My father would wake me up at eight in
the morning. I will timidly eat breakfast and he will give me a gentle and
quick bath and get prepped up with my freshly ironed school uniform. He works
at night so he will wait until the class ends at noon, fetch me and walk me
home. This happened for almost a month when I started to learn how to write
sensibly and read simple words. The month that followed became an ordeal for me
however. He would no longer walk me to school and worse I had to go to class
without him waiting for me outside and walking me home when class ends. A mix
of fear and panic is so inevitable that I literally cried everyday. Eventually,
I was able to forget these feelings when I started to meet new friends and
learn a lot of new and interesting things. I became at ease with myself and
with my new environment. After barely three months, I have learned to walk to
school alone and go home by myself.
This first experience taught me that
life is a series of holding- on and letting- go. I learned this from my father
who first held me and walked me to school because he is somebody whom I can
trust and be protected with. His hands have a strong and assuring grasp in them
which remind me that support is always there when needed most especially when
life is always started with new beginnings. However, I have known that the path
laid before me is not meant to be traveled this way forever. There is always
the 'letting- go' aspect of it. It started with the experience of going to
school and walking back home all by myself
that allowed me to accept this reality. Because of necessity fueled by
an instinct to survive, I have mastered myself to overcome fear and stand up
with the pain and adversity. Life, as they always speak about, is like a sea of
uncertainty and our parents are our paddles that steer our ship off the shore
through the waves and the wind. A journey is about to be started and slowly
they will let go and allow us to face the harsh winds and enormous waves
wherein lessons are learned making the heart strong and the mind sharp that the
our cups are slowly filled with valuable treasures.
The deeper knowledge of the uncertain and the foreboding of being left alone force us to mentally prepare ourselves by assuming responsible and mature roles. Though it may seem that going to school is just a ritual of preparation for independence, we are bound to imitate independence and fortify it when we are finally thrown and tested into the real world of grown- ups. We may become uneasy, doubtful and hesitant but when we learn how face challenging situations we begin to take flight independently. The only thing that matters is how we live up our lives that the hands that took care of us will never despair.
Summer is over and schools has opened
days ago. New sailors have started to embark on a new journey bringing only
with them ambition and inspiration. I can see a great deal of myself in them.
Those were the days that the only thing I can think of right now is smile on
how innocent I was, on how young and dependent I was. Things have changed a lot
and I believe I have learned so much.
