A New Beginning

I walked to the office light and bouncy, feeling like a schoolgirl.

I had to remind myself many times that I was.

Today I am officially enrolled, officially a freshman once again, and never mind that I am twenty-three because my new haircut would make me pass for err, uhm, twenty.

Something interesting happened as I was on the final step of my enrollment: The kind clerk at the registrar’s office had asked, out of the blue, “Would you like to write for the school paper?”

I was flabbergasted. Perhaps they asked all new enrollees, but still a huge smile forcibly came out. “I’ll see,” I told him.

He walked away saying “I’ll give you some…..” and came back with the two most recent issues of Student Publication. “So you can check it out,” he said.

He pointed to a woman walking a short distance from us and said “If you’re interested, you can approach her. She’s Miss Student Publication Adviser.” I simply nodded. He pointed to a door just behind me. “That’s the Student Publication office. You can just go there if you like.” I nodded again.

Minutes later I was on the phone with Ferdie, telling him happily of my class schedule and what the clerk said to me.

 

“Again?” Ferdie said, and laughed loudly. I laughed along with him—It’s my writing that got me into trouble before. “Why did he tell you that?” he asked.

 

“I don’t know. Must be something in my face.”

 

“So, are you going to try it out?” he asked again.

 

“I don’t know. I’ll see.”

 

“Just don’t write politics, Mahal,” he warned me.

 

“I’m done with politics. Now I just write out my heart.”

 

 

And as I said that sentence a smile escaped me again, for my mind was still processing the idea of committing myself to another responsibility, but my heart had already made the choice.