Tuesday, August 22, 2006
a more well put reaction
It's very hard for me to explain why it's painful for an immigrant to be told that he/she has "given up" or "abandoned" the Philippines. I haven't been an immigrant very long, and am still getting to know a whole new side of being Filipino just by being out of the Philippines. Little by little, my life intertwines with fellow Pinoy immigrants, and I hear their stories of why they left, the struggles of assimilating into a foreign culture, being far away from the land and the people that they love. I've heard many of these stories and have sometimes felt my eyes getting wet as I listened.
I am a new immigrant, and I'm still hilo when it comes to processing this experience. There have been many struggles, many challenges that I can't even attach a name to, powerful emotions I can't seem to identify.
This is why I was very glad to receive some letters and comments from fellow immigrants regarding yesterday's article by Gerry Lirio entitled "Finally, Jim Paredes Gives Up On the Philippines". I was surprised by the number of immigrants (and the number of people in general) who felt personally affected by the article. I'd like to share some of these reactions with you.
This is not another attack on Mr. Lirio. This is to describe what seems to be a shared experience amongst immigrants.On being accused of "abandoning ship":
"We get "emotionally ambushed" by these sort of people, thinking we've neglected and given up on the country, but what choice do we have? And besides, does leaving the country mean giving it up? I have a whole lot more to say, but I've no effort whatsoever to justify our move out of the country. Basta, may magagawa rin tayo para sa Pilipinas. Hindi man ngayon, pero in the future meron yan. They'll see."***"I dont usually post/comment on people's blogs... but I will this time just because this issue affected me so much. I read your dad's blog and I also read how some people reacted "negatively" towards people who left the Philippines.. someone even said "a true Filipino" should stay in the Philippines... this made me cry. I left the country a couple of years back not because I am ashamed of it or I felt like "wala ng pag-asa" ang Pilipinas. I left because I needed to do it for myself... for my own spiritual & personal growth. Filipinos who stereotype their fellow Filipinos who leave the country pisses me off! Alam ba nila kung gaano kahirap mabuhay sa ibang bansa... UGH! This frustrates me!"***On the article saying that Jim Paredes had "given up":
"Ganun rin ang sinasabi sa amin ng mga tao (hindi nga lang published on national paper) but nevertheless it's debilitating and insulting. Ayoko mag buhat ng sarili kong upuan, pero I can honestly say my family has not given up on the Philippines based on what my dad has done there so far whenever he goes back. Mga ganung bagay ba hindi nila nakikita.
Till I actually left, I never realized that the issue of migration was such a delicate and touchy subject, and not just for high-profile personalities like my dad. More often than not, it's not the Australians who have given us trouble for moving here, but other Filipinos.
In the beginning, I couldn't understand why it hurt so much when people would tell me (or in this case, my father) that it seemed we had "given up" on the country. But after hearing these people's voices, I understand it a little more. It hurts because number one, it is untrue; and number two, it simplifies us in a way that is unjust.
When I once mentioned that I left the Philippines "to be able to grow", it was misconstrued as meaning that the Philippines was a bottleneck where growth wasn't possible. This hurt me as well. I am not one to put my country down just because I now live in what is supposedly a "higher state".
But I need to leave to grow. It doesn't matter whether I grew up in the Philippines, or Australia, or Zanzibar; some people just experience a point in their lives where they need to leave behind everything they know, venture into the unknown, take a real risk, and discover who they really are. This is why I left, not because I believe the Philippines is a pit of despair.
People leave the country for so many reasons. Some have financial journeys to undertake, and for others, it's more of a spiritual journey. But every person deserves his or her big, life-changing journey, whether it's right there in the Philippines, or in a different country. It can come when we are 14 or 40-years old. Frankly, I don't think it's up to us to choose where our big journey will be. Somehow, The universe leads us to our starting point. In the case of Pinoy immigrants like myself, maybe it's here and now.
On behalf of all Pinoy migrants who have shared this experience, I hope I have made people understand.pictures of the oil-spill in Guimaras
"We can only watch in horror how an oil spill can undo in a few days our initiatives which have taken decades to implement. We need all the support we can get."- Joaquin Nava, Governor of Guimaras
On August 11, the Petron-chartered single hull vessel carrying 2.1 million litres of fuel oil which sank in Guimaras Strait, causing a huge slick, which Greenpeace characterized as an ecological time bomb that can cause long-term and possible irreversible damage to the environment and livelihoods of people. Full story here.
