Friday, September 5, 2008

Psychology 101

Flashback: Second Year College.
At least half of the classes I was attending were minor subjects I had very little interest with.


But I fell in love with Psychology.

My instructor was brilliant, not to mention pretty. I enjoyed listening to her lectures. During our first day, she gave us a piece of paper and instructed us to write one question, any question about life and anything about it, that has remained unanswered.

I wrote: Why do I have a lot of unanswered questions about life?

I submitted the paper with a silly smile.

Learning about what’s occurring during our sleep, dreams, wet dreams, how the human brain works, etc, etc were my favorite topics, but memorizing the parts of my brain? That’s when my brain stops working. I just hated the memorizing part.

And so, I flunked all my quizzes and probably got the lowest during my prelim exam. I got a grade no student would want to reveal anyone, but well…

It was a 68 (our school ain’t using the ABC and D’s).


In my exam paper, my instructor wrote in bold red: “What happened?”


Midterms, I never really cared about passing anymore. I wouldn’t mind taking the subject twice, more so if it’s gonna be the same instructor. But for some reason, I passed all my exams, in the end I got a 79. That’s magic.

In front of the class, she said: "If others can add as high as 11 points to their grade, so could you... right, Ely?" She glanced at me and smiled.

I got kinda inspired, but finals turned to worse. This is the time when you realize you actually want to pass everything. I needed at least a 78 to get the much coveted 75! (Note: If you are from the Engineering and Architecture Department, 70 is normal, 73 is passing, 75 is good and getting an 80 is just awesome!). With all the failing marks I’ve been getting, I knew what to expect.



Final exams, I was waiting for my Psychology questionnaires to be distributed while still bewildered from all the (wrong) computations I did on my math exam papers I just submitted an hour ago. I was already thinking about which department I should enroll Psychology the next semester. The exam was plain multiple choice, but for someone unprepared like me, choosing between A,B,C is the hardest thing.

Then I noticed a piece of paper attached on the questionnaire. I was surprised to see the question I submitted during our first day in class, and the instruction: Based from what you’ve learned from the class, give an answer – to your own question!

How clever!

It was like my make or break. I had a strong belief that this will give me a passing grade and so I started writing,

with conviction.

I wrote about the things I’ve learned from her, how I got so interested with the course, how it made me appreciate the things around me, that I should stop asking too many questions about life because everything is just so wonderful, all I need is to love and appreciate them, take no time questioning because answers often come when we stop asking, and, the flowers and the bees.

I submitted my paper smiling.

Second semester, enrolment day. I anxiously checked my grade.


Lord, all I want is a 75!



Psyched, I will never forget that 86!

31 comments:

Rio said...

(Note: If you are from the Engineering and Architecture Department, 70 is normal, 73 is passing, 75 is good and getting an 80 is just awesome!)...

86???!!!...huwaw!!! alien!!..hehe
astig!!=)

Anonymous said...

talino mo naman...

ako dami ko back subject...

comsci pero \hrm tinapos..

pagluto ko nlng kau

Anonymous said...

psych rocks, maaan! it's fun. :)

lucas said...

wow... i love psychology... i was really curious especially in the part where you'll be able to point out a persons personality and behavior towards some stimulus, like heartbreak and stuff. hehehe!

hindi na akong nagtaka nung pumasa ka. you gave one hell of answer to the question. and i so agree with what you have written :)

dak/james said...

Psych is fun, I swear. Psychology and Psychiatry that is... Owell, they pretty much coincide with each other, if you knoe what I mean.

I even considered taking it up as a specs. Hmmm... But nah...

i think you can do better than 86.

Jez said...

nagustuhan ko rin ang psych subject namin...

86? ill give u three claps for that..hehe

@ice..cge, hintayin namin luto mo..heheh

Ely said...

rio, LOL, jinustify ko ang 86! hehe..

ice, sure! hehe. kailan mo kami pagluluto?

acey, indeed. i even thought of shifting to Psychology.

roneiluke, me too. but i only love listening to the discussion. Ayoko na pagdating ng exams kasi puro memorizations.

dak, me too, almost shifted to that course. i was happy with the 86 the fact that i didnt really worked that hard. LOL

jez, thanks! yup, antayin naten luto ni ice. hehe

lucas said...

oh... may... 66 pala yung grade mo! hindi ko nabasa yung dulo. nagyon ko lang nabasa ulit. now the latter part of my previous comment was so stupid..hehe!

ok lang yan.

GRades are only external manifestations of our learning :)

Ely said...

roneiluke, actually tama yung unang comment mo. hehehe

Admin said...

lower grade ko diyan!... Okey na 'yun!

