Kriska Karengkeng

Centrum (I Want To Be Complete) by Kriska Karengkeng

This is also your story. You woke up this morning with a big smile on your face. You are lucky because hot Hollywood actor Jude Law was able to kiss and even hug you… But of course, those are just part of your fantasies... Err, your dream.

As you have checked the time, your once smiling face suddenly turned into a wrinkled one—comparable to a piece of crumpled paper. You happened to remember that you have a short story due today yet you forgot to finish it last night since you arrived late because you have debated for UPDS as part of the application process.

A few seconds later, you started smiling again, got up from your bed, turned on the computer started typing some words and after an hour, voila! A literary work-of-art was produced!

Well, why am I telling you this story? Basically, that defines BJ. How? BJ, for me is a talent. It means being able to multi-task, and carry out each tasks with confidence and finesse, ergo grace under pressure. BJ is neither an acronym nor a word consisted of only two letters. BJ - to put formally, Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero - is an adjective used to describe the true essence of being a UPDS member—that is being able to excel both in academics and in debating and/or adjudicating as well without sacrificing your gaiety and societal entertaining influence.

BJ is also a term used to describe professionalism. It means being objective and rational… Being unbiased that no matter how emotionally attached you are to a person, in the name of professionalism, you will be fair and rational in analyzing issues (involving that person)

BJ is simply a word with many meanings. But despite this complexity, cliché it may sound, BJ exemplifies the true meaning of a rational iskolar ng bayan.

These characteristics are personified through the Membership and Administration Committee (MAC) chairman. He is indeed suitable for the committee he was into, since the MAC served as rational league of applicants’ comrades during the entire application period. They’ve served my sisters and brothers (second to my buddy and my partner) to whom I could ask questions, share my concerns and get advices. They helped me in being compatible with the organizations’ members and activities. They remove the line that divides the members from the applicants and they try to welcome you with open arms for you to feel comfortable with UPDS thus, helping you carry out your best during the process.

MAC is the committee where most of my and other applicants’ “friend-members” came from. The committee members really upheld their purpose to bring the applicants closer to the org. MAC is simply great! It is helpful and if there’s one adjective that would describe it, that would be, “friendly”
With all these elements, I don’t think any applicant would dare to hate the application period.

Before, I am hesitant to enter UPDS since, in the first place, I thought, I have no debate experience in high school thus it would be hard for me to debate in front of many people. Plus, I thought, there are lotsa public humiliation, etc. but I was wrong. The members are rational enough to think of your “rights” and thus they only focused on the “honing” of your skills and “developing” your confidence.

I feel so fulfilled with my application to UPDS. And though there are times that I really cry because I find it hard to allot time for the organization yet I don’t want to defer, I just sacrifice my time for other things (e.g. time for rest) to devoting myself to the organization.

I always tell myself that if I am not a brilliant debater as of now, I promised to persevere so hard for me to uphold the meaning of a real UPDS member. I know I have lots of inferior moments yet I know that I can improve and transform to a better debater.

The process itself taught me to persevere more, to devote myself to the organization no matter how stressful my subjects are and to accept my mistakes and improve them.

As the application nears its end, I am proud to say that I have no regrets in the things I have sacrificed for UPDS and that the fruit of these sacrifice is a measurable amount of happiness that brings a sense of self-fulfillment within me. As journey take its toll, I am hoping that another door will be opened for me and thus continue the struggle towards self-fulfillment.

As of now, though I am still unsure if I would be accepted or not, I can say that I can shout out to the world that, because of my experiences during the application period, the jigsaw puzzle of my UP life, like Centrum, is now complete.