Memories of our childhood brought us a lot of mixed emotions and lessons, some were heartbreaking, some were inspiring, and some were humorous and fun to remember.
A thunderous HELLO to all the amazing and beautiful people here in the Hive! I wish you all happy and healthy always. In this blog, I will be sharing with all of you my humorous and heartbreaking experiences during my childhood😅.
We all have various childhood experiences kept in our memories. And I am so grateful for the HivePh community for initiating this week's contest with #kabataan because I was able to reminisce some of those childhood experiences long stocked in my memory.
The first escalator experience...😂
Who among us here had a humorous experience riding an escalator for the first time? Well, you are not alone. I also had one to share. I am not sure what was the occasion at that time, but I could still remember that it was the time when my mother let me accompany her to a department store for the first time. I guess I was about 7 or 8 years old then.
We arrived at a department store with so much amazement on my face. I was amazed by the big building in front of me. (It was just a 2-storey building but since it was my first time seeing it, I thought that was the biggest I'd ever seen 😂). I was excited and scared at the same time which is why I held my mother's hand tightly (although she was also holding my hands too).
I did not remember so much about the details of the inside of the store. But I remembered that it only had a few people around. Then, I was puzzled when I saw a stair moving up. I asked my mother what it was and she told me it was an escalator. I was stunned when we were about to ride on it. My mother had to pull me and told me to take a step😂.
At last, we reached the top and I had to hop (I was actually afraid that my foot would be eaten by the escalator). Then, my mother led the direction we were about to go but I stopped her and pulled her back. She asked, "what's the matter?". I said, "Mama, I left my slipper down there!"😂. My mother laughed while I was about to cry (because I was scared that my favorite pink slippers might be stolen).
So, we went back down and got my pink slippers and rode up again on the escalator with my slippers. Till then, I would silently smile at myself every time I see an escalator even until now.
Our childhood innocence sometimes gives us lifelong learning in the end. That day, I did not only learn that it's okay to bring your slippers on the escalator but most importantly, I learned that in life you have to bring with you simplicity and humility especially going up in reaching success.
Working at a Sugarcane Farm: Inspiring experience...
The photo above is just a small piece of the thousands of hectares of sugarcane farm owned by a wealthy family in our place. I started working here when I was in the 3rd grade (8 or about 9 years old).
Yes, I was very young when I started working (of my own will) to help my family because of poverty. I've still remembered that my first wage for an 8-hour work per day was only PHP25.00 (roughly USD 0.45). I was introduced to planting and cultivating early😅. One thing that I was grateful for until this day. Most of the time, we put out stubborn weeds and put fertilizers on the sugarcane.
I had a lot of memories there. But the most inspiring one was our happiness despite our struggles. We endured the scorching heat of the sun and endured the cold and the mud during rainy days. No choice, we had to work like Carabaos to survive a day.
Those were the hard days that pushed me to dream bigger, my motivation to work harder, sacrifice more, and become more faithful. From all that, it made me realize that the strong people I know and looked up to today are also the people who have been through a lot of hardships during their childhood.
To the young people out there, you should be thankful for the hardships and struggles you are going through right now because they can make you stronger and you will be grateful for them later in your life.
A Father has arrived...
If you have read my intro blog, I supposed you already know that I am an illegitimate child. I was not without a father figure. I never had known him aside from his name until this day.
One of the most precious memories I had was when my mother introduced my stepfather. I think I was 7 at that time, not sure😅. At last, a father finally arrived. Someone I can call "PAPA". He had been a very good father and provider. He was not a man wealthy in material things but he is a man wealthy in goodness and love.
I am a proud stepdaughter. He was a supporter and my protector. Despite poverty, he never left and even worked harder for the family. I am more grateful to him for accepting me as his daughter. I'm out of words, just thankful (don't want to cry)🥰.
Illegitimate, Yes! Born with no father but never a mistake. I realized that I am blessed. I may not know my biological father yet but I am delighted that the Good Lord has sent somebody to stand as my father who guided me as I grow up.
It just proves that family is not always about blood, it's more about acceptance and belongingness.
That's all for today my dear Hive friends! Thanks for your time reading and I hope you find this post worthwhile to read.
See you on my next blog guys!😍🥰 Love lots. Sending my warm big hugs🥰😍🤗