Growing Wild

On a smoky afternoon, “Yosi ta,” Suzanne hastily pronounced upon seeing a male schoolmate lighting up his cigarette stick, not minding to interrupt our own conversation about random things. I looked at the guy and not even recognize who he is. He replied, “Yosi ta Madam President!” The two cackled. Well, I just joined them. A tongue in cheek, I know she doesn’t smoke. We were back to our conversation when in a while, another schoolmate comes near us calling her, “Madam!” then another, “President!” And she greets them too just like she knows everyone. I took the time to glance at her and realized, she is like something I always see around. And that is what I am yet to discover.

That was at the sidewalk store fronting the Annex campus of an institution we’ll soon leave and call as our ‘Alma Mater’ in four months time, the University of the Immaculate Conception. On wooden chair I and my friend, Suzanne, were seated. We were eating Banana-que and Milk Bar, which were within our means that moment. We are usually partners in sauntering around the city to look for restaurants with palatability. Most of the time she initiates the gluttony and I give in to temptation just as long as we have greens. There I join her in the undomesticated desire of filling our stomachs like there is no tomorrow.

At that instance, we were conversing about random things. Indeed, anything that comes to mind. We talk that way. She merely picks anything under the sun and put it into exchange of thoughts. An especially soft spoken lady translates to the name Suzanne Somido Misagal. No one could ever guess what we were exactly chewing the fat about since she typically speaks in a low tone voice and her facial expressions are most of the time droning. While we were talking, I just had a sudden notion that if I didn’t know her for roughly 4 years of falling in love with the same art, Communication, I would have never thought that this lady in front of me is a year younger than a 20 year old. Though her height at 4”10 doesn’t suggest it too, her wits and the words coming out of her mouth say she is someone in her late 20’s. No one can tell, even with a wild guess.

As we continue chitchatting, there were flashbacks running in my head. The scene was so clear to me, a fellow freshman who sits at the 1st chair of the 1st row in the right side of the room, where she remains to be seated until now, spoke gently yet with conviction. She stood up and introduced herself as a Valedictorian of a secondary school in Mangagoy, where her family resides as she temporarily stays on an apartment here in Davao with her elder sister.

But as days passed by and I got to be with her more often, I saw in her this sense of responsibility though she is pampered by her Ate Darin who also became an elder sister to me. She always involves herself on in and out of campus activities while giving time to some silly yet fun things. For the many roles she portrays, a lot of responsibilities are at her back. She finds such as laborious demands yet still puts her heart in it. I can attest to that after countless times I was by her side. We do a horde of school works together since we are both tasked with same responsibilities excluding that of reaching the Finals of a Regional News Casting competition of ABS-CBN and being into places as a member of Christ’s Youth in Action.





Surpassing all distressing and nerve-wracking moments together, with the whole group or as an individual, she has become more of a non-stop far from the stereo-typing of a ‘lady’. She is learning to laugh at random things, even at her predicaments. She is saying anything that pops out of her head not minding if it’s offensive or ridiculous. When she doesn’t understand a thing she instantly asks the people around without pretensions. She suddenly cuddles her closest pals, sweet yet playful of her. Out of the blue, she even raises eerie questions like, “Do I stink?” We, people around her find it odd because it’s awkward answering such question especially when she adds, “Simhota ko bi!” Then we roll on the floor laughing.

Nevertheless, she’s not just the 2011-2012 Student Supreme Government President of UIC who is dubbed to be the loveliest with her pretty face and sweet treatment to fellow students nor is she just a Yahoo Messenger icon look-a-like as she would tease herself.

She seems to recognize everyone and they appear like they know her enough. But behind is depth in her eyes, in her laughs, in her words of wisdom and in her whims. There is more than what meets the eye of a mere acquaintance and that is particularly that unanticipated wild side within.

Much has been said, she is like this and like that. Past everything I have seen her do, I just discovered what I was asking myself while looking at her at that moment. Gotcha! She resembles a flower which signifies femininity, that kind which nurtures on her own yet blooms wonderfully. An image of a Wildflower whose wildness is endearing and never vicious is what I see in her. And I hear in her the tune of a ballad with the similar name. She signifies that song with the most significant letters -- a free and gentle flower growing wild.