Threat or Treat

By Jean Aquino

Childhood really is something that adults envied secretly. Being able to express themselves without limitations, and as they always say, sky’s the limit.

Funny how our parents adore us before while we are busy minding our business playing from morning till afternoon, shouting and screaming at the top of our lungs when happiness strikes us at that very moment. All the proudest moments I had with my parents are hidden in the deepest memories of my childhood. And for the sake of my sanity, even though they are far from happening again, I always dreamed of experiencing them over and over again in my life.

Branded clothes. Expensive cars. Jewelries. Designer bags. Everything that can depict a luxurious living? I dreamed of having all of them. Not for me, but for my family.

Remembering how fast time flies, one special memory came running to my mind at that very moment. It was my father and I on the stage and he was pinning the ribbon to me while my teachers were congratulating me for topping our class.

I’ve never been so motivated in my life after I saw my father genuinely happy because of what I achieved.

My, my, I never thought that smile will actually drive me to be a consistent top 1 student until the 6th grade. The way he smiles at my every achievement is a priceless picture for me. It is not everyday that I made someone happy because of my hard work.

Everything was going well until I became the 2nd honors of our class, only one behind our topnotcher. For the very first time, my father did not accompany me to the stage to pin the ribbon on me.

Followed by hearing harsh words and insults from my father about how I quickly changed from being on the top, now one step behind our class. The thirteen-year old me cannot understand the reason to compete with everyone because I knew to myself that being in the honor roll is still a great thing.

But seeing my father like that, I know that competing will soon be my forte. One night, he even cried about it. And I, too, cried really hard. That night, I already figured out how my failures impact him. Something that I never want to happen again

In my last year in Junior High School, I gave everything I could to be the top of our class again. I even aced almost all of my exams, even Math, my most hated subject.

Unfortunately, I was back to being the top of my class again until my senior high school years. But my father never gave me the same smile when I was in grade school.

I even tried harder during college days to strive harder. But I was welcomed with a very different environment. I learned that college is not about competing and being on top of everyone anymore. All I have to do is survive.

And being the eldest of the family, surviving has never been this difficult.

As I was slowly learning the phase of being a college student, I was also exposed to the realities of life. Growing up and being an adult is fun until you’ve got to experience it. Little did we know that childhood is the best and happiest time of our life. No worries, no hesitations in doing things and not living to impress other people.

Almost all of us live our life to prove that we are a good daughter or son. To be praised and admired by our parents. To not disappoint them. To always appear as responsible children.

But do you remember being a child? You quickly answer “I want to be a teacher” when you are asked what you want to be when you grow up. But when you are asked today, you will be hearing words from your parents like, “Teacher lang”, “Bakit teacher lang”?

Home is not the same as before because as we grow up, expectations from our parents also become bigger and heavier and it has already become a burden for us.

One more year and I will be getting my diploma. And I’ll say that it is the biggest achievement that I anticipated for the longest time. Because I worked hard for it not for others, not even because of the pressure from my parents, but because it is a step in achieving my dreams.

Dear daughters and sons of their parents, always remember your memories of being a child. Carefree in everything that you do. Your dreams in life are not to be decided by anyone around you, not even by those who brought you into this world, but only by you.

You can always choose what role your parents will be playing in your life. Is it a threat or treat? You choose because after all, you are yours.