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May

20

High School

Filed Under General | 18 Comments

Ilyn is currently embroiled in the organization of their High School 20 years reunion. It seems she enjoyed High School a great deal and had a lot of friends from that time. Sad to say, I don’t. I didn’t like High School very much. There were only very few people I could really connect with and be friends with. And the only person I could consider a best friend from that time is now dead.

The things I liked seemed to be incongruent with what most people in High School liked. Well, most everybody was interested in Basketball. I wasn’t. I spent time in the library to read Tintin, which hardly anyone else did. I wasn’t interested in dressing up and my hair was always a mess. I found an interest in Scouting, but remembering it, it was just one embarrassment after another. Some of the things I did, I can’t ever repeat, even if you torture me. I was really just the odd one out.

Reading through the messages in our High School mailing list today, I find I’m still the odd one out. They still very much like basketball. Nothing wrong with that. At our age, it would be healthy exercise. But basketball just doesn’t interest me at all. They have a lot of humor on the mailing list, the same kind from High School, but it’s humor that I just don’t get. I try to get along, but it’s forced. Maybe I really just should move along.

If I sum it up, my four years of High School, plus the 2 years of grade school in that school, was really just unpleasant. It’s a time in my life that I really don’t want to remember. If there was a reunion, I wouldn’t go. There were plenty of good moments, but they are simply overshadowed and overwhelmed by the bad ones.

I still do have a few friends from that time. But it’s been a while since we’ve been in touch.

I liked College a whole lot more. I have plenty of friends from that time. I’ll write about it one of these days.

Comments

18 Responses to “High School”

  1. Kat on May 20th, 2008 9:05 am

    I feel the same way about high school and college. Although ironically, I’ve started to appreciate my high school classmates and acquaintances ever since I started keeping in touch with them through various online networking sites and blogs. It’s so weird that I find that I like them more from a distance. I wouldn’t say that my high school experience was a bad one. I actually had a pretty good time. I guess I just wasn’t too comfortable to make more friends than I did, although I do wish I took the time to.

  2. Rod Samonte on May 20th, 2008 9:41 am

    Gerry,
    My High School Class just had a 50th Anniversary celebration last February. We graduated in 1958, but many of them live here in the Los Angeles area, so I see them every year, as we have a Christmas party. The reunion was held in Manila, the highlight of which was a visit to the original Mapa High School building located in historic Mendiola, between Mendiola Bridge and Malacanang Palace, to present a gift to the current Principal, then a party at the Wack-Wack Country Club and also later in the week, a picnic in one of the resorts or beach. However, it was one of those things I was not prepared to do – make a trip to Manila, and so I missed it. Almost all from here attended though.
    Rod

  3. Ed on May 20th, 2008 10:18 am

    All boys ba HS mo, Gerry?

    Sometimes I had bad experiences in high school. Some were fun, and I was quite popular…kasi ako lagi nananalo sa mga drawing contests. Haha! :D

    My first two years was bad, I was lazy to study. Pareho tayo, I stopped playing basketball when I almost broke my fingers on my right hand. Sabi ko ito magiging kabuhayan ko in the future. There are lots of sports out there that are safe for our hands; ping pong; tennis, and anything you hit with a racket. Hehe.

    I like going to the library before…coz I read Noli and at the same time sumisilay sa crush outside. Wehehehe. GIRLS!

    :D

  4. Noel on May 20th, 2008 10:26 am

    Yeah, I liked college and I still keep in touch with a core group of my college friends.

    One more thing: it’s good to know I’m not the only Filipino who doesn’t care much for basketball!

  5. auggie on May 20th, 2008 10:44 am

    Rod,

    I wasn’t able to attend the High School reunion. But I was able to attend the ersatz Atelier reunion hosted by Delia on both occasions ( 2005 & 2007). We were only very few, but it was exciting to see your pals after four decades. The shindig was in Makati, in one of those plush hotels. Thanks to the generosity of Delia.

