Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor Joss Eirin Danaia M. Masayda

Reminiscing about the past year brought mixed feelings, ranging from satisfaction and contentment to nostalgia and remorse. After all, it was the final chapter of our junior high life capped off by a bittersweet reunion at the moving-up ceremony. But given how the pandemic drastically changed how we learned, I can’t help but wonder, what if things had been different?

Yes, we still learned a lot from our teachers and made precious memories, but I can only imagine how different it would be had we experienced these in person. I desire to relive the enthusiasm I felt in the days before COVID—to experience the highs and lows of high school together with classmates and teachers. Hence, I cannot wait for blended learning next school year.

Reminiscing about the whole year, I realized I always wanted a more hands-on guide to choosing a career path. A career path is a crucial and undervalued topic that baffles young people like me. However, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a more practical experience, such as a career week that was held during pre-covid days. I hope that somehow, in senior high school, we will be given a chance to experience it together with the other grade 10 activities such as retreat, even if it is intended for grade 10 students.

I felt a surge of melancholy bidding farewell to my schoolmates, friends, and teachers on the day of my moving up ceremony. I realized that I never got to know some of them well enough. While I shared a number of great memories with them, I feared that someday we might just end up being strangers with memories. That is why I am hoping that throughout senior high school, we will have the opportunity to get to know each other personally. In senior high school, I hope that we will be a more relevant part of each other’s lives and that we will be able to interact with each other in person, as opposed to merely seeing each other’s faces on a screen.

But it wasn’t all bad. While this academic year may not have been my ideal way to complete my junior high school life, I will view it as a blessing rather than a curse. Online learning allowed me to spend more time with family, learn new skills and hobbies, and most importantly, appreciate the borrowed time we have together. These moments of happiness and regrets in the past are what make me treasure the present even more. Let us also choose to be present, for tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift that is why it is called “present”

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