My College Life at Visayas State University- Tolosa

         Back when I was in high school, I thought that was the difficult stage of being a student, but not until I became a college student. It is completely different from high school life. I cannot deny the fact that being a college student is not easy and is very challenging, for there are a lot of tasks, assignments, and projects that need to be accomplished and submitted. But, despite that, I am still grateful because being able to reach college is already a great achievement for me because not everyone was given an opportunity to pursue college.  

          My college life here at Visayas State University-Tolosa was like a rollercoaster ride. There were times that I wanted to give up and quit because of the struggles. But there were times that I felt happy and motivated. I know I am just in my second year, and I know this is not yet the most difficult battle that I am experiencing. But I still can’t help to feel stressed and struggle because I am not intelligent. I am pressured as well, not because my parents are letting me feel that, but because of the burdens that I am carrying as the firstborn child in the family. I have to thrive academically for my future, and I don’t want to disappoint my parents and waste their hardships because they worked hard just to support and send me to this university. I think being an honor student is the only way for now to pay off my parents' hard work. That’s why I am studying hard and putting effort into it. Despite the numerous learning tasks and learning assessments that were given to us, I really made sure that I could submit them ahead of time and that I did not miss any tasks. With this, I sometimes end up answering the tasks the whole night if the tasks from different subjects are given at the same time. I am not that kind of student who would do nothing the whole day because the tasks will be due in 5 days or next week. During my first year in distance learning, I made sure that every day I would be able to finish one or two activities, even if the deadline was still far away. Now, in the face-to-face setting, every day after class, I work first on the tasks before I go to bed. I do this because I don’t want to cram because anytime our instructors might give us another task to work on. During the long quiz or examination, I will not sleep unless I have already reviewed the lessons for tomorrow’s test. Usually, my sleep was just 3 or sometimes 2 hours because I budgeted my time to review all the lessons. In the evening, I would go to sleep at 10 or 11 p.m. and wake up at 3 a.m. to recall all the subjects I had just reviewed. Due to busy schedules, I sometimes don’t have enough sleep or time for myself, and sometimes I even forget to eat my meal. This is sometimes one of the reasons why I feel dizzy and sleepy at school.

         As a college student, I also feel tired from my studies, just like any other student out there. Sometimes, I would cry in the evening because I was struggling and felt like I couldn’t handle the burdens anymore. Sometimes, I can’t help overthinking about my future and what’s waiting for me tomorrow. Saturdays and Sundays are just like weekdays; it’s not a rest day anymore for us college students. Others said that we have to enjoy college life, but for me, I shouldn’t just be enjoying it because this is the time to be serious because college life was never easy. With all the difficulties and challenges that I’m experiencing, I will just cry and feel tired, but I don’t let it affect me too much. As much as I can, I’m trying to avoid the stress because I don’t want to experience severe headaches again. Supposedly, I am already a third-year college student in this school year (2022-2023). Back in 2020, I enrolled at Leyte Normal University. I took up the Bachelor of Physical Education, but due to health problems, I decided to drop all my subjects. Then, in 2021, I returned as a first-year student again, not at LNU but at Visayas State University-Tolosa, and took up a Bachelor of Elementary Education program.

           Here at VSU-Tolosa, I met new people, and they are the best. They are my classmates. I am grateful that I have the BEED 2-Block 018 family in my life. From Block 011 to Block 024 during the first year and now Block 018, they’ve been my classmates, and we were together through the highs and lows. They are fun to be with and not kill joys. What I like about them is that we are united as one. We don’t compete with each other. Instead, we help each other, especially those who are struggling. Thanks to my classmates and to "Mhiema" Rochelle and Lyka for making my college life bearable. Moreover, I also met the instructors who have helped me grow, get out of my comfort zone, acquire new experiences, and teach me not just academic lessons but also life lessons.

My college life at VSU-Tolosa may not be perfect, but at least I learned to be independent, make decisions on my own, build my self-confidence, face challenges, and most of all, I had a memorable experience in my 1st and 2nd year with the best people.