  6. Balbona on May 20th, 2008 11:04 am

    well, ako din, i hate my high school life…hikbi!

  7. johnbecaro on May 20th, 2008 11:21 am

    Ako rin madalas ma bully ng mga classmates ko kasi di ko masakyan mga trip nila. Ang mga barkada ko halos di ko classmates.Im much more active outside the classroom, I was President on different clubs that time and Im a city takraw player since 2nd year highschool.Im also eccentric, madalas mapagsabihan na may sariling mundo.Pag merung Highschool Reunion, I find it uninteresing. Although, I love my classmates as part of my memories but it will just remain there, I already put it behind to move on.

  8. jeff huet on May 20th, 2008 12:42 pm

    Hay…High School…the worst part of my life. I wouldn’t go back to that time even if you kill a hundred times over. Like you Gerry, I didn’t have a lot of friends back then and I was always the one picked on even by my f***ing teachers and I really don’t have any idea why? (I was never a trouble maker). Never had any interest in sports except for martial arts where I did get some respect. RESPECT…that was all I ever wanted then but never gotten any from those A-holes! Now I can say that I’m pretty much successful in my chosen profession (though I still need a lot of work and improvements) I wanted them to see how far I’ve come because I was rated as someone who will never succeed in life. Now the tables are turned so to speak. Those people who made my life miserable are now the ones at the bottom of the food chain. The teachers, the ones that are suppose to guide and support me we’re the ones bringing me down back then and that still makes me want to dance the macarena over their graves whenever those memories comes to mind. God forbid, I still want to but He has blessed me so much that I’m now willing to overlook the pains of those years because I’ve already proven them wrong. Thats enough I guess, to prove to them that I can be more and I could be someone rather than their stupid perception of me at that time.

    Anyways, I put them all to experience na lang and may God bless those people who has wrongly judged me.

    Sorry to be a bit angst driven and using inappropriate words on this post. Never had the chance to talk to anyone about this for a long time.

    Peace mga kapatid!:)

  9. Gerry Alanguilan on May 20th, 2008 1:02 pm

    Grabe! I didn’t expect to see so much reaction to this. But I think it’s good that some of you are able to get this off your chest.

    As for my classmates, I’m sure they’re all great guys… but I guess we’re just really different people with different interests.

  10. Philip Tan on May 20th, 2008 4:36 pm

    Hehe.. I liked high school… spent most of my time in the library, with friends who likes to draw or tell stories or on the pingpong table… yeah for those who know my height… I never played basketball ’til 3rd year college I think -___-

    P

  11. jim on May 20th, 2008 4:46 pm

    i belong to a gang of class rejects in highschool( average lang sa studies, bullied by taller students, torpe sa crush, extremely shy) at least may natatakbuhan yung isa sa amin pag inapi ng teacher, corp commander, class bully, campus bully(overlord ng mga bullies), fratmen. may napagkukuwentuhan, di naman kami maka resbak. oh, and our group loathes basketball too! ewan ko ngayon kung ganun pa rin sila, pero dala dala ko yung pagka ayaw sa basketball hanggang ngayon. :D
    tapos we have to sport a 3×4 haircut, a good reason to hate looking back.LOL

  12. Eusebio Yu on May 20th, 2008 6:12 pm

    Coincidentally, my high school batch is holding its 25th anniversary reunion a few months from now. High school life for me was relatively enjoyable. I was close to a select no. of friends, who are still very much in touch with me. Don’t know if I’m gonna attend the reunion though. Mostly kasi, pasikatan at payabangan. Who makes the more money, who’s more well off…and I don’t really care for much of that.

