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| Graduation, 2012 and in 2015, I know this was what she wanted to see. |
6 years ago, I met a professor who despite moving on to the Math Department used her Master's Degree to be able to reached out to us, her BS Computer Science students in the form of coding, flowcharts, just to be able for us to practice how we formulate our programs. First, I never understood it because it really gave me a hard time, I never understood the negative scores because of the wrong border or the wrong type of ballpen used, I never understood the discipline she always imposed but we managed to survive all 3 of her classes, Math Logic, Discrete Mathematical Structures and Math Analysis, which was then 5 units. We ended our relationship on a positive note, she was proud to see us all graduating in college on time after 4 years.
I knew her even more when I went back to enter graduate school, she wasn't bent on the idea that this was the journey I took because she was hoping to see me in the industry, but then again, she supported me from the very beginning. She knew how much I wanted to be a professor, something I strived to happen before K-12 was implemented, I took inspiration from her since she was one of the better teachers I saw in my lifetime.
We strike random conversations especially when I visit her almost every Saturday (sometimes on weekdays, lunch breaks). She would ask about my capstone, I would ask her suggestions on how do I need to improve the revisions I made in my project, how do I plan to finish it (if I scheduled my life properly), how dad was (dad was Sir Pineda), how my day was, no matter how upsetting it may be, she was willing to listen. There were times she would randomly hug me out of the blue for no apparent reason, she just wanted to see me, that time, I didn't understand, now, I understood, it was her way of saying, "Andito ako, andito pa rin ako, Proud ako lagi sayo anak.". Though we do not talk publicly (it was Sir Simon who had to talk to her for me especially when she wondered if I passed my final defense), I had always felt on how much she cared that she asked me to work with SMO rather than having to deal with her.
I also imagined her frustration when she wasn't able to see me graduate back in July 4, she bent on saying, "anak, ilaban mo, kaya yan." but I didn't because I had prior commitments but now, I have all the reasons to fight for a 1st Term Graduation, I want to graduate not just for myself, but for the people who believed in me from Day 1 and she's one of them. Lagi niya sinasabi, patience lang anak, patience lang, okay, It will not be easy, pero anak kaya mo yan, I know.
We started on the opposite ends - I was her student who loathe her Math classes and she seemed to have the "terroristic" style of teaching that got into me and thus, my transcript was somehow affected but fast forward to 2015, she and I went far from that approach and found the calmer her, she was the biggest reason of my success in my degree program apart from my family, my rock and my motivation and I would forever be grateful for Ms. Bong.
Nay, Thank you! I really don't know kung aabot to sayo, pero I just want to let you know how important you were sa buhay ko. Always have, always will... I love you more than words could ever say.
