Latin Honors? Nah

From the time I entered college, I have never thought of the possibility of being awarded a latin honor (summa, magna or cum laude). Call me a lousy dreamer with no laudable goal in life, but I didn't see myself worthy enough to have such a distinction. I only became curious of such possibility when the honor buzz came rushing in during the last months of school. It really didn't surprise me that much when my name was not on the list. Although, I cannot believe some of the people who did qualify (maybe hard work REALLY counts).

Yesterday, I picked up the required documents for medical school, and for the first time, I laid my eyes on my General Weighted Average (GWA). Lo and behold, the perfect example of the phrase 'So near and yet so far' hit my head like a bullet landing dead center-- it was 1.80. The required GWA to qualify for Cum Laude in FEU is 1.75.

Good thing I didn't bother to see my GWA right after the school year. I would have probably sulked and dwelled on the thought of the .05 difference. At least the possibilities of such are distant to me now as they were six months ago. No chance for melancholic 'what ifs' and depressive fits. I actually don't feel regretful or sad. It was more of like 'ah, okay, akalain mo yun'. I don't need titles to prove what I am worth and what I could actually do. It is more pitiful for people to lean on such accolades and fall short of expectations; leading others to question their competence entirely. Being the 'ordinary person' gives you the elbow room to improve at your own pace--a crisp contrast to being continuously pinned to ridiculously high standards.

Well I'm going back to school again. Who knows I might meet the bar this time.