DO YOU remember when you argued about toys and acquiring a couple of them speaks a lot about your childhood? The time when you shared snacks with your friends, racing along the hallway with your large bags with wheels, and don’t forget those sweats while playing in-between classes -- for every kid, it was a dream. How I miss those days. If I have a power to time travel, these are the moments I would like to revisit.
Now, in my 20s, I thought it would be like those Disney movies I’ve watched. But it never came to my mind that life would be this ambiguous. Before, I used to cry over toys. Now, I’m shedding tears for not having my own savings account. The struggle on what snacks I should put in my lunchbox became a hustle to earn a degree and get a decent job.
Maturity slowly slapped me with truths that are hard to process such as how friendships are not forever, success is never guaranteed unless you work hard for it, and failure is normal but surrendering is not.
I always thought of wishing to be a kid forever. But time has become tricky, and fate becomes desperate, so if you don’t know how to play the rules of life, you would miss a lot of opportunities.
Moreover, these struggles have become a driving force to maximize my potential to grow, learn, and unlearn things.
It is in my 20s when I learn that it is fine to start again and save my energy for people worthy of it. And manifesting negativity resonates and creates ripple effects around you. So let us always allot time for ourselves rather than investing it to impress the standards of our society. Remember that you are entitled to your choices, but never pave way to make the same mistake twice.
Reaching this far is a milestone that I will treasure. As I celebrate my 22nd birthday this year, I have acknowledged how broken I am as an individual, but I realized how strong I am as a person.
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Kit Martin De Paula is a third year AB Communication student at UNO-R. He is exposed to various fields such as public speaking, campus journalism, and broadcasting.
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Jottings is a new segment by SunStar Bacolod’s Opinion section. It features short and personal essays. To submit, kindly send an essay between 300-500 words. Please include a two-sentence bio note and email them to sunstarbacoloddesk@gmail.com.