By Jan Vicente B. Pekas“You never know what your going to see, you never know if the next view is what sets you off down a path you’ve never known before. “
Like my parents, I am a “kabaw” as they call it, a forgetful person. My issue has been so long-lasting that sometimes going out from my home and then immediately going back in because of a forgotten item feels strange. The norm has always been me going back inside twice to double check and get any of my forgotten items.
But even as forgetful as I am, there are still events or perhaps experiences that I can still remember vividly. Even if these events took place a long time ago, I can remember what happened and how I felt. These experiences are those that took part in shaping who am I today and perhaps will never fade anytime soon. For better or for worse, we are who we are today thanks in part to such experiences.
One of the events took place when I was on a bus going from Baguio to Manila. The bus went on the skyway and at the top I saw an absurd view. Absurd enough that it imprinted itself on my mind and sad enough that it will always tug at the heart when I try to reminisce about it. The view was that of a great cluster of shabby houses built with no foresight or any thought of planning in terms of the orderly placements of peoples’ homes.
The streets were tight and small and the electrical wirings, as always, were all over the place. Children still played with energy while the elderly sat under the few places with shade. The sight was enough to destroy the mood of a person particularly the exaggeratedly beautiful and clean church just beside the cluster of shabby houses. It made things worse for me.
There were several sights like it. Beside the highways, shacks that might collapse any minute serving as homes for people are right beside big platforms for beautiful tarpaulins of celebrities or big companies. These opposing sights of rich and poor beside each other was so bizarre to me at that time. It all definitely had a hand in the way I think and forming my ambition to this day.
I am a firm believer that people must try going outside of their home provinces for some time. To see their own country and the state of fellow Filipinos in different parts of the Philippines. This, I believe, is a great catalyst for growth and personal development. It may even help us solidify whatever thoughts we were unsure of before, and overall, seeing and experiencing things is how we grow into the persons we are meant to be. You never know what you’re going to see, if the next view is what sets you off down a path you’ve never known before. **
