Enrolling with Pink Folders (June 12,2007)

Enrolling with Pink Folders
By: Maria Reylan M. Garcia

I woke up with a jolt; my body was triggered to get up from bed at the sound of my punctual alarm clock. Similar to some students who have the same fate as I did that morning, they were all dashing up to be on time for school. We all gobbled up out breakfast like some pack of wolves, held a dressing marathon contest, and constantly checking our wristwatches if we were speeding up on time. There may be only one thing that differs me from the other early birds; they brought along a school bag loaded with books while I had my brown envelope enclosed some documents and my registration form. Oh yes, I’m going to school too, but for a slightly different purpose, that is to undergo the tedious process of enrolling. I’m no high school anymore, the comforts of simple enrollment process was out of my midst, what fogs my way is the vague uncertainty of my college enrollment. College became so frighteningly foreign to me after I was open to the tedious flow of entitling yourself as a student of a university. I don’t want future incoming freshmen or someone so unfamiliar with what I’ve gone through experience the same head-aching processes I’ve been through. That is why I would like to share the simple learning a literal “fresh” man like me had harvested after finding the needle from the haystack.

Even before enrollment, (as I was taking up the legendary bandwagon course, Nursing) a lot of screening and filing up sessions made me realize how importantly significant the skill taught to all the girl scouts and boy scouts; The Undying Lesson of: Always Be Prepared. Take the sacrifice of packing some extra stuff inside your bag. Although you’ll look like someone who brings a mini bookstore with her, it’s all worth it, than experiencing the pain of crossing to the other side of the street just to buy a one peso paste from the nearby convenience store. I had my share of discomfort because of ignoring the Girl Scout skill. I had to undergone the confusing phenomenon of going back and forth around four times, photocopying my documents and even taking a rush developed picture, I tell you my smile wasn’t amusing enough. During God given events of life, from enrollments to job interviews, it really pays to be extra prepared. Trust me, you don’t want to see yourself having the same fate of unprepared noodle heads sitting under the tree, murmuring he has to go back again for tomorrow.

It’s nice to share a seat for a friendly stranger, to wait in line with a fellow applicant and share some stories, and to chat with some high school friends you met at the university. All of these, sums up as what psychologists say growing interpersonally. Being open to the sociality of the world, in order not to get bummed, alone or at the most insecure, you need to have someone alongside, even if you just met him. This supports the ever lingering cliché of “No Man is an Island”. But, sometimes it will cost you if you depend and trust too much on what others and interpersonal growth says. As I journeyed my enrollment adventure, I can’t help but overhear some students saying, “You know, one girl said that one guy told him we need some pink folders for our application forms.” Huh? I told myself, who said who, what said what? Nevertheless that group of students immediately went outside and bought some six pesos worth of long pink folders because some girl said one guy told her. I too was victimized, unfortunately. I went outside and bought 2 pink folders. But, after the enrollment, it all ended with me regretting. I wasted the twelve pesos for the some girl said one guy’s pink folders. Pink Folders weren’t needed. My Advice? If you seem too unsure of your requirements, Go ask the officers-in-charge or someone credible enough to give your specific and accurate information.

Have you heard of the popular note, “The Law Excuses No One”, well during my enrollment; it was revised to a suitable quote, “The Line Excuses No One”. Really, there are some pretending-to-be-dumb people who pretend not to know how to make a line. Hello? Wasn’t lining up step by step explained clearly by our teacher way back in kindergarten? It was such a pity sight, some parents who went with their children, even pushed their way in first line showing their children the fast lane to accomplishing your tasks. They weren’t thinking about some people they stepped ahead on, who came as far as Antique (which is like approximately 98 kilometers from the city), who woke up early in the morning just like what I did just to acquire the first priority number, and who even wasn’t entertained, enrolled and will still come the next day because of those pretenders’ ignorance. I arrived at the university 6:15 am, being the third in line, some mother and her daughter swept passed us first three and rushed to go first. As I understand, what we did was right; it was human enough to let that mother know she’s teaching wrong decorum to her daughter. We told the ROTC Cadets to tell her off and send her at the back of the long line where she appropriately belongs. How could someone who arrived 7:30 am be first before someone who arrived at 6:15. Even a simple inexperienced freshman like me knows its Logic. This is one of the reasons why our country is such a chaos, simple line formation we can not be disciplined, how much more of complex regulations? Beware of Line Pretenders, shove them off and let them learn.

As I was enrolling in a government subsidized school, of course you could imagine the flock of enrollees. What a busy enrollment day that was! Lines were starting to tick off some impatient parents and students, everyone was blaming the slow service and flow of accommodation of facilitators and clerks, and the unending revolution of mothers who kept on claiming the quote “We were lining here for a long time now”. Actually dear mothers, everybody is lining, so a little patience and reality check would be of big help to replenish your heated and motherly instincts. What I found lacking was the simple existence of courtesy. Not only in the part of clerks who undeniably had some loopholes in their service. I was one of the many poor come-back-again-tomorrow people. I am a suffering entrance scholar who has to go back the next day just for my fees to be assessed. Everyone that is seated inside the assessment room had been expecting to be entertained, for having to wait more than three hours. But what do you know, the cut-off for the first twenty was made, and I was number thirty seven, because it was already nearing their service closing times. Technically, the clerks were legally correct. But just for the love of work and exercise of government service; can’t you accommodate the others? Can’t you sacrifice going home late for a noble cause that is to assess the fees of worthy scholars (like me perhaps)? I’m not only referring to the schools, but government offices had been quite too mechanical and strict with service offered. Just a question from a freshman: Isn’t service, freely and without a doubt sincerely given? Just Checking.

This is quite one sided. That is why, courtesy from the service givers and courtesy greatly as well from the service receivers. Customer’s are always right, but let us not abuse that right. Although there were loopholes with the side of facilitators, the main point of seeing them do their job even if power failure struck us all down, seeing them with smiling faces even with the rigorous pressure of work, and seeing them just being there to try and accommodate are but some big reasons for us to relate with them with smiles on our faces and minding our p’s and q’s. Remember your simple please and thank you lessons and practicing them on the clerks and facilitators. You might not know your simple smile and thank you would lessen their burden and brighten them up, thus giving them more energy and vigor to accommodate more people. To get good service you must encourage good service. A two way process, treat and relate the clerks kindly and they’ll have the interest in the world to quicken up your documents; the cycle of life as we call it.

I was amazed how a few days of enrollment would lead me unto think about Girl Scout skills, pink folders, line pretenders and the very most of basic courtesy. I hope when you enroll or come across a similar incident my simple and infantile realizations would make you less pinkishly dependent and more assertive with the importance of line formation. I may know less, may be some might disagree with my thoughts, but as a “fresh” man and so are my “fresh” thoughts would say, I’ll remain true to my observations and reflections until the next enrollment period. I’ll let you know.

Scout with pink folders!
Line with Courtesy!
You get the point.

(For comments and reactions send an email to reylangarcia@yahoo.com or an SMS to 09186363090)