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Tuesday, December 18, 2018

“Gold Necklace” by Charlene S



Bing. “We are now ready for taking off”, the pilot said. I took a breath and closed my eyes as the lights dimmed down. For the first time after a while, I decided to leave behind the stress that was pulling me away from people who could not continue holding my hand for a while. The stitches that failed to piece me back together will be forgotten in a letter that may never be read.  Silently, I prayed that being 7,000 miles away from mental chaos will help me find my lost souls and I drifted into slumber. 15 hours later, I opened my eyes under the night sky of a different set of invisible constellations. It was December 23rd, 2017 in the U.S. but in Manila, Philippines, it was already Christmas Eve, 23:11.

My heart dropped as the door of the van opened to Lipa City, Philippines. Light rushed in through the opening and reached my dark corner. A few steps out and I'm already bombarded with unfamiliar faces I’ve seen from Facebook happily greeting me at the same time. Nervously, I smiled and spoke my greetings. Hola. I wanted to make a good impression but I guess I was so awkward that I ended up speaking in Spanish. It was one of those cases that ended up happening with no coherent reason. Regardless, they all laughed with me and they guided us into their gray, small house that had family history written all over. Up the creaky stairs, I was able to give the best Christmas surprise for my Lola and hold her tight in my puffy jacket. If it weren’t for her visiting the U.S. 2 years ago with an inability to speak English, I probably would not have attempted learning Tagalog nor embrace my accent. The night ended pleasantly as I was able to connect with cousins I barely met with my American-Tagalog tied tongue. Fortunately, Jet lag lost the battle to my physical exhaustion. I drifted away in a deep slumber with a feeling of sunbeams warming up my winter.

Three days had passed and I was already amazed by my cousins’ simple lifestyles. Celebrating Christmas with them became one of the liveliest I’ve had in years. The Tagalog phrases I exchanged with my relatives was not been grammatically correct nor was their English perfect. However, every time we laugh over our inside jokes, tell stories or embrace when departing, we would always forget about our different tongues. Unfortunately, right after Christmas, I woke up with sweaty, burning hands and a voiceless body with throbbing pains from my head to my throat. The pain led me to an emergency bed under the sick scent of blood, sweat, and germs behind the green curtains. It was disappointing having a throat infection in the wrong place and the wrong time out of all the other days I could've been sick. However, the disgusting antibiotics did not barricade my enjoyment there. 

The adventures I had with my cousins from one province to another was unforgettable. They helped me realize that there was more to just waking up with bug bites and smelling the polluted air under the humidity with bathroom inconvenience. On New Year's Eve, we visited the farm of trees and land that illustrated the colors of my dad's childhood. We had a long walk under the shade of palm trees and encountered dangerous dogs and friendly neighbors. With my left black converse shoe slightly covered with dry mud, I ran up the hill of tall grass. Ahead of me, I saw the view of the mountain’s faded outlines as the sunlight touched the light-green sea of nature below it. Seeing a whole different painting I would never see back here left my jaw dropping in bittersweet admiration. If only I was given more time.

Serene clear, blue water of Coron, Palawan, Views of quiet volcanoes of Tagaytay and crowded mall trips at SM reached the final page of the book. It came in a flash and every moment increased my anxiety as each grain of sand in the hourglass fell to the bottom. The gold necklace they gave me as a goodbye gift continued to link every moment I have with them so I wouldn’t forget. As every last picture gets taken, my eyes slowly began to sweat tears that eventually released a waterfall as I saw my relatives beginning to cry. I could barely breathe in my own ocean of tears and I hugged each of them, thinking that they are going to disappear once I let go. I found myself under a group hug and I for once didn’t mind the scent of their sweat that kept making me cry even more. Before I know it, I was in the van waving at them as the door closed.

The fresh canvases I painted in my head overpowered the monotone colors of my art gallery once again. Despite that it was quite painful to leave right when the roots of our foundation deepened, the memories I had with them continues to motivate me to persevere and maintain my optimistic personality no matter the difficulty. Until now, I continue to wear the golden necklace that had me promise to wear most of the time as a reminder of my family back home.


