October 19, 2022
At some point, we want to turn back the hands of time to when we did something we don't want to happen so we could change it into a better one. Back in the day, we did not do something that made us regret it and it had been bothering our conscience for a long time. Back in those days when opportunities knocked at our doors but we let them slip through our fingers. We would sometimes wish to go back to the past to make all wrongs right with the hope of making the present even better. Unfortunately, it is only possible in fiction stories as time moves forward, not backward.
But not all the time do we want to go back to the past to correct what was wrong, to scrape off the pains and regrets from our memory. Sometimes, we simply just want to go back to when we are happy and stay there for a moment. The memories that are worth remembering.
Do you remember your first experiences when you were younger? What was your first kiss, first crush, first gift, first reprimand, first bruise, or anything else that left you with unforgettable memories?
Let's call it, The Firsts Down The Memory Lane....
Image from Unsplash by Gabby Orcutt
You may take these questions and answer them as well.
Aside from your family, who was your very first kiss?
Some say their first kiss was their first love, is that so? Returning to your childhood, have you ever had a playmate who surprised you with a kiss? It's not just about the lips, but it could be a kiss on any part of your face that made you feel flattered.
One afternoon, when I was 8, 9, or 10 years old, I was invited by my cousins to play, to which I accepted because my father wasn't there. Some friends from the upper part of the village came and joined us, including the Manila kid who was vacationing at my neighbor's house. He's a cousin of my friend.
Our game was boys versus girls. I can't remember exactly what happened, but I remember seeing my cousin being restrained by other boys and I was trying to help her. The Manila kid was standing at the door, blocking our path. I was attempting to enter when he unexpectedly kissed me on my face. I was disgusted and shoved him. I wasn't sure what his goal was, but I assumed it was to prevent me from saving our friend. In that game, they were like bad boys.
After that incident, there's a feeling that push me to look at him every time he passes by. They'd go swimming in the river behind our house on occasion, and I'd find myself staring at him, lol. He swam like a dog and was entertaining to watch. And he became my childhood crush 🙈. Unfortunately, they went back to Manila after the summer break, and I never saw him again. When I grew up and suddenly remember that kid, like I was 25 years old I guess, I just felt sad when I found out that he was already married in Manila. So Loui, my very first kiss, is still in my mind up until now, lol.
What was your very first punishment, in school and at home? And why did you receive it?
Corporal punishment was still widely used back then, and even an obedient child like me was subjected to it. They're still fresh in my mind.
I never expected to receive a painful whip from my father as the first daughter in the family because I was an obedient one. I was about to return to school after eating my lunch at home when I was in primary six. Instead of walking to school (which would take about 20 minutes), I decided to wait for a pedicab (pedal cab) so I wouldn't have to walk, and I thought that it would be faster. But time passed, and not a single pedicab passed by. Our classroom will be closed at 1 p.m., and latecomers will be denied entry. I accepted that I was already late and chose to return to our home.
My father, on the other hand, was expecting me to be at school by now and was furious when he found me at home at 1 p.m. When I saw him looking for something to whip on me, my heart sped up. He noticed a long, hard wooden stick and whip, which landed painfully on my hip. I felt his iron fist's painful punishment for the first time. It was the first and, so far, the last. Because I never wanted to go through that again, I did my best not to make any mistakes whenever he was at home.
When I was in primary one, I had a kind but strict adviser who also punished misbehaving students. She was a friend of my mother, but there was no exception. Back then, a stick landing on your hands and an eraser flying into your head were common occurrences.
Our adviser always told us to practice good hygiene. This includes trimming and cleaning our fingernails. She unexpectedly checked on us one day, and I knew something bad was going to happen. We were told to place our hands on the table so she could see who had dirty and long nails. She walked around the room with her wooden stick, inspecting each table. The look on their faces told me they were in pain after being whipped. When she spotted mine, I braced myself, and the surface of my hands turned red and I flinched in pain. That was excruciating! I used to keep my fingernails trimmed every week to avoid getting a whip from our teacher.
It's quite long already, so I might just end it here. These are just the questions I can think of for now. You can share your own stories in a separate post if you want 😊.
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I very much enjoyed reading about your first kiss and a childhood crash, but I also felt that punishment 🙈