Summer of 2002, I was part of the Summer Of Service (SOS) program organized by the alumni association of my alma mater. Qualified students who pass certain criteria set by the association are the only ones admitted in the program. Fortunately, I got in.
The objective that got me interested in joining the SOS is the opportunity to work in a professional setting and at the same time earn and offer 50 percent of my salary to a sponsored elementary student in a nearby public school.
I was assigned as staff in a coffee shop near General Maxilom Avenue, just near Mango Avenue, Cebu’s modern red light district. I was not fond of coffee back then but I had fun making brewed coffee for customers. I was assigned to open the store and to make the coffee shop presentable before it opens. I set the table and chairs, mopped the floors, wiped the glasses, placed the papers in the newspaper stand and greeted customers as soon as I finished.
Trial and Error
Sometimes I get to work as a messenger, walk around the city under the heat of the sun and talk to people I do not know. I remember one time when a customer who is a lawyer got mad with me when I handed him his spoon and fork with my bare hands. Nah, I never knew the protocol in handling utensils using tissue. I never did. And that depressed me and made me plan to quit the program, but I did not. It was a scenario of trial-error.
It was through that program where I met different types of people and lived what they call the ‘real life’ contrary to the experiences I had in the exclusive school. Talking to the staff in the coffee shop made me reflect how hard life is, how hard it was for me to earn P80 a day and still give half of it to my sponsored child. What was left for me was my bare P40.00 in exchange for my 4 hours of hard work.
Eye Opener
It was at that time when I learned the value of money and hard work. It was then when I never wanted to spend the P40.00 that I earned because I badly worked hard for it. The Summer of 2002 was unforgettable.
I was not used to these things when I was in school. I was not allowed to go out of the campus unless our family service was at the gate to pick me up, and was not advised to eat street food – SOS made me eat pungko-pungko, a street food popular in the area of Cebu City.
Productive Year
But then I wanted to learn something and told my parents to leave me alone just for the summer, they were hesitant at first, but then allowed me to do things in a simple yet adventurous way.
I learned a lot of things in the simplest way ; It was also a summer when other students from Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu started to know, learn and value the realities of everyday. All of us experienced the same thing – that everyday is an opportunity to learn new things and to learn from mistakes.
Always remember that this world is a big laboratory. This summer, plan to do simple and good things for your fellow countrymen, as you find out for yourself that life is not really what you think it is.
(My published article in a local newspaper here in Cebu City, Philippines in 2010.)
