A Prodigal Alumna Returns Home

I decided to spend some two hours in my high school alma mater today as I waited for my son who took the high school admission test.  It was a homecoming of sorts and I just couldn't help shifting to reflective mode. 

When we were planning our 25th alumni homecoming we felt that we should hold it in what used to be the old campus.  We argued that it was where we spent our grade and high school years.  That was our school.  We didn't win of course.  No grudges there. 

Today, while I lingered around to have a better feel of my former school which may become my son's new school, my heart felt at home. The school was very different from what I knew it and yet it also was very much the same. The name had changed. It had transferred to a new campus in Sta. Isabel, the campus we had fundraised for as early as our grade school years.  It now has a much bigger campus and with a much bigger population.  It has evolved in many ways.  I was amazed at how varied the clubs/organizations are from those of our time.  (Obviously it now caters to the varied interests of students.  There is even a bartending club that my son looks forward to joining.)  The school organ which used to be in an odd-sized newsprint during our time now looks more like regular news magazines.  Report cards are computer generated. There are two separate Guidance Offices.  Indeed, so much has changed.  

In spite of these many changes though something hadn't changed.  As the lyrics of the Alma Mater Song and the School Cheer played in my head, I knew I was home.  My school is not the physical space where I spent my 11 years although I had lovely memories of that campus.  My school is that space in my heart that knew by heart that "the Triune God lives in the hearts of all people."   My school is where the seeds of Marian devotion were planted in my heart.  My school is that space in my heart where I was thought the discipline of hard work, the nurturance of one's talents, the responsibility of each to make this world a better place to live in, and the relevance of celebration and fun.  My high school is where we strive to live every single day the essence of "truth in Love."  

No, I won't romanticize the school and say we had a perfect time here. There were some hurts, there were disappointments.  There were so many things that could have been done differently.  But, as I sat on one of the benches this morning, I realized that there really isn't a perfect school just as there is no perfect person.  Despite its imperfections, I am happy and proud to be an IAM alumna. As our School Cheer goes, "It's a small place but it's a fine place but if you don't work hard you'll find you in a tough place."  

Now that I have come home, I am sharing this second home with  my son.