Please take the time to view pictures the oil slick here. It is the biggest oil-spill in Philippine history, so much that the government has called for international aid in cleaning up this disaster.
If you are in the Philippines and would like to give a donation to help the clean up in Guimaras, please call Greenpeace supporter services (02)4260368 local 110.
*** Note: excerpts taken from the Greenpeace SEA website.
People, you can also CONTRIBUTE YOUR HAIR to help clean the oil, as human hair has been proven effective in cleaning up oils slicks! Just go to any Reyes Haircutter branch or the main branch in Anonas, Quezon City, or to call +63 2 9136252. The Philippine International Hairdressers Association have all pledged to help as well.
I'm telling you, NOW is the time to get that hair-cut you've been wanting! Hippies, lose the long hair ang go kalbo! Shampoo models, make a stand! Parloristas, convince your customers to lose just another inch of hair, just one more. It's up to you now!
Haha, but seriously, the full story can be read here.
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at 4:02 PM 88 Comments!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
this is immature, but i don't care
[edited on August 22, 2006]I will take this entry down soon. I was angry when I wrote it (and as the title says, it was immature). Apparently, we read into Gerry Lirio's article too hastily as well. It was not Gerry Lirio who thought of his article's title, the irresponsible headline that irked us so. Though I still don't agree with the angle which he wrote the story from, I'd like to offer my truest and humblest apologies to Mr. Lirio for any unnecessary damage to his credibility as a journalist that I might have caused. Next time, I will not make the mistake of being too quick to act.
May this kind of thing be avoided in the future (on both sides). And to everyone who lamented the hopelessness of the Phillippines as an effect of that headline, may this matter clear up. (Meaning: you can stop now.)[end of edit]
"Finally, Apo’s Jim Paredes gives up on RP
-By Gerry Lirio, city editor, Philippine Daily Inquirer"
Oh, Gerry Lirio, you were just dying to have that headline weren't you? Jim Paredes, icon of Philippine nationalism, giving up on the Philippines, ooooh. Juicy stuff. Sensational. Woe betide the nation. Did he really tell you that he was giving up on the Philippines? I thought not.
Thanks for disclosing our location to the world, by the way, BOZO. Very considerate. Thank God we're out of Kellyville in a week.
Sorry, but my blood is boiling. Not only has my dad addressed this issue of his "giving up on the Philippines" dozens of times (check back issues if the paper you write for, Gerry), but it pisses me off me that even after 5 months of being here and going through the painstaking process of adapting to a new place, and having to endure what everyone had to say about the Paredes family moving to Australia, someone has to open his mouth yet again. It also pisses me off how an established journalist can so deliberately take a person's words out of it's original context to fit what he wants his headline to be.
Yes, Gerry, Jim Paredes is doing just fine and has adapted to his new life in Australia. We all have. It's what you have to do when you're in a new place.
Has Jim Paredes given up on the Philippines? No. But maybe "the fight" just isn't his number one priority anymore (maybe his family is). But what the heck, I'm just his daughter, right? My dad can speak for himself.
P.S. Minor error: our TV was from Parklea. I won't even bother correcting the major factual errors.bigger experiences
I was asked to be one of the judges in a modeling quest within the Filipino community last night at The Roxy in Parramatta. Sixteen guys and girls competed to win a modeling contract in the Philippines. As the host introduced me as one of judges, reading allowed my modeling and TV credentials ("MYX veejay, host of so-and-so, model of this, endorser of that, etc"), I felt very awkward, and felt that I couldn't relate to anything she was saying about me. It almost felt as if she was talking about another person, or maybe a former life. I sat there feeling like the farthest thing from the model/ host/ super-endorser I was being introduced as, but for formality and politeness' sake, I slipped on old skin and played the part.
As I watched the sixteen eagerly compete for their big dream of being a model, I remembered when I was starting out as a model, and how much it wasn't my big dream. Sure, I was a willing model but I wouldn't have fought tooth and nail, much less joined a contest, to be one.
Funny how I can speak about modelling this way, when it's gotten me so far. I'm not an ingrate, and I'm thankful for how my life has turned out. Modeling was good to me, and so I tried to be good it, too.
But it never felt like a part of me. I would do my work as best as I could, be a good talent, show up on time, smile at the camera, and do repeat takes till we got it perfect. But as soon as the lights we're off, I'd shed the model identity and hang it up in the closet until I needed it again.
