Hurdling Entrance Exams

My brains have been dormant for quite for quite some time. I believe it has been around 3-4 years since my brain did some mental calisthenics like answering employment examinations for one. After I got employed and lost the desire to jump from one employee to another, my mind then went on a screen-saver mode.

Then one day, out of the blue, like when a catfish decides to fly out of the water to breathe some air, my brains kicked out an idea. From out of nowhere, my dormant desire to go to school resurfaced and got me thinking, "Hey, I want to go back to college, what course do I take?" Yup, that's right, the desire is really just to get back to school and learn some new things. It was not like I really dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Although sometimes the thought comes to mind only to be chased by some other random thoughts.

So then I got to thinking, what course should I take?

At first I considered Graduate school, being that when I finish it I would be able to teach in my field.

You see, one of my many dreams in this life is to become a teacher, a professor. I kind of liked the idea that someday somebody would be saying that I have inspired them to do better in life. For me, I consider it a legacy worth leaving behind. One that I would be smiling about when I am in my twilight years reliving the glory of my past.

That and the thought that it would only take me two years to finish graduate school was what made me consider becoming an MBA. But then the small voice in my brain popped out this question, "When I finish it, what will I do then? Will I be able to get a teaching job immediately? And what can I practice having finished the course?" These may sound like invalid questions but they made me think twice and consider my other option.

That option is to take up law. My considerations were that, for one, I liked the idea of putting on a haughty air just thinking myself on the way to a prestigious profession. For another, at least I know what I would practice when I get to finish the course. However, these considerations are dampened by the thought that it would take me four or more years to finish my learning.

So after thinking these things over and over, I began to like the idea of becoming a lawyer more and more. Come decision time, I made up my mind to pursue the law profession.

And it was timely that I decided at the time I did since my choice of universities were accepting students early. My, was I surprised when I found out that entering a law school is not a walk in the park. I had to really browse through my dusty personal file to look for my diploma, transcript of records and other requirements being needed by the school for me to be able to take their entrance exams! Whew! Talk about really sweating everything out.

But then, since I have already made up my mind, I had no choice but to go through with what I have started.

Deciding on where to submit my credentials was another long process for me. Given that our country has a long list of schools offering law, I then had to sit down and think of where I would like to study based on proximity to my apartment and work place, accessibility of the school since I do not have my own car and most importantly my state of finances.

First in my list is the state university because it is situated in Quezon City, the city where I believe I know quite well. Also because being a state university, I have an inkling that the tuition fee would be within my means. Lastly, the school is of course thought of as the school for intellectuals. Yep, I consider myself an intellectual!

So mustering my courage after having battled it out with my inferiority complex, I finally filled out the entrance application form of the said school. Compiled the needed documents and withdrew my remaining thousand peso savings for the application fee. Then on the last day of filing the applications, I sent a message to the boss that I would be late for work. Having done this, I then went on to that side of Quezon City I haven't been to. Guided by bits and pieces of information on how to get there, I took the north-bound train silently prayed that I would find the application center immediately.

When at the university, I asked for directions to the University of the Philippines Law Center and was promptly directed to the right place. There I submitted my records and then proceeded to their cashier to pay the necessary fee to complete the transaction. Was there a long queue over at their payment center and the office was not even open for the day yet. Seeing this, I let out a sigh and settled with the hope that when it opens, the line would move fast. At last my turn came and I'm so thankful that I was in the right queue, observing that there were some students who were redirected to another line, after patiently enduring the snail-paced movement of the line.

Having successfully hurdled the first step in one my quest, I then settled back to my old routine, work-eat-sleep-work. Never giving any thought on the upcoming entrance examinations I am about to take. Hey, I'm an intellectual aren't I? Hah, if only I knew, but that's getting ahead of my story. So I waited for the examination day never taking a peek at any review materials, relying on the thought that it will be just like those employment tests. It never occurred to me that my brains have been dormant for a long time now.

Come examination day, the boyfriend and I trekked to Diliman. Me, feeling like nothing is amiss until I saw all the other applicants. At the designated testing center, I saw about a hundred people milling around (later I would realize that I underestimated.) At first I was not intimidated, rather I was kind of excited, my, what competition this would turn out to be! I still thought it was still playtime.

While waiting outside the entrance of the amphitheater where those with family names starting with the first few letters of the alphabet would take their test, there were more than a hundred of us in our batch and I have no idea how many batch would take the examinations that day. The BF observed that there were more than four centers. Going back to the waiting, I overheard other hopefuls talking about being not able to review that much, some not being able to review this certain reviewer and cramming the night before to read. Hearing these things, it began to dawn on me that what I am about to undertake is serious business and that I should have prepared! Too late, I was already in over my head. Even my haughtiness cannot stop this feeling of dread that was slowly spreading over me. Suddenly I felt like vanishing out of the place. This is something I am not prepared for and which I cannot stop from happening. My options were to get out or just go through with it and see what happens. I opted for the latter, heck; I've already paid for this disaster I might as well see it through.

At last we went inside the testing room, forming a single line like meek lambs following the directions of the proctors on where to take our seats. Then the torture began. It started with the abstract set, the one type of exam I so hate. And while I was cursing the said exam it seems like it would never end. A headache is slowly developing as the minutes ticked by. By the time we got to the reasoning part it became a full-blown throbbing pain. Damn!

The worst part was when the test came to the comprehension and other tests involving the English language where I thought it was my forte. Until that moment when I cannot seem to comprehend what everything in that test was all about. My gosh! What happened to my brains?

I could not remember what happened next after that. One thing I'm pretty sure is that I will not make it. Hah! Serves me right! Ugh.... it will take me a long time to forget this incident. A realization that I should never underestimate things, no matter what they may be.

Although I have to scrap UP out of my list of schools (or is it the other way around, them scrapping me?) it's a good thing that I went through the experience early, at least now I know what to expect on my next choice of school and in that same vein, know what to do then.

So then the BF and I went home, him being hopeful that I would make it and me thinking on what to do on my next attempt at entrance exams.