Yakal

This was written on my last day in Yakal Residence Hall (March 29, 2002)


Today seems like another ordinary day. But for me, today is not just any other day. This is my very last day as a dormer in my home away from home. My refuge during rigorous episodes of my college life. I could distinctly remember the time I got accepted in Yakal. I clearly remember the rush of emotions I went through knowing that I finally have a place to stay. My only concern for that moment was to have a place to stay while studying. I didn’t expect it to be a start of a five-year relationship.

Now as I attempt to savor my last few hours as a dormer I would like to capture this moment by writing. This moment presents a flurry of heart-rending emotions which if not put into writing, I know will eventually pass. I would move on. Time will help me get over this I know. And as I reminisce in this desolate place (only three of us are left in this 380-person dormitory) what will I miss most in this place are the people who have become a part of my life here. Countless individuals whose faces will be forever etched in my heart. They make up my recollection of Yakal. In time, each of us may go his/her own path. They will just be a part of my memories of a place that I considered my second home. But there are some who would stay. Some bonds are unbreakable as they say but things wouldn’t be the same the next time I’m going to enter this place, I would be a visitor. I couldn’t even go beyond the lobby anymore. I would have to use the CR for visitors not because it’s the nearest one, it’s because I have no choice. If ever I pay a visit to my friends at night, I would have to leave at 8:00 pm. Eventually, I’ll get used to that set-up. As of now, that is unthinkable.

A deafening silence resonates from this place. The basketball court, a hang-out for most of the boys, is empty except for dried leaves and the volleyball net. This is where I had countless encounters with several of my crushes. This place is the venue of my “breaks” while studying. Though most often I spent the whole night watching games, I can recall one time when I almost missed an exam because I got so engrossed watching a game.

I would miss the long corridor of this dorm which I have traversed countless times; how my boisterous alarm clock which bugged a lot of wingmates because of its annoying alarm. How can I forget the times I sneaked watching TV fooling myself often that they will just be 20-minute breaks while studying and the conversations until the wee hours of the morning. Those long walks toward “Lutong Bahay” with grumbling stomachs and the mile-long line. Several layers of “plastic” you have to sift through before you can savor your extra-cheap meal from the Engineering cart… And who could forget those pretty serious conversations about our many love problems? Most importantly, with these memories are the friends who joined me along the way. As I leave this place, there will come a time when these memories would be my only link to this world and of course the bonds I have formed with my friends. Friends who have made these memories worth treasuring. As much as I would like to think that Yakal won’t be the same without me, I know that next year, these experiences will be happening to someone else. New bonds of friendship would be formed. Yeah, next year, another day in Yakal would not include me. But even if next year a day in Yakal wouldn’t include me, I will find comfort in the thought that the friends I have found in this place would have special places in my heart. And if there will come a time, that some ties would be broken, I would still find solace in the thought that they have once been a part of my life… that once our paths have crossed and may eventually cross again. For now, I would like to believe that these ties cannot be broken… That the next time we meet, it will just be like another day in Yakal.