A friend's Facebook status got me thinking, 'What do I love most about UST'? I think I can't enumerate all, because I love anything and everything about UST. Well, except the floods.
When I was in my senior year in high school, I took only two college entrance exams. UPCAT and USTET. I never expected to pass UPCAT. So yes, my mind's set on UST. Only UST.
And my freshman year just proved that I made the best decision of my life.
My first PE: Cheering! Supposedly, it should be softball but the Yellow Jackets have encouraged us to join cheering. And I enjoyed it! From then on, I became a huge UAAP fan. My first crush in the Senior Men's Basketball Team is Jemal Vizcarra. Haha, I remember those fangirl days. I had photos with the players. We even followed them to their dugout. Aaah!
Second semester of my first year, November 22, 2003, I met Romwald Emerson C. Ebarola. In front of the Santisimo Rosario Church. He was wearing a white shirt, school pants and the zigzag headband. He looked weird. And take note, we went to the library to talk. Library! Where silence is a must!
January 8, 2004, we officially became a couple. Ayiii. That was after a PBL game at the gym. We went to our usual tambayan, the Lovers' Lane. There's this certain bench where we always sit. The vandalized bench. JEWEL and KARL, thanks for writing on it. Whoever you are, we do hope you're still together, just like us. ♥
Rom's a member of the UST Yellow Jackets. And I'm a proud girlfriend. That's why I support them and the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe. The back-to-back-to-back Cheerdance titles, the Pep Rallies, Cheermania. UST-SDT and USTYJ are the reasons why I became a very loyal Thomasian. They just made me so proud. Rom made me so proud.
Year 2006. UAAP Season 69. The comeback of the Growling Tigers. They defeated the Ateneo Blue Eagles. I can still remember how I cried on the last few seconds of Game 3. How I held my rosary tightly. How I prayed real hard for them to win. And our prayers were answered. Someone even said, God is a Thomasian.
In my 5 years in UST, I've witnessed the university's transformation. Colayco park, Lovers Lane and the Coop were gone. Modernized and classy buildings were erected. The UST Hospital became a separate entity. The Multi-deck parking/AMV-COA was built with the help of one of SGV's founder, Mr. Alfredo M. Velayo. There's the Tan Yan Kee Bldg, Thomas Aquinas Research Center, and the new UST gym. And of course, the Quadri fountain and monument which is yet to be unveiled.
I graduated year 2008. That was 2 years and 3 months ago. But until now I feel like a college student, where calculator is a must, and your ID is the key to everything. I miss UST. I miss my Alma Mater. I miss the days when I was walking on the university grounds at night, especially on holiday season where Christmas lights always amaze me. And now that it's 2 days away from it's 400th year, I think it's the best time to say that I AM VERY PROUD OF BEING A THOMASIAN. Imbued with unending grace.