A few weeks later, I'd see the results of my latest shoot on TV, or on huge billboards across the country, and wouldn't be able to relate to any of them. Every single article written about myself always seemed like they were talking about a girl I'd never met. In most of these articles, I was asked questions about things I didn't care to talk much about.
Veejay Ala? Who's that? Oh yeah, that character that looks like me that people watch on TV. Funny how the person that everyone made such a big deal out of wasn't really that person at all.
I enjoyed my work immensely. I loved being a MYX veejay. I loved hosting Islamusik. I loved doing commercials because I love the camera. I loved the new adventures each ad campaign brought in. I loved the work itself, and I would do it again. But I was never fully comfortable with how I was glorified for it. In many ways, it made me feel very boxed in, and after my life had changed from fame, it was always a struggle for the real me to emerge. I felt like a flower trying to grow from a crack on a concrete sidewalk.
Saying goodbye to modeling and my so-called celebrity status was not one of the things that broke my heart when I left. I missed the oddest things: singing in my band, samba practice on Tuesdays, scuba diving, poi, not being able to be around to help make my country a better place. And now that I'm here, a lowly, lost immigrant, fresh of the boat with a peeleepino aksent, why is it that I'm prouder of having finished City2surf with 63000 people, than having done a dozen commercials? Why is it that I'm more proud of being part of a fundraising challenge for Greenpeace than I was of being a MYX veejay? Why is it that spending a day sweeping, cleaning the toilet, and doing laundry seems more productive than a spending a day at a shoot? Why is it getting lost while driving to Bella Vista this afternoon seemed like a bigger experience than emceeing for concert in a park packed with 80,000 people? Why was my driving test scarier than any VTR or audition I've ever been to?
Talking to my tito Butch Dans the other week, I asked him why it was so easy for me to leave behind my modeling and hosting career when it seemed I had it all. He answered: "Because it was not something you worked really hard for. Maybe that wasn't it yet."
Correction, I did work hard. But there was never any real risk involved. I didn't sacrifice anything for modeling. But I sacrificed everything I have ever known to be able to get lost while driving to Bella Vista. That, I realize, is why.
That's why I believe all experience is relative because we all come from different places in life.
I stumbled upon this quote today:"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
- Joseph Campbell
Either I'm doing the right thing or I'm totally lost. Either way... rakenroll!of love
(This was written a week ago. Decided to share it nonetheless.)
What have you learned about love?
Isn't it funny how as we grow older, all our romantic notions are slowly shattered one by one? It used to be about the sparks, and the fireworks, and how big and overwhelming the feeling of love was. Feeling- that was the keyword then. If the feeling was intense, then it was surely love. Living in this way was like constantly swinging from bliss to misery. One minute we we're in heaven just looking into each other's eyes, the next we'd be having a big, dramatic fight that was more useless than anything else (only to make up in an equally dramatic way the next day). Also, we only wanted to be alone with each other all the time, and basically shut out the rest of the world. Ah, but we we're in love, and we thought it was the most important thing in the world because it made our lives filled with beautiful moments.
But we were so young. Trust me, Romeo and Juliet would have eventually broken up had they lived, or they would have had the most miserable existence together (they must've already been quite miserable to begin with).
Everybody falls in love, but as I grew older, I decided I would try walking into love, with my eyes wide open. Meaning, yes, I'll enjoy the lights show at the opening but at the same time know that when it ends is when I'll really be able to see clearly. It also meant abandoning the old formula I used to go by which was:more thrills/ intensity= better relationshipThank God I am out of that trap. Some people never seem to get out of it even when they're old.My second lesson came when I was older as well. When I was younger, relationships could be assessed in black and white. Right and wrong were two distinct things that could be split cleanly right down the middle. I had a list of relationship wrongs. I would refuse to stay in a relationship if the guy was being clingy, possesive, jealous, abusive, if he had alot of emotional baggage, if he restricted my freedom, if he didn't give as much as I did, and if he "didn't understand me". And so, growing up, I had a series of short relationships where I instantly wanted out as soon the guy started giving me problems.
Now, it's not so easy anymore. After you've been in a relationship for awhile, at some point in time, you and your partner would have committed every crime I listed above, and more.
