Life Is Like That

Life Is Like That

By: Narcisa Parker

On this interview, I have chosen Anna Liza, she is twenty four years old and currently enjoying her single hood, who has been not just my childhood friend but my lifetime best friend. I have chosen her because I am always curious of how she managed to be who she is at present. I witnessed all her hardships in life, especially on dealing with her folks after her father died way back when she was nine years old. I always witnessed how her older sisters maltreated and how her brother doesn’t care of her at all as if like he did not exist. I also witnessed how her mother pressured her. Although sometime I could not blame her mother because all of their lives they been struggling for a better life. Now her mother finds hope in Anna that one day Anna would deliver them from poverty to a little better life. But her mother failed, this is maybe because we cannot set a life the way we wanted to be sometimes. I call it a matter of luck. I don’t know if lots of my readers will agree. But that’s how I see it on her life.

On this interview Anna and I were talking different languages Filipino and English. On the other hand I am translating it on what she was trying to tell us in English.

Me: What does the word woman mean to you?

Ann: I’m not sure with my answer Sang! For me a woman is somebody who had a strong motivation in life that every time she falls she stands and faced the world again.

Me:Can you share us a story that challenge you as a woman.

Ann: Oh let me think. Okay that reminds me of my sad life story.

When I was young, I thought I’m contented with my life but things have changed when my father died. I was 9 yrs. Old, I dropped my studies but my mom tried to send me back to school so my grades were low. Did u know that I’m a second honor in grade one? And I'm first honor in grade two. But when I reach grade three, that time my world goes down cause my beloved father was gone. I love my father than my mother, pinapalo,kasi ako at kinurot,alam mo naman ako may pagka spoil when my father is still alive.

Anna said that she doesn’t like her mother that much because she spanked and pinched her. At the same, though, she was a little bit spoiled by her dad.

I noticed that my sisters think they were smarter the more they insulted me. Kisyo panget ako, baluga, palwa ang ilong, kung walay bangag hubag. My sister said that I am so ugly, I look like a monkey and my nose looks like the coconut frond and if my nose don’t have whole it looks like a bump). I really really hate them, so I get my happiness to my friends Sang and Joan.

Anna was describing how she hated her sisters so badly. Her sisters always teased her, telling her that she was very ugly, because her nose was shaped like a coconut frond and if it didn't have a hole it would look like a bump on her face.

Until one day, my mom told us that we need to stay in Cugman,I said no, but they tried to convince me that the place was nice “kaysa tumira kami na pinapaligiran ng maraming pakialamera at tsismosang kapitbahay”.My hatred grew strong, to my neighbors and my sisters. Di na ako masaya...

Since that time Anna's familiy faced a challege. They became the talk of our little community. Most of my neighbhors were talking about them behind their backs. Her mother could no longer take it and decided to move to another community which was in Cugman, still part of Cagayan de Oro. But Anna had reached the point where she did not have any body to talk and that made her sad.

When Nita and Marites both got pregnant, I was ashamed of them. Nakakahiya, lahat ng tao tumitingin sa akin baka ako na ang susunod na mabuntis. Marites get married pero walang kasal.

Anna was ashamed of what had happened to her sisters. Her neighbors assumed that Anna would be the next one to get pregnant. Our neighbors thought that getting pregnant without marriage was immoral.

So, I promised to myself na mag aral ako ng mabuti. It was still a disaster because I only go to school four or three times a week kasi walang pamasahe. Walang (no)projects.

She thought that she would focus on her studies, but it was so sad because Anna's mother could not afford to send her to school five times a day, because she couldn't afford the fare for the jeepneys.

Di nakapagtapos ng pag aaral ang mga kapatid ko, wala kasing ambisyon, ang gusto nila pag nag aaral sila dapat my malaking baon for lakwatsa. Di ko sila sinisiraan. Ngayon nga nagsisisi sila kung bakit sila d nkatapos, pero sabi nila swerte ko daw, sabi ko dili gyud tamad gyud mo,gusto happy go lucky. Nakatapus ako ng highschool, the I stop one year at nagtrabaho ako. Pero gusto ni Nita na kunin ang sahod kasi puli lang daw ko ni mam. Kaya hayun nisukol, ano sila sinewerte.

Anna sisters were not able to complete their highschool because they did't want to go to school without any money on their pocket. They thought that going to school was to socialize and to be happy go lucky. Anna thought that they didn't have any ambition in life. Anna goes on saying that she doesn't want to say bad things against them but she thought that they were lazy. Anna was able to finished her highschool in spite of all the troubles. She was appointed to replaced her mom's job position to benefit the family, but her folks were trying to control her to take what Anna earned. But Anna fought back.

Six months later, I think September yun binibiro ko si Mr. Lim, sabi ko Sir mag aral ako ng college. Aral sa gabi trabaho sa umaga, sabi nya dapat ngayon na, sabi ko sir sa June na lang kay wala koy pang enroll, sabi nya ako bahala. Pero ako talaga ang nagbabayad sa entrance fee, sa tuition lang kami naghahati. Until last sem ko na sa college, reklamo si sir kay ask naman ko big amount for whole sem kay mag on the job training nko,pero nipyait cya kay dako daw.

Six months later while Anna was working she asked her boss for permission to continue her college while she was working, and her boss thought that it was a good idea. Anna and her boss decided to divide her tuition fee and all other expenses between them, but during her last semester her boss complained because she had started to demand huge amount of money for her "on the job training."

I decided to stop and working for 1 year then finished college, nihilak man ako mama kay ikamatay daw nya kung dli ko kahuman, hayon nkatapos sa awa ng dios. Grabe hambog ni mama oy kay siya daw nkapahuman. he he he he he he,nkatawa ko, gpasagdaan na lang nko.Hayun nkahuman.

Anna decided to stop going to school for one year and save some money. Eventually she was able to go back to school and graduated. Her mom was very proud of her, but she claimed that it was because of her help that Anna made it. Anna just made a laugh out of that.

I remember that one day I asked Anna if she was still upset with her family and she answered me, “No I forgive them, all I knew I don’t want to be like them! I knew that the scar remains in my heart, it was like yesterday. No matter what will happen, they will always be my family and by doing that I feel light and happy inside.”