Behavioural Sciences. Again, for the second time, I was all set. I read all about the course, prepared for the interview, and cross-enrolled to required subjects so I won’t get left behind. This over confident shiftee was excited. I knew what I wanted and I was so sure I will get it.
I was wrong. Simply said, I was waitlisted. I weighted two options. One was to wait for everyone who got accepted to BehSci to enrol and hope to God that there will be slots left. The other was to enrol in the course I actually passed the screening of – BA Organizational Communication.
It was Agnes De Mille, an American dancer and choreographer, who said, “No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.”
She was right. I decided to be an OrCom student because I did not want to risk the possibility of being a “floater” or a student with no course in the next one or two years. I just wanted to graduate on time. That was it. Nobody prepared me for what happened next.
I was not prepared to fall in love with a course right after I took OrCom 101.
I was not prepared to actually enjoy gruelling majors and look forward to intense intellectual debates in the classroom.
I was not prepared to gain two blocks worth of beautiful friendships that I still cherish up to this day.
I was not prepared to finally fit in and feel that I am truly home.
Life does not prepare us for these things but we somehow have to believe that we are up to the challenge. This may mean fighting battles, defying rules, or standing one’s ground – preparing ourselves for the worst.
Thing is, there are times when all that is needed of us is to make a choice and hope for the best.
My choice to embrace the unknown was unplanned, unrehearsed, and totally unexpected.
Years later, it’s still the one of the best decisions I ever made.
