Witness

“Even the best racehorse has to stop for oats once in awhile.” — T.J. Bower

Red as crimson was the blood that spattered abundantly from my toe following a tough fall over the ground, a perfect complement to my all-red Christmas wardrobe one humid afternoon when I was on my way to the province.

REMEMBERING the previous years of my life, I am completely convinced how different “now” is from “then.” I grew up with perhaps all the luxuries any child could ask for because my mother had a stable job. I even recall that after my morning classes, I’ll just stay in my air-conditioned room playing Sega all day while my yaya spoon feeds me with whatever food I want.

“Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” — Denis Waitley

TRUDGING with strangers through the muddy and slippery mountains seemed like an unlikely option to spend Christmas. But that just made a Christmas of mine as a worthwhile and meaningful one.

“My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant… Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” — Pilot, The Little Prince

Since high school, my daily routine seemed not to entail anything productive. Each day would always start with waking up late. And after a meal, my day would revolve around a computer, if not, my friends. I paid less and less attention to my studies during regular school days. And I always had that feeling of skipping classes or just being absent the whole day; hence, failing grades.

That has become my perennial problem. At the start of every year, I always wanted to change, to feel something different and worthwhile. But entering college made it more complicated.