I am the farm boy and this is my story so far.
I was born in a province up north about two decades ago. I was born in a government hospital, where I returned more than a decade after my birth for a ritual that makes young boys lose some skin. And between my birth and THAT ritual, I went there a couple of times to visit my uncle who worked there as the town's dentist. Even if the dentist was my uncle, I still feared these doctors who dig and drill gums.
I also feared injections. Imagine my fear when I had to be stabbed with needles everyday because a pet dog bit me when I was 5 or 6. That was my first time to go to the city. When THAT pet bit me because I touched his food while he was eating. They had to bring me to San Lazaro.
While my father and I were on our way to the hospital, he asked me what I like him to buy for me. I looked at the toys being sold on the sidewalks. I looked at the shoes inside the shops. Then I asked my father to buy me "sago't gulaman" and that green "daster" as a pasalubong for my mother.
I went to a public elementary school. On my first day in school, I wore Mighty Kids and brought a Jollibee water bottle from a cousin in Manila.
I've been wanting to eat at Jollibee. We never had Jollibees in the province.
Most of the kids wore rubber slippers. Those kids did the right thing. For in public elementary schools, children spend more time gardening, digging fishponds, building walls, making composts, etc. than reading.
I am good at gardening.
I went to a catholic high school. In my first year, I got the Guidance Counselor's award for Outstanding Behavior. Most classmates thought that the award lost some credibility since then. I could look at them...and then flash my molars.
I was 16 when I first started living in QC. I was 16 when I first ate at Jollibee.
I studied in UP, another public school. College wasn't too hard. I never took it seriously. ROTC was hell. I lined up at ever ABOLISH ROTC signature campaign. After my ROTC graduation, the program was replaced by a new program - something that I could have actually liked.
I graduated on-time. A week after graduation, I got a job.
Now I spend most of my time in the city, working. The last time I visited my hometown, there's already a new government hospital but the public elementary school was still there. (Everything looked smaller, including the stage.)
No one's using my Jollibee water bottle anymore.
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