My Big Question (Part 4 of My 5-Year Tribute to 'Ina')

By

Originally written and published on September 22, 2019...


        In 2016, I began a five-part tribute to our region's patroness, Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia. The first part was about my family being deeply-rooted in Bicol Region, and my parents being married on the very Feast Day of Ina.


        In 2017, the centenary anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima, I recounted that Mother Mary was the last reason that kept me to the Catholic fold, giving me a very strong and flourishing faith later on.

        In 2018, I shared my deep love to our peninsular region, from the names of its towns and cities, to its landmarks, beaches, dialects and even cuisine.

        This year, the last before my 33rd birthday that will coincide with the Big Feast, I will share the big question I’ve been confronted with since passing the bar…

---

        Becoming a lawyer was something I would not have personally desired if I had another set of parents or if I was given the freest choices to make. In law school, I went back and forth between pursuing my studies and quitting. Until the very last moment of the Bar Exams 2015, I didn’t know what I was going through. I guess I was really meant for it because the results yielded the highest passing rate in decades and I was one of the lucky applicants.

        However, as a lawyer that I am today, which should make me happy and contented, I still feel unfulfilled. Something’s lacking in my life; I feel that my profession is limiting my fullest potentials. My parents wish that I do not just become a lawyer; they wish that I will become a prominent one or a judge. But I have plans to retire the soonest I earn more than enough money for my predilections and personal desires.

        Their wish for me to become a judge – however – is still possible. I believe it’s close enough to my “real” dream. After all, a judge’s mandate is to see to it that justice is served, with the end result of maintaining peace and order. As I have always been a society-oriented person coupled with my strong love for Bicol Region, this seems to be a tempting compromise between my dream and my parents’ dream for me.

        But if I were to follow my heart’s desires, I wish that I be granted the privileges to make changes directly affecting our communities, to have that key to crack the code called “poverty” and bring in prosperity and progress to the region.

        It is true, Bicol had the highest GRDP growth rates in four of the last nine years, but we remain to be one of the poorest, one of the most neglected, and one of the most underdeveloped, that the great strides we pushed for in the last decade are not enough to uplift the lives of millions of Bicolanos.

        There is this yearning in me to unlock the solution to this pervasive problem. I have decided that, one day, I might run for an elective position for, if this is the only way I could satisfy my yearning, then I should make the necessary attempts to do so.

        But running for a position is not as simple. It’s common knowledge that it takes thousands or even millions to win the elections. Other than this apprehension, I'm not a very lovable, charming, or even approachable person. I am just the kind who is honest, trustworthy and knowledgeable. The electorate, however, chooses their candidate based on sheer popularity or even money. I don’t have either.

        These are the reasons why aiming to become a judge is a very tempting goal. But will this make me happy? Will this not make me regretful? On the other hand, opting for the harder decision, that is to run for elective position, is a bigger risk. Is it worth taking?

        I am not going to make a decision just yet. I will let time reveal it for me. With God’s guidance, and through the intercession of our Beloved Ina, I wish that I will make the right decision --- the one that will truly make me happy.

---

        Next year will be the last part of this five-year tribute. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

The Jade Islands of El Nido

By
Image
This view beacons you to a heap of glimmering islands waiting to be discovered... Located on the northernmost tip of Palawan, El Nido is distant from all other places in the world. Because of its location, nobody knew its stupendous tourism value. As late as 1979, El Nido was unknown to beach-goers and wanderlusts, when a group of divers met a sea accident at night forcing them to drop anchor in an inlet. The following morning, the divers woke up to an amazing scenery of skyscraping dark cliffs, thick green forest, white-sand beach, sparkling waters and, rising above it, a series of magnificently-sculpted jade islands. [Wikipedia] I was fortunately born late enough to have read the “wows” of tourists who have been there and to have seen the spectacular pictures of El Nido… but it was not until my sister’s insistence three weeks ago that persuaded me to go on a last-minute decision to head on to this remote place. Two flights from Legazpi and a 6-hour ...
Read more

