The Very First Tahilan Alumnae Reunion

As soon as I got down from the car and stood in front of the Residence, flashbacks of college days and Eskwela Saturdays filled my thoughts and warmed my heart. I was excited to attend the reunion and I couldn’t wait to see old faces that I shared most of my college memories with. The Tahilan Alumni Reunion was held on December 12, 2010 at the beautiful 2396 Leon Guinto Tahilan Residence. Stepping into the residence home made me smile, but as soon as I heard Brevs scream my name in excitement, “Ate Gelly!!”, it just made me laugh.

After registering and saying a few hi’s and hello’s to the residents, it was time to celebrate the Holy Mass in the oratory with Fr. Peñacoba. The oratory was as beautiful and serene as I last saw it. It reminded me of the days I would spend minutes and hours praying about concerns, families, friends, the Eskwela kids, my co-residents, my studies, my thesis, my practicum and even my vocation. After the Holy Mass, we sang the Tahilan happy birthday song to one of the former residents, I think she was from batch 2003 / 2004. It reminded me of the morning the staff and other residents sang happy birthday to me on the morning of September 13^th, 2006. It was purely nostalgic.

The next activity was my favorite activity in Tahilan… eating! For lunch, I stayed at the directress’ table and we all shared about our current jobs, reminisced about the good ol’ days and even laughed about funny moments in the tea room—the favorite place residents would hang out. I missed the part when the students from Maligaya would serve us food as part of their training When the dessert was finally being served, the “Aleron” was sung to show our appreciation for the good food that was served. Oh I miss dining at Tahilan.

For the get-together, there were games—charades, a skit about the meaning of Christmas that was played out alumnae from different batches, and we did introductions wherein I got to learn and meet the former residents back from the 90’s. A letter from Sarah, who is now based in Cebu, was read aloud in front of us. I appreciated her letter a lot. It made me realize how bonded the Tahilan family is. We had family picture takings and gift exchange as well, but my favorite part of the reunion was seeing everyone happy and bonded, despite the age gaps, it seemed like we were close as sisters. That’s what I miss about Tahilan the most, being able to open up to the people in the house, becoming a better person through other people’s good examples and learning to care about other people more than yourself.

The Tahilan Alumnae Reunion made me reminisce about my college days, the challenges I went through, the life lessons I learned. Tahilan and the people never fail to make me smile and feel at home. Until this day, I still keep in touch with my mentor, Judith, and tell her my concerns and problems, I keep in touch with my Tahilan friends and keep that bond strong because they make me a better person, but most of all, I keep running back to Tahilan because it is truly a home away from home.