it must have been school spirit

yesterday was interesting. i went to the UAAP Cheering Competition, my second time to watch it live at the Big Dome. i skipped the event during freshman year, i was too uninterested and too unattached (yet) to my school. the absence of loyalty to my new school was undeniable. but of course that already changed now that i'm on my third year.

three years after, i stood at the bleachers shouting my lungs off, cheering for my school. never mind waking up extra early to line up for tickets, the insanely long hours we had to wait and the crazy crowd that was outside as my friends and i lined up for the tickets. if i didn't love my school this much, i would have went home. i almost did, actually. also, thank God for my friends who were still sane (unlike i was) because they willingly obliged to line up for me. i gave up after mitchie and i were squeezed to a wall and people just kept pushing and shoving that it wasn't worth going through the trouble anymore. or so i thought.

when we got into the bleachers, i was there again. memories of last year's competition swept over me like a flashflood. the same feeling of pride was inside of me and as we chanted the school's cheer, my adrenaline pumped and everything i had felt earlier just dissolved. i forgot that i was fuming mad and tired a few minutes before. i thought about how i almost gave up if it weren't for my crazy (but well-loved) friends who really wanted to watch the cheering competition. there was also something else in there. ah, school spirit. that's what they call it. the school spirit was intoxicating. everyone cheered for their own schools and the energy inside the Dome was just admirable.

we may not have won first place but 2nd place was good enough :) i am still proud of the UP Pep Squad for a job well done, except for their costumes. there was something wrong there. maybe the colors were just plain. from where we watched, it did not give any sort of impact at all. but we love the UP Pep Squad just the same.

on my way home, i had to replay the excruciating hours of the competition. you see, my friends and i stood up during the whole event and my feet killed me. i thought i was going to walk out of the Coliseum flat-footed. but you know what? contrary to my initial prediction, it was worth going through all the trouble: the lack of sleep, the sweat, the painful feet, and other sorts of body pain just to get tickets because nothing can replace the natural high i felt yesterday.

what made the whole "nightmare-ish" experience durable?

ah, it must be school spirit!