“I don’t really have the right to choose. Because there are people out there who doesn’t have a choice.”
I’ve been realizing a lot of things in my life these days. Most of the time, I’m left alone at home without anyone to talk to. Which gives me more time to think. Last night, I watched the news. I hate watching the news, really. I hate the parts where they talk about typhoons, earthquakes and other natural destruction. A slight thunderstorm sets my whole being in chaos and my mind in its most negative state. I’m afraid. But then I thought, who isn’t?
Watching the news, I’ve seen families lost their homes. Farmers lose their only way of survival. Children at their early age exposed to the severe hardships of life. People eating anything edible they see. People of any age die because of wars caused my selfishness and cruelty. Families making the most of everything they have. And suffer really hard.
I felt that quenching feeling in my chest. Each image hit me like whips of thorn slapped against my bare skin. It was painful. To think that I’m sitting here, typing in my laptop, under the beautiful light from our florescent lamp, sitting on a comfortable couch with an electric fan easing the heat I feel…There are people out there who doesn’t even know what a laptop is, people who don’t have the slightest idea how it feels to be sitting in a comfortable couch while watching television and feeling the air of electric fans. I have a house that could protect me from heat and rain while others don’t even have a house to live in. I have a large bed comfortable enough to bring be to my deepest sleep, while to others, boxes are enough to make them feel comfortable. I complain when a black out happens while others don’t even feel how it is to have electricity. I hate attending school because I get bored and uneasy while others are deprived of their own right to go to school. I hate doing assignments and reading textbooks while others don’t even know how to read. I get to choose and request for food while other don’t even have anything to eat. I complain of how complicated life is, while other people have a limited life to live.
And I came to this question, “Do I really have the right to choose?”I, who have a cemented and stable house, protected by sturdy walls and strong floorings, is afraid of storms and earthquakes. But how much more are those who live in bungalows and wooden houses? How much more are those who doesn’t have any home? I, who experiences every right I have, the right to study, to play, to choose, etc, has the guts to complain. But how about those who are deprived of those rights? Those children and people who have much more determination to study than I have. Those children who have no wide grounds and fields to play. Those who don’t have any choice but to live the life they have. I, who often have fights with my parents and uncountable misunderstandings, has this nerve to dislike my parents’ orders. How about those children who doesn’t have any? Those who don’t even know how it feels to be taken care of by a mother. Those who don’t know how it feels to play games with your father. Those who lived without their parents. Those who longed for their parents who are far away. Those who doesn’t know where their parents are.
I feel humiliated. I actually had the guts to be afraid, to complain, to demand and to hate. While there are these people who are contented with the little things they have. These people who are happy even if they don’t have power, money, mansions, cars and luxury. These people who live happily and contented just because they have each other.
By the end of the day, we wouldn’t be able to hang on to our riches and material things. Money can’t wipe our tears. Cars don’t have shoulders to lean on. Mansions can’t ease away any pain we feel. But being with the people we love and appreciating the love they give…it’s priceless.
Visit Gbejada Costa for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
