7th
Words of Wisdom from a Typical Teenager
Moving my files from my old computer to my laptop.
Once I’ve eliminated all my stuff from that gigantic seven-year-old desktop PC, it’s goodbye to the trusty old machine, which will be shipped to my aunt who lives in my southern hometown, and finally my desk will be cleared. Seventeen months of thriving amongst dirt and clutter is enough, and so are fourteen years of being a hoarder, though I’m not so sure if I can abandon a way of living that has grown to be a way of life, a benchmark of existence (that is, in my own standards). Besides, it’s the way of my family, and honestly, I’d really hate to change, be it for the better or for the worse.
I just hope everything changes for the better, should we decide to change our ways as I said.
Damn. I just inserted a CD into my laptop and the drive sounds like it’s just going to explode. Help. Oh, please. Help.
Ah, finally. Thank God the din has stopped.
I can’t take how my dad keeps forcing me to study. Why, I’ve finished Chem and am currently studying Bio (well, I’m trying to—but at least I’m trying, and that’s what should count!), yet he still seems to be holding a grudge against me for wanting to clear out the contents of the old computer, a task which I have been telling myself to do for months; despite that, I have not done it at all. Amazing, isn’t it? And yeah. I’m trying to be responsible, even for the shortest time. And if the shortest time means now, at exactly 10:45 PM, minutes, or perhaps an hour (at most) before I sleep, shouldn’t I take good advantage of that time to just do it? Then, I can study the entire time later—if that’s what they wish.
“But it’s against your wishes!” they would complain. “What sense would it make, trying so hard to convince you to do something you won’t do anyway, all because you say it’s against your wishes!”
So what do I say? “Indeed! It is against my wishes, and you don’t have to be the living reincarnation of Albert Einstein to know that. But I have a dream, and that is to excel; to succeed in everything I do, or at least take a shot at doing. I understand that you want to guide me, and that, as my elders, you are concerned about what happens to me in the future, and for that you must know that I am very thankful. However, I would also appreciate it if you would allow me to take responsibility of my actions, seeing as my coming-of-age is drawing sooner.”
And upon hearing these words they go irate. “Your coming-of-age! Your coming-of-age…”
And so it goes on and on… until everything fails to make sense, and the world begins to crumble…
…I’m keeping mine whole though. I don’t care what they do or say, for as long as I’m on the right track, and they know I’m on the right track. It’s just that, well, they think there’s something better. I think I understand that perfect. However, I, as an individual, have a choice.
This is what I’ve chosen now. It can’t be so bad, can it?
I really don’t think so.
And to think that I, right here, am a student of the Philippine Science High School… who (supposedly) thinks a notch above others, in off-color thought most especially (though I’m not exactly the sort of person who openly and enthusiastically engages in that sort of activity—candidly, perhaps, but still not so), crams, asks for bargains when it comes to projects, begs for a few bonus points to suit her subjects and the rotten grades she sometimes bags (Pisay students fail—a LOT), and is highly involved in the community. Sure, I may not be the ideal science scholor, nor am I the typical one, for regardless of what place I go to, I am always a wee bit different from the rest. Still, I am proud to be called a Pisay student, and that is an honor I cannot refuse. And one thing that seems to be common among us Pisay students is that, well, we all claim we know things, though we really don’t know all things. Which is true, because well, nobody really knows all things. Yet this time, I bet we should know.
What is right is right. What is wrong is, well… is just plain wrong. And we, as human beings, are allowed to take control of our own lives.
Resumed moving my files from my old computer to my laptop.
