“Things happen. People change.”

“Things happen. People change.”

- Julia Roberts, Mona Lisa Smile

It’s not always easy to accept things as it happen, especially when you least expect it. Of course, the road we’ll be taking may be rocky at times, but who cares? Sometimes we just have to look back and see how far we’ve come.

Things happen…

I remember myself praying a few months back for the Lord to help me get to know this guy a little more, without having to throw myself on him. And so it happened. We began to exchange messages and got close in a civil kind of way.

Weeks passed and I found myself falling for him more. When I tried to read my journal, I saw entries telling how much I miss him and how I should control myself before I get smitten by him completely. Now I ask myself, did I succeed in doing so? I don’t think so!

A few days ago, I again said my prayers to the Lord. This time, I asked for a sign whether I should stop this craziness of mine or not.

That same day, I sent him a message in commemoration of the season. There was no reply whatsoever. I assume that was the sign I was waiting for. It was not typical of him not to reply to any message I send him. A simple “thank you” would do. I guess that was the end of it all.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again. It has been a month since I last saw him. It’s back to reality for me, and that I’m sure of.

Now my prayer would be that the Lord would help me get him off my mind in the soonest time possible. So if by any chance I see him again, I can tell myself: “Hey girl, that was the guy you used to like a lot!” and then turn back and smile. For after all, he made me happy even for just a while.

Things have happened. And yet I still am ready to face others that may come.

People change…

Last Thursday, I got to watch “Mila” starring Maricel Soriano. It was the story of a teacher’s struggle through life. It reminded me of “Munting Tinig” and “Mona Lisa Smile” in some ways, one of which is because all of them had a teacher in the lead role.

When I was having a hard time finding employment a few years back, my eldest sister would often tell me, “You should have taken Education instead.” Honestly, I can’t blame her for saying that. I have two cousins who are successful in their chosen fields, the first one having just finished his master’s degree and the other one is a fulfilled teacher of English subjects in high school. Another one is about to take her licensure examination. Talk about teachers in my family, huh!

And before I forget, I am also surrounded in the office by educators of all sorts: holders of masteral and doctoral degrees, Fulbright and Monbusho scholars, and awardees of the Metrobank Foundation.

It has always been my dream to teach – in the tertiary level in particular. But now, it doesn’t matter anymore. What’s more important is that I want to touch lives and make a difference in this world.

So, have I changed? I believe I have.