Time is a rare commodity today; in fact, it’s hard to buy someone else’s time. It is hard to find time for one’s self, too. God gives us 24 hours a day to do the necessary things that we have to accomplish, and writing about my Business Writing class a.k.a BusWri is one of those items in my to-do list. Honestly, I am quite frustrated and regretful because I wanted to make a more meaningful journal entry about my unforgettable English class.
Since my course has official ended today, I wish to say a few words for the world-wide-web to know what transpired inside the four corners of LS 218 every Monday as we sat under the feet of our extraordinary professor. This definitely includes our welcome party and farewell party, which we considered grand events.
Yes, LS 218 became our grammar arena every Monday evening. I will never forget the first night I entered that room, May 25, 2009. Arnold was already inside the classroom. Sadly, I couldn’t remember who else was there. (Sleep debts)
One by one, my classmates came in and started introducing themselves. After fifteen minutes past six, Ms. Marissa Marasigan entered the room. The moment I saw her stern-looking face, I knew it was not going to be an easy subject. It didn’t take me another session to prove that my theory was true.
Ms. Marissa gave us a short test to assess our English proficiency that so proved my need of major grammar repair. I never realize how much I have neglected and undervalued the English language until I came face to face with the grammarian, who, by the way, is also an accountant. She taught us that was should be pronounced as wuz, and is should be pronounced as iz. I will never forget how she corrected our always. According to Miss, one should instead naturally say, al-wez.
I thought we broke the ice when our professor asked us to have an election of class officers. I thought it was peculiar to have class officers in the graduate school in a term that will last for only three months. Well, not in M3’s class. That’s the way she runs her class. So we started nominating for class president…and guess who was elected? I was. Welcome, MBA life!
The class decided to have our welcome party at Shakey’s Valero. Jack was in charged of the games. Some of my classmates brought prizes aside from the ones Jack bought from our class funds. Everyone cooperated in the games as we divided the class into two groups. My wild guess, it was for the prizes that motivated them especially the 1GB flashdisk Ron Eslabon donated. Thanks to Henkel. Luigi brought some ipads (our new name for notepads), courtesy of his company, GSK. Eric also contributed two colorful alarm clocks for giveaways. I was the lucky recipient of the yellow clock. As class president, I gave everyone a handmade frame. My way of saying, “I support Filipino products.” Actually, those were some of the frames I was selling on behalf of a cancer patient.
Our Shakey’s party was the start of a new friendship. We are now more than just classmates; we are friends. M3 was wiser, after all. Maybe she, too, wanted to know us deeper.
My great professor revolutionized my preconceived notion of the English language. She inspired me to strive for excellence, both in oral and written communications, as I accept my limitations and hone my skills. As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, I find myself more fascinated in reading and wanting to learn more.
As I went through the course, engaged in our discussions, took weekly quizzes, and faced corrections, I learned to relate the lessons to my life. Mistakes are inevitable, either in BusWri or life in general. I hardly perfected any of our quizzes, but I chose to know my errors and tried to understand the correct answers, so I will not commit the same inaccuracies again.
Confession: I have never fallen in love with the parts of speech, ever, until I enrolled in BusWri. All I knew was I needed to take this pre-MBA course as part of my requirements to take the core courses. Some people told me that my class was very elementary. Maybe it was; nonetheless, I gained a handful of lessons and tools that contributed to what I am being prepared for. God has a better plan; He has a better way. Why do I say that? I simply believe that we are called to do something bigger than what we can possibly ask, dream, or imagine. We all need to be prepared.
Guess who else benefited from my BusWri class? My friends. I did some knowledge transfer. Every time I learn something new and interesting, I share it with them. And guess what was our favorite lesson? Subject-Verb Agreement. Can you believe that they even asked me to give them a quiz? Unbelievable.
Last August 17, we gave Ms. Marissa a surprise party. Her birthday was August 15 (I don’t know which year). We sneaked in the flowers and the balloons, even the pizza and the cake, without her knowledge. Just right after her declaration of a 15-minute break, we sang “Happy Birthday” and greeted her with our treat. More than the joy that I saw in her eyes, I saw the joy of blessing someone in my classmates’ eyes. It was a blessing to witness both. Great delight!
My BusWri class officially ended today, August 31. We had our final term exam early this morning. It was our last taste of LS218.
After our final exam, we headed toward Food Locker for our farewell party. Ron Cajayon was the one who arranged everything for us. We didn’t have games this time. Just lunch. We also celebrated Karl’s birthday. The highlight of our lunch was the ice cream, and more stories – about our ManStat experience - became like cherries on top.
Just right before we ended, I asked for a few words from our professor. She was gracious enough to agree. She encouraged us to pursue excellence and apply what we have learned from her class to our workplaces and our everyday conversations. She hopes that we will be able to bring with us the nuggets of knowledge she had shared with the class.
Looking back, I believe that despite her frustrations, which were evident by her facial expression and her voice, she still hopes that one day we will be able to master her the lessons. The grammar police has a big heart.
For three months (14 sessions), my life has been surrounded with words. I never paid attention or valued them as much I have now. My eyes began to see nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections everywhere. I graduated from being acquaintance with gerunds, participles, and infinitives to becoming friends with them.
I am no master of passive voice and active voice, dangling and misplaced phrases, and verbals; however, I still dare write my accounts because I am very grateful to have been part of section KTA. The crossword puzzle for the preposition bonus quiz was a hit, but we dreaded the writing mechanics and the passive-active voice. We still need to master the rules; besides, this is what MBA is all about—being a master.
Miss Marissa’s contribution is invaluable especially to us who are just new in the MBA program. Unquestionably, she taught us the fundamentals of business writing. But more than that, she made a positive impact in our lives. I believe she is in a position to greatly influence the future leaders of this nation. I want to be a living proof and I want to see my classmates rise to their fullest potentials and to be instruments of change that will usher this nation into its destiny.
To my BusWri classmates, it was a journey worth taking. Through the difficulties and the victories, shame (oh yes) and glory, pizza and pandesal, we have been there to support and encourage one another. Someone said, “Friendship is born in adversity.” The Bible says, "...a brother is born for adversity." Could it possibly be the many “adversities” that bonded us in BusWri? I guess.
I am looking forward to another adventure in my Business Communications (BusCom) subject next term, if I pass BusWri this term. Oh Lord!
By the way, Ms. Marissa is oddly irritated by the sound of a clicking pen. Just so you know.
Now, let's pause for a while.