We never said
our love
was evergreen,
or as unchanging
as the sea
but if
you can still
remember
stop and think
of me . . .
Think of all the things we’ve shared and seen don’t think about the things which might have been . . . Think of me, think of me waking, silent and resigned.
Imagine me,
trying too hard
to put you
from my mind.
Recall those days
look back
on all those times,
think of the things
we’ll never do -
there will
never be
a day, when
I won’t think
of you . .
Can it be?
Can it be Christine?
Bravo!
What a change!
You’re really
not a bit
the gawkish girl
that once you were...
She may
not remember
me, but
I remember
her...
We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea - but please promise me, that sometimes you will think of me!
| Unlike my grandmother and my mother, I was the only one that grew up in the United States. My family was not poor, however, we were a middle class family. Being a middle class family in the United States was a much better status than that of my mom and grandmother at the time they were growing up. Working or marriage was not a topic of discussion while I was young. The only thing my parents told me to concentrate on was my education. I did not have to work at a very young age like my mom. In fact, my parents forbid me to work until I was at the age of eighteen, when I was done with high school and considered to be independent. In Philippine culture, when females turn eighteen, they are considered to be an adult. Usually if a family lives in the city, the family of the girl has a party in honor of the girl becoming an adult. My mother and grandmother were not rich enough to have such a party for them when they turned eighteen. That is one reason why their initiations are different from mine. When I turned eighteen and graduated from high school, those two events were the start of becoming an adult. I did not have to deal with the hardships of birth at a young age or work in order to put myself into school. My parents did not want me to go through such experiences. Instead they persisted on saying that I only needed to work when I was at a certain age and that I should only study in school. When I turned eighteen I was given a debut to announce that I was an adult. When I turned eighteen, having my debut was a step closer to my graduation. In my debut, I sang “Think of me” from the musical “Phantom of the Opera. Christine, the one who sings the song in the musical, want the one that she loves to think of her no matter where he goes. When I sang this song for my party, I wanted others to think of me as an adult. I wanted everyone that attended my party to know that I was an adult and that they should think of me that what. That is why I sang the song on my birthday.
| I never thought high school would be an experience that I would actually enjoy accomplishing. I attended New World School of the Arts for vocal music. In order to attend, I had to audition among others to be accepted into the school. Throughout my high school years I had constant performances, competitions, and solo performances. My high school was different from other high schools. I had longer school hours, strict grade point average guidelines, and advance classes dedicated to the art of music. When becoming a senior, a few of my classmates and I had a senior recital, as all seniors should have. For my senior recital I also sang “Think of Me”. While singing that song I felt like I have accomplished something. It gave me a sense that the end is near and I will soon be graduating. “Think of Me” reminding me of my graduation because I wanted other classes to remember me while I was gone. Not only did I want them to remember me, but I wanted to remember the times that I shared and how I grew throughout the years. After I turned eighteen and graduated from New World, I was officially an adult. I got my first job to start supporting myself and I accomplished something that most teenagers do not experience. After high school I continued I went on to college. College gave me a sense that I am an adult because I am striving for a better life. |
