30/04/2026
๐๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐๐ก๐๐ซโ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐
You walk into a room of intimidation; everybody in their seats within the classroom seems sure of where they belong, unlike you, who is not sure how you passed the qualifying examination and are now about to sit among the one hundred twenty students who made it to the accountancy cut.
You recognize a few familiar faces, but the tension in the room is something you have experienced only once in your college lifeโon your first day of class. Suddenly, it feels like the first day again. Then you find an empty seatโbeside the qualifying examinationโs rank three. And you donโt know how your life will change when you share a row with him for the rest of your accountancy journey.
You meet him as ๐๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐, a name that precedes its owner. You have known the name even before you met himโa top-performing student who makes noise as someone who only misses a few questions in major exams, or whose name always appears on the first page of the programโs deanโs list. You know that he is intellectually competent and prepared for this program, and again, he is unlike you.
The first semester of third year begins, and you start to learn about his habits. He is always among the earliest blockmates to arrive in the room. He lives around twenty-seven kilometers away from the university, yet his five-in-the-morning travel prepares him for the day. You seldom see him prepare for class because he does that at night or days before. When major professors discuss topics, he already knows how he will answer or even what questions he will ask. And again, he is unlike you.
As months go by, you become one of his closest friends even beyond the classroom. You share your program organization with him as executive officers. You talk about things other than academics, and through your random conversations, you learn that โ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข.
He also has his fair share of struggles within the program. Being an only child in a highly supportive and warm family that does not put pressure on him, he takes and brings upon himself the pressure to always perform and excel. You learn that it takes him many late nights and early mornings to keep up with the demands of the program. The things he achieves are not products of overnight perseverance but of a consistent pursuit of excellence.
One night, he reaches out to you to talk more deeply about the things that trouble him. You realize that this program overwhelms everyone, including the topnotcher, with worries and lets you be consumed by your thoughts. Then you also realize that for the person he has been and the person he is becoming, ๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐ โ๐๐. He is bound by excellence because it is his conscious choice to always give his best in the things that he does. He surpasses his limits because he defines them first before breaking through them. He is Jerome because he builds that name for himself.
Now, you see him as Jerome Simaraโa person who precedes the name. He always reaches out his hand to assist and help others in the program in any way he can, such as tutoring, sharing his personal tips and techniques, and responding to othersโ confusion about the lessons.
At the core of everything, as you are about to graduate together, it all comes down to the truth that maybe he is just like youโwith deep dreams, sincere desires to succeed in life, and the passion to keep making the world better in your own ways.
This is your POV as the topnotcherโs seatmate, and I hope that, in his own POV, โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ โ๐๐.
โ๏ธKevin Bjorn Janda
๐ทElizeo Kerby Rivera