Problems become more difficult to resolve because it's not anymore a matter of who is wrong and who is right. It's a matter of what you want, what you're willing to accept, and what you're willing to sacrifice. And you know what? It's not always equal, and if it is, then it's a temporary state. It's not always give and take, often it's give and give. You end up swallowing so much of the stuff you swore you never would. You'll break your own rules.
Can't live with his bad habits? Well, it's either you break up or you learn to live with them. Swore you'd never ever stay with a man who is jealous of your past? Well, you can end it if you want. But wait, you can't just do that anymore can you? It's not so easy.
Can't deal with his sh*t? Everybody's got their own sh*t. It's a matter of what sh*t you're willing to live with, and what sh*t you're not.
It's tricky, and it can work either for you or against you. Pero ganyan talaga. Falling in love is easy. Loving is not.
My 3rd lesson is about hate.
When you learn about love, you learn about hurt. And when you're hurting, you form a scab of hate, just to stop the bleeding.
And so, you begin to cut a person out of your life, kill all feelings you have for him. You train yourself to consider him insignificant. Sometimes you do it so well that you actually fool yourself into thinking that you've succeeded. But in you're direst moments, you know you're lying to yourself. Because when you've truly loved a person for who he is, how can you one day say that you don't love him anymore? Hate can only come when you're hurting really, really, really bad.
As I grew older, I accepted that despite the heartbreaks some people have dealt me, I cannot erase their tracks on my life. And I cannot hate them. Once you have glimpsed a person as the beautiful soul he/she is, then you'll never stop seeing them that way. And so, I love the beautiful souls whom I entrusted my heart to at one point, but it is now a love that asks for absolutely nothing in return, save that they find happiness in life and in love.
Some things, like heartbreak, only make sense years later.
The other day, I was telling my friend Mel some of the wisest lessons I had ever been taught about love. Alot of them are from my dad. He never fails to put things into perspective when I'm bitching to him about relationships. He never fails to shatter all my little illusions. Call it cold and heartless, but I truly believe he's saved me from alot of potential unhappiness.
Here are some favorite quotes:
"Never trust words of love whispered at a beach, or under the moon, or any romantic and beautiful place. Pero kapag na-flattan ang kotse mo sa gitna ng daan, at mainit na mainit ang araw, at masakit na ulo niya, nagkakapiconan na kayo, at sinabi niyang mahal ka niya, doon ka maniwala!" (When my sister was telling him about how she had fallen in love at a beach.)
"Love is messy. Ganyan talaga." (After my umpteenth fight with my then boyfriend whom I was thinking of breaking up with.)
"Don't look for a soulmate. Whoever you choose, you make him your soulmate."
"In the beginning it's about finding the right person, in the end it's about being the right person. Marriage is about accommodating the other person".
"Marriage is like signing a blank cheque. No matter how much you think you know the person you're marrying, the truth is, you just don't."
And of course, he always tells me: "The death of romantic love is the beginning of true love." (wasn't that a Scott Peck article?)
I also love what my mom taught me:
"Get married while you still feel like it! Don't wait too long! Deal with the consequences later, when it's too late and you can't get out of it anymore." (About her disapproval of long engagements. She said this with tongue in cheek, but it seems that long engagements really do seem to be unlucky.)
What have you learned about love?[edited]breaking news
If there's one thing that angers/ frustrates me to no end, it's hearing news on oil spills. God, it makes me cry because it's always brought on by irresponsibility or plain katangahan, it takes years to clean, it kills our seas, and so many communities are directly affected. People are going hungry and the spill has destroyed all their means of livelihood. And what's more our government completely belittled the problem!
What a waste! Nakakaiyak talaga. See how one little slip can affect the lives of thousands? Why do we let it happen?
And what's more, I get so frustrated hearing about things like this happening in my country but not being able to do anything about it because I'm so far away. I'm tired of experiencing things from inside a fishbowl. I want to be there taking pictures, seeing it with my own eyes, and making people aware of what's happening! What else do I have a voice for?
Is there any way people from overseas can help?
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Monday, August 14, 2006
my legs are my new bestfriends
That's me on the shores of Bondi Beach after the Sun Herald City2Surf Fun Run yesterday . I felt so plastered- high on the feeling of victory, and dazed from having walked 2.5 hours non-stop, over hill and plain. I walked like a drunk, one-legged pirated. There I was completely disoriented, traipsing barefoot around the beach, holding my shirt and running shoes in one hand, wondering what I should do with myself. I knew that the three most important things I had to do were: a) find someone I knew, b) eat something, c) use the bathroom. But I had no clue what to do first. So I collapsed on the sand, and lay there for a good thirty minutes, waiting for sensation to return to my tired, trembling legs.
