I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
Took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the
difference.
-Robert Frost
Who would have
thought that I will become a graduate student right now? I was a graduate of BS
Biology last year in UP Manila. I dreamed of becoming a doctor ever since I was
a kid. Upon knowing this background, you would think that I would be pursuing
medicine someday. However, that was not the case for me. I took another path,
and decided to take MS Environmental Science in UPLB.
Why pursue a Master's degree? It is because until this point in time I am not seeing myself as a medical doctor. I just know in myself that
when I force myself to go to a medical school, I will not be happy. I want to
do something that I am passionate about. I would like to become a teacher in
the future, and I find my MS degree as a firm stepping stone in pursuing that
passion.
After I graduated
last 2013, I find myself a bit lost in track. I am a Biology major, but I do not have any field of
specialization. I find it hard to fit myself in any workplace. Whenever there
is a job hiring available, they usually require a working experience and an
area of specialization. Unfortunately, I do not have any of those. So, I
decided to study again as a graduate student.
This track I chose
was never easy indeed. I came in the grad school together with my anxieties,
and honestly, I had a hard time adjusting myself during my first few days (or
even weeks, I guess). Being the youngest, a fresh graduate of a Bachelor's
degree and without any work experience, pursuing graduate studies in UPLB is
really a tough challenge for me.
Why Environmental Science? I chose this field because I learned
to appreciate it during my undergraduate thesis. My thesis was more likely
related to environmental science. My thinking before was just seeing a little
perspective then, about molluscs, heavy metals, bioaccumulation and other
related stuff. Little did I know that environmental science is something
greater and broader.
I saw a wider
perspective of environmental science when I became an MS (short for Master of
Science) student. I realized that an environmental problem is not that simple.
A lot of angles has to be inspected, or in other terms, this problem passes
through a lot of disciplines that it has to be approached holistically. I also
realized that I am still ignorant in a lot of things. The term
"interdisciplinary" may somehow be called a cliché in environmental
science, but that term really taught me to become open in other disciplines,
whether in natural or physical or social sciences, and to be willing to learn
new things from others.
I also learned how
to deal with other people. As an environmental scientist, being a team player
is really a must. One must know the tradition of pakikisama
by heart. A team may be diverse as its members come from different disciplines,
but it has to work as one, just like a super-organism (Sounds familiar,
right?).
And to tell you the
truth, I am enjoying my life as a graduate student because of the people around
me. I have my awesome professors, batchmates and classmates with me (Naks. :p)
. I never experienced being alone in my journey (so far), contrary to what I
was expecting before. I thought that I'll be having very few buddies because
only few people pursue grad school. But that is not the case for me. They're so
many for me (Probably because I used to have a relatively small circle of friends). I still have a social life with them. I enjoy their company as I
learn lots of lessons in life, career, and even love (Hahaha!) from them. Being
the youngest in the batch, I also enjoy being called as bunso. :)
Grad school is
bittersweet. It costs more money, sleep, blood, sweat and tears; but it can
bring to anyone lessons and experiences that are invaluable indeed. It gave me
a chance to mature in a different way. I'll just try my best to cherish every
bittersweet moments I'm having right now and soon leave this season happily and
without any regrets.
