Message to Mom

This is a re-post from my old blog.

It was some time in February, 1987 and I was in Grade 6. I was among the top students in my class and the proclaimed winner of the recently held TAGISAN NG TALINO (equivalent to Quiz Bee these days) in our district.

I was full of AIR in my HEAD.

So full that I called my cousin, ‘tanga’ (stupid) when she did not understand what I was trying to explain. My exact words were, ‘napakatanga mo naman!’ (you are so stupid) which was heard by my mother, who was incidentally passing by. She waited until my cousin was out of earshot then she said to me..

‘Remember this always. No matter how good you are in what you do, there is someone out there who is better than you. So, don’t ever look down on other people…’ (tandaan mo to palagi, kung magaling ka man, meron pang ibang magaling at mas magagaling pa kaysa sayo, kaya wag na wag kang magmamaliit ng kapwa mo).

And I want to THANK my mother for such a valuable lesson on humility.. I know there are so many things I should thank her for, and there are so many ways I can repay her for all the things she did for me and for my own family. But I do not know of any way I can teach her a lesson, ANY LESSON, the way she taught me that day..

'MA, I may not be as successful as other people expected me to be, but I know you NEVER STOP BELIEVING IN ME..'