Hehe :) AKo nga 80 lang e... Sa FEU ko nakuha 'yung subject na 'yun... Hehe!


Well, sad to say... unlike sa iyo, hindi ko nagustuhan ang Psychology class namin... Boring kasi e...

Abaniko said...

I feel OC today so I did the Math on your grade. Without considering your quizzes and probably the attendance, and assuming this is the grading scheme: prelims = 25%, midterms = 25%; finals = 50%. Then you must have scored 98.5% in your finals to get a final grade of 86%.

Just wow! Galing!

:D

Dakilang Islander said...

ang taas naman ng 86! magpabeer na ako dati basta makaabot lng ng 75..hehh

my-so-called-Quest said...

psych is one of my favorite subect too. un dapat premed ko. pero oks na rin. ewan ko. human mind and the way we think is really fascinating.

mad props on your 86!


kelangan ko ng ganyang grade now. hehe

Ambo said...

When i was in college favorite ko ang psyche. Una ang sexy kasi ng prof namin, pangalawa madaming magagandang classmates sa psyche class hehehe. Nahirapan lang ako nung actual na nasa mental na kami na assign. Daming alala ko sa mental hehehe. Pero ang saya! Congrats sa grade mo! Pa burger ka naman jan!

Ely said...

lionheart, ok lang un. hehe. san ka ba grumaduate? ok kasi ung instructor namin, never boring.


abaniko, LOL, actually did that too! and i'm wondering how i got 98.5 sa finals, kasi mababa mga quizzes ko. Also back then, i think our school was using the averaging format, so that made me think na 25-25-50 ang ginamit ng instructor ko.


dakilang islander, hehe. basta naka-75 lahat celebration na!


my-so-called-quest, ano po premed mo? pinakamababa mo nga atang grade ang 86 eh. hehe


ambo, pumunta talaga kayo ng mental? LOL. depende nga ata talaga sa instructor. Kami magaling talaga siya, ginawa niya very interesting ung subject.

prinsesa000 said...

hahaha akala mo nakaisa ka sa question mo ha? ikaw rin pala ang sasagot sa tanong mo!

ang taas ng grade mo infairness

wanderingcommuter said...

first love ko din ang psych kaso hindi ako love ng prof ko sa same subject: psych 101... the next sem lumipat ako ng polsci!

Anonymous said...

Psychology...sounds mental... :-P

Unknown said...

Ely, this is a very inspiring story!!

In my psychology subject during my last term, I got a failing grade on the midterms. However, since my professor, who is a clergyman, was so kind, he gave us considerations and extra works. So I was able to attain a grade of 3.5 after all!!! Hehe..

Anonymous said...

i got a high grade in psych 101 kasi type ko yung prof namin, oops, hindi pala yun ang dahilan -- nalimutan ko na e, hmmm :D

footiam said...

Exam is never fun!

ruthinian said...

I agree... stop asking questions or stop looking for the answers... the answers come when you are not looking for it. Let the flowers bloom and the bees suck the nectar, literally. hahahaha. You are good. keep it up.

Ely said...

prinsesa, honga eh. hehe. pero un din nag-save saken, so that ok.

wanderingcommuter, ako naman muntik magshift sa Psych.

gallivanter, yup. LOL

reyn, thanks! at least pumasa kayo. hehe. congrats!


kengkay, hehe. na-inspire sa prof?

footiam, ur right.

ruthi, thanks. yah, let the bees do their thing. haha. thanks for the link too.

jiMboy said...

I love that psychology and also sociolofy. It is more about life than those theoretic approach. Well, If morrie were still alive, I'd be glad to have a phone conversation with him. It is the "Tuesday's with Morrie" by mitch albom.

KRIS JASPER said...

cool! I cud just imagine your face when you saw that grade.

your smile could have been wider than pacman.

I am imbecile with numbers. Im a hopeless case.

theNOTcrack said...

nakaka-inspire talaga pag may teacher kang sweet, smart and sexy... haha

atto aryo said...

hiyay! dinaan sa bola ang finals! he he

The Scud said...

nice post. i remember i took psych 101 summer of 99 and i had a blast. very interesting. i even toyed with the idea of shifting courses but i stuck with engineering.

diery said...

wow!pareho tayo, i love psych..sana yun na lang tinake ko nung college,huh.

Ely said...

Jimboy, i wonder who is morrie again? Sabi na nga ba mahina ang memory ko eh. hehe

kris jasper, very wide, really really wide.

the journicler, ur right! hehe

r-yo, hahaha. it worked!

thescud, undecipherable indentity, me too. and i'm now wondering what could have happened if i shifted to psych..

Anonymous said...

Cute guy, womanly pretty, won't pass for a loner.