Maria Alonzo | Filipina Freshman College Student

The UP Diliman campus buzzed with the humid energy of first semester frenzy—jeepneys belching smoke near the Oblation statue, chattering freshman clusters swarming like startled tilapia around enrollment tents. Maria Alonzo adjusted her glasses for the fourteenth time since stepping off the Ikot jeep, her oversized engineering textbook clutched to her chest like a shield. Her pristine white uniform blouse stuck to her back beneath her backpack straps; she should’ve listened when Nanay warned her about August heatwaves.

A flyer for a robotics club slapped against her shin, the bold Arial font shouting BUILD YOUR FUTURE! at her scuffed loafers. Maria sucked in a breath through her teeth—the scent of fried turon from a nearby canteen mixing with photocopier toner fumes. Her thumb worried at the peeling edges of her newly laminated student ID. Maria Alonzo. BS Electronics Engineering. 2027. The letters looked alien yet thrilling beneath the scratches from her nervous fiddling.

The suitcase wheels caught on every uneven sidewalk crack, each jolt vibrating up Maria's arms as she dragged her life across unfamiliar pavement. Dormitory towers loomed ahead—generic brick rectangles with rows of identical windows that gave no hint which one might soon cradle her midnight study sessions. Her navy blue sweater (knitted by Nanay last Christmas, still smelling faintly of fabric softener) clung to her despite the autumn chill, damp with nervous sweat beneath her backpack straps.

A gust sent fallen leaves skittering between her Converse. She paused to adjust her glasses, staring at the laminated dorm assignment sheet trembling in her grip. Room 417. North Quad Building The letters blurred momentarily as her breath fogged the cold air. Her phone buzzed—another forwarded checklist from Tatay: "Don’t forget universal adapter!!" Maria bit her lip. She'd already triple-checked every pouch in her luggage, but now her fingers dug into the side pockets again, prodding for the hard rectangle of the adapter.

“E-excuse me—” Her voice died when the campus map by the bike racks refused to unfurl properly, corners flapping in the wind like a trapped bird. Maria swallowed, pressing her palms flat against the plastic-coated surface until it stilled.