Why Great Love Stories Happen in College (Part 1)

Why Great Love Stories Happen in College

If you’ve found that one person who completes you, who lights up your day and most of all, who promises to cherish you for the rest of his/her life, you might have met him/her during college. If you didn’t, I’m certain you’ve met someone who fit in the same profile when you were still in college. What’s with college?

In this article I will be discussing about why the college environment is most conducive for great love stories and of course, why you never noticed.

Maturity Spurs

When we were still in the process of choosing our college course, we were faced with the threat of changing the itinerary of our lives. Through this, we are pushed to think, act and behave maturely so as to make the best decision possible. This is the first form of forced maturity that we learn to wear as we approach college life.

As we go through college we are confronted with everyday social evils (e.g. an overconfident pal, monster profs, but-I-was-drunk! incidents, etc.). Through these evils, we become emotionally polished as individuals and then we keep on learning about life in such a short span of time. Love demands maturity and maturity is a free enterprise in college.

Your Heart is at its Prime

In line with being mature, great love stories happen in college because college shapes our personality in such a way that we reach a full circle, that which declares us “whole”. Notice that debut parties happen in college and it is at this point when a “girl” becomes a “woman”. And jeeringly, “boys” become “men” through informal rites such as losing their virginity or downing a liter of beer. Men and women are terms which connote wholeness.

When we feel whole, it is at this point when we are most willing to share our wholeness with another person. It is with such maturity that we become ready to give ourselves to a significant other. College, as a mosaic of emotional, social, mental and physical pressures, facilitates the achievement for such wholeness.

The Element of Definitive-ness

Moreover, college has a feel of “definitive-ness” in it. We are forced to look ahead, to know ahead and to move ahead. In college, we determine WHAT WE REALLY WANT. When we know what we REALLY WANT, we look for it. When we are in this level of certainty, it’s easy to weed out that one person whom we desire for reasons which we may or may not know.

(watch out for Part 2. This article is longer than a footspa and pedicure.)

Growing Up Not So Beautiful

Growing up, I was made to believe that I'm not beautiful (except siguro sa akong pamilya hehe).

I remember when I was still in my 2nd Grade, I was elected as the Muse simply because they wanted to pair me up with a "funny looking" guy. Fast forward til 6th grade, every boy I liked didn't like me back. (And crushing was highly highly 99.9% physical.) Well, it was because I really didn't care about how I looked. I played a lot, ran a lot, read a lot. I was buringit. Haha.

I didn't really behaved "femininely". I played pogs with guys, didn't bring a comb, ate junkfood a lot and loved mangga+bagoong sold outside Holy Child. Looking back, I think it was the reason why no boy ever liked me. Haha. I was chinita, but back then, by some cosmic whim, chinitas weren't really beautiful. The "beautiful" ones were those who are tisay, the Caucasian tisay.

I tried to excel in arts, academics and sports (because I can't excel in the "beauty field" anyway). I was so good at math, I was member of the dance troupe for 5 years, I learned how to play table tennis and I wrote. I did all of those because I felt that I had to compensate for not looking good enough. Even my friends never regarded me as beautiful. Haha.

When I was in Grade 6, I super duper liked this boy. I was gushing about him for a whole year. I levelled up in my arts, academics and sports...just so he'd like me. Then by March, I gave up.

During the summer, ongoing high school, a close friend told me that that guy was eyeing me for a very long time. I asked why. She told me he "thinks I'm beautiful".

A SHOUT OUT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NICK JONAS,
the nth love of my life.

i do not love you as if you were
a boy, a real boy, an alive human being
i love you as certain superficial (cute) things are to be loved
in shallowness, between the IQ of
a doorknob and the personality of a vacuum cleaner
i love you as the plant that never blooms
which i never care to water anyway
and thanks to your love, darkly, in my body
is an alarming mental catastrophe.
i love you without knowing how
when, or from where
i love you straightforwardly,
without complexities and logic
i love you this way because i am a deranged woman
with a severe case of reverse aging.

(Sorry Neruda.) haha.

When Numbers Hurt

How to Fight Aging Like a Wise Business Student
By: Brunx
Edited by: bitchvarsity

Many people do not know what to do the moment they see those wrinkles around their eyelids, those cursed age spots and even feel that aching sensation somewhere below their backs. People, the world over, fear this phenomenon of getting old; a sign of supposed great knowledge and wisdom is now nothing more than a mere numerological anomaly. And for us business students, numbers are not always good news.

Experts in various fields have been in and about the whole situation in trying to look for cures to this misguided notion of “age”. Products such as anti-aging creams that promise to bring back your youthful ray, different medications that swear they can make you five years younger have, indeed, gone a long way. Some even go as far as to opt for operation just to knock off a few years off their look.

