The Last Piece Syndrome

Pizza! Yes, I am talking about pizza.

There’s this one time when my niece requested for a pizza so when Kuya got home, he brought a pizza with him. All of us at home immediately dig in, choosing the biggest and the slice that have the most toppings. We ate and ate until there’s only one slice left and that’s where it all began.

The eagerness to eat the pizza suddenly died down. No one would dare to get the last piece without asking others if they want it too. No matter how our stomach is still crumbling and craving for the pizza, it’s either we are so thoughtful to think about others first or we are too afraid to be called greedy because no one will ask who ate the most number of pizza slice, only the one who ate the last piece will be remembered.

Going back, I honestly wanted to eat the last slice but I was thinking of my family. I was thinking about the kids, they might want it more than I do. To cut the story short, I resisted the urge to ate the last piece, sacrificing my own wants just for the sake of whoever wants it too.

With a heavy heart, I left the pizza with them at the kitchen and I stayed at my room for a while. Few hours later, I go out of my room and guess what I’ve found out.

Seems like they also thought of what I was thinking that they also didn’t eat the last piece. Yes, the last piece was still at the kitchen and the crust was already hard. What a waste.

That’s also the case when I was with friends or other people, when it’s already the past piece, everyone’s line will be:

“uy kainin niyo na ‘to, nagtira pa kayo” (hey, eat it already. don't left the last piece)

Even though at the bottom of our hearts, we wanted the last piece!

It is also applicable on other things, foods rather. There are many times when we are eating our meal, my nephew don't usually eat with us so what we do is to left food for him. There are times that we wanted the food more but we are thinking about my nephew so we top ourselves from eating it and when afternoon came, he didn't even eat the food. Again, what a waste.

And that made me come up into a realization that that last piece of pizza can be considered as an opportunity. An opportunity that we should grab, not meant to be wasted.

Let’s treat it as a reminder that when we are offered with an opportunity, let’s grab it. Especially if we really want it. Let’s not let that last piece of pizza go to waste.

It’s nice to be thoughtful, thinking about others first but that’s not always the case. We can’t keep doing that and just let every opportunity in front of us to go to waste or to passed by.

Let’s also stop fearing what others would think about us. They’ll think we are greedy, so what? It’s high time that we should go for what we want and think about ourselves for once. Instead of saying “kainin niyo na ‘to” (eat it already), let’s say “uy, akin na ‘to ha” (hey, I want it, I'm gonna eat it).

There are plenty of opportunities that will come but that doesn’t mean we should waste one. Also, there are also rare opportunities that will only come once in a lifetime. It’s no or never and we can’t afford to waste it.

And that’s what pizza has thought me.

Opportunities aren’t always there so if you want it, get it. If you want it, go for it. Never let it go to waste. It's already on the tip of our hands so grab it and don’t let go of it. Let's not let ourselves reach the point where we are gonna regret our decision.

Hi. Thank you so much for reading this far. I hope you also realized something about this pizza analogy. If you still have time, you might want to take a read on my recent works. The links are as follows:

• The Sufficiency of Hope

• Desperation

• Dear Moms: Parenting Tips from an Aunt's Perspective

Article No. 147 - October 12, 2021