Back home: A day in the arms of my alma mater

Sometimes even when you're far from where you started, a certain part of you is stuck in the past and you revel in what happened and how it affected your life.  Such is the case when I walked through the paths of De La Salle University -Dasmariñas today with my boyfriend.


Our journey began when we flashed our alumni cards at the guard who mans Gate 2. "Isa lang po ang kailangan," he said, as he waved us inside the campus.  Giddy with excitement, we then parked at a parking lot previously prohibited to students. Alumni na kami, eh. :)

Three years after I graduated, Minxie finally visited the campus. Here she waits along with a twin in the parking lot near the DO's office.

After parking, Mark and I held hands as we walked along the rotunda.  Under the canopy of trees along the main street, we saw students as they go on their routines. Memory after memory surfaced as we talked about our past in the school. We were teasing each other about the D.O.'s, as they were especially strict before about PDAs. As far as I can remember, holding hands was allowed though.

Students

We then went to Mila's Diner, above a canteen we formerly called SBC.  We briefly attended the Broadcast Journalism's Grand Assembly and met up with a couple of friends, Kapatid Ai & Kuya Jay. After staying for 20 minutes or so, Mark and I left to roam around the campus. 

Kuya Jay & Aila. They've been together since forever! :)

We dropped by the Botanical Garden which was being constructed during my stay in the University.  It was the first time we saw it completed. And boy, it sure is beautiful. There are stone benches and arches and stone bridges.  Most of all, it connects the East side of the campus to the West. In other words, students don't have to go through the Lake from the Alumni building to get to the Chapel.

Me: All smiles as I enjoy the beauty of the Botanical Garden

And because this is a trip down memory lane, mind the gap. If you want to know what happened  in this lake, you'll have to ask me personally. *wink*

Of course, what visit to the University will be complete without going through the football field? Mark and I are athletes, and football is one of the sports we both play.  Despite not having any gear and being dressed a wee bit formalish (I was wearing suede boots with thin soles. Obviously, I'm not dressed for football), we kicked a football around along with other players.  They were all younger than us, but it was encouraging and reassuring to know that our kicks still have direction despite not playing for a long time. 

During our short scrimmage in the field, a fellow footballer kicked the ball too wide.  I suddenly found myself running after the ball--hair flying everywhere, my necklace bouncing on my chest, one hand clutching my iPhone, the other hand supporting the car key that's looped on my belt--catching up with the ball, stopping its momentum, and giving it a solid kick.  Twack! As it sailed to Gabe, I felt fulfilled.  For those few seconds, I felt the buzz of adrenaline. I felt alive. 

The football field. Oh football, how I miss you so. 

Of course, we also passed by all the buildings and said hello to our former professors, at least in my case since Mark couldn't drop by his course's faculty building as CEAT is now condemned.  During my stay in the University, CEAT used to be the most beautiful building.  Sayang. We even saw a canteen attendant who used to scold me for drinking too much soda--and she remembered us! We also visited our old "spots" in the University--the kubos, the batibots, the buildings--as we remembered our first few months together. 

Mark and I. :)

Visiting DLSU-D is a gratifying experience. We were able to reminisce and see how beautiful our school has grown. Aside from the physical changes within the University, we also felt the changes that happened within ourselves--how far we both have come after graduating from ULS. 

Most people say that belonging to an elite school does not guarantee success. In our case, yes, it did not guarantee our success. We worked hard to earn our current places and got where we are right now without compromising our values--but really, when you think about it, we learned some of these values in De La Salle. We were prepared emotionally by our courses to confront the "real" world outside the walls of the University. Among these lessons, the most important ones I remember are as follows: do not give up, fight for what is right, if you want something, stop asking for it and do something to get it. And most importantly, let Jesus let in our lives.

I guess this pretty much sums up the day. Animo La Salle!