Saturday, October 21, 2006
Something aB0ut 0ur fRiendsHip...
Essays... para s0mething new...
Our Friendship: Then and Now
The only constant thing in this world is change. No matter how much we would wish things to be the way we want it to be, in its due time, you*ll just be surprised it was already different to the point that you can*t even recognize it had happened to you or it had once been yours and would just wish it was like before.
The plaza was a witness to a certain change that our friendship had undergone.
Back then, we, and by this I mean both the guys and the gals, would gather round the septic tank near the astrodome as a group. We would settle our bags on one side and we*ll form a circle and just talk about anything, even nonsense things. There are times when we brought sports equipments so we could play. We would usually savor all the fun that we could grasp.
Quarreling had never been in our vocabulary, only little misunderstandings. It also happens that some would have communication barriers or have a few squabbles. These things we settled through an open forum at the other isle of the plaza near the football ground. At first, it was the gals* idea for the purpose of getting to know each one of us. It turned out bitter. We didn*t expect then that the guys would invite us for another open forum and by that time, we learned to understand things and even settle others’ petty quarrels.
There is no discrimination either. What I mean is that even though we are distributed into three different sections during our junior year, we still had the connection. We keep in touch with others and we never forget to.
Now, things had totally changed. The septic tank, our kingdom, had been deserted. We still sit at the plaza, but on benches and two separate opposite ones. One bench near Manang Siomai*s stand is the girls* territory and the other in front of Manang Isaw*s is where the guys are. We are no longer of one unified group but of two different crowd.
A little misunderstanding plus a no-talk drama caused our friendship to split up. What made matters worse is the sectioning for there are some unavoidable competitions between groups. The worst thing is that it didn*t only split up into two. There are even greater quarrels between each of the groups and no matter how one group will try to fix things up, they would only feel they have nothing to do with it. An open forum had always been suggested but then, only a few were present. Many would rather leave things as they are. They consider these conversations as something overacting or an exaggeration.
There are a few of us who, still and always, wish we could bring back the friendship. Sometimes, it hurts that when you see them, you say Hi or Hello but still cannot deny that you*re holding back. You were reminiscing those times when you greet each other like you have no care with what-the-world-will-say and smile with regret, hoping you can do that again.
Change can be hurting sometimes but we can’t do anything about it. All we can do is embrace it and, perhaps, start something anew, much different, much memorable… and better.
by: Marian Lilac Peñafiel
Our Kingdom... Our Septic Tank
Glossy paints, high-tech facilities, cozy air coming from expensive aircons, elegant chairs, and costly carpets... Wow! Indeed, it*s so fantastic to have a place of yours with these superb features. But fancy things are not the only ones essential in this world: they can*t give you the happiness within. Sometimes, we tend to forget to ask ourselves: Are we really gratified with what we have?
As a juvenile and ardent teenager that I am, I always look up to something new as well as exciting, something that could give me some fun while learning. Student as I am, I got to spend most of my time at school and of course with my friends. And after school time, we always make it to a point that we*ll still have our bonding moments with each other, this may sound weird, but, whenever we*re off from school, we immediately proceed to our *kingdom* located above the septic tank.
A vast family of virile green grasses that serves as our invaluable carpet surrounds our so-called kingdom, around us are tall standing, strong warriors that protect us against any tempest that would come, these are our mighty swaying trees. And we*re also being driven into a soothing coolness and serenity unbounded blue and white carvings with a so-mushy-looking chandeliers that are being shaped in curves, and of course we*re all seated at the heart of our kingdom, our own throne, the septic tank. We*re all princesses in our little yet preposterous kingdom, having us all bounded by the symbol of being more of a royal, our crown, made out of the eminent spirit of friendship.
Even though our kingdom might not be like those of embellished ones, not those of etiquette-practiced royals, still we have our own haven wherein we could be ourselves, without any rules, without any pretensions.
Here, we share all our precious moments and even those not so ones; our triumphs and successes, our downfalls and failures, here we shed our tears and acquit our smiles and laughter, it is where we had our squabbles and misunderstandings, where we had our diversity of talks; girls* talk, peace talks and even inspirational talks. But in spite of all these, one thing*s for certain, we all share a same piece of a puzzle in the history of our personality; of our lives... it is our kingdom, our septic tank.
by: Precious Marian Lamila
8:15 PM
