melodrama........44

They say that Filipinos love dramas. I have no idea how they
were able to come up with it. But now I just realized that yes, maybe they do:
maybe we do.

I am not fond of dramatic movies. In fact, I would rather watch comedies and
horrors rather than drama. I just can’t stand the drama. But as I was watching
a non-dramatic TV show (WOWOWEE) today, I just cant believe how affected I was.

The show was held in Reno and Filipinos in America gathered and filled the
stadium. There was a part in the episode where they showed their past
contestants as a tribute to all tfc subscribers who helped the show. It was
also an appreciation of the Filipino spirit who always smiles even in the midst
of a storm. It started with clips of past winners who jumped with joy, filled
with laughter, then of clips with little tears but still smiled after it all. There
was a man who got reunited with his mom after having no contact for decades,
there was woman who expressed her love for her husband after decades of staying
silent. Then there was a taho vendor who vowed to continue his studies now that
he has won an amount. All of them had tears in their eyes. Now as the clips
rolled, I became emotional. Tears started to form.

Then there was a boy who expressed his gratitude to his dad for raising him and
said that even though they were poor, he is still thankful for everything. By
this time, I was now rubbing tears from my eyes. I just can’t take it
anymore. I'm not really the emotional type but I have soft spots for real life
people telling their stories of guilt, affection and appreciation.

Then there was a disabled child (sorry for the term) who even with his ailments
has always stayed cheerful. He sang "hawak kamay" with all his heart
even though he could hardly open his mouth and pronounce the lyrics. It was
just an inspiration. His mom tried to hide her tears and you can see that they
were happy but wished that it could be better. More and more tears are now
forming in my eyes watching that scene. I was smiling the whole time but my
heart was torn and inspired at the same time.

I have no idea why every time I watch scenes like this, this always happens. I
can always think of how miserable their life is; easily gladdened by things I
usually took for granted. It always reminds me of how lucky I am, that I shouldn’t
even be complaining because I have what others don’t. If only my life would be
simpler then I guess I would have appreciated more things. From the stories of
these real people, I would appreciate the beauty of my life. Hopefully, I can
start making this world a better place to live in as well.

Melodramas....