KM Viray
Being delayed in school is not the end of the world. San Beda law student Keij Ejercito posted on her Facebook account her insights and feelings on finding out she has been delayed another year in law school.
In her post titled, “DELAYED”, Ejercito relayed how she was going to extend another year in law school as she was not yet qualified to be a senior.
In this inspiring story of hope and perseverance, Ejercito shared how she had everything planned. Being a woman, she said, entailed a “deadline” in order to produce the “best baby.” Best babies are those born when the mother is 28 years old, which is supposedly the most ideal age for a woman to conceive and give birth.
Ejercito was 23 when she entered law school. After graduating from college, she had to work for a year to augment her finances and save money for schooling. She had everything calculated: “fours years na aral plus one year na bar review, sakto! by 28 abogado na ko! [Fours years to study plus a year to review for the Bar Examination. I’ll be a lawyer by the time I’m 28!]” She already had everything planned out: she could get married, have kids, buy a house for her parents, finance her nieces and nephews’ schooling, and more.
After her first year of college, though, she realized how difficult it would be. So she gave herself an extension of another year. She would, after all, just be 29 by then. Still a good number. Best of all, she could still conceive the “best baby.”
The years went by and everything seemed to fall into place. That is, until the list of names of incoming seniors came out. In an instant, all the plans she had formed in her head had vanished.
Ejercito, however, took things on a neutral note. She said, “…baka nga naman mas okay na to kasi mas makakapaghanda akong mag-4th year ngayon. Baka hilaw pa ko. Baka mas magandang mag-enrol muna sa review center. Dahil baka akala ko lang pala ready na ko…[Baka] Nagkulang ako. May nagbago siguro kung mas nag-effort pa ko. Baka kung gumising ako ng mas maaga o mas nagkape para makapag-puyat pa ng konti…Kung ano man ang dahilan, wala naman akong ibang masisisi – Ako lang. [Maybe this is better because now I can prepare better for my fourth year. Maybe it would be better if I enroll in a review center, maybe I just thought I was already ready. Maybe there was something I failed to do. Things may have been different if I gave more effort, like waking up earlier or staying up more to study. But whatever the reason may be, I don’t blame anyone but myself.]”
She apologized to her collegaues, friends, and her family for being delayed. She is, however, grateful to still be in school. She saw the silver lining that maybe it wasn’t yet her time to finish law school nor achieve her plans. Best of all, she said this wasn’t a failure, but rather delayed success.
