THINK TALK: Did You Ever Wish You Were Somebody?

MATALAM, North Cotabato (MindaNews / 14 Sep) – It’s good to dream of big and loftier things, or to wish you were like that someone you idolize because of his looks, status in life, and whatever good luck there is to him. On the other hand, have you ever tried to be inward looking and be content with who you are and whatever you have or don’t have?

No two individuals are the same; not even twins. Despite this scientific fact, a lot of individuals still wish they are like that someone they look up to. Aside from the fact that man by nature is insatiable, he would wish to the moon to be like, or in more passionate terms, to be exactly like that someone he had wished to become.

It’s not bad at all to take cue or derive inspiration from someone whom you think has excelled in many things. But take it as an inspiration while you are in the process of trying to become like him/her because you will never become his/her exact replica. You may strive to imitate his looks, fashion styles, and follow his successes but you will always be different as a person as well as a dreamer and actor of the things you like to do.

Would you believe that you can be great and amazing by just being yourself or the way you are? Yes, YOU DO YOU. No matter what, YOU will always have less of what some people have. But you must also learn to appreciate that, right now, you have more of what a lot of people are craving have.

Just look at that mobile phone you have now. If you imagine that some people have better gadgets than you, you will always despair and you will always crave to have something better. Still, there are a lot others who have inferior mobile phones than yours in terms of the price, camera resolution, multimedia functions and other specifications and applications.

On the person, that is YOU, maybe you had wished a lot of times that you were taller. Maybe you had wished you were more talkative or outgoing. Maybe you had wished you were more refined or bubbly. Whatever those wishes were, I can relate to you.

When I was younger I must admit I was the silent type, shy and an introvert. And what more! I had very profound inferiority complex. I always thought somebody was better than me, like my classmates who speak better English and were not ashamed to speak in public or in front of so many people. Yes, I had that stage fright too.

But not known to my high school classmates was the fact that I was, and till now, a voracious reader. Believe it or not, in high school, I had a good supply of the Manila Times, Reader’s Digest, and Time Magazine. I made sure that I get all the second hand copies from my maternal uncle, the late Atty. Musib Manampan Buat.

In our time, we had the so-called “Formal Theme” in the English subject where we were made to compose a story from the title given by our teacher. We write this in a formal theme notebook on the left side of the spread. The right side is reserved when there is a need to rewrite the “formal theme.” Also, on the left side of the notebook spread are two boxes containing the phrases “theme need not be rewritten” and on the other box is “rewrite theme on the right side.” Modesty aside, and to the envy of my classmates, the box “theme need not be rewritten” was consistently checked by our teacher.

When we had an election in school, I ran for Senator of the Student Body Organization (SBO). I pulled up surprises by my good “political speech” in English, according to my classmates and schoolmates. And guess what? I came out number one among the eight elected Senators in a sectarian school where we Muslims were hardly 20 percent of the school population. The President and Vice President, my partymates, also won.

Since then, my ego was tremendously bolstered and so was my self-confidence. Eventually, my stage fright and inferiority complex were gone as I exerted efforts to “re-package” myself. Why should I feel inferior? Why should I be shy? Why can’t I be like them by just being myself?

Since then, I have learned to appreciate and love myself better. I had learned to celebrate my strengths and embrace my weaknesses. And those insecurities? I dropped them altogether down the drain.

Now, I don’t wish to be somebody else. I love who I am and proud of what I have become.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Maugan P. Mosaid holds a doctorate degree in rural development. He is a planning consultant and teaches Statistics and Methods of Research in the graduate school. He can be contacted at mauganmosaid6@gmail.com.)