By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
One of the few attractive parts of going to school for most of the year is the absence of competition with other students for jeepneys in some months. Bakasyon time for younger students, usually means smooth sailing in public transportation for older students. Now that almost everyone is back at school, we all have to sleep a bit earlier to one up the others.
Since perfection is a divine trait, you can only expect students to fall a bit short of the perfect scale. Late we all have been a couple of times in our lives.
To all of us who must commute from outside the city, the standards are a bit different to get to school early and on time. If all must get up early to be on time, then we must wake up earlier. If lady luck is on our side, then a jeepney with an open seat will pass us by without much waiting. Though when the sun is so fiercely shining on the window, then we all cope by seeing others also in the same boat.
Even with luck, there is little one can do, when jeepneys are already full. Though one will wake up early in the morning, if there are simply too many people going to the city, then getting transportation will simply be next to impossible.
It does help when a jeepney driver shares in students’ predicaments. When seats are quickly being filled up, they give priority to these students when the bright morning have made it obvious the little possibility of them getting to class on time.
It gives a reassuring feeling when they even ask if we are already late. In one of the days when all the jeepneys were full, I was lucky enough to get on one, though time was already ticking to nervous hours. There were younger students down the road who were on the same boat, though a kind driver had picked us up and shared in our plight.
To get to the main school in our area, it was necessary to make use of a detour away from the main highway. The ride took us all straight to their school, though that meant everyone else was a bit late, no one felt the need to complain.
It is often said that it takes a whole village to raise a child. With everyone working together to raise the young, then they will surely grow up to be proper adults.
Understanding others’ plights and helping them instead of berating them, especially the young, teaches them the right things to learn. Guiding them to be more understanding while avoiding sowing within them worthful seeds, will make the future a bit brighter and kind to others.
All students need all the help they can get. Opportunities to give them so, and taking them, contributes to all our future.**
