My Thoughts and Ideas

I was the teacher’s pet way back in grade school. I enjoyed all the attention and took full advantage of the additional privileges.

For example, my teacher would use my notes in giving out quiz questions so my notebook served as the perfect reviewer. She would ask me to help her grade our test papers so I got “exclusive” preview of the results. She would entrust me to fetch her child from kindergarten so I managed to be excused from the classroom for about 15 minutes each day while I walked the short distance to the pre-school.

It is only in hindsight that I realized that I became her favorite not because of any special closeness that she felt fro me. It was mostly because I served her well. My notes were always complete and written in legible handwriting. I would stay for an additional half hour after each class to help her check the papers. She knew she could trust me to go straight to her child’s school and not make any trip on the side.

When you see someone lying on the road, don’t just walk by.

He just may be your child or your sister or your mother…

When a family member is hurting, and we don’t even bother investing our time to pay attention, to listen, to care…

Because we’re in a hurry. Because we’re busy. Because we have no time.

For example, I believe that many families miss a great blessing from God when they don’t eat together. Or when they eat together, but with the TV set ruling the dining room. When that happens, then they’re not able to listen to each other’s stories of pain and joy but let Steven Spielberg tell his stories instead.

Don’t just walk by.

It was graduation day. All the students were fussing over the seating arrangements and my aunt Nene, as their teacher, supervised them. When everyone had settled down, I found my aunt standing next to the Valedictorian. She asked him “So, you made it all the way to the end and all the way to the top. What was your motivation?”

“Ma’am, I want to have a good life, someday, I want to give my family everything they need in life,” he exclaimed.

Auntie smiled. She thought that this boy had a good heart… and he loved his family dearly.

When I was in grade school, the first activity that we usually do in school after Christmas vacation is to write our New Year’s resolution in not less than two hundred words. It has been a routinary activity that we keep on doing every New Year. But as I grew older, I tried to ask if it is really necessary to have a New Year’s resolution?! I thought about it many times, and then I realized that it should not only be during New Year that we should change. We can freely change our negative traits/attitudes whenever we felt that it needs to be changed or whenever we are ready to change it. And we can do it not just during New Year, but anytime of the year.