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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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January 29, 2018
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(Or, Maybe You’ve Heard This One Before, But You’ve Never Heard It Like This)
MY GRANDEST dream and only ambition in life is to be able to write beautiful and touching stories in my sweet and mellifluous Hiligaynon language.
But in the Philippines, in Western Visayas, in the province of Iloilo, in the town of Dumangas, a house made of concrete, a flashy car, and a fat bank account are the standards of a person’s success. And these were expected of me. Everybody just assumed that I would easily get these things because I was supposedly more intelligent, more talented, and more capable than most people from my town.
So, at 33, in 2002, in addition to my B.S. Biology degree, which I earned in 1990, and from which didn’t really benefit much (because I didn’t proceed to study Medicine) I went on to study Nursing as a second course while my classmates in Biology were already famous and established doctors, with houses made of concrete — virtual palaces; beautiful cars — not just one, but often a collection; money in the bank; and several smart investments.
In short, they were successful. Whereas I, a loser, barely subsisted on a hand-to-mouth existence. I continued writing for the newspapers in Iloilo City for a while, but started Nursing as a second course.
After Nursing, I breezed through all the board and licensure exams, because other than just being textbook smart, I was one lucky test taker. But I always say, “I am just smart that way.”
Also, because I was a media personnel (or media practitioner — whichever comes in handy), I was granted a tourist visa to the US in 2006, when it was very hard, if not almost impossible, to obtain; especially since my income didn’t even come up to P75,000 annually.
During my interview at the American Embassy, the consul asked, “Why do you want to go to America?” I replied, “I want to see autumn.”
The consul was taken aback. But of course, there is no autumn in the Philippines!
I am smart that way. Often, I have Miss Universe cunning and smart alecky comebacks during interviews. When I was asked, for example, why I wanted to pursue Nursing, I responded, “Because I want to serve humanity, take care of the sick and the needy, from womb to tomb, without preference or bias against age, race, color, sex, or sexual orientation. I want to be a Florence Nightingale of the modern times, a Mother Teresa, a Father Damien of Molokai, who is the patron saint of lepers and outcasts.” (To be continued)/PN
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