The Most Popular Freshman of Batch 2006 Apparently, Janice de Belen passed the formidable Ateneo College Entrance Test (ACET) this year, making her the oldest---and most controversial---freshman for batch 2006. My former editor at Heights, and Palanca-award winner Joseph Salazar happened to be Ms. de Belen's proctor during the ACET. This "Flor de Luna" (popular TV soap starring a young Janice) fan also had the opportunity to talk to her after the exams, in which he found out that Janice was applying for the AB Psychology program.
But whether Ms. de Belen passed the ACET or not, I still have to give her credit for her courage. Imagine if you were a thirysomething public figure whose life was perpetually under scrutiny by the nation. Then imagine joining a roomful of high school graduates, bright faces and all, faces that might have seen you on TV, to take a college entrance exam which you should have taken two decades ago. Try to imagine what it must feel like to be in that room knowing that it took you almost seven years to complete your high school education under a home program; knowing that probably none of the people in that classroom has ever been married, let alone married twice; knowing that they've probably heard that your soon-to-be-ex-husband has just left you for a younger, bigger-chested woman who can't even speak the national language right.
You can't? Me neither. And that's why I must salute this woman. |
