"Sayang."

During my regular blog-hopping, I stumbled upon this entry from someone's blog that pondered on the phrase, "Sayang siya." We've heard these words several times already, and even uttered those words about someone, and sometimes, it's about us.

I can totally relate to this. I'm one of those "sayang siya" cases myself, having stopped school just because the opportunity of working in Atlantis was offered. Sayang daw because I should've been a college graduate first, and that I could've gotten a better, high-paying job soon after that. Most of the people who say I'm sayang are from my family, which is not really a surprise. One aunt even asked me, "Ano kaya kung mag-nursing ka na lang? Mas marami ka pang kikitain pag nurse ka." But did she even try to ask if I wanted to be a nurse? Pfft.

But I have to agree with Grace. To quote: "I hope that this phrase would be eradicated from the minds of people [I am trying to eradicate it from mine!]. For me, saying 'sayang siya' is a way of looking down on other people, only it is masked with a dash of sympathy. People are products of what and who they are, of their choices, and of their experiences, so we have no right to say this, either of other people or ourselves. And let us remember, and I do hope we realize this, that people might actually be where they should and want to be. No life is a waste."

Even though I'm back in school right now, where half the population is 10 years younger than I am, I still have no regrets about the past 5 years. I have learned a lot during those years, and most of those lessons are things that I don't get to learn in school. Heck, yung mga kahinaan ko sa school, and especially sa thesis, I learned in the office and in the theater. Konti lang ang matututunan mo sa stage management in school back then, and I was so grateful for the hands-on experience I got in TP. I learned how to be more persuasive, and how to talk to people in the workplace. I also learned how to find my way around the metro. Syempre hindi naman pwede na may kotse palagi or sasakay na lang lagi ng taxi. And sometimes I can't believe that I actually learned how to run the office on my own during those times that I have to be the only one in charge. I even learned how to finally wear my heart on my sleeve, and it happened during and after workshops. Plus I learned how to make certain decisions, plus a lot more lessons. And all those helped make me grow more as a person. So I don't believe na "sayang" ako in the long run.