  13. Rod Samonte on May 20th, 2008 10:27 pm

    Auggie,
    Walang mga reunion ang aking class in college that I know of. But Mapa High School has a world wide syndicate of members…there’s always something happening somewhere, especially here in the U.S. The only Mapa alumnus I know who was in the arts was Jose Joya. Nasaan na si Delia? Last I heard she was gallivanting in Rio de Janeiro.
    Rod

  14. Robby Villabona on May 21st, 2008 1:11 am

    I guess I’m in the minority here — I really, really enjoyed high school. But there was actually a reason not to: my friends and I were accelerated (skipped grade 7), so we were anxious that we’d be outcast and bullied by our new and older batchmates. It was a pleasant surprise that we were accepted as one of them… even by the bullies. We played basketball, football, listened to music, partied, etc. etc. We overcame that ‘barrier’ in a very short time.

  15. auggie on May 21st, 2008 1:15 am

    Rod,

    She is back at home in Kansas City, but already preparing for her next trip. Were you able to ask information about another Mapa HS graduate ( Class 1963), Arthur Tinio ? Haven’t heard from him since the 60s. Another Atelier alumnus I’m tracking down is Chester Tumulak. He saw action and survived the Vietnam war. He is in Honolulu, Hawaii. I saw his name in amazon.com, reviewing a book about military veterans.

  16. Jaime on May 21st, 2008 1:52 am

    Gerry,

    In general, I love High School, Elementary and to some extent College. But I really hate bullies, it must be the reason why I loved superheroes.

    What I hate most is basketball, up until now. Not only because I’m not physically fit and knowledgeable about that sport. But, also of the fact that during my childhood days, and even at present I’d quarrel with my father,brothers,uncles and cousins over TV ’cause of it.

  17. Jose Mari Lee on May 21st, 2008 4:10 am

    High school for me was wonderful. I loved my teachers and all my classmates were my friends.

    Except of course, when I was about 10 years old, in my elementary school, when there were these two manyakis teenage boys who would hide in the bushes, waiting for me to walk home and would grab me and kiss me as if there were no more tomorrow. Every time I recall their saliva on my face makes me cringe. I would go home and go straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

    Other than this terrible experience in Elementary school in Bicol, my high school was quite pleasant. Kaso, bading naman ang naging problema ko doon. May isang estudyanteng bading doon na kung nasa 20s na ay nasa high school pa. Samantalang I was only 11 when I started first year High. Takut na takot din ako doon sa bading dahil madalas ding hablutin ang aking crotch ng hinayupak.

    To Jeff Huet, I understand your reaction. But, we can’t live our lives from yesterday, but today. If you don’t forgive all the people who did hurt you when you were young, you will be the one who will carry the cicatrix of their burdens. It’s time to liberate yourself from the dark pit that they’ve thrown you into.

    I’m pretty sure that they have paid in whatever way, all the pain that they had inflicted on you.

    I don’t know what will inspire you to heal yourself totally from the pain, but to give you some respite from it, listen to DESIDERATA by Les Crane or, better still, ST. FRANCIS’ PRAYER.
    Sometimes, it only takes a little inspiration to emancipate oneself from the quicksand of pain and suffering.

    - Your Father Confessor :-D

  18. Jon on May 21st, 2008 8:33 am

    High school was OK but i don’t get to see them anymore except one at Friendster. I remember the cheating arrangements (which I initiated but got foiled at the last grading period of my fourth year). Ka-section (Section II) ko kasi yung the rest of the senior officers (konti lang sa Section I) so CAT was really enjoyable plus halos lahat ng ng section ko ay Model Platoon. The CAT competitions which we took part between schools which was really intense.
    Ka-section ko rin ang school toughie (I think he was just misunderstood; fan kasi ni Robin kaya he imitates him).
    Inis rin sa akin yung ibang section I because I always beat them at essay writing contests plus the Journalism teacher made me editor-in-chief even though I have no idea what the job is.
    Maraming torpe noon (tulad ko) kaya maraming nagpagawa sa kin ng love letters na may nangyari naman sa iba pwera lang sa akin.
    May mga bad memories din kaya lang mas marami ang maganda. Sayang at hindi ko na sila nakikita.