But let's begin at the beginning. I felt a bit anxious when I woke up that morning because I had had a sleepless night, tossing and turning in bed. Would I be able to last 14 kilometers? Had I trained enough? Then I shrugged it all off and thought, bahala na! Rakenroll nalang! Woooooh!
The funrun began at 10 in the morning at Hyde Park. At the gunshot, the thousands began to move through the streets of Sydney, like one huge, living, breathing organism. The last time I had ever seen the streets that packed with people was the second EDSA Revolution!
As far as the eye can see! (and that's not even a fourth of the number of people who joined)
From the very beginning, spirits were high. Everyone was riding the same good vibe. There wre couples, parents, children, infants in prams, people with disabilities, and people in costume. There were people taking it seriously, and there were people who we're in it purely for fun. Every few kilometers or so, we'd be greeted by a band playing music on the sidewalk or on a rooftop- jazz quartets, a reggae band, even a glam metal band!
On and on, we snaked through the streets of Edgecliff, and then Rose Bay, up hill and down hill. I walked. And walked. One of the best moments was when we had reached the 7 Km halfway mark! I remember standing on a grassy knoll by the sea, seeing the city so far away across the ocean, and being amazed at how far we had come from our starting point. It looked like such a dizzying distance, and yet, we had walked it!
One thing I learned from this is that in a marathon , there comes a point in time when you're beyond pain and your legs become a machine. These babies just kept going and going like they had a mind of their own! Soon I was having a seriously great time, and wasn't even thinking about what my legs we're doing. (Go, legs, go!)
I remained in high spirits for the entire race, and had no pains or tiredness to complain about, but the last 1.5 km we're the most trying moments. We we're already by Bondi Beach, by the sand. The ocean glimmered not so far away, and we knew we were close, so close. But each time we thought the finish line would come into view, it wouldn't. Bondi Beach is a curve, and what kept me going was the though that the finish line was just around the curve. But always, there was just another curve after the curve. "God, this is never going to end!", I thought. My legs felt like lead. My feet we're crying out. Where was the finish line? It was physical and psychological agony, and it took alot of mental strength to keep on going.
But when the finish line finally did come into view... I RAN towards it like a kid running towards her birthday present!My uber reliable cousin, Pimee, waited for me at the finish and snapped this picture.
And I didn't stop running even after the finsih line. It hurt to stop. I walked around in dazed semi-circles, before I finally, painfully, sat down on the ground. Only then did it hit me- I did it! P*nyeta, I did it! Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. Ah, victory! Ang sarap.
After I had removed my shoes, and figured out how to stand up, I walked over to the beach, struggling to keep my balance as my feet sank into the sand with each step, , and collapsed. (Then I took the video you just saw above :-p)
Why do people do marathons? Same reason why people climb mountains, I guess. But I never knew my legs were so reliable till yesterday, and I have a newfound appreciation for these babies of mine. They used be just these long, gangly things with knobby knees, good for nothing except when I occasionally wanted to flaunt them in short skirts. But now they are legs that have walked 14 km in 2.5 hours. I think my self-confidence just shot up ten points!
See my pictures here!
***
Don't think I went home to rest after! Mio followed to Bondi and we had a beach afternoon, swimming in the sea and eating fish and chips while watching the skaters at the skate park. For the first time in 4 months, I went out in nothing but a bikini, shorts, a sando, and flipflops, and spent a day outside under the sunshine!
Winter may not be completely over, but I think I am back in my element!!!
Have you ever had a DEEP FRIED MARS BAR???
It is so sinfully yummy, but you will feel sick and will never want to eat one ever again. It was simultaneously the most orgasmic and the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten. But having tried it once, you will spend the rest of your life convincing others to try it.
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Sunday, August 06, 2006
i will be running (or crawling) 15 km on sunday
Dear all!
Just want to update you all on our latest fundraising pursuit.
On the second Sunday of August, Lucy and I plan to take part in Australia's largest fun run, the Sun Herald City2Surf marathon 2006, where thousands of runners make the journey from the Eastern Suburbs, to Bondi! We will be running for- what else?- clean energy! Not only will the fun run be a great chance to promote our cause, but it will also be good training for the Great Wall of China :-p
If you would you like to sponsor our run, or if you would like to participate in our cause in your own way, here's how:
With every 12 dollars (AUD) we receive, we will make a paper pinwheel like what you see here.
