June 18, 1991, 2 A.M. — The moment I took my first breath. Unconsciously, smiles and tears filled the faces of the people around me. That is always the respond of the people whenever a new life is given.
I was an intelligent child (as what most of the people say). I learned to read and write at the age of 3 years old. I use to sing sometimes at a ‘videokehan’ (where I drop 3 pesos for every song) and then, I can read the lyrics, and sing the song. A lot were amazed of me.
I was send to Grade 1 when I was five as a ‘class visitor’. But after two months, I decided to stop and really start at Kindergarten. It was a good decision because I will be missing a piece of childhood (though my teacher said I was the one leading the class).
I have a vague memory now of my kindergarten days. I just saw some of my pictures during our graduation. I was holding then the letter ‘A’, which means ‘valedictorian’. Hehehe.
Now, I really assume that I got mature earlier than the normal. When I was Grade 1, I can still remember when my teacher left; I was the one who was assigned to be her substitute for a while. She was going to the principal’s office, but we were having a quiz. I saw one of my classmates cheating. I got a stick of ‘walis tingting’ and spank him. He cried. Was I wrong? A part of me said that I was right. I was grown in a critical way. Both my parents and teachers have been teaching me not to cheat. “Cheating is Bad” as what they said. Isn’t it that what I did is justifiable?
But, something was telling me that “James, you are bad! You better watch out! Your teacher is coming in a short while. She will get mad at you!” Oh my gosh! I remembered. Ma’am was indeed coming. As what I expected, she got mad at me. I was summoned then from the principal’s office. And so was my mother. My mother, also, got angry. That time, I felt everyone was angry and mad at me.
Was I really wrong? Perhaps, it’s a yes and a no. Even now, as a 17-year old guy, I cannot judge it whether right or wrong. Perhaps, here comes the issue of maturity. Maturity is really difficult to recognize and identify but for me, maturity is the ability to discern things as right or wrong and be able to make important decisions. It does not necessarily mean that a mature person should be at this age. There is no definite standard for maturity in terms of age. The question now is, is it wrong to judge certain things as right or wrong? Though you already have the justifications that what that person did was indeed wrong? My answer to this is NO. For some it’s wrong, but they have to consider the legitimacy of the purposes why they did it. Perhaps, disciplining is a reason. (We have to take note here that disciplining is not abusing.). In the near future, you’ll find it beneficial.
I just smile every time I remember those times. Did I turn mature early? For me, yes. I got an early maturity in terms of intellectual capacity, responsibilities and critical thinking. It sounds ‘proud’ but, it is not a big deal, isn’t it? It is part of a person’s personal development. It just happened that mine was early.
It was very early that I encountered a lot of quandary. I have learned to be strong but vulnerable since being strong doesn’t always demand for invulnerability. Being strong also means you already accepted what would be the possible consequences in fighting, whether to win it or lose it. Invulnerability doesn’t manifest absence of strength. It is just every person has emotions, and emotions are not always our strengths, but can be our great weaknesses that can lead to a failure. But, I am strong. My parents made me strong from their teachings. I sometimes remember a phrase “Not all teachings are learning.” This made me critical. This made me fight. This made me face the battles without turning backs.
My past holds a big role of me now. ‘James’ now is the result of what he experienced before ―on how he viewed his reality ―that made him EXTRAORDINARY.
I was an intelligent child (as what most of the people say). I learned to read and write at the age of 3 years old. I use to sing sometimes at a ‘videokehan’ (where I drop 3 pesos for every song) and then, I can read the lyrics, and sing the song. A lot were amazed of me.
I was send to Grade 1 when I was five as a ‘class visitor’. But after two months, I decided to stop and really start at Kindergarten. It was a good decision because I will be missing a piece of childhood (though my teacher said I was the one leading the class).
I have a vague memory now of my kindergarten days. I just saw some of my pictures during our graduation. I was holding then the letter ‘A’, which means ‘valedictorian’. Hehehe.
Now, I really assume that I got mature earlier than the normal. When I was Grade 1, I can still remember when my teacher left; I was the one who was assigned to be her substitute for a while. She was going to the principal’s office, but we were having a quiz. I saw one of my classmates cheating. I got a stick of ‘walis tingting’ and spank him. He cried. Was I wrong? A part of me said that I was right. I was grown in a critical way. Both my parents and teachers have been teaching me not to cheat. “Cheating is Bad” as what they said. Isn’t it that what I did is justifiable?
But, something was telling me that “James, you are bad! You better watch out! Your teacher is coming in a short while. She will get mad at you!” Oh my gosh! I remembered. Ma’am was indeed coming. As what I expected, she got mad at me. I was summoned then from the principal’s office. And so was my mother. My mother, also, got angry. That time, I felt everyone was angry and mad at me.
Was I really wrong? Perhaps, it’s a yes and a no. Even now, as a 17-year old guy, I cannot judge it whether right or wrong. Perhaps, here comes the issue of maturity. Maturity is really difficult to recognize and identify but for me, maturity is the ability to discern things as right or wrong and be able to make important decisions. It does not necessarily mean that a mature person should be at this age. There is no definite standard for maturity in terms of age. The question now is, is it wrong to judge certain things as right or wrong? Though you already have the justifications that what that person did was indeed wrong? My answer to this is NO. For some it’s wrong, but they have to consider the legitimacy of the purposes why they did it. Perhaps, disciplining is a reason. (We have to take note here that disciplining is not abusing.). In the near future, you’ll find it beneficial.
I just smile every time I remember those times. Did I turn mature early? For me, yes. I got an early maturity in terms of intellectual capacity, responsibilities and critical thinking. It sounds ‘proud’ but, it is not a big deal, isn’t it? It is part of a person’s personal development. It just happened that mine was early.
It was very early that I encountered a lot of quandary. I have learned to be strong but vulnerable since being strong doesn’t always demand for invulnerability. Being strong also means you already accepted what would be the possible consequences in fighting, whether to win it or lose it. Invulnerability doesn’t manifest absence of strength. It is just every person has emotions, and emotions are not always our strengths, but can be our great weaknesses that can lead to a failure. But, I am strong. My parents made me strong from their teachings. I sometimes remember a phrase “Not all teachings are learning.” This made me critical. This made me fight. This made me face the battles without turning backs.
My past holds a big role of me now. ‘James’ now is the result of what he experienced before ―on how he viewed his reality ―that made him EXTRAORDINARY.
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