Okay I need a break from my travel blogs so here's something a bit fun. Well supposedly teenage years are fun. Can't say I really like or hate it.
Back then, high school meant four years after elementary (Grades 1-6). It means we only had 1st to 4th year levels (ages 13 - 16). These days there's junior and senior high school, the latter being Grades 11 and 12 (until age 18). This is due to the K-12 education system the Philippine government finally implemented in 2013.
So back in the day, I remember during my senior (4th) year I wanted to leave the province to go back to Metro Manila (NCR). I tried to find ways to leave but it only happened when I was in college.
I'm more of a city person even though I learned to appreciate the provincial life. Of course at the time I was still young and naive and couldn't really do much but follow what adults say. 😅
Towards the end of my teenage life I went from being serious to only a little bit serious in my studies. Haha. I dunno. Maybe I should just start the challenge and tell you some of what happened during those days.
When I was a teenager...
♦ I Was a Consistent Honor Student
Ah well, high school was a competitive situation especially during exams. Coming up near the top was always everyone's goal but of course only those who studied really well made the cut.
Eventually I grew tired of having to be the best among the rest. Being an honour student meant that you would be the leader in all the school projects and activities. I mean, come on. Give me a break. 😂 It's like, no one would even volunteer themselves to lead any group work because you and the other honor students are there. Man... 🤦♀️ It would always still be a competition.
By my fourth year I started slacking off and dreaming of going back to Manila, always singing and thinking of this song...
It got to the point that I was so demotivated to study that my teachers had noticed my grades were going down. I was still part of the honor roll but had gone down a few levels. I wanted to transfer but my teachers discouraged my mom from doing so because it wouldn't look good on my school records or something. Ugh. At that point I didn't even care at all. 🙄 But of course I still graduated with honors.
That's how I learned that on paper, you're only as good as your last test result. The past years of being a higher level honor student wouldn't mean anything at all. The graduation honor roll wasn't a general average of grades from first to fourth year. Duh. How could I have thought of such right? 😂
I don't even know why I would think that way back then. It just happened that that's how I thought because of course I was kind of disappointed with myself for graduating with lower grades than I used to. Ah poor teenage me. 😂😂😂
♦ I Was a Student Leader
Yes, that's part and parcel of being an honor student. It felt like you should always be the one doing this or that because you are supposedly better than the rest. Haha wait, am I getting too bitter? 😆
No I didn't become part of the yearly school elected officials though. Popularity contests are not my thing. I would rather no one voted for me for any position so I didn't get elected to anything. 😊 And yet I would still be in charge of some school activities. Meh.
One time I even had to make a script for a short school play/contest which the entire school watched. Omg I've never made any script since I was born until that day but I somehow managed to make one on my own. I even directed those who agreed to participate in it! Good lord. I was pretty disappointed w/ their acting but what could I do? We didn't have any acting coach or whatever. I think we got the 2nd place at least. Ah well.
Eventually when I got to college, it got better. No one was in competition with me and I wasn't in competition with anyone anymore! Hurray!
I don't regret any of my experiences of course. Why would I when I learned the value of being a good leader? From a young age I already knew how hard it is to lead other people. What more if you're a government official right? If you take it seriously you will just split your head up and die. 😂 (Perhaps that's why most public officials are always corrupt since it is easier.)
This is why after high school I didn't really participate in much of the academic activities. I didn't strive to be an honor student anymore but I was still able to become a dean's lister for one semester. That's the end of it. 😂
♦ I Didn't Think of Being in a Relationship with Anyone
I did mention I didn't really like being in the province as a teenager. I was always wishing to get away and move back to the city. Perhaps because I could not accept how different our lives had become. 😂
We had an extended family situation that got worse through the years. This was why I also didn't really entertain any guys interested in me. I was friends with a bunch of the guys in class anyway. That was good enough for me.
In the province, most people know each other that's why I didn't want to get involved with anyone at all. 😂 Who knew what some distant relative of the guy would say about me because of being in a relationship or whatever. They would know more about me and our family while I wouldn't know anything about them.
Ugh I didn't like the thought of such back then. I'm not the nosy type so I prefer non-nosy people too.
But of course when I got to college in the city, that's a different story. Hahaha.
♦ I Became a Class Muse
Ah I have never really liked being in the spotlight. Imagine how reluctant I was when they made me the muse or class representative for our United Nations celebration. 😂 I had to wear a costume dress and make up. Ugh. No I will not say what country I represented. 😆
Sorry I can't share any photos too even if I could because most of my childhood and teenage photos are all in the province. Not even sure where those are. I think it's in a cabinet somewhere. Hehe.
