Of College and College Entrance Tests
Seniors, we are going to make it.
I had been burying myself with concepts of parabolas, triangles, and equations when I heard my mom say to me, “Stress ka nang stress, if it’s God’s will for you, then it’s God’s will for you.” Suffice it to say, her words had toned down my stress levels from an unhealthy and heartbreaking amount to just a bearable sting since that afternoon.
I am now down to my last year in high school, and while that may sound like a relief altogether, there goes the stress that comes with filling out college applications and studying to pass the dreaded college entrance exams. Most (if not all) Seniors are experiencing it; that antsy feeling in the pit of their stomachs, the surge of doubt and fear of not being good enough, and the hopelessness that often results in giving up. Even I, myself, can no longer count with my fingers the amount of times I’ve shouted “Ayoko na!” in frustration while reviewing for the upcoming college exams.
When our future depends on a score we will get on a particular test, the idea may be so terrifying and overwhelming that it is easy to fall victim to the traps of anxiety. We then become obsessed with worry and feed on it, letting it dictate our every move and thought until we feel nothing but fear over something that should be smaller than us — an exam paper, even if that paper is our ticket to our dream university.
I have felt these numerous times in my life, fussing over things that turn out to be alright in the end. Preparing for college and life after high school may sound terrifying — it is, after all, our future that is at stake — but if I feared that time I had to take a quiz in a subject I was weak at in my freshman year, and passed it, what’s to say that things won’t turn out well this time around?
The challenges given to us were not created for us to fall apart, instead, they serve to help life fall into its rightful place.
As my mom had reminded me that afternoon, if it’s God’s will for me to pass, then it is God’s will. In my worries, I had forgotten that in the end, it is still His will that will prevail, and no matter what that is, it is never something to be feared over, but rather anticipated. It’s beautiful. The challenges given to us were not created for us to fall apart, instead, they serve to help life fall into its rightful place.
Taking the college entrance tests — applying for college, actually, is a one-time big-time kind of experience, and whether we choose to see that as something that will excite us or scare us is up to our decision. But to all the Seniors out there who are just like me — nervous and unsure of what is to happen in the next few months — let me remind you this: It’s not our will, it’s His. If there’s something I am sure of amidst all the concepts I have been studying, it is that I will be led to a place that is more than enough for me, which I’m sure you will be, too.
About the author: Traci Sonoy is the Literary Editor of Counterpoint and has been a member of the publication since she was in the tenth grade. She is currently a Grade 12 student in De La Salle Zobel taking up the Accountancy, Business and Management strand and is also the Programs and Planning Head of the High School Student Representative Coordinating Council.
