For Ms Angeles
"Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..."
Sincerely,
Sir Jun
This was written in the first page of the book Hammer of the Gods The Led Zeppelin Saga. the book was from him. at first, the book was just borrowed. he let me borrowed it so i can read the biography of one of my favorite bands of all time, Led Zep. when i was returning it already, he said, "Ms. Angeles wait for me here." he then went inside the library, emerging a few minutes later, still with the book at hand. he said, "here. it's yours." that was the first time a college professor gave me something. the first time i was given a book by a mentor.
let's go back to the summer of 2008. as always, i was in school, keeping busy with summer classes so i can finish my course in just 3 years. that summer, i enrolled one of my minor subjects which is Sociology and Anthropology. on the first day of class, in came a professor who wears thick eyeglasses, looks like a bookworm and looks like a strict professor. his name is Sir Jun Rabeje. i've seen him in school before though i never got the chance to be his student before Socio-Anthro. i wouldnt go into the details of the class but i can tell you, despite of it being a minor subject, it was one of the best classes i attended in Baste. he was great! he teaches the lesson in a clear manner, to be understood by everyone considering that for most students, Socio-Anthro can be one of the most boring subjects. who would want to study about the Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens and all other homos right? who would enjoy learning about the different sociological theories like Marxism? only few people enjoy that. but i enjoyed his class! it was a blast. and he enjoyed having me as a student as well. we just jived. he loves books, music, history and general information. the same things i love. he also writes. and he is intelligent. among all my professors, he is my most favorite in terms of intellect. no, there is nothing romantic. purely platonic.
i still remember the deal he made with me in class. since i would always get an almost perfect score in all his quizzes (one mistake only), he challenged me in front of the class to perfect his final exam. if i would be successful in doing so, he would lend me his collection of Rush CDs. Rush is not so popular in the Philippines, only a few people know about them (google if you want to know about them). the exam came and i was so nervous about it. when i was done, i reviewed it and thought i did good. came the following day, he handed our exams back. he saved mine for last. when he handed me my exam, i was brokenhearted. i got 1 mistake. when i looked inside the text booklet, i noticed that my mistake was a wrong spelling. i lack a letter S for this certain word. the whole class waited for him to announce if i won the challenge or not. instead, he asked them, "Class, should I consider a wrong spelling?" at this moment i was near tears. the whole class was silent. they could not answer. when no one was answering him, he said, "Ms. Angeles, come here." when i got to the table, lo and behold! there at the table are the Rush CDs he would lend me! i was so happy i couldnt wait to go home. he told me, i was one of the best if not the best student he ever had in class.
i learned a lot from him. music, history, law, socio-anthro, general information. but if there is one thing that i will never forget about him, it's his confidence in my intellect. he trust my brains enough for him to challenge me to perfect his exam because he knows that i can do so. he believed in me and my brains and he rewarded me because of my courage to step out in faith, took the challenge, and did all i can do to perfect the exam. i may have misspelled an answer but that did not stop him from giving me the grade i deserve, and the reward that he promised.
it's just sad though that in my final year in Baste, he wasnt around anymore. he left for a greener pasture for his family. and he left me a book as a remembrance. and everytime i would see the book, i would remember that once, a professor trusted me enough and believed in the things that my brain can do. believed in the talents i have and the big memory space i have in between my two ears.
to Mr. Jun Rabeje, whether you will get to read this or not, i will forever be grateful for the lessons learned in class, the book, the music talk, the trust in my intellect. when most professors judge me by my looks and say I can only be beautiful but not brainy, you opted to go the other way and see beyond the face. you saw the other side of me - the brainy one.
No comments:
Post a Comment