A Golden Wedding Anniversary on the Day the World was Predicted to End

May 21, 2011 is  memorable to me not because it was the day someone-- unfortunately hyped by media-- predicted that the world would end, but because it was my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary.

It was touching to see my parents renew their vows during the evening mass at Metro Club Makati that was officiated by my  priest friend-- Fr. Rodel Paulino,  incoming parish priest of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in BF Homes Paranaque.   At the end of the rites, my parents  sweetly kissed before an intimate group of family and relatives.

Fifty years is a long period of time  to have and to hold someone.  Such length  of togetherness is  a testimony to the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. 

The Lord has indeed been good to my parents.  My father, now 80 years old,  would always say that one of his achievements in life is  his having  all his  seven children sent through college.  He would gleam whenever he enumerates the schools where we his children graduated from--here mentioned in alphabetical order-- Assumption College Makati,  Ateneo de Manila, La Salle-Taft,  Mapua Institute of Technology, St. Scholastica's College, University of  the Philippines- Diliman and University of the Philippines-Manila.  He recognizes that it is a  great blessing from the Lord for him and my mother, considering that both of them were  not into business but in  government service-- and this I must say-- honest government service.

To me, my parents are  much more accomplished than that.

My mother, now 79,  suffered a major stoke in July 2009.   Since then,  she has undergone  extensive therapy  and today, she is up and about.  She still goes through speech therapy and needs assistance, specially clearing  the stairs.  Through all these,  my father would almost always be  by her side.

One morning last month,  when I made an unannounced visit to my sister Pinky's place where my parents now reside--  I went straight to my parents' room.  The door was open  and  as I stepped into their room, I saw my father  helping my mom put on a blouse while my mom was seated on an  edge of  their bed.    I greeted them and my father smiled at me  while he  was reaching for a comb to fix the hair of my mom,  whom he assisted  in getting  a bath.

While we were conversing, my father was  gently combing my mom's hair.   My father was not aware that  beyond his words to me,  I was listening to his language of love to my mother.  That language was service and devotion.

Yesterday, as I watched my family and relatives celebrate my parents'  anniversary, I  knew that my parents had lessons to share with us. Those are the kind of  lessons taught not   through mere words but through those quiet moments   of love and affection that I have been privileged to take  glimpses of.

Thank you, Ma and Pa....

My parents on their 50th Wedding Anniversary, 21 May 2011

An Eye-Opener on College Admission Tests

It has been decades now since I took my college admission  test;  so when I attended the presentation by AHEAD Tutorial and Review Center at Bonifacio Global City last Tuesday-- I was in for a few surprises:

• about 100,000 students apply every year  for admission to three universities alone-- Ateneo de Manila, De la Salle University and the University of the Philippines;
• only  10 per cent  make it  through the exams of these universities--the remaining 90 per cent compete with other students to get into other colleges; and,
• entrance exams now cover  a wide range of topics-- mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry), science (natural science, chemistry, physics), languages (English 4, reading comprehension and grammar); and other subjects such as history, geography, current events, arts, abstract and logical reasoning, and essay-writing.

These details were disclosed to the audience by AHEAD's founder Rossana Ladaga, a former student leader from the University of the Philippines.  In 1995, Rossana--at age 25--  established  AHEAD  Tutorial and Review Center, now the country's leading and most awarded tutorial & review center.

In its more than 15 years  in the  market, AHEAD has expanded  its portfolio of services.   Aside from conducting  reviews for college admission tests, it also prepares students for high school/science high school admission tests, law school admission tests, GMAT, SAT, GRE, IELTS-- and the  one  service that nearly made my jaw drop-- review for  pre-school admission tests.

Yes,  even getting into pre-school is getting that seriously  competitive. Case in point-- in Ateneo de Manila, out of 6,000 pre-school applicants,  only 350 are admitted per year!

Now getting admitted to   one's preferred school is one thing, keeping up with the academic demands and standards is another.  That is why availing of tutorial services-- such as those of AHEAD--  would be an attractive option to both students and parents.

On my drive  back  home  that  Tuesday evening, I thought of my children, and the academic challenges ahead of them.  Then I remembered what   Ateneo fans  would chant during heavily contested basketball games-- "One Big Fight!"

To me,   the chant  was not only meant for the games then. Today,   it  also could   very well  refer  to the fight for a place--literally and figuratively-- in one's chosen  alma mater.