problematic even as a teenager. My form of self-expression came in the way I dressed, which my mother often found unconven- tional, but she allowed me that since I was, she said, a bright student. And in the way I spoke, with a slight American twang, it was almost like they had sent me to school abroad, for so much less expense. Consistent with my predilection for joining clubs, I was a member of the high school’s drama club, the glee club, our school paper’s staff; I even passed the tryouts for cheerleader,
She ended up completing her college
one of the most coveted “titles” in my school. Of course, my co- scholars were definitely more brilliant and smarter than I am academically, so my mother encouraged me to outshine them in the arts—singing (I had a singing group), dancing (I knew all the latest dances then and eagerly displayed them at parties), and in community activities: whenever youth volunteers were needed, my mother would always give her ready approval for me to join. education at the Philippine Normal College, but immediately after graduation, Mama started teaching at the young age of 18 or 19 so she could escape the hardships at home.
It was not surprising, therefore, that she also chose my college school for me: Maryknoll (now Miriam College), a choice
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