31 comments:

  1. This piece of literature was so descriptive that it was as if I were there! Overall, it was a read that I for one can empathize with. Having family halfway across the country, I rarely see them and it takes time for the bonds to develop! Anyways, a great piece with lots of imagery! -Joshua Kidwell

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  2. Charlene, I loved reading your blog, and hearing about your amazing connection with your family. I especially loved how you hadn't had a strong connection before that trip. Also, the detail and imagery in your blog is great. It really drew me in to the story even more. Great job! - Ashley French

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  3. I can definitely relate to you with something like this because I often take visits to Vietnam and often do I find myself in the same situations! Overall I think this is a really nice piece which addresses how you're feeling within that one moment, and being able to have the reader feel the same over the course of your visit! Good work !!

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  4. Your story of your 2017 holiday vacation was very inspiring. Even though you may have had some not great memories, you pushed that aside and continued your fun holiday adventures. You and your family may not have known each other long but you broke the barrier and immediately pushed your stress aside and had fun. You showed me that family can make stress just melt and I think that it is the best.

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  5. Charlene, I loved how you wrote the blog about your experience you had with your family in the Philippines. Having family who can't speak English very well or at all, I can relate to how you felt about feeling awkward speaking in their native tongue. I enjoyed reading this story you had to share, great job!

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  6. Charlene, what an interesting blog piece! I liked the way you incorporate both your thoughts and the rich visual imagery of the scenery there to demonstrate how unique your visit was in the Philippines! The organization of the blog is also very well structured, which underscored multiple aspects of the vacation that you enjoyed, a vacation very unique and special that was interestingly connected to the gold necklace. I liked that connection in the end to it, showing how much you cherished the time spent with your relatives. Again, nicely done!

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  7. I really love your story about visiting the Philippines as I also experience these things in the Philippines myself. I love how you symbolize your gold necklace as a remembrance of your family members and your native home in the Philippines. I also love the way you put a lot of imagery in your writing as I was able to see what your seeing in the Philippines.

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  8. Charlene, this was such a beautiful piece! There was so much vivid imagery that I felt like I was in the Philippines right beside you. It's lovely that you were able to use your blog about this one event that was so important to you. I can tell family plays a huge role in your life and that's so amazing. All of these emotions were so familiar to me because I know how much it hurts to say bye to family that you don't see everyday. This piece was put together so beautifully and I truly enjoyed reading it! -Chimi Nebedum

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  9. Charlene, I loved reading your story. I felt as if I experienced your trip because of the way you used imagery. I enjoyed the connection you made with your relatives and the happiness it brought you. Sometimes its hard to live far away from your family, but being far away means you cherish the times you do have with them. I experience the same thing, and appreciate your story because of it. Your story is very relatable and inspiring.
    -Kailee Hinds

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  10. I liked how you wrote about your experience visiting the Philippines and the beautiful connection you made with your family and I can also relate to meeting family members for the first time and building a relationship, how it can be a little awkward at first but later we are able to become really close. Your piece was also very descriptive and because of that I felt like I was on this journey with you.

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  11. This was such a great piece. The use of imagery in your story allowed me to visualize every scene you described in the Philippines. I liked how you wrote about opening up to different perspectives because it shows others that it's not that bad to try new things. I'm glad I read your blog Charlene!

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  12. Charlene, this was a lovely heart warming story. I really loved it. It kinda reminded me when I went to Guatemala to visit my family and meet all of the cousins I haven't met. I know how hard it is to say goodbye to family from somewhere far away. I love how the gold necklace is something that is important to you because of your family. For me family is very important to me. I loved reading it. Amazing work!
    -Jasmine Hernandez

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  13. I really enjoyed your piece, your use of imagery helped paint the beautiful scenery of the Philippines. I was emotionally hooked on to your relationship with your family as I felt happy and sad when you had to leave all that hard earned bonding time. Great job! - Eric Chang

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  14. Wow Charlene, your piece was beautifully written and your story made me almost cry. I was the same situation you were in during my freshman year when came home to the Philippines. Your story reminded on that me and my cousins did. Toward the end it also reminded on how I felt when leaving my cousins and relatives. I was devastated at first to leave them and to leave the place where I was born, but I managed to move and you use them as one motivation to do better life, like you did. Furthermore, I really like how you used visual imagery to convey what you truly feel to the audience. The way you describe Lipa City and Tagaytay is amazing especially vivid description! Thank you for sharing your story. Amazing and Great Piece!
    -Jean Andre Molina Period 4

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  15. Charlene good job writing your story. Growing up in an asain house hold, Facebook is a common tool used to connect to relatives around the world, I was able to relate to this story very much. Also, good job describing the scenary of Manila, especially the weather, it is very humid in Asia that every tourist can recall. Keep up the great work!

