Grade Six

While cleaning my room in the house, I found this very interesting formal theme composition which I made in 1984. I was only 11 years old. Sorry for the wrong grammars and phrases, I deliberately retained the errors there. All are the same except for the name.

ORIGINAL
FORMAL COMPOSITION
Name: Tiyagong Araw
Year & Sec:VI–St.Rita
Date:Oct.25,1984


"How I look myself 15 years from now?"


“ In 15 years (from) now I hope I will be a Succesful Doctor in human body to help many people from disease and to help my parents fight disease and my brothers. When I was in Grade V: I like to be a priest, But now I want to be a doctor someday. I would like to cure cancer and heart attack. Not only disease in heart attack and cancer but all the disease. I would like to stay in my own country to help the Philippine to be a progressive country. I hope all the doctor someday will Become a Good Doctor in Their own countries."



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Yes indeed, that was me 25 years ago. All the things that I loved during my elementary years were either lost or they were handed over to my younger relatives. Others were borrowed but never returned; right now, I'm mindlessly laughing at myself, how in the world this "one-page-theme-writing-paper" of mine was saved?

That was me alright. The grammatical errors, the capital letters, and the erasures from that old theme composition paper. The title, “How do I see myself 15 years from now?” is misleading, 'though, because it has been 25 years now. Many significant events had happened already after 1984.

When I wrote the said composition theme, the president then was Ferdinand Marcos. Senator Ninoy Aquino was assassinated August 1983 so I think there were political turmoils already in the country. Little did I knew Mrs. Aquino was going to be our next president after Marcos; and then three more presidents will soon be recognized.

Events in my life are fast unfolding along with the country's history. When I saw my old elementary theme writing composition, (I found it, by the way, inside my old dusty drawer) it has brought back old memories, even distinct feeling about the early 80’s of my life. I’m just a kid then and my passion really was to play tex, monkey-monkey, patintero, kurikit, piko, tanching, eating aratiles fruit and climbing our old big sampaloc tree.

But how time flies. Feels like I'm fast getting old. It's already 2009. The king of pop Michael Jackson, whom everyone loves to imitate during early 80’s, died due to cardiac arrest probably secondary to drug overdose. This happened last June of 2009. Our beloved president Corazon Aquino, died Aug of 2009. She died because of colon cancer. I heard from the news today that the son of the late senator Ninoy Aquino and late president Corazon Aquino is going to run for presidency next year 2010.

Life, it seems, is really too short for us to enjoy everything anymore. One day, you are that eleven year old kid who never really cares except to play games non-stop, and yet seemingly, possesses such good traits like kindness for others, loving your own family and loyalty to the country. The so called "selfless service for others" trait. That, at least, was my impression of myself when I read my elementary composition.

Then suddenly, the next thing you know, you are that worn-out 30-year-old grumpy old man already, who now knew how to handle and deal with all the things in this world; but never really understood the basic ideas of caring each other, serve the country first before yourself and protecting your love ones from sickness.

As for me, I never became priest, but in a way I was reminded by my elementary theme paper. Still having some problems expressing myself in english but really, I prefer tagalog.

Salamat yumaong Larry Alcala sa mga alaala ...