An autobiography by yours truly,
I was born on a chilly evening of the 27th of August in the year 2000 while my mother, Cristy Gan, was eating her favorite fruit, durian, with the rest of the family when all of a sudden, her water broke. They rushed to the hospital and it took only 20 minutes for me to come out of my mom’s womb. I do not remember much of my early childhood years but my mother told me that on the first day of school at Rotary Anns Pre-School, I was so excited and I didn’t even cry like most children do especially being away from their parents for a couple of hours, but I was different. According to my mother, she was just outside the gate and she can clearly hear me introducing myself to everyone with a loud voice and with so much confidence. I am proud to say that when I graduated Senior Kinder, I was the salutatorian in our batch with Best in Reading, Math, and Science awards. My mother who was a graduate of psychology was and always will be my best teacher, she tutored me since day and taught me more and tried to longer her patience when I have a hard time understanding the lesson. Because of my mother, I learned how to study independently and prioritize my studies before anything else because I always put in my mindset how my parents work hard every day just to send me to a decent school. On the other hand, my father, Michael Gan, is a hardworking father, he worked as a taxi operator years ago, my grandparents on my father’s side are known for their taxi business for decades until it stopped in 2016. He graduated with a course on architecture and migrated to Japan for 6 years to work in a construction company. I have Chinese blood; my great grandfather is pure Chinese which pretty much explains why our family is into business and I’m close-fisted as well. I have a younger brother; his name is Prinz Kris Mikhael Gan and he is 6 years younger than me which I find really difficult to bond with him because of how far our age gap is. My brother and I used to bicker over nonsense stuff but I could not deny the fact that I love my brother and I want him to grow as a man with good character. I love dogs and I hate cats because I had a traumatic experience with a cat before when it scratched my hand. My biggest pet peeves are changing plans at the last minute, people who walk slow, and when someone messes with my personal belongings.
Looking back at my childhood days, it was all about playing outside with my friends day and night, watching Totally Spies on Disney when it’s on, looking after my younger cousin who had a disability, birthday celebrations were still a thing before and the Christmas spirit was present back then. My extended family would celebrate every type of celebration together in one house and have other relatives to come over.
Moving onto my grade school years, those were the days when school works were very light, we were not bombarded with too much information by our teachers, it used to be so light if I’m going to compare it to the present time. If I can describe my 8-12-year-old self, it would be unproblematic and liberated. Sometimes I want to be young again when the only problems I had was wanting to play outside but my mother won’t let me, forcing myself to sleep in the afternoon or early at night when I don’t want to, or not having my favorite box type of stroller bag because it was too big. Sometimes, I want to be a child again and should have played with my neighbors as if it was the last day of being together before we part ways not knowing that that was the last day. I wish I could have savored every moment I had because I regret not living my life to the fullest at that time and I was looking forward of being an adult but little did I know it gets much worse yet thrilling growing up. During this stage, it revealed my talent in dancing which is my passion until now although I stopped joining dance clubs and dance competitions for how many years already.
Moving on to Junior High School (JHS), probably the best 4 years of my life that taught me great life lessons and shaped me into the person that I am today. The first year was definitely nerve-racking because we were the youngest and I thought it was going to be like those cliché high school movies when the freshies are bullied and underestimated which really made me feel anxious but turns out it was not like that after all. The higher years or the ate’s and kuya’s were actually very welcoming and warm to us, “babies”, of JHS. The second year was the first time I had chickenpox, one of the most unforgettable because it was one of the reasons why I broke my goal for perfect in attendance for the whole JHS, so devastating. Also, the second year was my first ever corny experience when I cried over someone for not liking me back because he liked my best friend. Until now I feel ashamed of myself for that stupidity and I know how embarrassing that was for a 14-year-old girl (cringe).
Now reminiscing my third-year memories, my favorite of all, the time when I met the person who means a lot to me, my constant, my touchstone. I never really thought it would go this far, it started from being enemies, hated each other and now we are on our 3-year journey. At first, it was petrifying because it is my first and I have no idea how relationships like this work, everything happened so quickly before my eyes. As months quickly passed by, the longer the relationship, the more it was tested, there were more downsides on our first year together but we did not let those struggles to destroy the foundation we built despite the very shaky situation we were in. The fourth-year or the last year in JHS was the saddest, unforgettable, break the rules kind of year for me. It was sad because we knew that once we’re done with JHS some of us are going to part ways going to different schools for a new start as Senior High School (SHS) students. It sucks to let go of the people you spent four years together making unforgettable memories that I would never trade for anything else.
But what saddens me more was losing a dear friend of mine closest to my heart, we have known each other since Grade 1 but did not talk much until Grade 5 when we became close without any idea how it all started. We both have a lot of similarities, we liked the same famous boyband, One Direction, and the same guy from that band which made our bond tighter and inseparable through fangirling. From that small bond, it grew and grew until it became a larger circle composed of people that I now call as my best friends. Losing a friend feels like a total heartbreak, no one can ever replace the memories we shared together and how lucky I feel to be her friend, a friend who was there with me through my ups and downs, the thick and thin in life. I may have done stupid things in the past due to immaturity but she never judged nor left me behind. She is Shaina and she will always have a special place in my heart and I hope wherever she is right now, she is happy with her mother and I hope to see her soon.
Finally, I am now in the second year in SHS and a graduating student with an Academic track under Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS). My two-year experience with the new basic education implemented by the DepEd is a challenging one because this tested my capabilities, confidence, and readiness for college. It actually made me realize a lot of things, especially what I want to become in the future. At first, I wanted to take up HUMSS because I wanted to become a flight stewardess since I am an adventurous type of person and I dream to travel around the world someday. However, it was too late already when it finally hit me that I am not completely sure of what I want to be because I may not be qualified based on the requirements for aspiring flight stewardess. So, my Plan B is to become a Psychologist specifically Forensic Psychologist, but my parents are not supportive of this chosen course to the point where they are already discouraging me. Both of my parents want me to become an Accountant or a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) if ever I passed the board exams. I am not saying that I am following my parents because they are the ones sending me to school but the fact that my mother is a Psychology graduate discouraging me to take the same course is pretty much convincing. I have made up my mind already on what course to take which is Accountancy.
Looking back at my past, one thing that I can do is to pat myself at the back for a job well done. I must say that I have lived my life to the fullest, I made my parents proud because I study hard and have high grades as a way of giving back to them, I have friends that I can trust, I am now independent in making decisions but still seek guidance from my parents and a lot more improvements I had achieved for the past 18 years of my existence. Most importantly, I give my heartfelt gratitude to the One above, Jesus, for always guiding me with his light leading me to the path of success and happiness wherever and whenever it may be in life.
THE VINTAGE PRINT 