BELIEVE ME WHEN I say this: your time in San Beda won’t be as fulfilling as it could be, and it may never truly feel like home. It’s only when you embrace both the triumphs and the heartbreaks that come with being a Bedan that you’ll truly understand what it means to be part of this community.
I’ll admit, San Beda wasn’t my first choice of university. Nothing could have prepared me for the whirlwind of events that brought me to where I am today—not even 17-year-old me, who would have scoffed at the thought of staying in Mendiola for a few more years.
Yet, life does not tread a single path. After a failed application and a blatant disregard for my future, I found myself stepping into San Beda as a last-ditch effort to salvage my wounded pride.
I was unenthusiastic. Believing that I was settling for less than what I envisioned, I pledged to go through the motions of being a college student without thinking much of it. I was to become a “normal” Bedan, no more, no less.
…fulfillment lies in the memories we create and the bonds we forge in this cherished community, for at the heart of it all is the true essence of being a Bedan.
Perhaps, this is when I would come to realize just how mistaken I was. A great deal of this became clear when I encountered strangers who would soon become some of my closest friends.
Afterwards, I started to stay, even a few minutes longer, and those minutes turned into hours, until I found myself deeply involved in conversations, activities, and moments inside the campus that I never would have imagined doing in the first place.
Contradictory as it may seem, I found solace in the very connections I had forged, even as I worked tirelessly to confront the overwhelming responsibilities that come with being a student and campus journalist. Through it all, I came to realize that San Beda has become somewhat of a familiar home to house these experiences.
For some inexplicable reason, there is a certain magnetic pull within this institution that draws people together, and in this we start to acknowledge the allure of the University from an outsider’s perspective.
Where am I getting at? I do not mean to bore you with overused slogans or ramble further about why San Beda is the best place to be. Rather, it felt as if truly becoming a Bedan was revealed to me through the relationships I formed in this community, which I have come to recognize as a part of my own. And I hope, dear reader, that you’ll come to realize the same in your own time.
Therefore, I encourage you to step beyond your comfort zone and embrace both the highs and lows of being a Bedan—especially in this year’s Integration. After all, true fulfillment lies in the memories we create and the bonds we forge in this cherished community, for at the heart of it all is the true essence of being a Bedan.
Email me at thebedan_associateeditor@sanbeda.edu.ph