There was a smell of familiarity in the air as the car dropped me off by the building where I spent four long years of my college life. I was filled with the feeling of nostalgia reminiscing the years I moved from one classroom to another for my Journalism and Broadcast Communication classes to the nights spent practicing for cheer dance competitions, and that one fine day when I wore my heart on my sleeve to defend my thesis on the Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
The world seemed to be in chaos in this part of the University of Philippines Cebu, but the artworks and poems displayed at the Jose T. Joya Gallery accorded the order for that night as literary and visual artists converged for the first Pundok Kawhaan Napulo’g Pito Open Group Exhibit.
The evening was largely made possible by ArtisTryst founders Mikki Roque and Joseph Brandon Mollaneda, who made the call in late 2016 for literary and visual artists to collaborate in an exhibit. Writers and poets submitted their literary works while visual artists translated these poems into artworks. The affair was supported by UP Cebu’s College of Communication, Art and Design, Smart Communications, ColorMatch Printing Services and the good people from the Chong Hua Hospital Housestaff Association Reach Out Program. The exhibit runs until April 12.
More than 50 artists participated in that exhibit, the first of its kind in UP Cebu, according to Jose T. Joya Gallery director Prof. J. Karl Roque.
Majority of the participating artists are not from UP, an apt symbolism of how this university has ceased to be exclusive and will now become inclusive as it welcomes the public to exhibit their artworks in this recently inaugurated gallery.
Professors, students, UP alumni and artists from different parts of Cebu gathered that night which immediately became a platform for meaningful conversations on what is essential in life. A different universe emerged that evening; and it was just what people needed as news of road rage, brat wars and reduction of required general elective courses at the university level became the subjects of discussion in the online and offline spheres.
That opening night, I was reunited with Miss Gaying Rabago, who never became my classroom teacher but has since imparted in me the value of living a life with love for music, theatre, stories and art. There was Prof. Jason Baguia, whose column you often read on the same page as my rants. Professor Baguia, whom I address as Pidot and has just gotten back home from his graduate studies in Germany and Denmark, was my schoolmate and then became my Development Communication teacher for two semesters. Sir Billy Sienes was my Broadcast Communication teacher and is currently my husband’s favorite disc jockey in his favorite FM radio station, 96.3 WRock.
I hosted the opening program, and as I was standing by the podium in front of familiar and strange faces, I remembered the first time I stepped inside UP filled with excitement and fear of the great unknown.
What future lies ahead of me inside this university? Will I be recruited by a sorority? Are the professors going to be mean? Will they give difficult exams?
In my first year in UP, I took everything one day at a time. It was not the easiest of my many life journeys, but it taught me the values of hard work and commitment, and planted within me the seed of curiosity needed by a journalist to thrive in this field.
Ten years after I graduated from the university, I came back with more curious and more probing questions. I love how this institution taught me to not just read books but also to ask questions and search for answers.
UP, it felt good to be back.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
