AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I have been given the name Elaiza- said to be a combination of the names of two Christian prophets, Elijah and his disciple Elisha. I never really understood how that happened but I’m sure this can be due to the fact that my parents are devout Christians. I am the daughter of Mr. Lee T. Berame, a professional mechanical engineer and Ms. Marilou F. Tañajura, a nurse.

My father, a Cebuano by birth, spent the first twenty one years of his life in Cebu. Immediately after graduation, Papa was hired by the National Steel Corporation based in Iligan City where he met my mother. They got married on December 7, 1992, and built a house which became my home for sixteen years.

On the twenty-sixth of October, 1993, I was born. That year, the ever popular Beanie Babies were launched, the World Trade Center was bombed by the Islamic Fundamentalists for the first time, the first bagless vacuum cleaner was invented, and the Pentium Processor was introduced by Intel. I never knew any of these though.

SCHOOL

Well I found out, we could only understand some little parts of us
When I got that, I could only make a scene or make the best of it
-John Nathaniel, The Best of It

I started going to nursery school at the age of four. I was too young to realize the value of studying then that at one time I stubbornly refused to go to school and even my parents couldn’t convince me to go back. Luckily, I outgrew that attitude. Modesty aside, I became a competent student; well, at least in Iligan City.

My parents managed to send me to a special public elementary school for high achievers in June 2000. However, after three years of never being able to enter the top of the class despite my outstanding performance, my mother was convinced there was a flaw in the system. I was transferred to a private Catholic School in June 2003. My new school was smaller and situated just beside the Parish church. Obviously, playing and making noise should be restrained. It was pretty much different from my previous school, where kids could just do anything they like. My disposition was quite different from the others so I eventually became an introvert.

Being a loner, I found refuge in reading. We had plenty of books at home and I found them very helpful during those times. My love for books continued and I started looking for new ones. The only time I’d be able to receive a new one, though, was during Christmas.

Fortunately, I befriended someone who was able to save me from my misery. She was the exact opposite of the “me” at that time: very outgoing and animated, not to mention noisy. The funny thing was that she was a kid with, well, a number of enemies. Everybody was wondering why I, a “peaceful” kid, became close friends with her.

I was a consistent First honor student since Grade Four but my biggest break happened in the sixth grade when I was chosen as one of the representatives for the “Division Schools Press Conference”. At that time, I was as one of the staffers of our first ever publication. I was awarded first prize in the Division and subsequently in the Regional Level for editorial writing- quite a feat for a student coming from a virtually unknown school. But my luck didn’t last that long as I wasn’t able to bag any prize during the national competition in February 2006. It wasn’t such a shock though, considering we were from the southern parts of the country where the quality of education was relatively inferior. Nevertheless, that competition afforded me a free trip to Boracay and that alone was already good enough for me.

In March 2006, I graduated Valedictorian in Elementary and was accepted in a very reputable high school in our place. Adjustment was again quite hard for me, but it was easier to adapt to an environment of open-minded people. There were also more opportunities for socialization, such as acquaintance parties, so I eventually made many friends. I got myself my own group of friends and a weird “barkada” name: DJEGSHK. Parents would often forbid their kids to have barkadas since they would be “a bad influence to you”. That never applied to me though. I guess it’s just a matter of choosing the right friends.

I had it easy during my freshman year. I learned how to hang out with friends. Headaches and sufferings started arriving during my sophomore year in the year 2007; our curriculum was quite advanced, fairly comparable to that of a science high school. Most of the time, we were left on our own, - totally different from the “spoon-feeding” style in the elementary years. We had to spend sleepless nights preparing for exams and doing difficult projects.

By this time, I finally discovered the now extinct “Friendster”. Yes, I was so late. My friends often teased me because most of them already had more or less five hundred friends but I still had six. It was no big deal for me, but that was the fad that time, so I thought I really should catch-up on my friendster account. That was funny!

During my third year, I became an unfashionable girl carrying a heavy rifle and sweating it out. I joined the COLT (Cadet Officers Leadership Training) mainly because I wanted to be saluted and also because it would benefit me the next school year. It was tough but rewarding. After graduating from the COLT, I became a more respectable person literally, because I became one of the CAT officers, and also personally, because of all the lessons I learned during training. I became less girly (the exercises, drills, and duties were more suited for males), more disciplined (violation of rules equals tough punishment), and more mentally skillful (piles of documents were needed to be memorized and comprehended).

My last year in high school which started in June 2008 was very exciting; it was packed with tons of new stuff. We were exposed to movie-making as part of our curriculum. I played a major role in our group’s movie and it was totally fun, even embarrassing. We had one scene inside a Dunkin Donuts store which we had to re-shoot three more times. Just imagine having to go to the same store in the same clothes thrice in three consecutive weekends. We all know Pinoys are very keen observers. In spite of all the effort, the movie turned out to be disastrous in the end.

I finally became a staffer of the school paper. I never had the chance before, in my junior years, because there were too many senior writers. The staff went mountain climbing one time. It was fascinating to discover small communities up there in the presumably uninhabited areas of Mount Agad-Agad, Iligan City’s highest peak. Being there made me feel like I was in a different time and dimension. I wasn’t alone with my thoughts. Until now I still wonder how those Pop Cola, Sprite, and Coke bottles (of course they’re not empty) got to be sold up there.

One event we were all really looking forward to was the JS Prom. We did not have one during our third year “because of the crisis”, as the teachers said. We were lucky to have one that year. At that time, I already had my own fashion sense, and I can’t help but scrutinize everybody else’s outfits. Mine didn’t turn out as I imagined it to be; the tailor was not able to do the desired style due to the rotating brownout. The rotating brownouts, which started in the first quarter of 2010, were one heck of an annoyance. They would last three hours during weekdays and at least five hours during weekends.