A City Beaming With Beauty

By
Image
A City Beaming with Beauty Photo by Dexter Baldon Who will ever ignore A city beaming with beauty? Who would never recall The locals that are friendly? Who would never want to see The dainty city near the sea? Who would never want to feel The calming wind’s serenity? Legazpi, a city by the Pacific Landscapes are panoramic Ambience quite romantic And delicacies fantastic… So it might be nice to tour The City of Fun and Adventure And if you’re a foodie, savour Its spicy culinary culture For there, you will discover The dishes that sting The volcano that’s stunning The rides so exciting Found on the extreme east of the world Across the wide expanse of an ocean Very far from other places But home to many good surprises Legazpi, a city by the Pacific A place comely in many ways Legazpi, the city which beams with beauty A place of elegance and grace...
Read more

Message from a Libra Venus

By
Image
I’ve encountered many beautiful and intelligent women in my life but I didn’t feel any love for them. There was always something lacking.  The joys of conversing with a smart lady often brightens my day but the connection ends as is, and no more. A beautiful lady I could always gaze on like the stars in a moonless night; yet, I couldn’t even begin to talk to her. You are different. There is this something between us that continuously binds us despite us being opposite in so many ways. I can feel in you something I do not feel with others. We always have conversations that lead us to some sensual act, and your beauty is not only for my eyes to see but to touch and feel. I’ve never met anyone like you before. With you I can feel a love that’s not a stagnating constant, but one that moves, that grows branches and twigs, that takes deeper roots, and blooms. But despite this, my feelings for you do not overwhelm me like an intimidating tide that washes me into the tempests of confusion...
Read more

Mesmerizing Monaco 🇲🇨

By
Image
  La Condamine, Monaco We were almost done with our Euro Tour, but our last stop - unbeknownst to us - would make our escapade even grander exponentially. Monaco is indeed the wealthiest, most affluent nation in the world... and the dollars are speaking from amongst everything you see in every corner of this miniscule country. It is beautiful, it is organized, it is spotless! If we saw tiny bits of candy wrappers and cigarette butts in very few places in Italy, we didn't see any gram of litter in all of Monaco! Beautiful Nightscape of Monaco with Late 19th Century Buildings Perfect. Flawless.  I have said several times that perfection is unattainable, but our stay in the microstate of Monaco proved me wrong. In the billions of square miles all over the world, there is one tiny country where perfection is, surprisingly, a reality. Arrival Our Bus from Nice, France 🇫🇷 to Beausoleil, France 🇫🇷 It was September 14th, my sister's birthday, when we flew from Rome, Italy 🇮🇹 to ...
Read more

Is Love a Constant –

By
Regardless of mood or circumstance, it remains? And when it fades because of a tweak here or there, it is but a mirage? I guess I’ve felt what it’s supposed to be – for ladies I cannot be with. It’s the emotion I feel when I see someone to be perfect or perfectly beautiful despite the flaws because for no reason but love, her allegorical scars – the mistakes of God – are forgiven. The feeling doesn’t change. It's a constancy of company and connection, a perspective that endures day by day, moment by moment, even after years or decades passing by. Because I see her in exactly the same way as the day we met, and the more we get to know each other, I unravel more things I like about her, all justifying the imperfections, and giving me memories that add spice to mundane moments. I may have sought the wrong women, looked love in the wrong places, defined it by wrong standards. Age does not matter, everybody says. But my youth is done; my potentials to develop young, sweet...
Read more

