Ugly Duckling Story: How I Started My Life in the City
Terrible may be considered an
understatement to describe the days when I was still starting my life here in Baguio
City.
I was a young, skinny,
ignorant Sagada lad who stepped on the grounds of Saint Louis University to
take up a degree in Communications.
Undeniably, I was the poorest
soul who had no contact mobile number to write on every class card issued to us in every subject. My Filipino teacher Mrs. Peralta even called me to her desk verify
that I really do not have a mobile phone.
I introduced myself as
a person from Sagada but I knew my classmates had a clue because I used my
Sagada Weaving bag consistently. And yes, I never denied being an Igorot. One teacher once asked me if I studied at St. Mary's School- I finished my secondary education at Sagada National High School.
When dealing my classmates,
I had some tough time speaking Filipino because my native language is Kankanaey
(combined with English). It took me months to polish my conversational Filipino and be comfortable with the language every Pinoy should know how to speak.
Good thing that regionalism
is not a big factor in other subjects like Math and Logic giving me more chances
of getting good quiz scores.
In Theology classes, I was
one of the different kids who struggled to take Catholicism as the "homepage" of our religious thoughts. I was an Anglican studying in a Catholic university.
When I got sick with flu
for weeks, I thought there was only one pharmacy in the city that sells Lagundi
leaves capsule.
Everyday, I had to ride the jeep then
walk a few blocks to reach school. I thought riding a taxi would cost me a thousand. I had no idea that all taxis are white.
However, I knew the story
will not end in June of that year because we had four years to show my real
skin. Four years after, I was one of the proud kids getting a diploma in front of a huge crowd after surviving those terrible days.
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ReplyDeleteI love the article =)
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