Day2: People's Opinions Don't Matter To Me

Another day, another life. Another day, another challenge. Lol. I'm sipping my coffee and getting started on my piece for today. What are you guys up to? I hope you're all feeling better and safe now.

Today's topic is:

Write something that someone told you that you never forgot.

When I was younger, I was always hurt when they told me something bad. When I hear them say negative things to me, I quickly lose motivation. Even when they make it into a joke and laugh, it still hurts me when I am the subject. Even now, I am bothered by the fact that the opinions of others occasionally offend me.

There have been numerous occasions when people have told me something that I have never forgotten. There are both positive and negative aspects. Maybe even when I'm old, I'll remember it. "Mapagtanim ka talaga ng sama ng loob, sa makalawa may farm kana," my friends would tease me. Haha. I'm sorry for not being able to translate them into English for my other country friends here.

Let's start with the good. When my father was still alive, he had a large wound on his foot. Actually, both of his feet have a large wound. It was only one wound before because he accidentally dropped the gun into his foot and then the gun fired when it dropped. It is the start of the wound on his foot, and because he has diabetes, the wound has spread to his other foot. I used to treat his feet and we always talked, especially when he was drunk.

"Magdoctor ka paglaki mo ah, para magamot mo mga sugat ko sa paa."

When you approach adulthood, you pursue a career in medicine so that you can treat my wounds in my feet.

It was a simple idea that has stayed with me to this day. I had a dream to be a doctor at the time, which I intend to pursue someday. The thing is, my father is now in Heaven and I can't treat him anymore, but I'm sure he'll be happy to see me treating other people who have diseases or wounds.

Now we're in the negative. I dislike going back to the place where I used to go because people are comfortable and insensitive enough to say whatever they want, even if it hurts me the most. Did you know that when I was in grade 8, I was only 15 years old, and my aunt told me, "You will have three children before you graduate high school," that is exactly what she said in Ilocano. It has stayed with me to this day, and I still don't understand why people can jump to conclusions about everything around them. She ate her words because, despite having graduated from high school and being a young adult, I still do not have a child or a family. Those are strong words that motivate me to prove them wrong. Even when we use it as inspiration, it hurts even more when the person who told you is one of your relatives.

Now I'm learning to fight back against other people's opinions; their opinions no longer matter to me. They were always telling me I was fat and such. They are received as a compliment, not a criticism. Just don't say those things to me when I'm not in a good mood, or you'll hear something that will hurt your feelings. There are some opinions that should be kept private and not shared with others, even if you know it will harm them. Let us end the stigma that is killing our society.

Thank you for reading!

Lead image from Canva.

Publishing Date: June 3, 2022