Life was hard during those early days in Padada. My family was poor, and there were times we didn’t even have money to buy food. We had to borrow corn or rice from our neighbors just for us to have something to fill our empty stomachs.
We may be poor, but no one can call us lazy. My father was a hard worker – he worked in a logging company before becoming a bus driver. Eventually, that bus company went bankrupt, so Papang went to work as a driver for the town mayor.
Papang was my role model. Being poor was never an excuse to not do what is expected of us – I knew I had to work hard, just like my father, in order for us to have a better life.
My Father’s Promise
At an early age, I always had a desire to excel in academics. Maybe it was because it was imperative of me to maintain my scholarship – if my grades drop, I would not be able to continue going to school. But aside from losing my scholarship, I had another motivation to excel in my studies.
When I was little, I’ve always wanted to have my very own bicycle. My father rode his bike everyday to get to work. It was the fastest way to move around Padada, and I wanted that freedom and convenience.
I was ecstatic the day that my father said to me and my siblings that he will give bike to anyone who topped their class at the Padada Central Elementary School.
But we didn’t have the money to buy one outright. My father promised that if I topped my class every year, he would reward me with a bike part so at the end of my grade school days, I’d have my own.
Piece by Piece
The deal was, if I topped Grade 1, I’d get one wheel; Grade 2, the other wheel. Grade 3 for the pedals, Grade 4 for the handlebars, Grade 5 for the bike seat, and the finally, Grade 6 for the bike frame.
I did it. I topped my class every year, from Grade 1 to Grade 6. But I knew that my father would not be able to afford it. The parts that he promised never came – and I expected it; we didn’t even have the money to have my picture taken as I delivered my Valedictory speech and as my parents pinned my Valedictorian ribbon.
In hindsight, maybe Papang promised to give us one part a year so that he would have enough time to save up and buy it. Maybe he didn’t expect that I would actually be able to do it. It didn’t matter though that I did not get it, as I knew we didn’t have enough money for food, let alone some bike parts.
Work Hard and You’ll Get It – No Matter How Long It Takes
However, I think the lesson that he wanted to teach us was the very basic reality that if we wanted something, we had to work hard for it. It won’t just be given to you.
And that sometimes, in life, you get things piece by piece – at the end, take it all together, and you’ll see that you actually got what you wanted.
Part 2 of 4