P2LT Aurelio O.

Trampe III OC-1975 PAF

My Life Story: An Ex- Cadet’s Journey Toward Redemption and Overcoming the
Shadows of the Past
“True redemption is seized when you accept the future consequences of your past
mistakes.” -Eduardo Macedo
I can’t help but think about destiny when I recently discovered my application form for
PMA many years after I was discharged and saw that I put “Air force” as my desired
branch of service, something I forgot I did.
I was born on 17th, September, 1994 in Dapitan city, Zamboanga del Norte, the eldest of
four children to a Police Officer father, and a homemaker mother. Being the son of a
cop, I grew up in a sheltered, but comfortable home. Every year, my father, a graduate
of Philippine Military Academy, would visit his Alma Matter during Alumni Homecomings
and would bring the family along. He believed it would grant him luck in his career if he
did that tradition. My earliest memory of this was when I was three and told my parents I
want to be a Cadet one day because I wanted a sword and a gun.
Because my father’s job required him to live in different parts of the country, I grew up in
different cities: Quezon city from 1997 to 2000, Cagayan de Oro city from 2001 to 2011
and since 2011, Taguig city had been my home. Growing up, I developed a slacker
attitude when it came to education. I didn’t fail but didn’t do my best either. Mediocrity
was something I developed because as an eldest child, I grew to hate responsibilities
since I was constantly being pressured to do better and help my family when I become
a professional. As a teenager, I didn’t know what I wanted to become, so I eventually
took a College course that wasn’t my choice. Information Technology was one of the
most in-demand courses in 2011. At the suggestion of my aunt, I took the course in
University of Santo Tomas. The saying, “Find a work you love, and you’ll never have to
work at all”, was a lesson I learned the hard way when after a semester, I realized I
wasn’t into computers and programming. My loss of interest was affirmed when dad
encouraged me to take entrance exams for both Philippine Military Academy and
Philippine National Police Academy to challenge myself and see if I could pass. I failed
to take the former due to a lack of records, but I was able to take the latter for Class
2016 and reached the final test, but failed due to a “heart problem” until now, I believe
was made up by the medical examiners. My drive to enter PNPA made me lose focus
and neglect my IT course. I failed some subjects, which led me to transfer to a school
with less reputation in STI College Global City, and enroll a Business Management
course. My second year was better, but I had a classmate, I really liked. I found
everything I wanted in a girl in her: beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted, and well off. I
knew if I didn’t make something of myself, I could never get a girl like her to be mine. So
I decided to take the exams for the two big Academies again. This time, I was able to
take both and pass. Mom wanted me to go for PNPA, since she feared for my life if I
became a soldier, but dad wanted me to be a cadet in his Alma Matter. I chose the latter
since the Reception was a month earlier.
My two years in PMA were life changing. The first one as a plebe was the most difficult
period of my life. I was in Delta Company, where the tradition was to make the first year
really difficult, but the next three ones easy to give the cadet freedom to focus on
himself. Cadetship was harder for me than it was for many of my classmates since I
was raised without much housework experience, but despite the hardships I faced every
day of my first year, I was able to endure and when the year that felt like eternity
passed, I became an upper-class cadet. Things were different as an upper-class. The
Southern Cruise, where my class spent a month on a ship and had stop-overs in
Palawan, Davao, Zamboanga city and Cebu was the best and most memorable part of
my cadetship. It was there that I developed self-confidence, which I later realized was
arrogance. But it was the quality that gave me what I needed to get the yes from two
attractive girls who’ve never had boyfriends before meeting me. After that month,
cadetship became easier and harder at the same time. It was easier since I had more
freedom, but harder because of the academics and bigger responsibilities. It soon felt
like my I.T. classes all over again when lessons became boring and days became
repetitive. Some expectations as a plebe were not met like becoming an upper-class in
Delta. I was moved to Foxtrot, which had the most notorious tradition of making the first
three years hard and only the last one easy. I was also miserable since I longed to be
with my two girlfriends who were outside and far away. I wanted to be with one or the
other as soon as possible, and the thought of becoming a possible Army Officer made
me lose hope that I might not get what I wanted from life because of my choices. I
began to neglect my cadetship in PMA, the way I neglected my studies in UST. It’s
really wise to learn from past mistakes. Soon I was discharged. I resumed my course in
STI. At first, I felt like an inmate who escaped prison, but soon realized what life as a
former cadet was. People were disappointed in me and judged me and I couldn’t blame
them. I failed myself, and failed the expectations people had of me. When I was a cadet,
I heard someone say we were the cream of the crop, something I took to heart. But
since I left, my life wasn’t living up to its full potential. But I continued on, despite
uncertainty in my life after College. I lost my two girlfriends and regret losing my
cadetship when my classmates graduated, got bullrings and had better careers and
financial situations as military officers. This fueled my desire to be an officer again. After
graduating college, I took the entrance exam for PAFOCC Class 2018 but failed to
make the quota because it took me two tries to pass the PFT. This got me depressed
and caused me to gain weight. I tried again for Class 2019, without expecting much but
this time around, I succeeded. I know I could no longer keep up with my old classmates
from PMA, but being older and more mature now, I realized that at the end of the day,
the only thing that mattered was how I perceived myself. The important thing was that
reached my goal of becoming an officer, even if it’s through a different means than the
one I once had. I needed redemption and to regain my confidence in myself. I am
thankful for all my past failures and frustrations because I wouldn’t be where I am today
without them.
I chose the Air Force because as a family man, I wanted to be an officer that could be
there for my future kids, something my father wasn’t able to do much because of his
work. I learned more from mom, who was always there and I want to raise my kids to
learn all they need from their father, something I didn’t have the privilege of. In the
future, I dream of one day becoming Commandant of the PAFOCS and making a
program exemplifying professionalism that will mold the cadets with the perfect blend of
what I’ve learned from PMA and PAFOCS.