Untitled #21 by kielsey featuring a pattern dress

a cup of coffee and pan de sal for Filipinos

I never liked the MRT train that we have here. For one, it's crowded and filthy.  It would cause claustrophobia for anyone who is never really claustrophobic. Likewise, it manifests the third world predicament we have.

Last Tuesday proved truth to my statement. I had no choice but to take the MRT train to Cubao. First thing I noticed was the staircase to the station. Aside from it being incredibly steep and long, it was really dirty it stinks. Upon paying for a ticket, I had to line up for checking that took the queue up to the exit/entrance staircase. Once I got to the platform, there's a line that leaves a small space between passing people and the train rail. There's actually a danger for anyone to fall off the platform into the railings. But that's not it, I got inside the train after thoroughly squishing myself and my bags in. As the train door closed, I realized everyone else inside the train is completely immobile.

The Filipino idiom "di mahulugan ng karayom" unfolded right into my eyes. Best part, I was part of the canned sardines. All the minutes I spent trying to move my arm just so my bag wouldn't fall off my shoulder, I was playing images from the life I witnessed during my event which ended just this Monday. My four-day event includes having to be in a place where money doesn't seem like a big deal; where people could afford buying a bag worth 25,000php and not feel the loss of money.

I've been in a place where people don't even realize what's outside their doorsteps. We are in a place where people could buy expensive cars but others had to take the dirty train. We are in a situation where some people could afford a meal for a thousand bucks while others don't even know how foods exist. Technically, we are in a place where some people live rich when the truth is, we are not. We are a country filled with people pretending to be rich. And that thought bugged me for what felt like an eternity though I only spent minutes inside the train. The way others are living out their lives while others have to endure this type of situation everyday doesn't just seem fit.

Maybe it's because we're used to it. With making out with what we have. With the "pwede na yan konting tiis lang makakaraos din" line. But what are we doing?

I, myself, am guilty of indulging with material things and even living way beyond what I should have. Maybe we should just go to the basics. Maybe we should just relish the prospect that in time, things might change. That's a possibility. But still, I am hoping for it.

Realization is a pre-requisite for mobilization. In our own little ways we could reach out to those little less than us. Let's do this for the present and the future.

In time, things would be a lot different. What others had forgotten: dreams for the Philippines buried down with the rest of reformists and heroes who died, will be realized. And everyone will be mobilized to change despite the hypnosis brought about by capitalism and the media. Let's do this for those who have gone, for us and for the next generations to come.

We will go back to the morning routine of kape and pan de sal when we wake up with the sun rising. The trains will be better. The roads will be smoother. The Filipino dreams will be bought back to life.
Because clearly, every morning that comes is a chance to make things better. And we will definitely make our country better. You hold a chance in you.

Wake up, dear kababayan.