Here’s a picture of the palancas my
friends gave me. They are supposed to be given during retreat only and not
during immersion like what we had last July. Nevertheless, I think palancas or
good luck letters are expressions of how people such as my dearest friends care
for me.
Here is a picture of my world! Wondering why I said “world”? What you can
see are five boxes. Inside each speaks of me and tells something about my life.
This will take quite longer which will cause me to post several continuations to
prevent a very long post. So let’s start!
This is my mini- green box. This was originally a box of a wallet my
father bought. He has this habit of putting aside things that are useless for
him like this box. So found this in his drawer and got it knowing that this
will only end up in the trash bin if he finds this first. I wrapped it with
matching colored wrappers, green and blue green. Isn’t in cute?
Inside are wallet-size photos of me and my friends taken in Fuji Film and
Picture City. The oldest of these was taken when I was still in Grade 5. The
latest was just taken last August 23. (Someday, I will post these pictures in a
closer view each and tell you when each was taken)
This pink and violet box was also originally a wallet box. My classmate,
Kristah, gave me this one ordinary day. Guess what? I never knew there is such
thing called “dream catcher”! Until now, I haven’t placed this near y bed. I
might not be able to dream of good stuff even though its purpose is just to
prevent me from having nightmares. (Every night I look forward to having nice
and memorable dreams. Unfortunately, I would forget them the moment I wake up.)
This blue box is a box for a CD my father bought. I first saw it when I
was scavenging for scraps that might be of use for any projects I might have
this school year. The moment I saw it, I never hesitated to keep it in my
secret corner in the room. Its emo-type design really caught my attention. So
its purpose now is a case for my sticky notes. I am fond of collecting sticky
notes or post its. But as of now, I only have a few. (Looking forward for some
more sticky notes as gifts!)
This last one is my green box. It keeps most of my life’s stories,
history, legends and tales. No one has actually opened this box while knowing
the history of each object placed in it. The moment you open it, you might have
an instant conclusion of who I am… the real me.
So just let it remain closed. I am still in the decision mode whether or
not I will tell you about the things inside my green box. Honestly, most people
know me 50% (or even less) only.
One last thing; one obvious (If you are observant) thing about me is that
my favorite color is green… not the vivid one but the various shades of it such
as yellow green, mint green, pastel green, blue green and many more!
A group of students were discussing a picture of a family. In the picture, one little boy had a different hair color compared to the other family members.
“Why do you think that his hair color is different?” asked the teacher.
“Maybe he is adopted?” suggested the boy.
A little girl said, “I know all about adoptions because I am adopted.”
“What does that mean to be adopted?” asked another child.
“It means,” said the girl, “that you grew in your mother’s heart instead of her tummy.”
From October 28 to 30, that is three days, I attended the Regional Science Olympiad and Congress. With me were eleven other high school students namely Rae, Hannah, Krizza, Felise, Dymphna, manangs in the 3rd year: Jessica, Yanny, Kylie, and 4th year: Nina, Justine and Mocha. Meet new friends, learn new stuff and have fun were the top three things we did.
We spent most of the time under the heat of the sun. Some of the games we played were Egg Relay, Catapult, Tug-of-War, and Mechanical Arm, modified pass the Message, Super Bakya or Kadang-kadang, and Human Circuit. We also answered Science-related questions. We also had Lecture and Quiz Bee per year level. And four of us participated in the Super Quiz Bee by schools. As of now, we don’t know the final and official results but hopefully we made it to the top 5. I missed the parade and pledge ceremony but according to the campers who attended, the parade was the best time to make friends with other schools.
The AC 3rd year campers enjoyed making friends with the Sun Yat Sen learners. The three-day Science Camp was exhausting but fun. I met new friends coming from the province of Guimaras, Antique, Capiz, and towns of Dingle, Dumangas and many more.
On the third day, I did not join in the games anymore. Instead, I stayed in our quarter and slept. I did not have a good sleep the previous night because the last program, Scientist Look-Alike Pageant, ended twelve midnight. Plus, I slept past two o’clock because I ran out of water for bath. That means I slept without taking a half bath (Yucky, right). My body was sticky and I felt warm. I only had about an hour of sleep because I woke up and immediately took a bath by 4:30 in the morning.
By the end of the day, I felt totally tired and sleepy. Upon reaching home, I took a nap.
10.) She makes sure that I am okay through texting.
9.) She is eager to know more about me not through slow and secret discovery but direct and straightforward questions such as, “What are your hobbies?” and “I notice you always buy C2. Is that your favorite drink?”
8.) She checks on me and makes sure that I am safe.
7.) She is willing to love what I love and learn to like what I like.
6.) She is willing to wait for half an hour just to see and talk to me.
