NARRATIVE ESSAY

TIME

            Time is the best gift that one could give. Spending time with someone is the most effective way to express our love for him because it is very important and no one could ever bring this back once spent.

            Three years ago, I was in the last year of my college life when our class had an immersion. Years had passed but that experience is still fresh in my mind since I have been using it as one of my flowing engines to push through and become a better teacher.  Five days is a long time that we had spent in a far barangay of Bongalon in the municipality of Sagnay, Camarines Sur. A week before we went to Bongalon, I thought of that immersion as only a requirement for me to pass the subject and to explore other place as well. I knew that we have to serve the folks there and adapt to what environment they have. Thinking that it might not affect the people there unless they become interested, so I just planned to help my classmates fulfill our mission of accomplishing the tasks and nothing more, but I was wrong. In fact, our five days there brought changes—taught me things and brought me to a higher level of maturity not just as an education student but as a person and as a child of God as well.

            On the second day onwards of our stay on that unforgettable place, many children visited our area and some of my classmates entertained them. I, too, but that was just an ordinary talk to a group of children unlike what my other classmates were doing—they were interestingly teaching them. Although I also wanted to do the same thing, I didn’t do it. I said we’re not yet doing our activity such as teaching the children and everything. I said, “I’ll be forcing myself do it, in fact, they maybe just curious about us that is why they were there—that’s what I said to myself until on the succeeding days, they would come and got bigger in number. I didn’t notice that my ordinary talk with them became a time of sharing, teaching and also learning, not only on their part but also mine. I didn’t notice that I’ve been spending most of my time with them. Until we had our activity called “Adopt a Child”, wherein, we were tasked to teach children of kinder to grade six.

Back then, I was a type of a person who is not confident to stand in front of people (even children) and teach them. I’m not even a leader to lead their team in our “jingle contest”. I knew I don’t have those qualities or I should say, I lost those qualities when I entered college; but when we were teaching them, I was able to do it again and was surprised finding myself doing all those—dancing, singing, laughing and playing with them. And whenever I say something, they listen very attentively; whenever I instruct, they follow and they do it their best to show me what I wanted them to do. During that time, I felt very different. I realized how a person like me affected young minds; especially they enliven and brought out the abilities that I thought I’ve lost already. From that moment, I realized that our five days stay there would never be useless and since the children were always in our area, and because I learned from them, they became important to me and so, every day, I spent most of my time sharing them many things—giving them my time-- my most important belonging. And it was overwhelming to see them very happy of my company. And I supposed, I’ve given them the most important gift.

Even if we gave them material things, I know in their hearts that the time we had given them made them feel loved and important. And with those, being there was never a task but series of experiences and lessons.

In life, people always search for things that would give them true happiness. But time is theirs and it is the best thing that they could give to express their love and make others happy.

                                                                                -Mylez '11-