Young Voice
That something
The shopping haven of SM City hadn't been so jam packed with people since a novelty icon or some matinee idol paid a visit. But that day was an exemption, and thus my premonition turned out to be reliable.
College freshmen, including myself, swarmed most of the upper floor corridors of the mall, all for the very same reason --- to watch Paraiso, the movie that starred Maricel Soriano, Cesar Montano and Michael V.
Watching it is a required activity by most of the universities here in the city .
Every teenage personality you could imagine was a part of this orchestra of differences. They were the fashionitas, those dudes and dudettes who seem to be always blooming and getting everything that is "cool"; the laid-backers, with their composed and frail looks and all that matter to them was enjoying the present; and the brainiacs, who, despite the sea of people, glue their eyes on their textbooks or mutter about the equations in last chemistry exams. Then, there were my kind, those who feel so naked within a multitude, who look at the floor almost always, seeming to be counting all the tile blocks of the shopping mall.
A simple charity-oriented movie has brought together such a variety of people.
Inside the cinema, there was a rock concert of different voices, all telling distinct stories. My boyfriend cheated on me. I got a perfect 1.0 in our Algebra midterms. I got sour cream popcorn instead of barbecue. And more.
At that moment, it became a nuisance. I busied myself with the nerve wrecking and spine tingling game of Snakes on my classmate Marinel's phone while the film wasn't rolling yet. Sadly I did not get a score higher than ten. The Snake game is harsh.
Something made me grin that day. As the movie progressed, everybody laughed and said "aaaw" together. There was a blending from those different personalities there.
It is a heartwarming experience to see how a world of differences come to a point of commonality. Right there and then, I knew that people are not completely different.
So the next time I would feel insecure of someone being on top of the pyramid than me, I should not think otherwise.
There's something that connects us all -- the cool, uncool, braniacs, average, laidbackers, worry-freaks and the "me".
What's that something? I would like to find out.
(Many thanks to AJ, and other readers who sent in their comments, these are highly appreciated. For comments and reactions please send an email to reylangarcia@yahoo.com or an SMS to 09186363090)