Learning from Ling’s letters

16 February 2013

Because I was not able to get the much needed Grace Pati and Migi Villarin hug, I devoured Ling’s letters. Ling makes me laugh. It’s so much fun to hear my laughter echo in this empty room. I hope she would still make me laugh whenever I read from her letters.

It was endearing reading how your friend evolved day by day in thought, emotions and in knowledge. I’m proud of her; she’s within the top two students of her class though there’re only eleven of them. 

I never thought Ling and I were this similar. She avoids writing to me her personal issues. I keep from doing that as well even if I really want someone to talk to about them. I will keep those then exclusive to my prayers. I do not want to write to her and burden her about my issues.

I love the way she writes. I sense that she’s put too much thought in them. I’ve observed her when she writes. She drafts things first before re-writing them again. There’s security for her that by doing that, she was able to express herself clearly. No wonder she wrote that it was better for her to communicate through letters than verbally. I’m not sure but I guess I’m that way to some degree. My teacher in high school, M. Menor said that was usual with her students.

I’m learning more about Malaysia through her. She describes to me currency, geography, transportation systems, hospital protocols, school set-ups. I have multi-lingual, multi-national friends - Ling and Cze. It makes me excited. They say that similar people tend to get along so I guess this is a potent portent that I will travel nations too. Besides, what Ling has gone through where she tells me that she’s studied so much that somehow her ego’s affected when she was called on to do tasks she would surely not mess up like capping test tubes, reminds me of someone. I somehow could hear Jen telling me the same. It runs along the line, I did not study to do these things. Well here’s real life for us idealistic graduates. We are first taught to bow down and bend before we are shared responsibilities to take on. Dave is right. Be patient. That became my mantra somehow – primum non nocere – to remind me that I should make not hurting others a priority over getting what I aim for so be patient miss have-it-done-with-at-once. (How do you feel about reading a person chastising herself in public?) Along this line of thinking, I justified the need to make room for people who are older than I am if they are more set in their ways or if they do not try to understand other people’s reasoning. They must be too jaded or put premiums on their value systems more; after all they are the ones responsible for their own lives and as they are older, they have less time before them for recovery.

What cheered me most in Ling’s letters is her closing remarks: Love, Ling. I felt the love. I proclaim again how much I appreciate my friends. (Hear ye Ling and Cze!) They love me and I feel it. I hope I make them feel as well that I treasure them.