Canossa Academy  − 1 June, 1990

My 5th grade and 1st year high school were among the worst in my schooling life. When I entered the school, I was in for a culture shock. People my age cussed a lot (which I don't really hear from my schoolmates in St. Francis). The girls like to fight. A quiet girl, I was bullied by my own "friend" (some kind of friend), I was bullied and sexually harassed (verbally) by a couple of boys in class, just because they can't make me talk, and that I was this pretty, fragile little thing. They made me cry thrice! I remember one time how I'd tucked pins in my uniform for self-defense. I told our teacher how the guys were bullying me and she didn't believe!!! I hated it all. I kept on praying, hoping that in sixth grade I wouldn't end up with these people anymore. And luckily, the next year was a better year, none of the people I hated became my classmates, and the boys got kicked out of the school. I adapted. After another year, my 1st year in high school, I had to endure another battle. My clique "tested" if I can be left on my own, if I can hang out with other people. They snubbed me for a day. Who are they to judge me anyway? Just because I am quiet and that I don't mingle very much with other people doesn't mean I'm dependent on them. The following day, I started hanging out with an old friend and never came back to the group. They weren't worth my time. The rest of the stay became stable and ok, and even quite enjoyable (the gossip can get quite interesting, too, couples were exchanging boyfriends/girlfriends, much like the soaps one sees in the television). I liked the fairs, the intramurals, 2nd year high was also good, and the boys in third year were such flatterers, and I became amiable with a lot of people, so that by the time I left for Jakarta, almost everyone bid me farewell, and I know, their bidding came from the heart.