‘Iskolar ng Bayan Hunger Games’: 5 things I learned at 5AM

Angelica De Leon

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‘Iskolar ng Bayan Hunger Games’: 5 things I learned at 5AM
'There is much more to be learned when you yourself are the star of your own dreaded enlistment story, and there are memories that will last and be cherished more than the 6 hours of total anxiety'

I have heard of the dreaded enlistment stories long before I set foot on the University of the Philippines Diliman campus as a naïve freshman.  

A long line of desperate students making camp in the Math building, with their sleeping bags, jugs of water and broken hearts snaking their way down the stairs and to the front lobby.  Twenty-year-old men on the verge of tears clutching their phones and whining to their girlfriends because the Philosophy department ran out of slots to give at 3 in the morning.

Hoards of students flying across the campus for a sudden opening in MBB 1, only to be shut down by the click of a refresh button on CRS.

These stories were told by former (and cynical) Iskos and Iskas in an effort to dissuade me from taking the UPCAT seriously. It was these stories that elders would so kindly whisper in my ear seconds after I confirmed my slot.

They were the stories that I kept with me during the summer before second year, after losing the sweet freshman priority in my CRS banner.

It was also these stories that played and replayed in my mind as I sat, underloaded, sleepy and on the verge of hopelessness, in a darkened hall of the NIGs building at 5 AM with nothing but a faulty iPhone 4s and the Begin Again soundtrack to keep my company.

1) Desperation and friendship

It was minutes after I saw a ghost of the semester that had past that I received a text from my mother telling me to forget any or all chumminess I might have shared with whoever was in the room. Enlistment period was known for being the Iskolar ng Bayan Hunger Games, and while alliances were always good at the beginning, there will come a time when Peeta will face Katniss with the bittersweet determination to come out victorious.

However, it is hard to isolate yourself from everyone you know when there’s always an arm wrapped around you or a shoulder to lean on.

Try as I might, my determination and resolve to always remain okay was stripped down layer by layer every time another name was called during draw lots. Though dawn had already broken at the time there was looming darkness of desperation that eclipsed the beautiful 10 AM sun.

As soon as the last name was called and I was left with the remaining MST-less students in the second floor hall, I retreated to the corner of the room and fell asleep on my bag. If it not had been for the reassuring touch of a friend lifting me up and gently pulling me into a warm embrace, I would have closed my eyes and rotted away in the perpetual midnight of manual enlistment.

2) Selflessness

For a university that is so casually described as self-absorbed, petulant and individualistic, one would be surprised to see how incredibly selfless and unified the students were at 5 AM. I watched students mingle with others around them, creating small groups among themselves, meeting classmates to be, and forming game plans to get through the day with sufficient sleep and a full tummy.

I was lucky enough to have been at both ends of the rainbow. The sweetness of being showered with many blessings – from a crushed hardboiled egg from a new friend who heard my passive-aggressive complaints about running on an empty stomach, to another close friend dropping her ID in the mix to up my chances at getting a slot – was only matched by the joy of helping others get through enlistment as well.

There is very little that can top bonds formed in the midst of adversary and trials, and rarely is there anything that can overshadow the light in someone’s smile after you perform random acts of kindness.

3) Laughter and stories

With great sleeplessness and fatigue come great sabaw-ness and laughter, and sitting in a circle of noisy, hungry and desperate students made for a fun side storyline in an otherwise somber story. There were moments when, because of my exhaustion, I’d lay back and watch my friends (old and new) interact with one another – two girls leaning against the wall of NIGs silently laughing at videos on her laptop, the group of CMC students huddled together exchanging stories of summer adventures and news on the CMC professors, and people falling asleep on each other.

Despite the depressing morning, there is one thing that is to be certain: laughter and friendship are the best forms of medicine to cure an anxious soul. In a few years I may not remember the names who were called in place of my own, but I will remember the people who stayed by my cranky side at 5 AM.

4) Good music

There is something strangely therapeutic about a darkened hallway, an isolated corner, midnight fading away into dawn, and a good soundtrack playing in the background. It’s a feeling of release that can only be compared to dipping into a hot, steaming bath after a long, tiring run, and at five in the morning, the Begin Again soundtrack was looped to help me enter a state of total Nirvana.

However, as melodious as Keira Knightley’s voice was to the ear, it was the laughter and murmurs of the friends around me that truly kept me sane.

I spend most of my mornings in total silence and isolation. As a former introverted early bird, I like to keep to myself during my free hours, but even I admit that hearing the soft well-wishes and yawns of a friend who woke up extra early to accompany you on your journey to an extra 3 units was the most uplifting form of self-assurance and sanity-grounding musical therapy one could wish for.

5) Hopelessness and hope

I am still 3 units short from getting my ideal load for the semester, but I am hopeful for a productive, busy and memorable semester.

After all I have been through, it would only seem fair to believe that I – along with the rest of the struggling Iskas – would receive the ultimate pay-off, or the rainbow after the storm, or the breaking of the sun during early dawn. However, life works in mysterious and uncalculating ways, and sometimes the ones lining up at 5 AM go home with a heavy heart and zero units to spare.

Despite not getting my much needed Geology I class, I do not regret sitting down at the corner of the room at 5 AM, resting on the shoulder of another sleepy student while being surrounded by people who are too noisy for their own good.

There is much more to be learned when you yourself are the star of your own dreaded enlistment story, and there are memories that will last and be cherished more than the 6 hours of total anxiety that almost, but certainly not entirely, ruined a beautiful Thursday morning. – Rappler.com

Angelica “Ica” de Leon is an aspiring journalist taking up BA Broadcast Communication at UP Diliman. She is currently in her second year. Ica is a student jock for Monster Radio’s Radio One show. She also writes short essays and stories from time to time.

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