De la Cruz-Busto: Student episodes

THANK goodness, time flies so fast. This month, I am halfway through with my schooling, although I have been enjoying it, I look forward to getting past deadlines for paper works and physical tests.

I thought being in school at this age, that my classmates and I would be very serious in all aspects of schooling. Oh, we have been actually, but when my classmates bargain for meeting deadlines, waking up early to run and attending other duties, we are still like college students.

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As class president, my classmates would regularly talk to me or text me for requests to ask for concessions and compromises from our course director. Like if we were given a week or two to submit an article or movie reviews, there will always be requests for extension.

Since I do not like to be the killjoy, I would ask our course director for extensions of deadlines. Fortunately, these favors were always granted. Maybe it also helps that I am ahead in terms of seniority (not necessarily ranking) having entered the service a year or two earlier than our course director.

I admit I am obsessive compulsive (OC) when it comes to meeting deadlines, organizing and planning schedules and class turn-ins. I do not like to cram because I do not feel I am effective (especially with my memory lapses) when I succumb to it, which is why everything is in order from my end. Being one of the most senior in the class, not to mention my elective position, I do not ask for concessions on my own because I should be responsible and mature enough to deliver what is asked of us. But as the class representative or voice, whatever the majority of the class members decide, then I would definitely abide with it.

A day before our first examination, had we followed our regular schedule, we were supposed to do an athletic run but a number of my classmates, the males, asked if we could do away with it. "Baka malaglag sa utak ko yung pinag-aralan ko, ma'am," a classmate said.

Another said it was okay to run since "wala namang malalaglag sa utak ko eh." On both requests, I could not help myself from laughing but I relayed their requests anyway. As a result, our course director decided to give us a whole free day for self review for our first examination.

In some instances, too, I would also be asked by a number of classmates to excuse them from flag raising ceremony as they have yet to arrive from their places in Central and Southern Luzon. Others would rule that they have incomplete uniform thus they could not attend the ceremony.

For our physical requirement such as running, one classmate who is overweight is consistent with his medical certificates thus he is excused from most of our strenuous if not rigorous activities. To compensate for being unable to join us, he would volunteer to hand us water in the course of our three or five kilometer runs. He would also buy us our pandesal after members of the class are done with our physical activities.

At the end of the day, I realize that these are all part of being students, no matter how old or matured we have become. There will always be alibis, excuses and concessions for our own benefits. We are, after all, just like other students.