First Semester AY 2007-2008 Issue
I spent six years in college, four in Genesoc. Considering the amount
of time I spent with the org after I graduated, you can make it five.
My rather extended stay with the org can be justified by the fact that I
was unemployed then, so I basically had nothing to do. Or maybe, it can
be that I’ve grown so used being with the genes that I can’t simply get
them out of my system: the blue tambayan, the quitting station, genesoc
juice, everything. I’d prefer the latter. I guess when you spent so
much time with a certain someone, or a whole organization for this
matter, every memory "good" or ""bad" becomes etched inside
you. That’s the problem with me: I’m a sucker for emotional
attachments.
Life after Genesoc is pretty
much like stepping out of college. You don’t know what to do, where to
go. It seems like a big part of you is taken away and you can’t do
anything about it, but go with the freaking flow. I guess that’s another
reason why I stuck up with the genes for the longest time, even though
my name’s already in the alumni list. It’s difficult to detach yourself
from something that’s been part of you for so long. And maybe, along the
way, it became my curse. I still felt like I was still responsible, so I
"stayed". I always asked myself if I was hanging around too much, and
I’ve always answered myself that no, it’s okay, and that I’m not being
overboard. I guess I had this resolution that as long as I can do
something for the org that’s been my family for the longest time, I will
do it. I’ve had too many memories with Genesoc when I was still a
"kid", that I told myself that I want to pass them on to those who are
still new to the family. Maybe, through me, I can make them feel what
it’s like to be with the org I’ve grown to love over the years. I
sincerely hope I was successful, at the very least.
Life
after Genesoc is so nostalgic, I can nose bleed right now. It’s like a
blast from the past, clash of what-used-to-be’s and those in the "now". A
brief stay at the tambayan can bring so much memories, that even the
satellites remind me of one hellish body meeting. The "applicants" I
used to shout at, whose ticklers suffered way too many burnt pages with
my lighter, whose taste buds had horrible encounters with raw egg, whose
assignments had the mandatory fish souvenir, whose first impression on
me always seem to be "mataray" – all of them are different now. No more
shyness, they can now get away expressing their own opinions, and not
relying on their more vocal batchmates. No more trace of adjustments,
they’ve adjusted perfectly well with the org life – and loving it. No
more inhibitions and silent moments in one corner of the tambayan. They
now make decisions for the org, mature enough to discuss issues, and I
hope, sensitive enough of other people’s opinions and feelings. Because
after all, no matter who we are, even if we were past
presidents/officers, or just a simple member, we all have that Genesoc
spirit: limitless…possible…
Life after Genesoc is
bittersweet. Looking at where I am now, and looking back where I came
from, and with whom I shared the past years, one word always come to
mind: GENES. I know that I have my whole life ahead of me – working late
on weeknights, deprived alcohol consumption, tax deductions, 13th month
pay, maybe career changes. A whole life that is fast-paced,
competitive, dynamic, exhausting, stressful. Real life, as what people
would call it. But for me, no matter how "real" life gets, no matter how
shitty it might turn out to be, I know that there’s a blue tambayan
(picnic table) waiting for me in the BioSci where I can hang out and
forget reality for a little while. And who knows, I might call up a gene
or two, and drink our worries away with that punked grape-flavored
genesoc juice.
___________________*Jazelle Marie Torres (Gene Probes, BS BIO-MCB '06) served as the President of The UPLB Genetics for AY 2005-2006. She currently works at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
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