each little girl has something that she values, something
that she treasures and kept to herself. something that she hold close to her
chest when she goes to sleep… she puts on her lap when she eats and she
carefully tucks or hide away from prying eyes and hands of a sibling when she
takes a bath
as I girl the only thing that i kept is not a ragged doll,
not a barbie, not even a cute hair tie. i kept tattered copies of hardy boys
and nancy drew’s in my chest cabinet, the old looking ones that opens upwards
and not side wards.
i remember that i have been sooo hooked with reading before; anything and everything that is written in english. just like what a lot of
people say, books and written materials open up a whole new world for me. a world full of possibilities; nice places, smart people, amazing characters and
heroes, they made me yearn for more. those made me want for more.
i read and re-read books that were available to me. i even
remember scavenging a partly burnt book at the backyard of one of the bigger
houses that was a kilometer away from our house. i felt that it was such a
great waste seeing piles and piles of charcoal colored things that was once
(I imagined) amazing reads.
when i was in college, i did not have enough financial
support from my family; so i became a working student and was immediately
assigned to cleaning the dining hall. that did not appeal one bit to my
sensibilities. So i requested to be transferred to the school library. thankfully, there was an opening and i was absorbed right away. in this place
again my love for the written word was given gigantic satisfaction. working
students were only allowed to work three hours each day and get paid for P12.00
each hour; this was deducted directly to our tuition. i had work more than my
share because i always volunteer to take the place of whoever cannot do their
shift. in the end it was the school who owed me money! lol. it was an amazing
time.
why, i’d be asked, am i drooling on and on and on about old
books?
simply because now i am staring at about fifteen unread books
or more on my book shelf and i do not have the slightest idea on how am i going
to finish reading all of them! work has taken so much of my time.
okay, fine, internet
and cell phone has taken so much of my free time. there’s this temptation
called face book, instagram and youtube and surfing through blogs that has me neglecting
my favorite hobby and comfort before.
never again….
**** **** ****
special shout out to Hazel Claire Navales - happy birthday sweetix!!!
