B +

My son informed me that he already got his grades and he passed in all his subjects. He got a B+ in one of the subjects that he disliked the most. He said this particular subject is something that is totally unrelated to his business background. He had a hard time understanding it at first.

I told him it’s normal that students hate one subject matter and dislike one professor. In the same manner that he will have a favorite teacher and a favorite subject which would naturally be the one he finds most interesting and easiest. Just like students, professors are also allowed to have favorite students. And for parallelism in our business, we have customers that are considerate and nice which of course we like, and there are customers who are condescending and arrogant but just the same we still have to treat them nicely. My son totally agreed.

I told him he can pass any subject because he is naturally intelligent. He just have to focus and accept that the subject matter is different. I told him it only becomes difficult when in the beginning he already dislikes it. His mind does not focus in understanding the subject matter but rather in hating it.

I am one person who has an empty mind. Meaning, ask me about those difficult subject matters and I will give you an answer “none of the above” or “sorry, I was absent when my professor was present”. The things that I didn’t know were things I didn’t care about.
But if you are still a student, it’s important that you care to know every subject matter in class because they are important lest you get a C. And other than mere getting a passing grade, studying also stretches your brain capacity and this would be helpful in solving real life situations.

I congratulated him from passing his subjects. It was a big struggle and a hurdle in the beginning. Going back to school was not his choice, we just forced him. He was supposed to go back to school two years ago but he kept on making excuses to postpone it. But last year, we just shoved him into it. No more excuses.
Reading 200-400 pages a day was more of a punishment at first than studying. All we heard were complaints about how difficult the subjects were. The long commute, expensive food, noisy dorm, etc. But after spending days and nights inside the library, his brain cells got used to this exercise. He could now read a whole book in a few days.

He underwent a year of extreme pressure. Living alone, no money, away from his family. Studying while dealing with constant nightmares, psychological and emotional trauma. Keeping up with reports, class presentations and exams, while managing depression and shocking disappointments. It was indeed too much to bear but luckily with God’s loving heart, my son was slowly able to get back on his feet and face his new challenges. Accept the failure that’s beyond anyone’s imagination and to start rebuilding his life, away from negative influences.

With God’s guidance and blessings, we want to see him grow and develop his skills and stretch his mental abilities. He is smart and unfortunately in Manila, he got stuck with people whom he thought were friends but only brought him trouble. Kids who are too aggressive and in a hurry to be successful with little concept of the value of money, patience and the old tested hard work.

Going back to school is his new beginning. Getting another degree may be something he would need or not need in the future. But at least he has a credential tucked under his belt. He lost everything because of sweet-talking from his so-called friends. Hopefully he would mature and become street savvy. I also hope that he meets new friends who will not take-advantage of his trust. I don’t really know if another degree teaches him how to decipher the motives of people, but at least it’s a positive and constructive endeavor that may come in handy in his future.

God bless you anak.