La Dolce Vita 🇮🇹🇻🇦🇲🇨 🍸

By
Image
September 2023.  My birthmonth, my birthyear. I was born in the year of the Hare, so 2023 - being another year of the Hare - had to be special.  Everybody knows of my Euro Tour with my aunt and my sister, but, contrary to what most people think, the tour was not at all premeditated. It was a split-second decision. So many countries were considered. Spain and Portugal came to mind. Thailand seemed plausible. Nearby Indonesia's fantastic architecture was tempting, and because Singapore was close enough, it was also suggested. Malaysia came into the radar too. But, not until visas have been approved or airline tickets were bought, nothing was final. And then, out of the blue, I heard my aunt and sister talk about a possible Euro Tour on no other month but September - which is my birthmonth - I immediately asked if I could go with them. "Sure," said my aunt! Our Euro Tour crossed different parts of Italy together with Vatican City, and as we sojourned to affluent Monaco, we a...
Read more

The Baby in the Manger

By
Image
I see all those vibrant colors Of the many beautiful decors I taste all those sumptuous flavors As I ate our dinner's main course They were glad when they opened The expensive gifts I gave them I was ecstatic when I opened The things they gave me as presents But something deep within Was peculiarly missing I wonder what might be that thing If I have everything All the extravagance, the excesses All the exuberance, the decadence But it seems as though All these are nonsense For a void is still felt Like a dark hollow thing That needs to be dealt For its echoes are deafening I asked myself What do I need to know? Or to do or to imbibe? For happiness to overflow What do I need to uncover? What answer am I looking for? And then I remember The baby in the manger Out of humility and love He came here on earth From the heavens above Through a simple rebirth No extravagance, no excess No exuberance, no decadence But it all so certainly Made a lot of sense It was plain, simple But it all be...
Read more

An Everlasting Pulchritude

By
Image
The beauty that still mesmerises us Of the mountain who used to be a lass Every time we set our eyes on her Something makes us wonder For how can Mother Nature be so gracious To give us something which, though, we need not choose Is, nevertheless, spectacular That no other mountain is at par? She’s beyond magnificent Though she explodes every now and then Her many eruptions Conjured rousing captions What would scare us to leave? The magma? The raining of ash? The broken debris? The boulders? Or the lava-fountaining and showers? But these are the same matters That add to the volcano’s wonders Because from a safe distance You would see some other-worldly trance... For tourists and visitors, Even to locals and natives, Its explosion and eruption Are tourist attractions Why are we not afraid then, Do you ever wonder? Because we always see her… As a beautiful lady with the usual temper. But at most times, she’s calm and collected,...
Read more

Pool of Dreams

By
I wrote a poem from way back October 13, last year. After ten months, I looked it up again. Because I was bothered by my thoughts, I tried to edit it. However, I realized that the edited version appears to be a response to the earlier version, which is probably the result of a change of mind. The earlier version appears like this... I want a life of simplicity Of peace and felicity Away from complexity And webs of intricacy But I'm competitive I won't settle with Good, old mediocrity Just to be happy A person of irony That's who I am A guy so lazy But can be so dreamy I'm now a cpa lawyer But wishes to be A singer-songwriter A mayor, a governor A prolific writer A bodybuilder What else could I be? Oh an impressionist painter I have so many dreams But nowhere to begin While I love swimming In a pool of dreams, I'm drowning And this is the new version... I live a life of simplicity Of peace and felicity Away from complexity And webs of intricacy ...
Read more

A Usual December Morning

By
Image
FotoSearch/Getty Images Image Source Chapter II,  Timeless Casanova . Gertrude could not believe she slept with the same man her very own grandmother slept with sixty-four years earlier. “How come?” She wonders. They could not sleep well that night, staring blankly at the ceiling. They slept in the same room as the situation made them feel uneasy to be alone.   She wanted to ask, “how was it?” She was very curious, but the mere thought of it made her puke.   “Oma, are you sure?” She finally inquired, breaking the long, awkward silence. “Are you really, really sure?”    “You ought to stop, Gertrude,” Oma was still awake, who, like her, couldn’t sleep well too.    “I tell you, I cannot be mistaken. I remember him vividly. He was the most handsome man I have ever talked to! How can I forget that?”   “But how come? How has he remained the same all these years? Young all throughout? How is that possible?”   “That is what I also want you to know. I...
Read more