On the day itself, we will run wearing clean energy shirts, and handing out these windmills to passersby. So in essence, what you're really paying for are your own "campaign materials" in the clean energy revolution! (But we will be carrying them for you!)
Please click on the link above to read about the details, and how to get in touch with us.
Cheers (and pray I don't die on Sunday because only the paramedics will be there to care for me haha)! Don't forget to check out our fundraising site, buildthiswall.livejournal.com.
-Ala (and Lucy)patriotism or just plain homesickness?
Last night was my dad's concert at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. It was Dada's first time to watch her lolo perform onstage. Until last night, she had no idea that her lolo regularly transformed into one-third of a sequin-studded, OPM legend for a living. As I watched my sister whisper "Look, there's lolo!" into her daughter's ear, I remembered being about 5-years old and sitting on my own mother's lap at an Apo concert and have her explain softly into my ear that we we're going to watch my dad sing. I'd always be excited to watch my dad onstage, and apparently, Dada felt the same way about her lolo. After the initial fascination of seeing her grandfather onstage for the first time, Dada jumped off her mother's lap and shouted " Wowo Jim!!!" (Lolo Jim) with full force. The entire theatre must have heard her. She promptly fell asleep after the second song, but would wake up every now and then to clap her hands before falling asleep again.
I have watched the Apo perform dozens of times, and deliver the same skits, the same songs, and the same jokes. You probably think these concerts bore me out of my mind, but the truth is, I still enjoy watching the Apo. At Apo concerts, I willingly forget that I'm watching my father, my tito Danny, and ninong Buboy onstage, and allow myself to be entertained by the OPM legends that they are. (I even sing along to all the songs!)
Last night was a first of sorts for me because it was the first time I ever watched my dad perform outside of the Philippines. All my life I've watched my dad leave and be away for weeks, or even months, to tour overseas with the Apo. He'd always return with a rich cache of stories about his travels, and of the life-stories and struggles of OFWs and Filipino migrants he would meet along the way. Though I must've heard hundreds of these stories, his performances abroad always seemed like such a big mystery to me.
Last night, I finally witnessed an overseas performance (and as an overseas Filipino no less). It was a slightly different APO I experienced. I saw that they were not there merely to deliver entertainment, but to deliver a message, a memory of home. Though the audience members hid their emotions well, I could tell that a chord had been struck within them, one that brought back warm memories of the country that they loved so dearly, even though they had left it's shores so many years ago. I even found myself getting quite emotional (and to think I've only been gone 4 months). Now I know why Filipinos all over the world just keep coming back to APO concerts.
I may not be an Overseas Filipino Worker, but I can legitimately call myself an overseas Filipino. I am away from the Philippines, and am now part of the hundreds of thousands of Pinoys worldwide who sometimes look back at the homeland they left behind, and are moved to tears. I love the Philippines, what can I do?
There are many things wrong with her. She has many hard lessons to learn, and much suffering left to go through. Social injustice thrives on her streets everyday. Her government is a circus. The problems never seem to end, and she often leaves me enraged and frustrated. To top it all off, she has an image problem. Even her own people speak ill of her, and have tried to convince me to turn against her. But I love her, and what is loved becomes beautiful.
Call me a slave to sentimentality, but if we cannot love our own country, and if we don't have love for each other, then what do we have? Being here, I've learned that it's very easy to fall in love with perfection; but all the great loves I've known in my life are those whom I've shared a struggle with.
The Philippines always reminds me of this chapter from "The Little Prince".The little prince went away,
to look again at the roses.
"You are not at all like my rose," he said.
"As yet you are nothing.
No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one.
You are like my fox when I first knew him.
He was only a fox
like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But I have made a friend,
and now he is unique in all the world."
And the roses were very much embarrassed.
"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on.
"One could not die for you.
To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think
that my rose looked just like you
--the rose that belongs to me.
But in herself alone she is more important
than all the hundreds of you
other roses: because it is she that I have watered;
because it is she
that I have put under the glass globe;
because it is for her
that I have killed the caterpillars
(except the two or three we saved
to become butterflies);
because it is she that I have listened to,
when she grumbled,
or boasted,
or even sometimes when she said nothing.
Because she is MY rose."
- From "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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