Childhood memories

It is a normal course of life that as we grow older and wiser, our responsibilities become bigger. Our lives become more complicated as we meet more people, face more challenges, pay more bills, and take on higher goals and bigger dreams.

When I opened my Facebook account sometime last week, a memory notification popped out. It was a post I shared in 2018 from a certain meme page that says: “Nakakamiss yung mga panahong tuhod mo ang nasusugatan, hindi ang puso.” Like the first time I chanced upon it, it brought out strong emotions that made me reminisce about my childhood.

I remember the happy memories, the feeling of being able to escape siesta, and the joy of being able to play jolens, teks, and lastiko after school. I remember my favorite sopas from Ate Mayet’s and my favorite choco heart bread from Ruben’s.

I remember my favorite TV shows and the artists I fancied as a child. I remember how I rooted for Melissa Ricks when she joined “Star Circle Quest” and Jimmy Marquez when he joined “Star in a Million.” As a matter of fact, I can still vividly recall how I got mad at my kuya when he correctly predicted that Kris Lawrence would beat Jimmy. I also remember “Marina,” “Krystala,” and “Kampanerang Kuba.” And, of course, how could I forget my elementary notebooks with the faces of Marvin and Jolina on them?

I also remember how my childhood friends and I would get invited to perform an intermission number during fiestas and SK nights. We would perform “Laban o Bawi” by SexBomb Girls, “Bulaklak” by Viva Hot Babes, “Pamela One” by Vhong Navarro, and “Angelina,” which Google told me is a song by a German recording artist named Lou Bega. One time, I went home very happy because each of us received P50 after performing.

I also remember how my friends and I would walk and ramp, and pretend that we were Miss Universe candidates. I would always choose to be Miss Trinidad and Tobago just because I loved saying “Tobago.”

Life was simple back then—no sleepless nights, no strong apprehensions, no unnecessary expectations, and more importantly, no bills to think about every end of the month.

If only we could travel back in time…

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Jeric Olaje, 27, is a management graduate from UP Tacloban. He now works as an entity controller at an investment bank. He dreams of becoming a lawyer someday.