The Unseen Beauty in the Streets of Cavite

      

      As I look in the mirror earlier, I noticed how tanned my skin is, an unusual view for a man with a fair complexion for the longest time. I smiled, reminiscing about the unexpected entire day of “gala” I did yesterday. 

I was scheduled to receive my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine yesterday. It only took me an hour and I’m ready to go. I thought to myself, “I still have a humble amount of money to go to the neighboring cities and municipalities of Dasmariñas City: my beloved hometown”.

Equipped with my rugged sneakers and classic denim jacket, I got on a bus to SM Bacoor. While I was sitting in the middle part of this PUV, I noticed that the “kundoktor” is a woman which is unusual in the Philippine highways. As I observe her, I saw how different will it be if we have more women doing the job of a “kundoktor” and that’s because she was very polite and neatly dressed while also maintaining a professional demeanor. Something you rarely see in men in this profession. They usually just wear a t-shirt with tickets on their hands, eh?

I noticed how serious she was in the entire duration that I was on the bus. I wondered if the reason she did not break a smile even for a second is because she knows that her job is mostly for men. Has she taught herself to be “tougher-looking” than she is to survive in her chosen profession? 

After spending a short period inside SM Bacoor, I went into a line of these colorful buses with hand-painted artworks all over them: a trademark of Bacoor City and its neighboring cities and municipalities. 

These buses demonstrated signs of dominating the highways and streets of this part of Cavite for decades. I couldn’t help myself but be in awe of the creativity of every single painting on these buses. I thought to myself “how does the driver decide what to put on his/her bus/es”. If I were to decide what to put in one of these colorful PUVs, I will probably paint it with the faces of our Cavite’s heroes: reminding everyone that Cavite once became a powerful place by birthing the most dignified and well-respected “Rebolusyonaryos” who fought the Spanish colonizers. 

This province even gave birth to the first president of the Philippines and if I would be given a chance to own one, my bus will be a four-wheeled reminder of the greatness of being a “Kabitenyo”. 

I rode a bus to Cavite City and as I gazed at these wonderful Spanish Era houses, I cannot contain my heart.

I was so flattered by thinking that more than a hundred years ago, this exact place where I’m at doesn’t even have freedom and independence. But now, I’m at this historic place, enjoying all the advantages of living in a democratic country with the most hardworking and beautiful people. Our heroes who fought the Spanish colonizers for this privilege will be so proud. They have given us this privilege in exchange for their own lives. If that’s not patriotic enough to make your heart flatter and be proud, I don’t know what is.

We stopped at this place called Long Beach. It’s a good place with very generous people taking care of it. They let me enter and used a cottage for free as long as I will not swim in the waters. 

I can't swim they told me, what should I do then? Grab bottles of soju, ice cubes, a few sticks of cigarettes and appreciate the beauty of Manila Bay. 

Gazing at the sunset of Manila Bay was very relaxing; the laughter of the people around to where I was seated having fun was soothing, and the waves of the bay were calming. It may not be as beautiful as the other beaches in our archipelago, people even have bad connotations when thinking about it, but this one also deserves to be praised as it is a gateway of global trade and socio-economic development even before the Spanish Era. It provided life to the people living around it, and tens of thousands of species depend on it. 

When the golden hour has finally set and it’s nothing but the sound of waves and the city lights of Metro Manila on the other side, I felt privileged. Not because I was vaccinated earlier, not because I got there safe and sound, not even because I felt the peace of mind and break I badly wanted to have, but I felt privileged for seeing things beautifully. I see the beauty in everything. My mind works this way and I feel so proud because I have the strength to choose the positive and beautiful sides of things rather than the bad and negative, which is very common for people today. 

I wrote this because I want to share my thoughts with you all. I want you to see, or in this case, read, the perspective of a man who chooses to look towards the vibrant colorful sides of things rather than its gray areas. 

I hope that after you all read this blog I have written out of passion and enthusiasm, y'all be inspired of doing the same thing in your everyday lives: to choose to see the beauty in everything.

Life is beautiful, people. It is everywhere. You just have to look around.