Ever played a game of hide-and-seek with your past? I have.
Imagine traumas and heartbreaks like those unwanted blemishes on your face. You know, the ones that seem to make a surprise appearance on the most important days, like job interviews or first dates. The instinct? Cover them up with makeup, concealers, or filters, hoping no one notices.
In my case, I treated my emotional scars the same way. I hid them under layers of metaphorical long sleeves, jackets, and pants, like I was perennially preparing for the Baguio weather, even when life felt as scorching as a Manila summer.
It's like the classic Filipino party strategy - hide the expensive dishes when uninvited guests arrive. Except in my case, the uninvited guests were my traumas and the expensive dishes, my raw wounds. And sure, it worked...for a while.
But then, life, the naughty child that it is, would often playfully tug at my sleeves, brushing against the raw wounds. "Hey, you're overreacting!" they'd say, when I'd wince, pain flashing through my eyes.
"Oh, please! You're just being melodramatic!" when I'd try to explain why a seemingly casual remark had me hurting. It was a bit like tripping on flat ground and people saying, "Grabe, that's just a tiny pebble!"
So, what did I do? I took the "tiis-ganda" approach. Numb the pain, ignore the hurt. Just throw on another layer of clothing, right? Convince myself I had moved on, when all I'd really done was hit the mute button on a blasting stereo.
But here's what I've learned: True healing isn't about concealing or ignoring. It's about acknowledging.
Imagine walking around with a pebble in your shoe. It’s annoying, right? Now, what if you just left it there, pretending it didn't exist, going about your day with a painful limp? Ridiculous, right? Yet, that's exactly what I was doing with my past.
So, I'm changing my wardrobe strategy. Instead of hiding, I've decided to show my scars, to look at them, understand them. I've come to realize these scars are not ugly blemishes to be hidden away but a testament to my resilience, a badge of honor in the battlefield of life.
Today, I am trying on a new outfit - vulnerability. Yes, it's a bit scary, kinda like pairing socks with sandals for the first time. But the freedom it brings is invigorating.
Remember, my friends, we aren't just mannequins wearing the latest fashion trends. We're humans, bearing scars, stories, and struggles. The real wardrobe malfunction is not a fashion faux pas but refusing to acknowledge the beauty of our unique, hard-earned designs.
So here's to healing, one piece of clothing at a time.
After all, there's no better style than authenticity.
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