Either definition applies to anyone who rises up to the challenge of college life. The mamugasay may be the butt of jokes and gossip every now and then, or the person wowed and congratulate for a job done excellently. Either way, the mamugasay is a person envied and assured of a good future. For this matter, you shall find no ordinary mamugasays in the EA Division.

We pride ourselves to be in a division where “many have tried, but only few survived”. Where people having above average I.Q.’s study. It is in this division where math problems are no mundane mind exercises; extra effort should be taken just to pass. Sometimes, even when we have done everything in our ability, a desired mark cannot still be reached.

In a class, there may only be one or a few distinguished mamugasays; but why only a few? Is being a mamugasay a good or a bad thing? Some of my classmates define the “mamugasay” as someone who just studies and studies without having a social life. They are afraid to take on the “mamugasay mode” because they may lose their valued social friends if they start “focusing”. One of my teachers even reprimanded the class for taunting my “bugas” classmate; telling them that there is nothing wrong with being hardworking. Come to think of it, those classmates of mine who loathed the mamugasay are a tad behind their subjects, while the mamugasay remained afloat.

A mamugasay may be the four-eyed, pimple-streaked hard worker who rarely gets a grade below 90, or the genius who effortlessly aces in his or her subjects. It is rare to find someone who combines both. The mamugasay may give his or her everything already, but still gets an unsatisfactory grade; but as we all know, the turtle in the race always catches up. This is a quote I shall never forget from my high school calculus teacher: “When talent doesn’t work, hard work beats talent.”

To bugas or not to bugas: it’s a question we ourselves could only answer. It is a matter of making our own decisions as to what we do with our time, the friends we keep, the influences we follow, and the ideals that eventually mold us. All work and no play make the bugas too sticky, and all play and no work makes the nutcase empty. For you, my dear future engineers and architects, I long to see the day that the love for your work manifests itself in the structures you build someday. People will silently thank the comfort and productivity resulting from your dedication. Now, that’s a life well lived.