Preparing my things the night before the community immersion to ensure that I do not to forget the things that are needed for the next day’s adventure was something I never regretted. When I had everything prepared and ready, I set the alarm at 7:00 and went to bed right away. Surprisingly, I had thought about the immersion too much before going to sleep, which caused me to have a dream about it. I couldn’t remember how my dream started but what I can remember when I woke up is that we visited a children’s “orphanage” where the kids were actually abused rather than being helped. The group of culprits were just branding themselves as an orphanage in order to get funds to keep for themselves. One of the kids told us that they were forced to work even through undesirable conditions. Thus, our group leader told us that we needed to save these kids from the bad people. We needed to stand up and be their heroes by bringing them home with us. I don’t know what happened next because my alarm woke me up. Nonetheless, I got worried as to how the day would turn out to be. I hoped that we would not face anything really serious and disheartening like my dream. I hoped that our deployment area is filled with happy people who are contented with their lives. True enough, the old people (aka “Mommys”) in the area were enjoying their lives. Although we heard stories where some struggled in the past in making a living for their family, most of them were completely happy with their marriage and family. Also, some told us that they grew up together, that’s why they already know each other very well through the years. However, there was one story that struck me the most. A story shared by one Mommy that told us that it was her child’s dream to study in DLSU, but they did not have the financial capacity to allow her daughter to do so. I was struck because of the thought that there are so many people that are dying to be in my place right now; to be able to experience and study in DLSU. Studying in DLSU oftentimes one thing that I take for granted, not realizing how lucky I am that my parents are able to support my dreams. Hearing her story made me really grateful of my parents and all the hard work that they are pouring.
It was truly a humbling experience to get to know and bond with the Mommys. Little by little, I am changing myself to become someone better in order to be the change that I want to see in the world. I want a world where everyone is happy and content. That’s why everyday, I make sure to put a smile on my face no matter what. As what others say, “Smile--and the world will smile back at you.”