When did your dream begin?

A granddaughter's realization while caring for her grandma

- By JEF AYESAH F. ESQUERRA, 16 Grade 10, Malinao School for Philippine Craftsmen

People often ask when a dream starts. Is it when you choose a course? When you pass an exam? When you imagine yourself wearing a uniform you have not yet earned?

Mine began at home, beside a sickbed.

My grandmother was ill. The house moved slower then, voices softer, footsteps careful. I watched how sickness changes everything, how it turns ordinary days into long nights filled with worry. Without realizing it, I became her constant companion. I helped her sit up, handed her water, and listened when she spoke, even when her voice was weak. I learned how to notice pain without being told.

I was in Grade 6 when the pandemic came, and suddenly everything felt unbearably slow. Invisible walls rose between people, even between my grandmother and me, though she lived only five minutes away. I could not visit her, could not sit beside her, could not hold her hand. I spent my days answering modules, watching my favorite cartoons, and believing that this was simply a long school break, unaware of how fragile everything truly was.