By Eushane Pioquinto | January 31, 2024
Oh, the good old days! Remember when we were still young? It was then that we experienced our first crawl, our first step. It was then that we learned how to ride a bicycle on our own and tie our laces. Our little faces would light up with the biggest smiles like it would reach Mount Everest! Our smiles were so genuine back then. Little did we know that moments such as those would never come back.
My 6-year-old self would always whine and say, “How I wish I would get older faster so that I can do things I want to.” These thoughts lingered in our younger selves all the time—to yearn to be able to buy the fancy things and food we want, quenching our will to be happy and enjoy our hearts’ desires.
Life back then was memorable. During those times, we had to sleep in the afternoons so we could grow—at least, that’s what the grown-ups always said. Meanwhile, we would run through the roads amid the cool rain and play bahay-bahayan with our childhood friends. Aah, the sweet memories of childhood!
Every day, we add another wrinkle to our life story. And as we grow, we continue to learn how to make our own decisions and be fiercely independent sometimes. We would not want any of our peers’ two cents since we think we can do everything by ourselves now.
But what we don’t realize is now, as little more than a decade has passed, we tend to look back on the past when life was beautiful. No deadlines to worry about, no heartbreaks to go through, no stumbling blocks, and no disappointments shrouded in our way—those were the days.
Now, we look at the future. What will we become? What future awaits us? But having this mindset can be regretful. Why? Because we never get the chance to embrace and live in the present.
As I gaze upon the roads I’ve journeyed, a whisper of yearning echoes within: If I could have the chance to say something to my younger self, I would tell her these words:
“You have traversed a long way to not only come this far. Although life has become more harsh and unkind, life goes on.”
If you could travel back in time and have the chance to meet and spare a talk with your younger self, what would you say?
