My heart is ready to jump off my chest as I look at the other contestants.Their parents are busy putting perfumes and fixing the collars of their sons while my mom is preoccupied in putting charcoal on my face and making the holes of my rag tagged ‘sando’ bigger.

Why did I let this happen? I am going to screw up! I already lost and the declamation contest has not even begun. The 4 other students before me were amazing, eloquent and wearing their flashy barongs. Why did I think of this idea?

I honestly didn’t remember the poem that I have to recite (only that it has something to do about being ugly, poor and being unfortunate) and we thought (me and my mom) that to fully understand the character and essence of the poem I should make myself look “kawawa” (pitiful). If everyone is doing the normal, surely there is something we can do to make it extra ordinary. As it turns out the judges liked it! Enough to get me a gold medal and be acknowledged as the ‘best declamer’. A gold medal is a big deal for a grade 3 student back then. It was a big deal to me.

I think I may be into something.