Wednesday, April 26, 2006

My brother's graduation and my nineteenth birthday

I mentioned in a previous post that I’m going to write a longer entry about the many things that have happened for the past few days. I want to accomplish this with as few words as possible, but if I don’t quite achieve that objective, then please, dear readers, bear with me. To constrain oneself from speaking loudly after all—or, in this case, writing a very long entry—is constipating.

My family has come all over from Koronadal to attend my brother’s graduation last April 22, which happens to be my birthday and, yes, the Earth Day. By “family”, I mean Tatay, Nanay, Sean, and Auntie Netnet and my cousin, RR. Manong is the eldest, and by all means, should be the first one to graduate. He has, in fact, graduated on time, and the Lord’s grace, unmeasurable as we know it is, has even sprinkled added bonuses—his graduating as magna cum laude in English Studies and his having passed the interview for the UP College of Law where he will be enrolling next semester.




The morning after the night they had arrived, I had a nice chat with my parents who kept telling me that I should get fat, that my education is rendered useless if my health is failing, that I should not skip breakfast, that I should regularly observe the intake of multivitamins and milk and Sustagen—that I should eat a lot more than the usual because, according to them, I looked emaciated. I told them I had good eating habits, but I don’t think they believed me.




I toured my brother, with RR tagging around, in the UP Campus. “Sean, there’s where I eat.” “Sean, this is the FC.” “Sean, someone got killed here—you saw that on TV?” He was even allowed to enter my room. I introduced him to friends who, when we had arrived, were in the lobby trying to pass time, and was shocked to hear him speak in fluent Filipino. He never does—unless of course, when he recites in his Filipino class.



After the college graduation ceremonies, we ate at a restaurant in Katipunan with some dormmates and family friends who happened to be in Manila to celebrate—both the graduation and my 19th birthday. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am 19—though I may not look like it (reading this, I’m sure I will sense intense shock waves). So maybe 19 isn’t old enough, but it isn’t young enough either. I just hope I’m learning to think and feel like my age and not my shoe size.




I just thank the Lord for adding another year, once again, into my life. I’ve learned much of Him, indeed. My birthday wish is that in the years to come, when my hair will turn to grey, when my eyesight will worsen, when my knees will refuse to support me, I will find myself in inexplicable joy, knowing fully well that the Lord has been with me for all the years I’ve lived on earth.

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think your brother is really super humble. His blog doesn't mention about magna cum laude and having passed law school interview (more than you do!hehe). Funny that its the other way around? nes't pas? Anyway, your other brother, Sean, looks older than you or is it just that you have a "baby" aura, (especially with the glasses) and true he is the different one because he isn't that nerdy-looking (not that there is something wrong with being nerd-like d'accord?). Congratulations. Chapeau. Félicitations.

Thu Apr 27, 05:22:00 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it sean or RR?

Thu Apr 27, 05:24:00 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it you with the blue checkered polo in the last pic.?

Thu Apr 27, 05:26:00 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oohlala, thank you for the comments, even if I don't know you. :)

It's all by God's grace. It's Sean, and I'm not in any of the pictures. The last pic is Kuya John, a dormmate.

Thu Apr 27, 08:29:00 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

il n'y a pas de quoi:)

Fri Apr 28, 12:01:00 PM GMT+8  

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