Seven

     This in an assignment article for one of the organizations in school that I applied for. We were asked to write an article related to the theme: Childhood. Honestly, this article is not really good, it's not organized and honestly it is soooo SABAW! Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed reading this article I made and hopefully it'll send you back in time--the time when your heart first skipped a beat.   

                                                                                  

 “SEVEN”

     When we reminisce our childhood, we would always find ourselves remembering the tons of questions we always ask like “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why can’t I fly like the birds up in the sky?” and such because of our innocence; we remember that on the very first day we went to our first school, most of us would cry and clung tightly to our parents begging them not to leave us because we were dependent; we also remember when we tirelessly play a lot of childish games with our playmates, ignoring the scorching sun and the smell of perspiration after the game; and most of all, I believe that we remember that one special person that made our hearts skip a beat for the very first time—our first crush.

     Can you still remember who your first crush is? Perhaps he or she was your playmate, or classmate, or perhaps the older sibling of your friend, or the actor or actress in the show you often watch; and don’t get me wrong, some of us might even had a crush on an anime character. What made you have a crush on that person? Is it because of his eyes, his smile, his charm, or his talent? Nonetheless, I am sure that sometimes, it’s quite hard to determine what made us crush on a person. But aside from reminiscing our first crushes, let’s go back in time and discover all the crazy things we did when we had our own first crush.

     Have you ever answered an autograph book during your childhood? I bet you would agree with me when I say that the “Who is your crush?” part is the most intriguing question of an autograph book. Can you still remember how you would answer that part? Would you really write the name of your crush or would you just write their acronym or would you put there the word ‘secret’ because you’re afraid that your friends will start to tease you and your crush, and as a result, your crush will find out that you like him or her.

     Aside from the autograph book, as kids, we played the game “F.L.A.M.E.S.” in order to predict the future between you and your crush. Is that acronym still familiar to you? Well in case you forgot, here is what it stands for: F is for Friends, L is for Lovers, A is for Anger, M is for Married, E is for Engaged, and S is for Sweet. Now, do you still remember playing this with your friends or by yourself during your childhood? Writing your full name and your crush’s name on a piece of paper while slowly crossing out the similar letters found in your name and your crush’s name. Counting the remaining letters from each name and hoping that when you add them, you’ll count the sum on the “F.L.A.M.E.S.” acronym and hopefully you’ll stop at the letter M and not on letter A.

     How about “M.A.S.H.”? M is for Mansion, A is for Apartment, S is for Squatters, and H is for Hunted House. It is a game wherein you will draw a spiral until a person tells you to stop and then you will count the curve lines and then count the sum to the “M.A.S.H.” acronym in order to determine what house you’re going to live in when you get married with your crush.

     We’re done about autography books, F.L.A.M.E.S., and M.A.S.H., how about the “bahay-bahayan” game we play wherein we will be the mother and our crush will be the father and our other friends will be our babies? Do you still remember that awkward yet joyous feeling inside of us when we call our crush “honey” or “sweetie”? How funny it is to “cook” mud pie for your family and to “work” for your family isn’t it? Yes, during our childhood, we are already forming the family we want to have in the future, ready to take on the responsibilities of being an adult and yet, when we turn to adulthood, how we wish that we were children again whose only concern is to play.

     Having a crush is one of the most awesome experiences one could ever acquire but I believe that the only thing that could top that experience is when you eventually find out in the end that your crush has a crush on you too! It’s like a dream come true—like a happy ever after in the fairy tales our mothers used to read us every night before we go to sleep. To have a crush is to experience what it is like to love and to be loved in return and I believe that it is one of the foundation of our whole being that we’ll bring with us along our journey as we go to adolescence and adulthood.

(July 5-6, 2011)