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  16. I absolutely loved this piece. It was so descriptive and relatable. It's beautiful to see how much your family means to you and the emotions in this piece were lovely. Good job :)

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  17. Wow! I liked your descriptive imagery of your visit in the Pilipines because it made me feel like I was there too. I am glad you did not let your illness discourage you from having a good time with your family and further adventure. Good job.

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  18. Wow! I felt like I could literally see everything you said because of your powerful use of imagery. This is so well done and it feels like it came straight from the heart. Family is everything and you really showcased what your family means to you in this piece. Well done!

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  19. The way that this piece was written I was able to picture all of the scenery as if I was also there and able to hear the sounds that may be present from going up the hill to hearing dogs bark. The structure of the piece is what was able to wrap everything into a beautiful piece of literature.-Sezar Guitron

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  20. Memories like these are the ones we carry around with us wherever we go. The gold necklace you have is a reminder of that. It was wonderful reading about how deep and personal your relationships with your family in the Philippines became and touched me at a very personal level even reminding me of my own personal connections with family too. Good job!

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  21. I really enjoyed your writing about you spending time with your family. I loved how you did not let the fact of only knowing the faces through facebook delay your great time with your family. It is usually a lot of awkward silence when I see family during the Holidays. Your experience really opened my eyes on how I should just jump in and embrace my roots and create stronger connections. This was an amazing piece and I loved every second of reading it!

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  22. Charlene, this might just be one of the most relatable pieces of work I've read so far. As a Filipino-American, the feeling of not being able to converse with your relatives in perfect Tagalog, but somehow still overcoming that barrier and having fun, is among my favorites. The feeling when you have to say goodbye to people you've grown to love, but live on the other side of the world is one that is painful, but then again, we have Facebook messenger.
    -Lance Anthony Aquino

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  23. Charlene, I really loved reading about your experience in the Philippines! The amount of detail that you put into your writing really helped me feel like I was right there with you. Your story is something that so many people can relate to with their own families (including me) and I really appreciate that you took the time to write about it. Great job!!

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  24. Charlene, I love your piece. It is so detailed and filled with imagery I felt as if I was there with you. I also appreciated how you included your discomforts and how things are different then what we are used to in the United States. I hope to one day have an experience like yours and meet family in Mexico. If my experience is like yours I have a lot to look forward too.

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  25. At the start if this story, I was laughing to myself thinking it was about a fear of flying or planes (like how you're scared of roller coasters). Past that, this was a lovely piece with beautiful imagery and a heartwarming tone about the Phillipenes. Your story embodied the tradition idea of what the holidays should be about: family.

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  26. Charlene this was so good! It was very descriptive and I felt like I was there. It was very well written and I really loved and enjoyed reading your blog!
    -Deanna Ortega

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  27. The description of your experience in the Philippines was excellent! From your writing, most specifically your tone, I could tell that you really appreciated and loved your time there. The way you describe events not only helps your audience visualize the Philippines, it allows us to get a full understanding of how you approached and embraced your heritage and family despite the language barrier and challenges like sickness and jetlag. I really enjoyed learning about your background and amazing character!

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  28. The feeling that you put into your piece felt so authentic and heartwarming. I can relate to the feelings you felt as just this winter break I went to Mexico and met my distant relatives for the first time. These vivid emotions that rushed into my heart resonated with my past experiences and made me appreciate your story even more.

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  29. Charlene, your work was so genuine and I really appreciated that. Also, I liked your use of emotion to convey your feelings. It was a great read.
    -Braden Bailey

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  30. I really enjoyed your blog Charlene, you used such a great amount of imagery which helped following your story so much easier. Good job!

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  31. Charlene, I too yearn to go back to many places. The feelings I have in these places are beyond my vocabulary. I hope you go back so you can add to your canvas. Great job!

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