My mother, whom I call Mader, wanted me to be a doctor. At 16, wanting to please her, I took pre-med college entrance exams at UP, UST, UE, and CEU. I FAILED THEM ALL. Though disappointed, Mader still supported me by allowing me to pursue my real interest at the time: mass communication.
Years passed, but the idea of becoming a doctor never completely left me. Thirty-seven years later, I took another exam, this time to become a doctor of a different kind. It was the most difficult one of all: the PhD Comprehensive Exam at the University of the Philippines. For the first time in all my qualifying exams, I PASSED and even earned a HIGH PASS in one area.
So to Mader, heto na po! In this way, I will finally fulfill your dream of having a doctor son, not as the doctor you once hoped for, but as the doctor I have chosen to become: a Doctor of Philosophy.
