Had I been given the power to turn back the hands of time, I would relive the days when my daily garb consisted of a starched checkered uniform matched with an almost knee-high white socks and a well-polished black shoes. Add to that, a knapsack ripped at the seams due to the unimaginable weight it had to endure on a daily basis.

That was more than a decade ago but the memories it evokes always stir up a certain kind of nostalgia. My life as a high school coed in the early 90s tops the list of the good things about my past that I often look back with so much fondness.

I remember quite well that while other students were making the most of their summer break, I constantly nagged my mother to purchase my school supplies way before everybody did. Waiting in line was simply a harrowing ordeal for me.

Armed with a long list of school items, I rummaged through every nook of the bookstore, searching for notebooks that had dainty designs on its cover. How I loved the smell of a crisp new notebook! I would even sniff its pages like a girl gone wild.

But more than the exhilarating thrill of having new things to show off, what I genuinely looked forward to was getting back to school — seeing familiar faces and hopefully meeting new friends, delving into numerous school work that may prove challenging and enriching at the same time, enduring eight excruciating hours taking down notes and even engaging in silly banter with scoundrels at school. That was a typical school day for me.

Now that I’m a teacher myself, I just couldn’t help but notice how times have changed, have I been that old?

Back then, life was a little less complicated. After school, there was nowhere else to go but home. In fact, my Lola, who was a staunch old school advocate, insisted that I should be home before the church bell tolled at 6 pm, signaling the Orasyon. I objected quite fiercely but house rules were totally non-negotiable. So I had no other choice but to abide, even if it was against my will.

If beating curfews was one of the things I had a hard time dealing with, managing my “finances” was as easy as ABC. Since our house was only a few blocks away from my school, tricycle fares were out of the question. The only thing I had to spend on was my daily snacks and it really didn’t cost that much. I received a whopping P20 – just good enough to help me get by in a day. In the afternoon, I had a habit of emptying my pockets so I could slip in a penny or two in my piggy bank. It just dawned on me now that perhaps saving too early on is partly to blame for how I turned out to be — unreasonably close-fisted to a fault.

A decade ago, doing researches could be likened to finding a needle in a haystack. There was nowhere else to go but the library. It was a little infuriating to find out how some unscrupulous rascals reveled at making other students’ lives miserable by taking specific books and putting it away in a different shelf where no one can find it.

In this day and age, such scenarios may no longer be possible. Thank heavens for the Internet, whereby everything you need to know is just a click away. I once heard somebody say: If it’s not in the internet, it does not exist. Well, I can only speak for myself. Nothing beats the euphoria of discovering something that you have worked hard for. It’s no longer a question of what you have unraveled but how you did it.

High school life is often marked by the kind of relationships that we allow ourselves to nurture — whether friendship or the sudden rush that only a young love brings. It’s all part of growing up, anyway. The desire to belong or to fit in is always a main concern for an individual who seems to be at odds with his identity. Chances are, he would find solace and refuge outside the comforts of his home, possibly through friends or a “significant other.” The latter is something that I still have to get used to.

In my days, dating or going out with somebody of the opposite sex was a subject spoken under hushed tones. Couples remained very discreet about their affairs to avoid the vicious scrutiny of the public.

But nowadays, we see an entirely different picture. Teenage couples seem to have a world of their own. Some have no qualms showing their affection in public. They even take it a step further once they notice somebody throwing glances at their direction. I can only sigh in consternation.

Well, such is life. Things do change and usually it happens in a blink of an eye. Being caught in the middle of these drastic changes could be likened to being thrust into the stormy sea wherein the only chance for survival is to go with the tide. However, it wouldn’t hurt that much if we take the road less traveled if and when the occasion calls for it.

Can somebody hand me a Pensieve?