The perks and pains of living near relatives!

Hola, my dear read friends. It's so cold that I feel feverish.

I just heard the news from my elder sister when I talked to her last night that I have Covid. This is the latest gossip in Iligan City while I am here in Caloocan.

Wow! I never thought I got the virus, perhaps they took the antigen test on my behalf.

Chismis or gossip spread faster in the province than in the city. It is one of the reasons why I didn't want to back to Iligan specifically Kiwalan. Why? Majority in my purok (a small unit in a barangay) are my relatives.

I don't disagree if people live near their relatives, especially those who grew up on close family ties but it's just so freaking crazy when they talk about other people's lives lol.

If you live near your relatives or your clan:

• You know where to go during emergencies

  This is what I love being near my relatives, I can go to them whenever there are emergencies. Not everyone will help but those who will go all the way. Like when my mama died, my father's family helped us out despite their break-up. They gave us all the financial aid that we needed so we could move on ASAP.

• You can get food and snacks for free

  Yup, when you got to your close relatives, their doors are always open. Some people abuse this kindness. I do see our neighbors living in one of my relatives. I guess they return the favor by doing errands.

• You also become famous

  When you have a celebrity relative, you are famous as well. If your cousin passed an exam or became a top-notcher, you can claim him or her as a cousin or something.

• Lots of friends to play and hang out with

  If you and your cousins grew up together, you don't have to find other friends and playmates than them. Just like what happened to me, I was my cousins' only playmate when we were kids because they weren't allowed to go out. But I got my other cousins as my "barkadas" or peers and we had a lot of fun together.
  
  

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The pains of living near relatives:

• News spread like a virus and inaccurate like the ballot counts

  Just like what happened to me, my gosh. I couldn't move on lol. And I do think they thought I am rich because they saw my posts containing pictures of the in-law's house and cars lol. They just don't know. Pictures could be deceiving.

• Everyone is your relative if you are famous

  When the gossips spread that I would graduate as a cum laude, I became famous. The grandma that didn't like me hugged me in front of the crowd and I met a lot of uncles and aunties lol.

• It is hard to make mistakes

  If you live near your clan, you would be damned if you make mistakes. They will make you feel like you are a saint and you should be perfect. It's like stepping on eggshells. They'd laugh at you and shame you if your mistake ruins your name.

• Expectations are high, competitions are tough

  My cousins and I compete on who will graduate with honors that's why their parents envied me when I had several awards during high school and college. But now they realized that the real competition in life is when one has a stable career that pays well. And I know they are happier now because I don't have that but my cousins do. They are now abroad and are living their lives to the fullest. I am happy for them though. And I know that they are disappointed in me at some point and happy that I am not as rich as them lol. I don't know maybe I am just imagining things.

Family is family, that is what they say. In blood or water, a family stays together no matter what. I say not everyone.

Do you love living near your relatives my friends, why and why not? Share your thoughts below and let's chat about it!

And I hope that everyone is taking care of themselves. It's so difficult to get sick these days. Make yourself warm, drink hot chocolate.

Love,

Glessa

The lead image was from Unsplash.com
The rest of the content is mine unless stated otherwise
January 16, 2021