Trusting the Process: A Tale of Dream School Admission
“Everything you’re going through is getting you ready for what you wanted.”
It was 4 in the morning when my mom woke me up. She told me to get ready for a big challenge I’d face that day. It was August 17, 2014, a day I was scared of but will never forget. Breakfast was ready, but I didn’t feel like eating much. I was too worried about what might happen later. I was super nervous. On that day, I was going to take a test to get into my dream school, the University of the Philippines (UP). It’s the premier school in my country.
I put on a maroon shirt, UP’s color, after taking a shower. My dad drove me to the test place, Bulacan State University (BulSU). It was approximately a 25 km ride from our home and took almost an hour on his two-wheeled vehicle. It was raining a bit, and the wind was strong. Our tire even got flat when we were almost there. But luckily, we reached BulSU just in time before the test started.
When I got to the university, there were lots of other students in line. They all wanted to get into UP too. I told myself to stay calm, even though I was nervous. I studied a lot for this test, looking for tips online, and practicing with mock tests. No matter what happened, I knew I owed it to God for helping me get ready.
Luckily, I saw a friend from high school and asked if I could join the line with them. The test itself was really hard. Even though it was multiple choice, I left many questions unanswered, especially in Math and Science. It was tricky because if you get a question wrong, it takes away a bit of your score. After the test, I felt disappointed. I felt like I let my parents down, who worked hard to send me to school and take care of our needs. But I didn’t tell them what happened, I just went home and slept.
Five Months Later
I was on the internet, checking Facebook when a message popped up. “Your friend shared a link in our group (IV-Humility).” I clicked on it and found out that UP had put out the results for the test. I was nervous to check.
My heart was racing, and my stomach felt funny. Finally, after waiting for a bit, I got to the website. I looked for my name in the list of people who passed. I scrolled and scrolled but couldn’t find it. So, I used a trick and typed “MIRANDA” to search. And there it was! I had passed, and I was going to study Bachelor of Science in Development Communication. My mom was next to me, and I told her the good news while tears came to my eyes.
I thanked God a lot for this good thing that happened. January 12, 2015, became a really important day for me. I will never forget it. I felt like I could make my parents proud.
I learned something really important that day — to trust myself and to keep believing in God. Even when things are hard, if you trust in God and believe in yourself, you can find your way.
*This article was originally written in 2016.
