its me…

My Green Socks

COPYRIGHT 2004 Financial Times Ltd.
(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Aliza L. Belarmino

WHEN I was in grade school, I never wore of a pair of socks which was not white. Blue, yellow orange and all other colors I considered ugly and mismatched with my well-pressed uniform. In high school I dreaded the times when we had to undergo Citizens Military Training because then we were required to wear black socks.

Now that I am on my second year in college, I usually wear socks that are colored green. And recently I began to wonder how much have I changed.

My choices of colors seem to reflect my views about life in general. When I was younger everything was either black or white, and there was nothing in between. If someone did something bad then he was a sinner who had to be avoided if possible. I always set high standards for myself in every activity I did. I took part in various extra-curricular activities and was bent on excelling in everything so I could win all the praises and attention and become very popular. My focus was on winning, but there were times when luck did not smile at me.

In high school, I never enjoyed the company of my friends and classmates outside of the classroom. I was often away, taking part in competitions, which at times would extend to a week or more. My world then consisted of school, house, church and the places I went to for competitions. My social life was limited to the very rare parties I attended with my classmates. I wasted opportunities to strengthen my bonds with my friends and today they are just faint figures of my past about whom I know so little.

Times have changed. I am now sympathetic towards the people around me. I go out of my way to listen and to know them personally. I may not be the “best” friend, but I know that I am a lot better than I was in high school. I see things now in all the shades of life. Winning is not my goal anymore but learning, enjoying life and passing all my subjects which are now the contests of my life. I no longer locate myself at one extreme side of a problem or an issue but midway, weighing all the facts and information before I make any judgment about people and issues.

Actually the changes in me started when my socks turned green. Who knows if they will be red in the future, but I do not know what my disposition will be if that will happens.

Aliza L. Belarmino, 18, is a Political Science sophomore at the University of the Philippines Cebu College.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Financial Times Ltd.

A Dose of Cold Water

Incognito. My goal for this week and hopefully I’ll be able to do this. I want to get away from all pressures that bother me. Some are real while others are imagined. This may sound contradicting but I’m tired, physically and emotionally.

I’m still 21 years old but I think I have aged so fast. In a span of three months, I’ll be 22.

There are moments when I want drift into an abyss and be an “incognito.” It’s simply undescribable.

So far, I’m still living and aware of my worth in this complicated political world. My political and extra-political work still fuels me to move on and work for social transformation even in my own little way.

Whoah! Life’s tough.

And I’m all set to conquer, survive and suceed!

vacation hang-over

An overnight ship ride plus three more hours of bus travel will take me HOME. Honestly, it is an exhausting journey where you have to endure the heat and dust but the experience never ceases to excite me. The familiar route will always bring back happy memories like my first trip with mama, our first family vacation, my brothers graduation and a whole lot more. Things which I treasure and cherish so much. Life is short as we would try to affirm, hence, I value every moment I spend with my family.

My family is everything for me. The thought of losing them frightens me to the very core of my soul. It would be like falling into an abyss. At this point of my life, I am not ready of the possibility of losing them for that matter.Maybe I’ll never will be.

Last week I was able to visit them just in time to spend Holy Week in our hometown. For five days, I stayed with my family…Gone were the days where I have all the time in the world to stay in Lianga. Well, things have changed. Nevertheless, I enjoyed a lot! As in!

Mama cooked my favorite odong with sardines, ginisang sardines, and I ate her deliciuos buwad. The whole family went to Baugo during Maundy Thursday to take a dip in the beach. Its been quite some time that I earned some sunburn all over my body. Like any other sun burn, it hurts of course!

Right now I’m still savoring the whole experience…I’m still at cloud nine…languishing and basking under the sun. I’m even very excited for my next vacation and hopefully it would be as soon as possible…hahaha…it’s nice to dream some time…

Somehow, I’ve got to end this hangover so that I could finish all my deadlines here in the office. Would Aspirin be fine to douse me off? I think not.