Odes by Leandro N. Opetina, MA (June, 2006)

Bite the bullet and give it a shot"'

" Break a leg"

" Bring home the bacon"

" Put your best foot forward'

These are some of the instigating statements of those who want to incite anyone struggling in an ordeal of whatever form, to come through.

Pursuing a Master's degree has never been easy to some people. From the moment they attend the first class till the final minute of the defense of a thesis, they need to keep themselves in the right track if they do not want to find themselves lagging behind, or to be in the fog, or limbo. It may not be a matter of life and death but surely every tick of the clock counts a lot. I know these people and I am aware of what they have been through because I used to be one of them.

I remember my first classes in M.A. It was summer of 2002. The first class I had was with a professor who got a name same with that of the ex-husband of an actress and mayor in Batangas. He taught us how to teach through content-based instruction ( CBI ). Though he was a great mentor, I never learned much from his class because I was always ( and I mean always ) 30 minutes late. Attending a 7:00 am class was not easy for me.

The other class I had was with a lady professor whom a few classmates of mine dubbed " as chipmunk'. I don't know why they called her as such. All I knew was that she was a great professor. She taught us " Language Teaching and Testing' Which really shaped me.

The rest of the semesters and summer classes were a consolidation of smiles, shrugs, frowns, nods, laughs, whines, you name it. Truly taking a Master's Degree is a feat----something one may want to remember.

After four tedious and painstaking years of hassles and bustles as I wrestled with the Master's degree from Philippine Normal University, I could never be prouder to say, " I did my best! I made it because I did my best (or maybe I was just lucky?)"