Never Too Late for School

We always hear the words “It’s better late than never.” It became a cliché, that saying it is redundant.

It may be a time-old, timeworn quote, but I can’t find any truer words than these to express what my life status is right now, particularly in my studies.

Three years overdue in college — yep, that’s how I would describe myself in the most unpleasant and exact way. I can humbly say I’m not academically challenged though, but more like self-challenged. I’m that slug who pays his brain bills. I know “smart” and “lazy” doesn’t sound good in one sentence, but I just can’t help putting them together. I hate studying — there I said it.

During my lunchbox days, I loved reading encyclopedias. From book A to Z of a set, I have read them all a dozen times. I even have my baby hair stuck on one — it’s a superstitious belief that sticking a baby’s first haircut in a book makes him smart. I was so amazed with learning new things and ideas; most I could still recall up to this moment. But being smart is not enough. As I grew as a teenager, my light bulb flickered and dimmed; so is my interest in knowledge.

When I was in high school, I rarely opened a book. It’s so rare that when I do, dust stuck on every page falls off. And I only do it because the teacher tells me to do so. Reading became a sore to the eyes. It’s like I have phobia of the alphabet if I were to exaggerate. I do listen to the teacher’s lessons though. Maybe that’s why I could somehow pass the quizzes and exams and eventually graduated. Maybe I have the luck of recalling things that have reached my eardrums. But being lucky is not enough. As I grew as a young adult, there was bare fortune left in my pot. I learned that not all the time everything falls into one’s lap.

I started off college thinking I could surpass it like how I surpassed high school. I could still remember confidently saying to my father, while he was advising me what to do, that I don’t need a set of advice and I already know what to do. That was the biggest mistake I have ever done in my life; I didn’t listen to my parents.

I became that good boy gone bad often seen in soap-operas who goes to the “you know where” and drinks “you know what” with the “you know who” — the “barkada”. That word connotes a very negative meaning to my parents. They told me not to engage in group activities if it doesn’t concern my studies. But peer pressure is inevitable in college, especially when you’re just a freshman who thinks that it is just like high school. I flunked my subjects and eventually stopped schooling. The next school year, my parents transferred me to another school, thinking I would change my habits. They were wrong; they were disappointed. I stopped college the second time.

I reached the point where I started questioning myself, “What have I done? Do my parents deserve to be treated this way after all they have done?”

I looked at my pot of fortune and realized it wasn’t empty; there were crumbs in it. I have my parents who never get tired of understanding and supporting me; they are always on my side even when I was wrong. They gave me a third chance in pursuing college. This time, I will not let that chance go to waste.

Today, I’m on my last semester in college. It took me 7 school years, but hey, you already know the best quote for that. Being late means at least you showed up, and it’s never too late to stand up again after a hard fall. (Karl John Zsygfrydd Calvez)