Guava Branch

Have you ever wondered what you would be right now if you didn't know how to read and write? Where would the world take you if you didn't know? Furthermore, where would you be at this moment if not for reading and writing? Well, this is my story.

I was born in Manila, Philippines and growing up was not easy. For some kids in pre-school, reading and writing comes naturally. For some, it was a struggle especially in my case. My father died when I was only 5 years old. He was in and out of the hospital years before his death, my mother, was always at his side. The task to teach their son to read and write was assigned to my "Lolo Saryo", "Lolo Saryo" took good care of my father when my grandfather was shot in World War II. "Lolo" means grandfather in Filipino, and "Saryo" is his name, my Uncle. Filipinos likes to call our elderly "Lolo", as a sign of respect. "Lolo Saryo" taught me how to read and write.

Before I started reading and writing, I always loved to play. My neighborhood friends and I would play all day and we considered it the life. Also, I was a very imaginative little kid. However, my family could not afford many toys, because our hospital bills were huge. So, I explored my imagination with two unsharpened pencils. I would imagine the two pencils in my hands as the turret of a battleship, a man's hand, a man's feet, or even a sword, and a great deal more. I was powerful! I would play before bedtime and the following morning when I'd awake. I would always keep my pencils under my pillow.

Sometimes, my pencils would roll off the bed. Once, I even accused my mom of stealing my pencils because I couldn't see them under my pillow. I was invincible with my pencils.

Little did I know I was headed for kindergarten. One morning, my Lolo Saryo tried to teach me the ABC's. As I sat in front of my mom's hairdressing mirror, Lolo Saryo tried to teach me to read the alphabet. "Ito ang A" my Lolo said, which means, "this is A". Next he said "Ito ang B, ito ang C". I wasn't really paying attention to his teachings. I continued playing with my sword and shield. "Attack!" then my army of soldiers attacked with their swords and shields. Arrows were flying. "Boom!" the turret of the battleship fires. "Boom!" the enemy castle was destroyed. When suddenly and in front of me, my Lolo Saryo took my pencils and broke them in half and threw them away. He was a mean and angry man. He looked me in the eyes and said, "mag-aral ka!" this means "go study!", and he meant business. I started to cry because he broke my pencils, but I refused to study. He went outside momentarily, and I picked up my pencils and cried in the corner of the room. I looked at my broken pencils in the palm of my hand, tears dripping from my eyes and thought, "What would I do?"