#sablay

(already did this edit to Suits characters, visit my profile to see it 💖)

Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na grad na ko; yung tipong paggising my first thought is still "may ACADS ba ko?" hahahahahuhu. These are photos right after receiving the diploma (case) haha. Sobrang takbo kami ni Nichole pastage kasi com arts na yung tinatawag e nasa likuran kami kasi late. Pero umabot kami!

 Surreal. Parang hyperreality lang yung pag akyat ko sa stage pero this is it

After seven years

 Isa na kong UP Graduate 🎓🌻

 (Pwede na maglovelife CHAROT) 

📷 Nichole

Grad credits (THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS)

Photos by Nichole Ballesteros (my grad seatmate) and my parents

Styling by Karl Ocampo 

 Hair & makeup by Nikki Despi

Barong by Artes de Vurda, Lumban, Laguna Pants by Milly, SM Shoes by Parisian Plus

Postgrad yellow cab treat by Tita Grace

Thank you so so much Grad sponsors: Tita Zeny, Tito Riz, Tita Eva, Tita Lourdes, Tita Nory, Tito Rey, Tita Yolly, et al

Thank you Lord Jesus, family, orgs UPPAIR and UPMUN and friends

(I'm still in cloud nine I can't write all this huhu pero font 9 acknowledgement ng manus ko kasi I'm so thankful sa lahat ng tumulong sakin. Salamat sainyo! 💜)

Follow me on Twitte for more Suits and other tv show edits/things : @Popster725

Gaaah, how the two years in Los Baños went by so fast. By saying it, it kind of discounts what I went through to reach the end without losing all my marbles and while keeping my hairline where it was when I started. I went to Elbi on the 4th of February 2024. I distinctly remember because my first ever plane ride happened that day, and at 23, making Sassa Gurl’s line “𝘎𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 – 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘰𝘬, 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘱” felt more real.

Only a few weeks in, I had difficulty adjusting to a place that is not even so different from Miagao or UP Visayas. My routine was simple: study, eat at a nearby karinderya on Banaue St., and sleep. The routine was simpler when there were more deadlines, and I chose not to do the third step anymore. Naturally, I completed the first semester with my brain already burnt to a toast.

I loved the courses. They were all about plants, and the entire coursework seemed like a journey of discovering a field where I’m truly meant to be. Learning plant physiology was like reading a fascinating story of why plants look and behave the way they do. It felt nice to talk about the weirdness of plants with people who can match your nerd.

Even when thesis season came, planting rice, phenotyping, performing wet-lab experiments, and doing bioinformatics work were enjoyable, sometimes mind-numbingly tedious and difficult, but yes, enjoyable. I didn’t mind staying late at IRRI until 8:00 p.m. and walking to Sto. Domingo in Bay when I had to finish tasks that couldn’t wait for tomorrow. My constant companion walking home then was the sparkles of fireflies, so wondrous to behold as they took refuge in the madre de cacao trees towering over the rice weeds.

But even something you love can cause you pain. The episodes of what I initially thought was a simple combination of exhaustion and sadness turned out to be depression – a manifestation of years of burnout in addition to pent-up grief, early-onset quarter-life crisis, and childhood issues surreptitiously hiding in my unconscious and waiting for the right moment to surface. I knew I was depressed, but it was still a hard pill to swallow when I went to a psychiatrist, and the poster outside their clinic described what I’d been feeling for the past few years. I was on antidepressants for a month before I decided to stop taking them because of the side effects that seriously affected my academic performance.

My experience of trying to be the best version of myself in every situation I’m in, despite all challenges – more than a display of resilience – is a hard-learned lesson on prioritizing one’s mental health. When I started teaching last semester, I made sure to ask my students as often as I could whether they were still getting enough sleep, nutrition, and exercise.

The journey towards completing my master’s wasn't really ideal, but I sure am grateful for the opportunities that opened and the people who made it a memorable one. Thanks to Ma’am Tetet, Dr. Jae-Sung, and Ma’am Sese, who have always supported and believed in me. Thanks to all of my friends and mentors from UPLB, IRRI, and UPV for making botany more fun, research more productive, and life more beautiful. Thanks to my family for being my number one reason to keep going.

--

“𝘚𝘢 𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘬𝘰 𝘱𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘱. 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘬𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘱 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘴𝘪 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘪 𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢, 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘨-𝘢𝘴𝘢.”

This is the last paragraph of my graduation post when I finished my BS in Biology at UP Visayas in 2023. Around two years later, I finished my MS in Botany. I still don’t have the confidence to call myself a botanist, mostly because I don’t know what the minimum qualifications are. What is a plant? Well, what makes a botanist? But doesn’t it feel nice to tick one box on your checklist? Yes, I know it is the most achievable out of the crazy options, but I haven’t given up yet on starring in a film with Meryl Streep. In the meantime, there’s still much teaching and botanizing to do.

𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻 𝗦. 𝗗𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗼 𝗝𝗿., 𝗠𝗦𝗰

𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺

Class of 2026