She runs. The camera shakes. 720p never looked so real.
Her groupmates in GC: “Sis, yung reaction paper bukas na pala.” Maria stares at the camera like Jim from The Office .
Maria laughs for the first time all day.
“Hindi pang-4K ‘yung buhay ko. Minsan malabo, minsan pixelated, minsan nagba-buffer. Pero 720p? Okay na. Kita pa rin naman ‘yung ngiti ko, kahit papano.” i--- BUHAY ISTUDYANTE - RapsaBabe TV 2024 720p
Professor drones about postmodern hermeneutics. Maria’s notebook is empty except for a doodle of a stressed cat and the words “Wala na akong maramdaman, except gutom.”
The screen glitches again. The title corrects itself:
The camera captures her guilt. She types on-screen text later: “Sobrang baba na ng pamasahe, bumaba pa lalo pagkatao ko.” She runs
“Para sa lahat ng nagta-try i-render ang sarili nila sa low-spec na mundo. Laban lang, estudyante.”
“Hindi ko alam kung thesis o resignation letter una kong gagawin,” she deadpans.
RapsaBabe explains: “Yung ‘i---’ hindi ‘i-cross out.’ Ito ay iNDEPENDENT . Kasi kahit sabihin nating sabay-sabay tayong nahihirapan, sa huli, ikaw pa rin magfa-finalize ng group project. Ikaw pa rin magde-decide kung kakain ka ng instant noodles o tutulog na lang. Independent. Mag-isa. Pero hindi naman nag-iisa.” Her groupmates in GC: “Sis, yung reaction paper
He sighs. “Sakay na. Utang mo na lang sa grades mo.”
“WAIT, WAIT. REAL TALK. Alam niyo ba na ang average student ngayon ay may 3.2 hours of sleep, 5 cups of coffee, at 12 existential crises per week? Kaya nga ‘i--- BUHAY ISTUDYANTE’ – ‘i’ as in ako , ako ang nabubuhay sa impyernong ito… pero keri lang?”
“Nawala sa oras, mga beh,” she whispers to the vlog cam propped on a stack of Noli and El Fili . “Ginawang alarm ‘yung prayer ko kagabi. Instead na 'Amen,' nakatulog na.”