White and Blue is the Official Student Publication Saint Louis University, Baguio City, Philippines with editorial office at Rm. 06 Student Center, Saint Louis University

Just eight months ago, I was here, writing the first column I have written for three years. Now, I am about to end the school year with another column. Time flew too fast that it is only now that the thought of ending a year as an editor of this publication is sinking in my system. Some of our editors are graduating this school year and a fresh batch will come in next year. And then after a year, the cycle would repeat itself. Much like life. Seasons pass and times change. But, as a song goes, these are all connected “in a circle-in a hoop that never ends”.
 

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“I can’t think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. I could quit but here’s the thing, I love the playing field.” –Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

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Journalism is but a tough job. Pressures abound: deadlines you run into like brick walls, staffs apparating and disapparating now and then and sleepless overnights. These pressures build up – mercilessly grinding you to dust if you lost your will to survive. Fortunately, I have survived that ordeal for one school year. Journalism, as I pointed out is different from writing. And though I want to and am planning to write a book sometime in the near future, I’m still a journalist first, a writer second.

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“Maybe we like the pain. Maybe we’re wired that way. What’s that saying? Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop.” –Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

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Writing for the school paper is not that easy. Even covering sports events would require large doses of headache medicines to heal the throbbing pain in the head. But somehow, these pains are the spices of being a journalist. The satisfaction you get from overcoming the pressures is overwhelming. When the paper you’ve worked hard upon on gets published, you somehow get the sensation that you have actually accomplished something that is worth lauding. It is because even in a publication where there is no scholarships to hold on to, the glory of the byline sometimes is a more than enough compensation for the hardships.

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“We can only see the universe through the limited prism of our senses” – Larry Fleinhardt (Numb3rs)

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The world of sports is a very vast one. And I know that during the whole year, we at the sports section had not covered even a percentage of it. I am not regretful about it, however. I am still proud that the staffs that wrote for this page had given the term “sports” a new meaning. That the word is more than just basketball or volleyball as is commonly thought of. I am glad that the writers helped me in bringing light to the “black sheep” sports – those often neglected and not watched by so-called “sports

fanatics”.

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“I know math is full of absolutes. Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn’t” – Charlie Eppes (Numb3rs)

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This section has been, in a sense, a home to me. However, I shall be leaving its portals as the new editorial board comes in. I can never ascertain as to what would be my position next year. And I can never predict that as my co-editors will be the one who’ll determine it. The world is just too erratic to predict. This semester only, there had been at least five earthquakes that I felt while studying in this school. And even scientists who say that they specialize on earthquakes cannot even determine the exact time and place they will occur. If nature is unpredictable, then human behavior, too, is. As Dr. Fleinhardt pointed out in a Numb3rs episode, “Human behavior is rarely, if ever, elegant.”

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“At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That’s how we’re made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” – Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

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Journalism is difficult, I reiterate for the nth time. And I have received many criticisms regarding my style of writing and editing. But I’ll continue crossing the lines others had fenced me into. As long as I know that I am correct and I am not arrogantly asserting it, I’ll stand up even if I am the only one left standing. I’ll continue erasing my limits and stretching them into whatever and wherever they may become and go. In the first place, life’s limits are only limits when you let yourself be limited by them. Understand the sentence. It’s worth it. I find still find it ironic that while I, as the editor-in-chief of our high school publication, didn’t receive a journalism award during our high school graduation rites, I am the only one left on that editorial board writing for a college publication – nurturing the seed I have planted during my high school days. I still smile when that thought comes into my mind. Because I know that I have pushed myself further that my batchmates did on themselves. As always, White & Blue will need a fresh “stock” of staffs next year to “replenish” those who left the publication. For those who wants to join but are afraid of what will become, the next quotes are for you. For all others who took time off to read this rhapsody, remember: Life is a game. Win it.

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“We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons… even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying.” –Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

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“Failures? I never encountered them. I just met temporary setbacks” – Anonymous

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“If the difficult takes time, the impossible takes a little longer.” – Anonymous

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To Mom, Dad, AJ, Prezch, Sis Elle, Bez Air and those who, in any way – I noticed it or not – helped me through this school year, and through my endeavors, this column is for you. For my roommates and “roommates” in the dormitory, see you next sem. We survived one semester. We’ll survive another.

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‘Patience is a virtue but Time is gold’

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