3 II. Old World Blues

Summer ended just as fast as it begun. Today is enrollment day. I'm moving on to college. "It's a new world out there" I remember those words as my previous teacher would repeat to us again and again.

New world huh? From where I'm standing, our world hasn't changed a bit or at least not yet. Not for me.

Personally I don't appreciate change. Sometimes, I don't even see it. You see, people, places, times, they all change. But at the process of change, sometimes they delete their past.

No improvement without deletion.

Maybe that's the reason I barely improved at all. I'm afraid to delete who I am. My past, somehow it made me who I am. Made me what I am. My mindset is odd, I know. Actually, there is a term for that.

Old world blues.

It means being too attached to the past that they are scared to the future.

Anyways, back to the enrollment. At that time I was accompanied by my father since it is Sunday and he is trying to teach me how to drive a vehicle. (He let me drive from our home to the university).

It was my first time to drive in such a long distance. Thankfully, my father guided me throughout the journey. He even had his hand ready at pulling the hand brake in case of emergency. Now that's responsible parenting.

A few facts about my father

He is fat but is weirdly muscular

He have a short height (at least 4'10)

He is a skilled businessman and experienced in repairing various appliances

Most of all, he would do anything to protect his family

As we arrived at the university however, my father asked me one last time. "Are you sure this is the university that you want to study?".

I nod in agreement. He smiled and said.

"Then go submit your requirements and take that iq test we'll support you either way".

Yes I know they would support me. They always did. That's the wonder of having good parents. They would support you even if they know that you are going straight into a pot full of dynamites waiting to explode.

In my whole life I made mistakes and if ranked, enrolling in this university will be in the top 5.

Top 5 mistakes of my life

5. Not applying to any of the famous university in the country

4. Not taking the nearby state university entrance exam seriously

3. Befriending various people with bad intents

2. Enrolling in a private university with high tuition fee

1. Everything that happened on August 15, 2019

Don't worry about the number 1 though, we'll get to that soon. For now, let's go back to the

"better" times.

Looking back, my entollment to the university went smoothly and without any adversity. I simply submitted the requirements, signed a few terms here and there, and I even aced the iq test. 85/86. The proctor was impressed that she even congratulated me. "Impressive, you're one of a kind" she said. I just replied with a shy smile.

Impressive huh? No. I don't think so. See, iq tests are quite basic for me. No need to memorize anything. No need for useless knowledge. Just pure evaluation. The thing about these tests are most people look for errors in the question. They look so close and read it repeatedly as if they have all the time in the world. But they don't. Most iq test in private universities have time limits. Thirty minutes for me, more if the proctor is your friend.

I'm different. I answer what I see and skip what I don't. And when I look on the question, I don't just look for the simple answer, I look for the error in question.

Perception. That's all you need.

Moving on. As I passed the tests, and submitted the requirements, the next task is to take a picture for the school I.D. Fortunately, I enrolled at an earlier time. Most of the upcoming freshmens are still waiting for the result of their entrance exam in state universities. I however thought differently. I knew that my test would fail horribly. After what I did. So, I took the logical path and enrolled in a private university early for two reasons.

1. There will be less people making the process faster.

2. I don't want to see familiar faces in my new university.

Familiar faces however, are unavoidable. While waiting for my turn for the picture taking, I saw someone. A face so familiar and yet strangely forgettable. Those black hair and dark eyes. They haunt me. Is she a product of illusion from below? Or a creation of perfection from above? One thing is certain at that time however. I knew her.

Unfortunately, before I could approach her my name is called. It's my turn to be photographed. I wasted no time and complied. Approaching her at that time is also awkward especially since she is accompanied with her "friends".

After taking my I.D, the last task towards enrollment is finally at hand. Payment. It went smoothly as you would expect. Just give the money, take the receipt, and pick the size of your uniform. Of course mine's medium. Always has been. Always will be.

The whole process took about 2 hours and my father waited patiently for me. For what it's worth, I always admired his patience. We both looked in each others eye knowing that my task is finally over. As I entered the car, I can't help but ask; " Should I drive the car home?".

"No. I bet you're tired I'll drive you home so you get some rest". he replied sincerely.

And so we drived towards home. As we go out of the exit, I looked one last time at the university, imagining what great things I will face during my four years here. Will they break me? Crumble my old world principles? or perhaps maybe they will help me improve. Maybe even heal me from this cursed disease.

Ah. the promise of a better future. I missed the feeling of broken expectation. Well, to be fair not all my expectations were broke during my time at the university. One of it managed to exceed my expectations with flying colors.

That university. It did break me.

avataravatar
Next chapter