A jeepney-induced realization

As I was sitting at the end of the jeepney on the way back here in Los Banos, I can’t help but realize how heavy my 'burdens' were: a backpack full of clothes and other stuff, a paper bag where my formal dress and my sandals are, and my bulky laptop bag that kept on slipping in my shoulders. I remember how difficult it is to adjust and keep hold of everything whenever somebody called the journey into a halt and decided to go down and end the journey there, believing they reached their destination earlier than I do. I can remember how it feels like whenever the driver suddenly stepped on the brakes and I was left with nothing else to do but to struggle, not knowing when and where to hold on to keep myself from slipping. And the realization that the journey tends to be rocky and not smooth sailing most specially when you’re alone.

Nah. A bit mushy, I know. Might be the effect of the headache I acquired on the trip. (hehe, reasons, reasons =D) However, I thought that that journey can somehow be compared to the application process which we were in right now. Yes, so predictable, you might say. But it did strike me unexpectedly as I was (once again) racking my brain for something to write.

The bags that I was holding are my priorities at this point in time; how I handle my bags are how I balance my priorities, how I tried and is still trying not to let go of anything (but somehow something slipped away =P).

The difficulty I feel whenever someone is stepping down from the jeep and whenever the driver suddenly steps on the brakes is the part when somebody in our batch decided to quit. It’s shaking, and you find it difficult to once again find your momentum and keep your head on the journey and what lies ahead. Yes, it was partly our fault; I know it is our job as a batch and batch mates to encourage them to go on and stay in the journey with us. But some really had to call the journey at halt for reasons we cannot argue with them. Once again, just like in the bag part, it’s the element of sacrifice…

And the point where I had to look at all these as a burden…or as a preparation. Preparation of what life really is outside and as preparation of heavier responsibilities once we’re in. Not to be plastic, of course there came a time that I thought it was all crap and burden for nothing. But then a thing that I learned also in the process, it’s a matter of perspective or how would you look at things. If you think you aren’t learning anything then make it a point that you find something that you can learn.

As I reached UPLB and came face to face with these realizations, and as I lay down my bags beside the cabinet, I once again succumbed to the sanctuary of my bed, where my pillows and sleep welcomed me in its embrace.