When I was a Teenager

Hi @bmjc98 . Salamat po sa nice idea of writing something about my teenage years.

So here's mine.

I was bullied because my hair was super curly.

Since I was the only girl in the family I was the one who gets to grow her hair long and so it would be very noticeable that I got really curly hair. Back then, there was a commercial on TV of a parrot asking for crackers from a man with curly hair. And so whenever people of my age would see me they would mimic that parrot and say “Hoy kulot gusto ko ng crackers”. They think it was funny, I think it was emotionally destructive because those bullies made me think I got the worst type of hair ever. And eventually I grew up with the mind-set that my hair is awful.

I was told I was super ugly.

It was during my 2nd year in high school, and we were playing volleyball with my friend. You know how high school friends would bring a Mikasa ball and you would volley that ball to one another though there is no volleyball net? Yeah we did that and we were enjoying despite the suns heat that rain upon our skulls causing our pet lice to rejoice. But anyway, going back to that day in my 2nd year in high school, we were happily playing when suddenly a ball from another group of schoolmates ran down the ground, and with the aim to catch that ball to prevent it from running farther, I picked it up and handed it over to the boy who was approaching me. I don’t know what I did but when he had the ball in his hand he told me something I never forgot and had remembered even up to this very day, he said: “You are so ugly.” And I was like…. “What did I do?” I just walked back to my friends and pretended I was okay. I let the joy of volleying ball drown the bad feeling.

I was the SSG President for two consecutive years.

During my high school years , a schoolmate of mine who ran for the position of SSG President of our school asked me to run as a Second Year Representative, I accepted his invitation and luckily I won. The year after that, I was encouraged by my adviser to run as an SSG President. I was hesitant because of course I only had one year experience of handling leadership position as a representative and my opponent is a transferee from SCI TECH and is a year ahead of me, which means that she is more qualified and maybe more effective leader than me. But I don’t know what happened, the odds were with me and I was able to win the election. I served another year after that and was able to achieve projects that aimed to improve our school. I left a legacy of helping the wayward obey school rules by being a friend to them. Man! I miss my high school years!

I won a news writing competition.

I love writing even when I was a child. My mama and her handwritten letters to us when she leaves the house or when she send one to our teacher to excuse us from class, plays a big role in the development of my love for writing. I was asked by my adviser to represent the school for the news writing competition at a division level. I studied journalism books week before that. I Listened to news in the radio, read the latest newspaper and practiced writing as best as I could. On the day of the competition, I was very nervous while I played countless facts I learned in my head. When the topic was announced, my head seemed to jump in joy because it was one of the topic that I have practiced writing about. Thoughts glided from my mind and I was able to finish it within the given time. And to make it short, I won FIRST PLACE and was asked to represent the whole Division at the regional level. I can still remember the joy I felt that day and the orange-colored shirt we wore on the day of the Regional Competition with initials RSPC-Regional Schools Press Conference.

I love Carlo Aquino and my favourite Teleserye was "Ang Mga Anghel Na Walang Langit".

I could say Carlo Aquino has been my teenage crush and even until now. Hahaha. (I need to tell hubby about this later) . I don’t know but I think he is so charming. I love his movies and would fall head over heels whenever I see him on TV. Mga Anghel Na Walang Langit was my fave because it points out the lives of children who were deprived of childhood. My favourite scene is when Miles was selling puto cucinta and she would sing to attract buyers. I would cry when there Amo would scare them so they would beg more in the streets. It aches my heart to know that, that teleserye was a depiction of the reality that some kids get to experience in the hands of notorious syndicates.

Nostalgia.

I love walking down the memory aisle of my teenage years. It was not one filled with roses and comforts but it has helped me shape the person I am today. It’s true what they say about high school years, “Ang exciting, ang saya… High school days oh my high school days!"

It made my teenage life so full of twists and turns.

What about you guys? What how was your teenage years? Come write about it!