5.) She means what she says and says what she means: “I love you, Bes!”
4.) She shares to me her dreams about me, experiences when she was young, and goals she wants us to fulfill together.
3.) She understands and accepts me for who I am: silent, quite shy and sometimes snobbish.
2.) She knows and senses whenever I have problems. Once she finds out that I am not okay, she goes near and comforts me.
And the number 1 thing (the creepiest but most interesting) I like about my best friend is that:
1.)She once sensed that I went to this particular place and her instinct was correct. I really went to that place. COOL HUH!?
“Whenever I look at my palms, I wonder which of those cute, funny criss-cross lines made me so lucky that I met you.”
-October 14, 2011
“The most wonderful gift from Lord… my Isza!!! Do you know her? She changed my life!”
-October 16, 2011
“I love her more than anyone else. If I’m not mistaken, I love her more than my life. I will do everything just to make her happy. Words are not enough to let her know how much I love her!”
-October 16, 2011
Believe me. These words came from the heart of my best friend.
Every single day, we come across several people. May it be in school or not. Different people may come our way and then we make friends. But what is unusual and rare in this instance we all undergo everyday in our lives? That is, building friendship- deeper friendship- with a person you did not expect to enter your life. At first, both of your pathways intersected. Then, something in the complex neurons in your brain tells you to go near her. After a while, you realize that there is something different about her that triggers you to take a break and chat with her. Then as time passes by, you both become closer than before to the extent of becoming best friends.
Before she became my best friend, she was a total stranger to me. Okay, I saw her along my way and then that was all. A few years passed and I seemed to notice her most of the time. It did not take a long time when we finally had short conversations about simple things. Then, it slowly developed into having deeper topics such as about one’s self, likes and dislikes, and all the rest. “I want to know you better. What are your favorite foods and what are your hobbies?” she asked once. It all started there. I lived my life the usual way, wake up, go to school and learn, have some fun, go home and do homework, so on and so forth. Then here comes an investigator of my life, making me feel that I am missing something. I am missing something very important and that made me feel incomplete.
“I want… I want you to… be my…best friend,” she said at last. I was speechless. I was shocked that I cannot respond to the things she said. No one… not one has ever said this to me. She was the first who told me that. Coming from a friend I did not expect to be close with, everything in my mind changed. I had to make a decision. Will I say YES or reject this offer? I was having second thoughts. If I will accept it, I will have to accept also that time will come she will leave me. If I will reject, that means I might be missing the chance of being the luckiest person in the world for having a best friend like her. “She could be the one of the missing pieces,” said my mind. It ended with a YES. And there she is, my best friend.
So far, I am enjoying her company. I love her so much that we say it to each other more than twice in day. We only have a little time being together. When we have the chance to be with each other, we grab it like there is no tomorrow. When I am with her, we can talk about anything. I can share what I feel and I am free to say and do anything while I am with her. She knows several things about me and so do I. As much as possible, I want her to be my first and last best friend. After a month, I came to a conclusion that she is really one of the missing pieces. One of the missing pieces I never knew I would find from her.
I set the alarm at 4 o’clock in my phone the night before, yet my body clock woke me up at around 3:45 in the morning of that Friday. I took my phone and sent the message I saved in the drafts folder to this person- this friend. In less than 3 minutes, she replied and said she is thankful for the greeting. We had an exchange of text messages for about twice and she told me to go back to sleep for it was very early. I just closed my eyes until five. As I was trying to fall asleep, I imagined how good and fun the day will be the moment I step in the school.
And the day was starting to be what I wanted it to be- fun all the way with no stress and disappointment. I greeted her for the second time, but this time, in person. I hugged her so tight a she thanked me again for the greeting and as I greet her again. My former classmates, the MICHAELITES, were telling me that they are getting more excited as the time passes. I rushed to every second year classroom to check if my former classmates were there. I asked them to sign in one black cardboard by lunchtime. By afternoon, we ran to the classroom and packed our things, ran down to the ARC and met with my former classmates. We waited for almost half an hour just to greet her as a whole family. We went to the door next to her table at the Faculty room. With the surprise appearance of her former ‘daughters’ and a background music, I Swear, we all had a little but, for me, special reunion. We gave the cake and for the best part, the frame, which she thought when seeing the back part was a painting. It was so special to me that I almost shed a tear seeing some of them crying. I gave my former sisters a hug and we started reminiscing the fun moments we had the previous year. We ate a part of the cake with our bare hands as the knife and spoon. We spend some minutes of chatting of how our lives have been this second year. It was nice seeing their faces again after some time. We parted ways with hugs and kisses, as usual. We all greeted her just like the previous year. We surprised her, the same as last year. We, again, had a good time just like the days we missed. We pleased her heart with simply with our greetings and presence. Yet it was a big thing… it was something special… something to cherish. And you know her, the birthday celebrator every August 19 of the year aside from Mr. Romero and other people- MRS. SARDUA.
