Battlecry
Our last review session for the UPCAT ended just this afternoon. I thought it would have been the usual “Okay, good luck in taking the post-test simulation!”, but this day was different. Apart from getting tips and strategies for the UPCAT, my batch heard a message that was quite unique from the ones I have heard from before.
Our Filipino teacher, Ma’am Aguila, just gave us an awe-inspiring speech to ensure that we will do our best for the entrance exam that all of us were complied to take and were trained all these years to pass.
From her (not so verbatim) words:
“Seniors, since last year, numero uno ang Pisay sa passing rate sa UP. 99% kumbaga. At alam kong walang pinagkaiba ang galing at talino ninyo sa mga nakaraang batch. Baka nga mas kaya niyo pa silang higitan eh. Kaya kayo pinag-ensayo sa Pisay ng apat na taon ay para maipasa ninyong lahat ang UPCAT.
Kaya kapag kayo’y nasa harap na ng UPCAT questionnaire, magdasal kayo sa Diyos, at hingiin ang Kanyang gabay.
Dahil sa bawat sagot ninyo sa UPCAT, gagawin ninyo ito alang-alang sa sarili ninyo, alang-alang sa pamilya ninyo, at higit sa lahat, alang-alang sa paaralan na nagdala sa inyo ng edukasyon hanggang sa huli.
Papasa?”
And of course, the room was filled with echoes of “PAPASA KAMI SA UP!”, some with convincing tones, some with laughing voices, and others with just a sense of fortitude and humility.
But do you know what I really heard?
It was a battlecry.
Let’s go PSHS Batch 2012. The war doesn’t really start within the walls of Pisay. It was only our training ground to survive whatever is out there. The war starts when the gates of Pisay close behind us. Raise your heads up, and believe in the power of God within ourselves. I end this entry with a quote, hoping to inspire you.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Marianne Williamson
Amen.
Pisay people are not just expected to pass the UPCAT, but to do so with flying colors. People outside have no idea what kind of pressure all of us have to go through internally. They have no idea what kind of scrutiny we receive, now and for as long as we carry of the name of the school during the course of our lives. We are expected excellence, maybe more but nothing less. Challenge accepted?
