Fuck! Am I?!

The night sky somehow feels soothing.

After a rough day at school doing laboratory experiments and fighting against boredom and drowsiness during class, the scenery of the dark cloudy night sky is as if telling Sherwin that it's already time to go to bed.

As he was looking outside the window of the LRT Train, the radio which was playing the theme song of LRT suddenly rang, calling the attention of all the passengers of the LRT Train.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Arriving at Betty Go Belmonte Station, paparating na sa Betty Go Belmonte Station." Says a female voice on the radio.

The train is now arriving at Betty Go Belmonte Station, which means Sherwin's destination is next. Araneta-Center Cubao Station. He looked above a screen that displays ads and stations list. At the lower left part of the screen he saw that it was already 7:30 in the evening.

Sherwin inserted his right hand in his right pocket and brought out his smartphone, which is slightly bigger than his hands. He navigated the main menu of his phone, he opened his communication app checking if there are text messages or missed calls.

"..." he took a sigh and watched the scenery change as quick as how the LRT train moves.

"Hey bro, bro." a random guy wearing long sleeves which appears like he was in his late 20s calls for the attention of his friend who was also wearing long sleeves. The only difference is their facial features and the color of their long sleeves.

"What is it?" Says the guy wearing pastel-red long sleeves.

"Is it necessary to wear these even though what we do is just giving brochures and pamphlets?" says the guy wearing pastel-blue long sleeves.

A cute girl near those guys giggled hearing the conversation between them. The guy in pastel-blue slightly smirked knowing the girl thinks his joke is funny.

"Bro, bro..." Sherwin noticed the eagerness of the guy. 'And here comes another joke' Sherwin said in his mind.

"Look, if you will just complain, shut the fuck up."

"No, no, no, listen..." says the guy in pastel-blue long sleeves eagerly."What's the next station after Betty Go Belmonte Station?" The guy in pastel-red long sleeves raised an eyebrow and answered "Bro, it's Araneta Center Cubao Station!"

"Bro, mali! That's not the next station." replied the guy in pastel-blue long sleeves. "Betty Go Back!"

Sherwin silently imagined myself doing a damn face palm 'How fucking corny!' said Sherwin on his mind. Sherwin knew that the guy was so eager to make a joke to make the cute girl laugh again, but the cute girl didn't even move an inch.

"Betty Go Back~" Sherwin silently cringed 'And he even fucking sang the song.' Sherwin made another facepalm in his imagination,

'This bastard is fucking eager, damn it!'

"Korni mo bro!" the guy's friend replied.

Sherwin just shook his head as the radio rang again.

Ring, ring, ring...

"Arriving at Araneta-Center Cubao Station, paparating na sa Araneta-Center Cubao Station."

That guy's eagerness to catch the attention of the cute girl reminds Sherwin of someone in his class. That person was so eager to beat him on examinations and even take an all-nighter just to beat his scores on examinations. But, the results were always the same, whether he studied or not. It's either he is a point higher or a point lower.

"..." He again took a deep sigh as the door of the train opened.

'Either I am eager to study or not, I always manage to pass the exams with just a snap of my fingers.' Sherwin sighed and took a step out of the train and let out another sigh, "..."

'Did I come to the right course? Is this really what I wanted?' As he walked down the stairs of the train station, he thought of his grades during his last year in High School.

Pre-Calculus, 88%

Mathematics, 93.5%

Advanced Physics, 89.9%

Advanced Chemistry, 87%

Physics, 90.5%

TLE, 98%

English, 96.7%

Hekasi, 81%

MAPEH, 86%

Sherwin knew to himself that, based on his academic performance, he could take on any course he wanted.

He could take education, since he is a jack of all trades when it comes to different subjects. He can take on any major if he takes a Bachelor of Science in Education. He can major in MAPEH, since he also wanted to be involved in Physical activities. Or major in English, since it was the subject he taught during teacher's day.

'Ahh…' Sherwin let out a relaxing sigh on his mind as he walked through the Gateway mall. 'I remember that day when our class adviser assigned different subjects to teach the lower year students in our High School.'

There's also a major in Social Science. However, Sherwin hates Social Science. Even so, Philippine history is still embedded in his head, and the Philippine constitution, the Preamble which he memorized for 3 days.

'We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution. What the hell, I can still remember it?' says Sherwin in his mind, as he walks through the bridge that connects Gateway mall and Farmers mall.

Thanks to his memorization skills, he could have got a grade lower than 80% if he hadn't memorized passages such as the Philippine constitution preamble.

'Hmm... but, if I took a BS in Education, it would be as if I am neglecting my technical skills when it comes to computers. I am not bragging but, I can do vast things, from programming to hardware servicing. So, I could have taken a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, or Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.' Sherwin thought as he entered Farmers mall.

In Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, he can use his web development and programming skills. While in Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, he can get the opportunity to study programming and computer software in a deeper sense, thus, expanding his knowledge when it comes to computer software.

'I also considered engineering courses.

The elderly say a lot, "Oh, magaling ka naman sa mathematics, bakit di nalang engineering ang kunin mo?" (Translates: Oh, you're so good at math, why don't you take Engineering courses?). Well, why the heck am I discussing different courses to take in College? I am already in College, and already in my 3rd year as a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.' Sherwin scolded himself and just rubbed the back of his head as he was walking through the Farmers mall.

