Life Is Like A Pack Of Yucky Gum

When I was little we were really poor and my parents, specially my dad, have to work really hard to have food served in our table. We stayed in my grandparents’ house while my parents are saving a lot to buy our own. Though we were poor it never occurred to me that we were because I never felt that we need what our neighbors have. They have cars, we commute (oh how I love to walk in the streets of Kidapawan holding my parents hands one more time). They have many colored TV while our whole family shares the old black and white TV in my grandparents’ living room and it’s ok. I am happy and contented with what I have and that makes me feel wealthy.

I never really felt we were poor until my parents are earning a little more than what they used to earn. My mom got promoted and my dad started a small business. Then they can afford to buy delicious food and finally have our own house. They bought nice clothes and gave me and my siblings a lot of things. The problem is I also started noticing what my classmates and friends have that I don’t and I must also have those. Then I started asking my parents to have them buy those things that my classmates and friends have. Of course, they always can’t afford to buy me those so I thought we were really poor. My classmates and friends told me so. Gone are the days when I used to be satisfied with what we have. Gone are the times when I am very happy just to see my parents and my sibling happy. I felt dissatisfied. I wanted more than what my parents can afford because my classmates and friends told me so. They told me that we are poor and I don’t want to be poor.

My dad and mom started to notice my attitude and one day they tour me in some of the remote areas of Kidapawan and in my mind I am wondering why we were there. Those areas were so filthy and lots of dirty children playing some have slippers most of them don’t. Torn shirts and rugged pants they laugh and were having the time of their lives. Without hearing a word or two from my parents I realized how rich we truly are. I am rich because I have nice clean clothes that these children don’t have. I have both my parents while some of the children were abandoned by their parents. I have nice shoes and will not walk the street bare foot. Then I realized that like those children I used to be satisfied with what I have and now what have become of me. I felt so ashamed that I asked my parents that we should go home already because I’m tired. I know that day my parents saved me from becoming someone that I don’t ever wanted to be and I am truly thankful for that. The tour opened my eyes that there’s more to life and the word does not revolve on a single person only.

It’s hard but I am really trying my best to be satisfied with what I have and being truly thankful of having them. I don’t think that life is like a box of chocolates but life is more like a pack of Yucky gum - it’s so sour but you’ll it anyway just have a taste of it’s rewarding sweet gum in the middle.