Here are but some of the many ways on how to get a grip with your age (minus the overspending):

1. Shape up or Ship out!

Changing the way you feel on the outside is always most direct way! Many people think that just because you gain that belly, you age a decade more into your look. So work loving your PE class, forego the elevator use, or play outdoor sports with your clique for dozens of hearty work-outs! Plus, you could use some natural blush when the worksheets start to haunt you!

2. Change is always great!

Don’t settle for the same look you had for ages- no wonder you feel old! Play around with your look! This allows you to explore your flexibility in the many ways you can carry yourself. Go wild! Whatever you feel is holding you back in the way feel about yourself- do away with it and fast! Remember that the beauty of youth is also being unpredictable and original. The quicker you change those irritating drapes the sooner you’ll feel the change!

3. Hang out with the people YOU actually like.

Always think of it this way; there are people you have to hang out with, but never forget the people you want to either. After dealing with the not so fun people around you, give yourself time to vent! Hang out with your “old” high school friends, call a club buddy and hang out in a bar, you can even ring your neighbor next door and go to the nearest garden expo all night; anything to keep your mind away from being the “old” you!

4. Balance things out.

Whether it’s being with your friends, your latest Philo paper or your club’s next G.A., always keep things in the way you like to deal with them! It doesn’t mean that because you’re hurdling with 29 units this sem that you’re justified to forget to update your Multiply account or at least text your best friend good night. It’s all about time management. I know many people who are good at this---even when they don’t have management subjects!

5. Think positively- NUMBERS LIE!!!

Yes, don’t take it seriously! The one thing you need to remember (and maybe fear) is the word “stagnation”. Keep yourself busy and have fun doing it because it doesn’t really matter what they think- its all about you. Business students are always accused of taking their studies too seriously. Remember to have fun ALL THE TIME. And don’t forget to smile! Studies show that the mere act of curving your lips upward releases endorphins (a get-happy hormone) throughout your body. Trust me, it’s better than any drug in the world.


At the end of the day, you may predict market shifts or inflation. However, you really cannot predict every aging feature that’ll eventually come out. The fact is everyone gets old. It’s all about how you deal with the “problem” that makes you age a lot less faster!

10 CONYOmmandments

by Gerry Avelino and Arik Abu

1. Thou shall make gamit "make+pandiwa".
ex. "Let's make pasok na to our class!"
"Wait lang! I'm making kain pa!"
"Come on na, we can't make hintay anymore! It's in Andrew pa, you know?"

2. Thou shall make kalat "noh", "diba" and "eh" in your pangungusap.
ex. "I don't like to make lakad in the baha nga, no? Eh diba it's like, so eew, diba?"
"What ba: stop nga being maarte noh?"
"Eh as if you want naman also, diba?"

3. When making describe a whatever, always say "It's SO pang-uri!"
ex. "It's so malaki, you know, and so mainit!"
"I know right? So sarap nga, eh!"
"You're making me inggit naman.. I'll make bili nga my own burger."

4. When you are lalaki, make parang punctuation "dude", 'tsong" or "pare"
ex. "Dude, ENGANAL is so hirap, pare."
"I know, tsong, I got bagsak nga in quiz one, eh"

5. Thou shall know you know? I know right!
ex. "My bag is so bigat today, you know"
"I know, right! We have to make dala pa kasi the jumbo Physics book eh!"

6. Make gawa the plural of pangngalans like in English or Spanish.
ex. "I have so many tigyawats, oh!"

7. Like, when you can make kaya, always use like. Like, I know right?
ex. "Like, it's so init naman!"
"Yah! The aircon, it's, like sira!"

8. Make yourself feel so galing by translating the last word of your sentence, you know, your pangungusap?
ex. "Kakainis naman in the LRT! How plenty tao, you know, people?"
"It's so tight nga there, eh, you know, masikip?"

9. Make gamit of plenty abbreviations, you know, daglat?
ex. "Like, OMG! It's like traffic sa LRT"
"I know right? It's so kaka!"
"Kaka?"
"Kakaasar!"

10. Make gamit the pinakamaarte voice and pronunciation you have para full effect!
ex. "I'm, like, making aral at the Arrhneo!"
"Me naman, I'm from Lazzahl!"

Fun and Straight!

So I straightened my hair. Big deal.

It's my first time to have my hair relaxed, because I always believed that women with straight hair are boring. (It has a lot to do with the its ease, organization and cruise-through texture.) I always regarded women with wavy or curly hair as women with a spunky attitude and spontaneity.

