Mere Facades

I always marvel on the notion people have regarding me especially those who haven’t known me for a while. I was surprised one time when one of my pals relayed to me what this group of gals’ thought of me. They considered me suplado or unfriendly. Today, however, that line no longer bewilders me.

I am the type who doesn’t sashay on the alley to raise audience’s attention. Nor do I tell people through out-of-this-world gestures that I’m present. To simply put it, I don’t talk nor project a smile to people I don’t know personally.

There is also one thing that makes me laugh my lungs out. People thought I came from a well-off family. That my family is economically and financially well off. They, however, based their judgment on how I dress and project myself.

Our mother is telling us frequently to always look or dress neatly and clean even if your clothing just cost a few pennies. She hates to see us untidy. Remember one of the surf advertisements where Lumen is praised by her mother-in-law by this exact phrase: “ Wow, damit mayaman.”

They totally mistook me as a kidnap-for-ransom potential victim. My parent soils their hands daily to send us to school for our education. I had experienced sharing a small dried fish, a quartered chicken wing, a Target (a saucer full of salt where we dipped our fingers), a few drops of soy sauce with my siblings as provisions for many circumstances. I dwell in a bahay kubo (a native small nipa house) until this time. That’s no lie.

My mother keeps reiterating to us that it’s not what you eat that makes a good and dignified person. They are respect for others, respect of others and fear of God that makes a buxom personality and life.

You will always mistake me for something/someone else unless you come to know me better. Deep inside, I am bashful, however, candid. If you see me projecting a different picture, it is because my line of work requires it. In short, they are mere facades essential for my craft.