I Want You To Be

“You can count on me like 1, 2, 3
I’ll be there
And I know when I need it
I can count on you like 4, 3, 2
You’ll be there
‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah”

– Count On Me, Bruno Mars

---

I have known you for quite a long time now. We were classmates for two years already and since then, I have a friend best friend who I call “Althea” and a friend best friend who treats me as her elder sister because you always call me “Ate Steph”. You were a new person for me when we became classmates in Curie that’s why I do not talk to you nor bond with you. I am a shy person back then but when Arianne, a mutual friend, introduced us to each other, it sparked our friendship and you became close, too, with my other best friends. As days passed by, we got used to each other. We laugh and crack random jokes that we sometimes consider funny corny that’s why we just give each other blank faces. We always pull pranks on one another like when I changed my nick name on Messenger to your ex-best friend’s name then I messaged you, you suddenly got hysterical cause you saw his name flashed on your screen then you just realized that it was just me or the time I told you I was going to Boracay and even send you a picture of my ticket, you messaged our classmates to confirm it. Well, for two years that we’ve been friends best friends, we already have ups and downs. Sometimes, you got irritated on me and I got annoyed at you but after a while, we will be cool again. As your craziest prettiest friend best friend, I want you to be the best in whatever field you are or whoever “Althea” you want to be.

The clock is ticking continuously and in no time, your roles and responsibilities will mature and become bigger. As a student, I want you to be more vocal of what you want and what you think that is right. I know that everybody’s afraid of you in terms of being too frank when your friends best friends are in trouble but when it’s all about you, you seldom speak. I want you to be brave when you have questions and do not front me to the teachers in order to ask for you, just kidding, but seriously I want you to give me your talent in speaking in front and being able to organize your ideas logically. I want you to stop being good at making poems and other kinds of literature because as a reader, your works are too depressing and it really struck me.

We both have strict caring parents (and dragon loving mothers, as well). As a child, I want you to continue staying up late all night. Continue watching movies on HBO and Star Movies and Korean dramas on Kiss Asian at night so that you’re mom will be very, very happy for you. Also, I want you to continue not introducing us, your friends best friends, to your parents so that we won’t be able to invade your house. It’s just okay. Seriously.

After Senior High School, though we have similar course to take, I’m sure that we’ll take different tracks in life. I might study on somewhere far and you’ll stay here or vice versa. After you graduate college and apply for a job, as an employee, I want you to be happy in your chosen field. I know that for several times, you are having second, third, and fourth thoughts about taking Accountancy as a course. I hope that this course will prove that this is what you deserve. I want you to have a nice job, specifically those that are based in Korea because I know that you eagerly want to be there. In dealing with your colleagues, I want you to be nice to them. Just do things with ease and grace and try not to be too rude to your co-workers. Try not to do things too well. You’re boss might notice your hardworks and just give you all the task in the office cause you exert so much effort in doing your works. Most importantly, as your craziest prettiest friends best friend, I want you to treat me with your first salary. No more “if’s” and “why’s”, just do it.

At the end of the day, everyone needs a place they can call “home” after a long and tiring day. A home full of serenity and gladness is what all you need. I want you to be married to the guy who truly loves you and as his wife, I want you to not be too hard on him. I want you to share him your food and give him his share on your fries and not just hide it in your bag. I want you to be a caring mother, also, to your future children and I hope that they will have your characteristics and qualities as a student, as a child, as an employee, as a wife, and as a mother.

Last Sunday, the parish priest in our parish shared his insights about change. He said that as a person, one should always be changed and be a better version of himself. God asks us to change, to be better. Only Satan tells us that “Hey! You are just like that! You’ll be like that for the rest of your life.” That’s why a person shouldn’t ask someone on his birthday to “stay the same” and “remain as who you are now.” A true friend is someone who wants you to be better at all aspects of your life. This is not a challenge but an order. Change is a part of everyone’s life. Change is a way of being different from what or who you are used to be. Though it is hard at first, the reward you’ll get at the end of the day will always be better than the ones you lose. It does not only benefit you but even the people around you, your community, and the world you are in.

“You must be the change you wish to see in this world.”

­-Mahatma Gandhi