Yesterday, I went to Bunawan for my Theology community immersion. We rode a jeepney back and forth, and when the day ended, my hair needed a rake for a comb. I went to a nearby salon to get a hot oil (and shampoo). When I got there, I felt the urge to be more adventurous and decided to get a Hair Relax. The result was good. When I left the salon, I was a different person.

Not really.

The new hair is good, it takes less time to style. The only downside of getting your hair straightened is the 3-day-no-washing-of-hair-after-the-treatment thing. This morning, I was staring at myself in the mirror and thinking about the treatment. At first, I regretted it because I am now one of the women I used to describe as "no-fun". And then I realized, hey, I'm almost 19, I lived with so much fun, perhaps too much, that if I am no-fun now, the fun quota in my life will still be compensated! (Weird principle huh? LOL.)

But I'm not no-fun. And so are the other girls out there who have straight hair. Who you are is louder than what you say. Whatever empowers you, that's fun.

Are Women Candidates for Hair Transplant?

If you think of the word “balding”, you may immediately imagine middle-aged men with receding hair lines. Although there are more men turning towards hair restoration procedures, women are also candidates for hair transplant. Women also have the threat of losing their hair more rapidly than the normal way because of the different chemicals they wash and style their hair with.

Answering the Question

So yes, women are actually candidates for hair transplant. In fact, studies show that 6 out of 10 women suffer from balding or hair loss/ thinning of hair. As there are newer methods of hair transplant which appear more natural and long-lasting, women have a lot of options to looking good (with hair!) again.

Hair Loss/ Thinning Vs. Balding

Balding is the process where hairs fall off and no new hairs will grow in their place. Hair loss/ thinning is simply the loss of hair in certain areas of the head and the possibility of other hair “replacements” is possible, however, may be achieved after quite a long time. This nuance is something that you should remember so that you will know how to properly deal with your situation.

Also, hair loss is different for women. While men lose their hair by becoming bald and the baldness starting from their foreheads or at the crown, women’s hair just thins out and the hairs in the front and the sides usually remain intact. It’s like a Barbie doll-look.

When women start seeing stray hairs in their pillows, they easily become shaken. This is because of women’s fear of becoming bald. You know how the hair is paid much attention when it comes to judging a woman’s beauty. In fact, the words “crowning glory” are directly associated with the hair. So, when something unusual is happening to a woman’s hair (e.g. become burnt by hair iron, has the wrong cut, “died” because of a hair treatment gone wrong), it is utterly heartbreaking for the woman. Yes, even hair loss/thinning.

The Social Battle

Whenever the quality of the hair is being threatened, a woman easily loses her confidence. There will be even more dangerous psychological results in this losing of self-confidence. In fact, there have been cases of suicide which were directly linked to a woman’s hair loss. A lot of people think about a woman’s hair loss as a symbol of femininity voidance.

If you’re one of these women who suffer from hair loss, if it’s not that grave yet, don’t overanalyze things. You need to quantify first what’s “hair loss” and what’s not. This is because it is normal to shed off 50-100 strands of hair every day. They just, naturally, fall off. They fall off when you brush your hair, when you walk around, when you do and undo your hairstyle and even whenever you tuck hair behind your ear. However, if you think the number that you see in your hairbrush + the bathroom + your pillow is abnormal, perhaps you’re suffering really from hair loss/ thinning.

What you need to remember is that sometimes, it’s only you who is being paranoid about the thinness of your hair. If it’s not really that obvious, do not lose confidence in yourself. There have been a lot of stories about patients overrating the mere thinning of their hair and directly concluding hair loss. Because of this, they skipped attending a lot of social gatherings and missed out on a lot of things. Do not fall into this trap. The best thing that you can do is to simply see a specialist.

Finding the Right Cure

There are a lot of things in the market which promise thicker hair, a healthier scalp and some creams which encourage hair growth. However, these things are not really curable especially if the case is really grave. Take for example women who have clumps of hair falling when they brush their hair. It’s as if they’ve undergone Chemotherapy! The superpower shampoos and wonder creams won’t be able to cure these things, and you should remember that. Only a hair transplant surgery or any other medical hair restoration procedure will solve that problem.

For women, there are a lot of options to choose from. First, there is a cosmetic procedure known as “extensions installation” where the there is a semblance of “grafting” but it doesn’t really include having donor tissues. It just “extends” the hairs and thus make it look fuller and longer. Second, there is an anti-baldness pill called Propecia. It has recently been proven safe for women. Third, there is always the option of a hair restoration procedure or a hair transplant, which costs relatively higher but, with good research, will give you a better result.