Suffice it to say, I didn't smile much during any photo taking. Even my relatives were excited for me my gosh. They were happy to take pictures like it was a major event. Huhu.
Oh and there was even like a pageant thing that happened. Oh my lord, I don't remember most of it but I know I went on stage and had to answer some questions.
Of course I didn't win anything. 😂 Even if everything was mostly a competition then I didn't care to win anything in that school activity.
♦ I Went to Mass Every Sunday and First Fridays of the Month
Well let's thank my Catholic high school for this. 😆 Every Sunday we had to take notes of the 1st and 2nd reading plus the gospel and the priest's sermon. I think we would write a sort of feedback or review of what was said. We had to submit it to our nun teacher during religion class on Mondays. Being the studious student that I was, of course I had to go to mass! 😂
And then every First Friday we would also go to mass early in the morning before class. Ah such was 4 years of my teenage life. It was okay though. This was something I and other people usually take for granted. I didn't see the significance of it then. For me it was just a regular school task I had to do.
I realized when I was already working and experienced a great challenge, it was only God who could help and give me peace. Without this part of my high school life maybe I would have gone crazy or become an addict or something. It was that bad. This is why I am really thankful I experienced a Catholic lifestyle as a teenager. Only then did I appreciate all those years of going to mass and learning about our religion.
In times of trouble and even happiness we should be thankful that God is there for us. Always.
♦ I Loved Reading Books
Hah, I went through my mother's book collection and even my aunt's. There were children's stories/folk tales like One Thousand and One Nights, mystery and adventure books like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, etc. I skipped reading the boring old classic ones though. Not much romance novels around the old house too hahaha.
I did get to read some kind of romance classic I think. Out of curiosity I read St. Elmo by Augusta J. Evans. Thought it was about a saint, turns out it was a love story. 😅 It was the only romantic book I remember reading then. 😂 If you've ever read this novel too then hey, high five!
There was also a book with a deep English word as part of the title. I forget what it is but it was just a unique word that I had to read the book. Turns out it was a fictional political story. In the end I still had to look at a dictionary to know what the word meant. Haha.
If we had any encyclopedia I'm sure I would have read those too! Alas no such luck, none of that was in the big old house of our grandma.
My love for reading continued only until college though. Oh boy I've read a lot of different kinds of books since then. After graduating, I seem to have kissed that habit goodbye. 😆 I only read stuff online now and watch various interesting shows too.
♦ I Became "Dark Skinned" For a Long Time, Thanks CAT 😂
Here in the Philippines, we don't have any compulsory military service. We don't get drafted to join the army, navy or marines. What we have is compulsory military education in high school and college.
CAT used to be the acronym for Citizen's Army Training. In 2003, they changed the words to Citizenship Advancement Training.
In school, being a CAT officer gave you certain privileges and prestige. I did not apply to be one at all when we became seniors. I think every honor student went ahead and joined but no, not me. As mentioned, at that point I didn't care much about my grades anymore so ktnxbye. 😂
I also heard the COTC (officer) training involved drinking softdrink that everyone spit in and such. Ewww. Or you'd have to wake up early to attend morning drills or physical trainings even on weekends, etc. No I didn't want to be involved in anything like that. 😎
Anyway I remember the time when all the third and fourth year students had to train for weeks. Or I dunno perhaps even months. It was in preparation for a presentation to some high ranking government soldier/officer.
Or maybe it was only us seniors? I don't remember being out in the sun as a 3rd yr student. Maybe my memory mixed two separate years of experience into one, or not. I think we had juniors with us at that time. We only had 2 sections per year level so we would be lacking without the other students. I know there were a lot of us in the field.
All I can remember is the field trainings. I forget if we did them in the mornings or afternoons. Oh we would be under the sun for hours. I can't remember if it was everyday or just some days. We would practice formation, marching and holding the wooden rifles and such.
I think this happened a few months or weeks before graduation so it was almost summer. I don't remember taking shelter from the rain that much. It was always hot.
Being under the sun a lot didn't bother me much but at the end of the presentation I realized how burnt my skin was. If you lifted my shirt sleeves you'd see the very stark difference! 😂 Remember I wasn't an officer so we didn't get to wear any coat or long sleeves.
Not sure if it's what you'd call natural tan or burnt skin. I think my lighter skin color did not return for a long time. 😂 Perhaps it took a year or so? I don't remember anymore but at least it went back to normal soon enough.
* * *
The End. 😜
Well I can't think of anything else to share so that's it. Hehe.
If you want to join @bmjc98 's writing prompt and share your teenage life too feel free to do so.
How was your high school or teenage experience?
XOXO,
(Images are from Pixabay unless otherwise noted.)
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