Set in the 1990s, 19-year-old outgoing beauty, Tin Escalante, has always had the most cliché dream ever--to live a better life.
Growing up unprivileged, she is ready to do whatever it takes to lift herself and her family out of poverty, even if she...
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I could clearly remember the very first book I had. It was a shabby English-Tagalog dictionary that was found by my sister on a bus bound for Sarangani.
I was not familiar with English back then. I only knew how to read Tagalog words. Overwhelmed by the foreign language, I counted the number of bold and italicized terms instead. There were a total of 1,500 strange English words in that small dictionary.
My brother laughed at me and asked why I was counting instead of reading. I told him I couldn't read English. Then, he told me that it was impressive enough that I knew how to count up to 1,500, so what made learning English different?
It was extra hard due to the lack of resources. How could I read a word without knowing how it was properly pronounced? We didn't have TV. The regional radio DJs only spoke in our dialect-sometimes in Tagalog, very rarely in English. The English songs played on FM stations didn't help much.
But, the lack of help didn't stop me from trying. I just read the English words based on how I think they could be pronounced. Of course, I was ridiculed. I sounded bad. But all I cared about was that, at least, I knew the spelling and its meaning. Pronunciation could follow.
And, it really did. After long years of seeking out anything and anyone that could be of help, I finally earned it.
I thought I was only interested in learning, but it turned out that I fell in love with words. Words that I find fascinating. Words that I find in books. Books that I find to be full of wonders. And, to find a place full of books is even more wonderful.
So, it's not a wonder that I found myself seated in a wonderful place called library.
"Why should I hire you?"
Inaasahan ko na ang tanong at kabisado ko na rin ang isasagot. Ngumiti ako at sasagot na sana nang dugtungan niya ang tanong.
"May limang college students ang nag-apply para sa OJT nila. Dalawang taga-Ateneo, isa from La Salle, may taga-Lyceum din at Mapúa."
Pinanatili ko ang ngiti kahit pa gusto ko nang mapalunok nang mariin.
"Bakit sa tingin mo ay ikaw ang dapat kong tanggapin?"
Ilang segundong katahimikan. Sa totoo lang ay nag-iisip ako ng sagot. Pero wala akong maisip kaya hinayaan ko na lang na kumilos ang sariling bibig.
"Kasi hindi gaya nila, hindi po ako nag-apply dahil kailangan kong makapasa."