Finally, graduation came in March 2010. I finished Second Honorable Mention. Sporting my school uniform under a white toga, skin-tone stockings, black four-inch high pumps, and a graduation cap, I proudly marched my way and sang for the last time our university hymn:

…saan man naroroon ay bigyang karangalan
Dakilang paaralan, Pamantasang Mindanao…

THE FAMILY

Contrary to popular belief, not all areas in Mindanao are chaotic. Iligan City wasn’t, until two years ago. I grew up unfamiliar with anything to do with war. The only war I knew was my own war with my brother, I only have one sibling, a brother, Lee Malcolm, who was born on July 1, 1995 or about two years after my birth. Back then, there wasn’t a day when we didn’t quarrel. I guess age really does change people, because by this time we could at least talk a lot without having to scream at each other’s faces.

Back when we were kids, every summer we would spend some days in Kalawisan, my father’s hometown. One time, we went swimming in my Lolo’s fishpond full of sharp-edged stones and numerous coarse roots of mangrove trees with my cousins. We also went “boating” on a very wide flat piece of Styrofoam using a small twig as a paddle. You may think it’s impossible, but our Styrofoam “boat” really floated, even with five people on it. In the end I acquired petty cuts and bruises, a terrifying sunburn, and an unforgettable experience of my childhood.

Kalawisan was a more rural area compared to Iligan. There were big trees everywhere and roads were uneven and full of jagged rocks. Most of the houses looked ancient, I sorted them out into two-types: the “pinoy horror movie” type (houses like those we see in our local horror movies) and the “environmental” type (ones made from indigenous materials). But it’s a really nice place to stay for lovers of nature.

Bisaya is the language widely spoken in both Cebu and Iligan, but there are minor differences. One important difference is the omission of the letter “L” for some words in Cebuano, like “wala” (nothing) becomes “wa” and “balay” (house) becomes “bay”. Also, Cebuanos speak gently and with a certain tone whereas Iliganons speak in an abrupt and monotonous manner. “Po” and “opo” are both absent in this dialect, but of course, it doesn’t mean Visayans are less polite.

Religion was a very important value in the family. Both my parents have been devout Catholics so we were brought up in a rather religious environment. We were trained to devote certain times of the day for praying and to go to mass regularly, at least twice a week. Christian character was also emphasized in the family. Childhood values really do live on; I still carry out all of these things I learned from before, even if nobody tells me to.

Ten million people each with their problems, why should anyone care?
-Kutless, Sea of Faces

My father lost his job when the National Steel Corporation (NSC) was shut down in 1999 due the crisis. I was in grade one then. He worked with Del Monte Philippines in 2001 in Cagayan de Oro City, which is 2 hours away from our home. We could only spend time with my father during weekends because of his newfound job. I think young kids separated from their fathers would either become more mature or more timid; my brother belonged to the latter, I belonged to the first (I think). For family reasons, my father stopped working with Del Monte and returned home as a consultant to the City Mayor. It was better this time since we had him with us. In June 2002, my mother also went back to work as a nurse, seeing that we were old enough. She stopped working for seven years to personally take care of us.

After finishing his Masteral degree, my father worked as a professor in MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology as a part-time job along with being a government consultant. We had lots of family “bondings” during this time. Every Saturday night we’d go to the City Hall to have dinner while enjoying the view overlooking the city. There were also times when we would go to my father’s office in the university to help out with his student’s papers.

Then, the NSC reopened in 2004, but already with a different name and owner. My father was rehired and decided to quit his job as a government consultant. He continued on with being a professor until I stepped into high school in 2006.

Our family was relatively stable in every aspect by this time. We had everything we needed, but not exactly everything we wanted. But then the new NSC threatened to shut down again. My father was offered a job by a former co-worker for a Japanese owned company situated in Bauan, Batangas. He started working there in 2008, the same year when the bombings rocked Iligan City. The first incident happened during our school Christmas Party, December 18, 2008. Our merryment was suddenly brought to an end and we couldn’t even go home immediately since we could be in danger. That caused such an uproar, it was broadcasted in national television. Mass media in the Philippines really are fond of catastrophes. On the other hand, that incident made most of the students happy, of course, because there were no classes. But it lasted for only a few days. Everything went back to normal after some time.

Being separated from my father was a big challenge for me especially because I often ask help from him for my assignments and projects. The whole family had to adjust because our daily routines suddenly changed. The modern communication facilities like cell phone and internet could not patch up the distance. My parents decided we should be together in two years time.

In April 2009 my father brought my brother with him to Batangas. I stayed with my mother in Iligan to finish my high school. Terrorist activities continued and that made us more determined to relocate to Batangas. In May 2010, without second thoughts, we left our home in Iligan and transferred to an apartment in Batangas.

Looking back, I believe it was God’s plan that my father got a job in Batangas. It was the first step in fulfilling my dream which is to be able to study in the University of the Philippines. Had Papa turned down the job offer in Batangas, I’m sure I wouldn’t be in this school today.

COLLEGE

So all the memories fade

And the days go by

Forget the lonely yesterdays in mind

I know it's never gonna be the way you like

I know you don't wanna think about the endlessness you find

You wait forever blind
-Lifehouse, Days Go By

This best describes what I am thinking these days. It’s been past a month now, but I still am not used to life here in the university; a different place, different faces, and a different language. Moreover, the pressure of being an iska causes me to almost crumble. And then, I hear these words:

So come on and leave the years when you watched the days go by

Come on and leave the fears that you were afraid to find

‘Cause while you wait inside

The days go by
-Lifehouse, Days Go By

Why worry too much? After all, everything will just come to pass. These days will go by.


Word count: about 2000 words (not including the song lyrics)