He was thinking, where did he hear about his course, Electrical Engineering?

'Well, I didn't just hear about Electrical Engineering only. I also hear about the other Engineering courses. But, since my father was a former employee of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines or NGCP for short.

NGCP is the only Electrical Power Transmission company in the Philippines. That's why I understood Electrical Engineering more than the other courses.

I remember, my father, and my TLE teacher, who was also my mentor, had a talk during my last year in High School.

I still remember it quite well...

It was around October, I don't know the exact date, but I know it was around October.

I am in a competition at that time. The competition was already over, and I already predicted what the results of our competition would be. That's why, I took the free time as an opportunity to talk with my mentor, and my father.

We had this kind of conversation...

We were in the main hall, sat at the last row. I was sitting between my mentor; who was on my right side, and my father; who was on my left side.

"Sir, your son John is now a graduating student, have you talked about the course he will take for his college?" my teacher asked while I, in my mind, was screaming 'Any computer related course.' But my father answered, "I wanted my son to take Engineering." Sir John, my mentor eyes' puffed. "Oh, there are lots of opportunities in Engineering, especially those with board examinations."

"Oo nga po sir eh, I wanted my son to take Electrical Engineering since I can take him in NGCP." Says my father, then, I didn't expect my mentor to ask me. "So, John, what are you planning to take? Your father said he wanted you to take Electrical Engineering." I couldn't answer at that very moment. But, during that time, I really wanted to take a Computer related course, so I answered... "I wanted computer related courses since it's what I do right now," it was what I've been doing at that time, the competition we were attending at that time was a computer related competition. "But," I added, "I take Engineering in consideration since there are vast opportunities."

"Yes, you can say that again. In computer related courses, you need to get training, and different certifications such as NCII. But, in Engineering, you only just need to pass the board exam and you are already something!" says my mentor. "But, here's the difference John," my mentor added. "If you take computer related courses, you must not stop studying and keep up with the latest trend of technology, since technology is developing quickly. In Engineering, there are theories, principles, standards and laws that are followed." I nodded as a reply to my mentor. "But, since your father is working at NGCP, why don't you take Electrical Engineering? You already have your way in that big company."

During that time, I researched about Engineering, and discovered that there are lots of engineering courses.

Chemical Engineering. Is it the application of physics, chemistry, biology and engineering principles in order to carry out chemical processes? Their specialization is chemicals.

Civil Engineering. It is the design and construction of public or private infrastructures such as: airports, roads, reservoirs, buildings, bridges, tunnels, dams, etc. Their specialization is in structures.

Electronics Engineering. It is an Electrical Engineering discipline which utilizes nonlinear and active electrical components such as: semiconductor devices, transistors, diodes, and integrated circuits, to design electronic devices and systems. Their specialization is in Electronics and Electronic Circuitry.

Computer Engineering. It is a branch that integrates several fields of computer science and electronics engineering. Their specialization is in making computer systems.

Mechanical Engineering. It is the design and manufacture of physical or mechanical systems such as power and energy systems, aircrafts, weapons, transportation, engines, robotics, vacuum technology, etc. Their specialization is in Machines.

Industrial Engineering. It is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing and improving integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy and materials. Their specialization is Project Management.

Electrical Engineering. It is an engineering profession that is concerned about designing and studying systems for power generation, power transmission, power distribution, and efficient power consumption. Their specialization is in Electrical Power and Circuitry.

Engineering is simply an integration of different science, and mathematical aspects.

When did I choose this course (Electrical Engineering)?

It was my day of enrollment.

In Polytechnic University of the Philippines, we are falling in line (You'll literally fall in line if you can't stand the heat and crowd, LOL just an exaggeration). Around thousands of students are in line, waiting for their turn in the admission office for processing enrollment documents.

I was in line around 11 in the morning when I chose Electrical Engineering. Not to mention I was there since 7 in the morning.

Why did I choose this course?

I chose this course since I know some basic Electricity concepts, Coulomb's law, Ohm's law. And I also wanted to expand my knowledge. In my last year in high school, I was exposed to computer related things such as computer related quiz bee, programming training, and hardware servicing training.

I don't want to limit my knowledge with computers, so I chose Electrical Engineering.

What made me choose this course?

I could take any other Engineering course really, especially Electronics and Computer Engineering, but, I realized that without Electricity, there will be no lights, no power for machines. Electricity is so essential in our life.

And also, I choose Electrical Engineering beyond Computer and Electronics Engineering because, Computer Engineering is a branch of engineering that integrates some of the principles of Electronics Engineering and computer science and Electronics Engineering is an Electrical Engineering discipline which utilizes nonlinear and active electrical components.

In my opinion, Electrical Engineering is the best Engineering.

How did I make a decision to take this course?

How did I decide to choose Electrical Engineering?

One, school quality.

Look at the school you are going to. Since I am in PUP, a state university, the facilities are expected to be average, and PUP is known because of their intelligent and wise graduates. So, I would choose courses that don't necessarily need computers and gadgets.

Two, employment.

Will you be easily employed after you graduate from that course? Well, since my father is a former employee of NGCP, I'm sure I will be easily employed.

Three, knowledge.

Always choose to learn new things rather than clinging to the stuff you already know.

I looked at a big screen that showed different ads. There was a big text flashing on the screen with catchy backgrounds and flashy colors. It says...

ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT PATH?

"..." fuck! Am I?!