I should get up.
The words continued to press against my thoughts. As
I lay on the bed, I struggled to get on my two feet, almost as if I was but a ship
anchored to the deep waters of slumber, caressed by the waves of my quilt, and
gently kissed by the morning dew.
Had I the will to resist, perhaps the currents of
Morpheus wouldn't have pulled me back, tempting me with sweet dreams and the
promise of distraction. Within moments, sleep had taken over me. Minutes were
turning into eternity, as if the clock had fallen from the tower. All at once,
lighting struck inside my head with a subconscious urgency to unravel the very
anchor binding the ship. And just like this ship, I too must set sail for the
long journey ahead.
I could feel it. The rush of a new life, the
excitement, the terror -- ah, there it was! If I had only the ability to reach
out and grasp it, it would pulsate against my palm like a heart. It had been
present as I pushed empty drawers back into place, as I slipped carefully
folded clothing into my bags, and even as I sped through the highway. Like a
phantom, it loomed over me.
But as strange and new as everything seemed, the
sensation barely lasted. As soon as I had moved in, I had quickly adjusted to
the idea of it all: living alone in a new place, learning my way around the
urban jungle, meeting new people and simply adapting to college life.
My name is Pablo Joao Adriano Crisologo, but almost everyone
calls me Joao – or at least attempts to pronounce it right. I spent the last
thirteen years studying at De La Salle Santiago Zobel, and now I’m a student of
De La Salle University.