Madness of March

March is one of the most critical months of a student's life. It is the defining and pivotal month where students prove they actually learned and developed something. I've been seeing so many statuses in facebook about stress, sickness, procrastination, recitals, exams, tiredness, stress, stress, stress, time constraint and stress again. Now that I'm done with college, sadistic as it may sound, I find those statuses somewhat amusing. Why? Because I know how it feels, I've been there time and again for the most of my life and now, I am relishing the absence of it in my life and it feels so good. And I know those people who are ranting about stress, exams and whatnots, I am certain they will feel this kind of freedom I am feeling once they are done. If I were still in school cramming for my piano exams, papers, written exams, I'd probably be working my ass off now, maybe even crying, ranting and thinking about quitting (yes, the thought of quitting and giving up occurs to me every sem.) Now, I'm so thrilled I am finally done with college and I can honestly say, I do not miss the workload and performance anxieties at all.

Sometimes I feel like so much time was wasted in college. Like I just finished it to get my diploma that I could present to society and say "Hey, I graduated from UP College of Music with honors! Hire me, I'm good!" But the truth is, it really doesn't mean anything. Sure, to some extent it will show prove and show your capabilities, work ethic and knowledge but it does not define who you are and what you can or cannot do. And it should never, i mean NEVER limit you to creating other possibilities for yourself. I believe most people can do anything they want to do, even without a college degree. All you need is to be immersed in the field of your interest and learn from there. And of course, a pint of boldness and courage.The problem is though, in our society, more often than not, you will not be immersed in any profession of some caliber unless you have a diploma to present. Its a shame. You don't need to go to college to prove that you can do whatever it is you want to do. Except probably of course for those who want to be doctors, architect, engineers, lawyers. But hey, just because you're not attending med or law school doesn't mean you can't learn those things.  Look at Dr. Vivien Thomas or the guy from "Catch Me if You Can". I'm not saying college is useless, in fact, it is very important specially in our society. My point is, hmmm whats my point? Ah! 1. You can do anything you want and 2. College isn't everything. Cliche as it may sound, what you really need to learn in life are not only confined inside the 4 walls of a classroom.


But yeah, thinking about it, I still do appreciate college in a sense that I know I will never become penniless and hungry, unless by choice. It does open a lot of windows and doors of opportunities for you but it shouldn't keep you from opening (and maybe even creating!) other windows and doors.