Yesterday, I was thirteen, now I turned fourteen. Today is the 26th day of June and it is written on my birth certificate. Usually, there is nothing so big deal when it is the day before my birthday, but yesterday was really something. Aside from having a pre-celebration together with my family, I also experienced a last minute pain. We were at the Jaro Cathedral to attend the anticipated Saturday Mass. The last time I entered the cathedral was last year's Centennial Celebration, so when I went inside, I was, as usual, amazed by its beauty especially the statues of various male saints and the paintings at the ceiling. And every time I enter the place, everything seems so solemn. There I predicted that even though I am not with my friends in any of my birthday celebration, this day will be unforgettable.
The Mass has started and we were already singing the Gloria when I saw a white thing moving on the floor beside the pew where we were seated. The people near that side looked at the white thing. I was curious so I also gazed. There I found out that it was not a "moving thing" but a lame boy. I bet he was near my age or even more. He went forward and approached a woman, asking for alms. He stretched out his hand with a slipper. Yes, a slipper. Instead of his feet wearing a pair of slippers, his hands were the ones using them. Luckily, the woman gave him a penny of an amount which I don't know. Then he went back to the side of our pew and asked the old-aged couple for any amount of money. Again, he was given. At that time I was thinking that he will soon come to me for I was just a few centimeters away from the couple ( actually my sister was nearer to them ). As expected, he came to me crawling. I wasn't surprised, but terrified, like the last time I entered that place, when there was a girl also came to us. He stretched his hand to me, yet I looked straight at the altar. I can say some people at my back saw him and what I did. Then my mom poked my dad telling to give the boy money. My dad immediately gave a five-peso coin. Then, that was the time I looked at him. He balanced the coin on the slipper and used his other hand to get it and placed it inside his pocket. I looked at his eyes. After that, I refused to look straight at him again. In his eyes I saw the pain and the burden he has been experiencing. Those pitiful eyes touched me. If only I brought with me my coins, I would never ever hesitate to give him some. There, I caught myself not concentrating to the Mass.
After receiving the coin, I thought he will leave and proceed to other Mass-goers. But no. He didn't. The old woman tapped his shoulder and whispered something to him. Of course I didn't hear a thing, but I can infer that the woman told him to stop going around and stay in one place for awhile. That is because that boy sat at the side of the pew in front of us. And that disturbed me more from listening to the readings. He has a wound near his left eye because he has a makeshift bandage using a white cloth. His feet were like of the Chinese women having lotus feet. They were small and I am sure they had stopped growing. My sister told me that there's a term for the act of the 'sindikato' making the feet of the children turn like the ones of the boy. The priest who I knew and met a year ago was having his homily already when I saw the boy gazing from side to side. He looked at one of the flat screens hung on the pillars of the cathedral. He was resting for a while when he decided to leave. I did not see him after he left. I thought he will come back, but he didn't. The Mass has ended and so we went out. I looked around and saw no sign of him. There were no more beggars outside. Perhaps because it was already past six. I was really eager to know where he went. Maybe he has some friends with him and they searched for shelter. Or maybe he has a family. Or maybe... I hope not... he went to the 'sindikato' to give the money he earned from begging. I hope he didn't. And I hope what my sister said about those 'sindikato' is not true at all. We already reached home after eating in a restaurant, yet his eyes kept on flashing back in my mind. Those pitiful eyes.
My last day being a thirteen year old girl has left a memory in me. And I am sure that this will not just vanish in my mind nor in my heart right away. The, in fact, will leave a scar in my heart. It was just an instant where my eyes meet the ones of a poor boy, probably of my age. That was all. An instance common to all. An instance where one ignores a hand of the poor. " Love the least, the last, and the lost," that's what Fr. Nathaniel ( the celebrant) mentioned in his homily. Now, I always think of him... of his condition and his future. I hope to see him again the next time I go to the Cathedral. And I hope to see him better than yesterday.
We spent most of the time under the heat of the sun. Some of the games we played were Egg Relay, Catapult, Tug-of-War, and Mechanical Arm, modified pass the Message, Super Bakya or Kadang-kadang, and Human Circuit. We also answered Science-related questions. We also had Lecture and Quiz Bee per year level. And four of us participated in the Super Quiz Bee by schools. As of now, we don’t know the final and official results but hopefully we made it to the top 5. I missed the parade and pledge ceremony but according to the campers who attended, the parade was the best time to make friends with other schools.
