We Are Never Anyone Else

This day, we visited our grandmother in Pandacan. They have transferred to a new house, and with that, I have to familiarize myself with a new route again. *Sigh*. Manila is such a crazy network of interlocking roads with different names. Welcoming us was Timmy, her seven-year old grandson and my cousin, who was watching SpongeBob at that time. He is an English speaker, that’s why I kept my mouth mostly shut on the minutes that we have stayed there. He is with his mother (effectively, my aunt) and our grandmother.

Aunt: Look at Kenneth, Timmy.
Timmy: (staring at me)
Aunt: He is tall and handsome
Kenneth: (laughing inside)
Aunt: (continues to talk) and he is also smart! He is a scholar.
Timmy: (stares down at the coloring book he’s holding)
Aunt: You should be like him Timmy!
Timmy: I’m not Kenneth. I’m Timmy.

Be yourself. Will you let someone chew the meat for you before you eat it, or will you take control, do it on your own, be yourself and eat it? Remember, we are never anyone else. It is either we let them draw our path before we take it or we choose where to go.