Beneath her Mask

3: Nightmare

"What does family mean to you? I need you to explain that in 500 words in 30 mins. Your time starts now." - paguutos ng prof namin sa Personal Development

Ako, bilang isang 'mabuting' mag-aaral ay kumuha na din ng papel ko at nagsimula nang magsulat.

(A/N: just skip the italic lines if essays bore you😉)

They always say family is everything. But truth to be told, it's not. Let me tell you that some of the 'most poisonous' people are disguised as FAMILY. They want you to know that they got your back 100 percent but when things get tough, they'll leave you hanging like a fucking keychain on their expensive bags. Those type of family is what disgusts me the most. So to answer your question, family, is a group of people who are shitheads. They are the pathetic excuse of an actual person.

Genes, I have learned, do not make a family. Loyalty does. There are some people who's not even related to you and still care. They care because they actually do and not just because they are obligated to. They also believe you despite of what other people say about you. That, to me, is what family means. Yes, we do have several types of describing a family. Whether you're nuclear, single parent, childless or whatever it is. But I do believe that it's missing one important thing. Love. They need to teach kids that having a complete family cannot be considered as a family without love in it. Can you call him a father if he beats you to death for no reason instead of protecting you? Can you call her a sister if she does nothing but let you down instead of supporting you? And most importantly, can you call her a mother if she believes the story of others instead of her own daughter? If she doesn't love you and just sees you as a disappointment despite all your efforts to make her fucking proud? Certainly not! That's called toxic, not family. If you do have those type of people in your so-called-family, then what are you waiting for? Leave them! You all have choices to leave those pathetic people and never come back. Just because someone is 'family' doesn't mean you have to tolerate their lies, chaos, drama, manipulation, and disrespect. If they don't make you happy, then they're not your family. Blood doesn't really mean anything especially if they are such assholes. It's not being determined by blood but behavior. People needs to understand that because there are still idiots who refrain from leaving their families even though they've been already stabbed at the back not once but million times, has been beaten black and blue verbally or physically everyday, and has been left hanging in times of need because they believe that family should always stick together. Well sorry to burst you bubbles, folks. But i'm not one of those people.

I am writing this in behalf of all the people who have been mistreated by the people who is supposed to be family because they're blood but is not. I am going to say this again: Genes does not make you a family. If you got people with your blood but doesn't treat you right, they're not family. And if you got people who loves you but isn't related to you by blood or anything, they are your family. Learn to differentiate those two.

I finished the essay with my signature at the bottom and threw it on the student in front of me who's wearing a polkadot headband. Matching pa sa mukha niyang polka dots din hahahaha

"Ipasa mo sa lamesa. Wag mong babasahin kung ayaw mong makalbo. Bilisan mo!" - utos ko sakanya

Dali-dali naman nyang kinuha ang papel ko at nilagay sa lamesa ng prof naming naflush na ata sa toilet ng restroom dahil hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa bumabalik. Tumingin ako sa paligid ko, ako pa lang ata ang tapos magsulat.

"Naks Lana, bilis ah. Speaking from experience?" - pangungutya ni Kristin.

"Fuck off, bitch" - I replied as I rolled my eyes at her.

She just snickered and continued to write.

After what seemed to be hours, the prof came in and gathered all the papers on his desk then reviewed each one of them as the bell rang to signal our next class. We all stood up and gathered our belongings when he called my beautiful name.