Why am I here?

Along my usual path to the front lobby, I chanced upon a group of people lining up for something. I saw children in non-PSHS uniform. They were apparently lining up for the exam registration. I never experienced lining up there, because my parents did all the applications for PSHS for me. Seeing them, I remember something that happened 3 years ago...

We were passing along Agham Road, on our way to SM North. We passed by the PSHS Campus. To me, it was nothing special. Sure, there are a lot of schools in the world. This is just one of them. As we passed by the school, my mom told me, "If you make it, you can study there. Only the best of the best make it into that school". I didn't give it much thought. We already visited the campus in the past, and I only got a good look inside the gym. My first impressions was that this school's facilities were horrible (It wasn't far from the truth...). The gym's "inverted pyramid" look and washed out walls didn't look nice to me. The two other buildings were also ignored.

At first, I really can't say I liked to study in this school. It looks undermaintained, old, and other words which I described it with but couldn't remember. I would rather have studied in UST, my current school. The facilities there were respectable, and most rooms air-conditioned.

That only happened for a few seconds. The campus left our minds the moment we turned at the junction at North Avenue. Little would I know that that "school" would be the cornerstone of my future. My application for the first screening was accepted. It was accompanied by a recommendation letter from my science and math teacher. I also applied for UST, my then "current" school.

A month passed, and there I was, standing in front of the big orange building they call the "SHB". I was tense. There were a lot of people in the front area. It was like a small EDSA Revolution. I followed a line of other examinees, fervently rehearsing my room number. I couldn't afford to forget it.

Two hours passed, and my temple was throbbing slightly. I can't particularly say I reviewed "properly" for the first examination. I was given a few books, but I wasn't enrolled in any review class by my parents. Math came easily for me, and Abstract Reasoning need not be explained. The examination was a good experience, and I really didn't care about the results.

A month or so passed. A letter with the seal of PSHS arrived in our house. My parents looked at it with a hint of excitement. In the letter would be my test results. I was also thrilled at the prospect of my abilities being gauged, and apparently, it was enough to get me to the second screening. My parents were happy, and I was happy. Now that I passed the first screening, my parents couldn't let me review unsystematically. I was signed up by my parents for a set of review classes. I can't remember the name or the location of that review center, but I definitely remember a few faces. It was there that I met: Nathaniel Cachero, Andrea Alegre, and at least two other people who are currently in PSHS.

The second screening examination came and passed. I also passed, in a different way. I was now eligible to study in PSHS. The examinations for my "current" school also happened. I passed that too, but my clear choice was PSHS. My only other classmate, who also happens to be our valedictorian, who passed the first screening failed the second screening, so I was the only one from UST in our batch who would be eligible to study in PSHS. It seems contradictory, that I am the only one from our school that will study in PSHS while the rest of my friends would stay in UST. Even I can't remember why I chose PSHS. Maybe it was a new experience, new faces, new teachers, new school.

April 2006: the month of our graduation. Through a stroke of fate, our graduation fell on April 22, my birthdate. The ceremonies, complete with "Pomp and Circumstance" (the standard graduation music), happened quite quickly. Soon, we were already exiting the auditorium, probably the last time we would see each other. I saw friends bidding other friends farewell. I also said goodbye, and thought about what would happen next. This new school -- was it the right choice? What will happen to me? I am leaving every one of my friends behind, and I would plunge to a new world, not knowing a single face.

Two years have passed. Now, I am a junior, still in PSHS. Whenever I think back to those days, those days when my choices were laid out in front of me and I had to choose, I always tell myself, "I made the right choice".