TATAK UP: Words to Drag You Through Hell Week by Jireh Espinosa (Notes) on Wednesday, April Para sa mga studyante ko at sa lahat ng hindi Originally published in The Manila Collegian; Tatak UP: Words to Drag You Through Hell Week

and Beyond 3, 2013 at 10:19pm pa tapos ang sem... Volume 26, Number 9

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam d,... This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberedWe few, we happy few,we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother... -from Henry V, William Shakespeare [Cue Background Music: Marching On - OneRepublic] UP is not easy-- as if you didn't already know. UP can be a seemingly cold and cruel institution someti-- er, scratch that--ofte n. Many times it feels as if UP is determined to break us down,tear us to pieces and push us right over the edge of sanity.Sometimes it feels like we can't make it to the end of the week, but somehow we do- except we have no idea how we mad e it. No, UP is anything but easy-- but we already knew that coming in. If we wanted easy we would have gone elsewhere-- where they spoonfeed their stud ents, where they give exams that don't make your noses bleed,where sleep is not an alien concept. And if graduation and the diploma was all we wanted, we would ha ve gone to Recto and simply have one made. But,we did not come to UP because it's easy. Still,the better question is: why in the world do we stay? What sort of insanity keeps driving us to constantly put ourselves through allthis pain, suffering an d misery? I mean, seriously, what person in his right mind would actually choose this? Well,the truth is every UP student knows the answer to that. Yes, we can fight i t and deny it all we want, but we will always know it to be true in our hearts: It's worth it. Because we know that there will come a day when we will stand proud and boast to the world of every scratch, bruise and scar we get in UP. Because we understand that the only people who don't deserve to be here are the people who don't trea sure what it means to be here. It's what we call Tatak UP --and it manifests itself in true excellence. But this excellence is not always external as others may think. It is not an exc ellence that can always be reflected in the front of your bluebooks or your clas scards. It cannot be quantified and measured by numbers. It is an excellence far greater-- and it is what defines us as UP students. It is that courage that gets us through the most constantly unforgiving adversit

ies. It is that spirit that keeps you fighting when the odds are stacked against you and the world has declared your failure inevitable. It is that inborn stubbornness to never ever stay down no matter how well-acquai nted we become with the dust in our face. It is the determination to rise everytime you fall, a constant defiance of the o dds, to never let other people's perceptions or expectations of you stop you fro m finding success. It is an unwavering belief in a 1% chance of victory because we know that that 1 % is worth all the sweat and the tears and the bloodshed. It is the audacity to look the world in the eye and declare, I will not let you d ictate what can or cannot be done. It is an unyielding hope that the impossible i s in fact possible, and that we will be the ones to make it so. It is perseverance. It is resilience. It is fearlessness. It's what makes us UP. This spirit is what defines us. And it is one that reveal s itself no matter where the UP student goes or what uniform he or she wears. So go tell the other schools they can keep their UAAP titles or fancy buildings and facilities or centuries-old traditions. We will keep our spirit. To paraphra se Rudy Tomjanovich, you simply cannot underestimate the heart of a UP student. To be Tatak UP means to never fold, never break, never give in. To never quit no m atter how hard the world tries to make us do so. More importantly, it is not about always being the best, but rather NEVER giving less than your best-- never one iota less. It is about always working hard and never having anything just handed to you. It is about finding a way where there is none. It is about pouring your heart and soul into a dream that will be worth the woun ds and scars-- a dream worth fighting and suffering for. It means never letting any opportunity go wasted because you know no matter how difficult it may get, there will always be someone out there willing to walk in your shoes so they can face the adversity IN UP. Being Tatak UP is not about getting high grades and graduating with honors. Rather, it is graduating without honors and still breaking down when you finally move t hat sablay from one shoulder to the other, and in that moment being overcome wit h the realization that yes, indeed, it is worth it. So this one's for you. For all of you. Words to drag you through hell week and b eyond. Para sa Para sa Para sa Para sa Para sa Para sa ject. lahat ng mga hirap na hirap na sa mga lesson. lahat ng pagod at puyat sa pag-aaral. mga pinoproblema pa ang pambayad sa tuition. lahat ng ayaw na sa course nila pero hindi na maka-shift. lahat ng nakabagsak na, o may mababagsak pa na exam. lahat ng nag-drop, na-kwatro, at nagka-singko na sa isa o higit pang sub

Para Para Para . Para

sa repeaters at nth takers. sa mga delayed, made-delay, at approaching infinity. sa college scholars, university scholars, graduating, at running for honors sa magna cum laude, summa cum laude, magna-nine years at suma-sampung taon.

For the ones exhausted, on your hands and knees, seemingly drained of all you ca n give but still crawling inch by inch towards that finish line. For every heart hardened by a seemingly endless stream of disappointments, defea ts and disillusionment. For those still pouring their heart and soul out into every difficult and imposs ible endeavour. For those who never give in. For dreamers. For fighters. This one's for you. Taga-UP ka. Tatak UP ka. Ano ngayon kung mahirap? Bangon. Laban. Then go out there and make us proud. -Sir Ji

IF YOU MUST DIE...