I knew it was You {JaThea}

Hardship

Balik tanaw.

Nag punta ng America si Althea na hindi matanggap ni Jade kaya masyado nya itong dinamdam at ikinalungkot.

Ngunit sa tulong ng kanyang mga kaibigan unti unting nanunumbalik ang pagiging masiyahin nya.

Samantalang mas naging miserable ang buhay ni Althea sa America lalo na ng malaman nyang doon na pala sya mag aaral at titira.

Subalit ng dahil sa mga payo ng kanyang Ina, naliwanagan siya at naisip na gamitin ito para sa magiging kinabukasan nila ni Jade.

Jade's

"Jade!"

"Wait lang.." I shouted

"Baka mahuli na tayo!" Katok ni Patty sa pinto ko.

"Eto na eto na!!" Binuksan ko ang pinto.

"Holy shit!"

"Bibig mo naman." Ngiti ko sa kanya.

"Kung hindi lang kita bestfriend, nako niligawan na talaga kita ee"

"OA mo aa, may Wila ka na no."

Inirapan nya ako.

"Ang ganda mo! No wonder deads na deads sayo si Joyce!!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Pwede ba Patty ilang buwan mo na syang nilalakad sakin."

"Pwede din ba Jade, puro ka kasi Althea!!"

Parang tinarak yung puso ko nung narinig ko yung pangalan nya.

Oo, mahal ko pa rin sya.

Lahat ng mga pangako namin sa isat isa, nakatatak pa rin sa isip ko.

Kahit pa, obvious na obvious naman na ako lalong lalo na yung mga promises namin, nalimot na nya.

"Don't tell mo hindi ka pa rin nakaka move on sa kanya, Jusko ha!"

Napansin ata nya hindi na ako natutuwa sa mga sinasabi nya.

"Kalimutan na nga natin yun, halika na baka mahuli pa tayo sa venue."

"Alam mo hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na kayo ni Wila." Sabi ko sa kanya habang naglalakad kami.

"Oh, anong tono yan?"

Natawa ako.

"Wala aa. Ikaw naman!"

"Ang bait nya kasi.."

Tumango ako.

"Hindi sya mahirap mahalin."

"I'm happy for you."

Nginitian nya ako.

"Okay na ba speech mo?"

"Okay na."

"Good."

"So here we are. Sometime between four and however many years it took, we're leaving college. Where to from here? The answer to that question is as varied as the students who make up this year's graduating class.

Many of us know (or claim to know) exactly the next step to take, whether that step is an internship or a full-time job. Others, like me, will tell you we have no idea. The big thing about college is learning about yourself, and many of us will leave our majors with some vague idea of the job we'd like to get or business we'd like to start, but nothing more.

I'm a totally different person than I was coming in as a freshman four years ago. I hope I'm also a better one. I've learned so much about so much-my field, my interests, myself, and so on-I feel like, were I to go back in time, my younger self wouldn't even recognize me! I can only hope this passion for learning carries over when I have to search out the info myself instead of walking to class and taking notes. I suppose real-life experience will teach all of us a lot either way. The biggest thing I learned-and again, I'm probably speaking for a lot of us here-is that we only get one trip around this rock, so we might as well enjoy it. You have to find a balance between work (school or otherwise) and fun. A well-rounded person is someone who knows a little bit about every topic his or her friends discuss, and an interesting person can take that info and have a conversation about it, even if his or her knowledge is lacking.