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.