My
name won me friends
(First published
in a woman's magazine)
What's in a
name? Plainly, as how I see it, a name has different letters, syllables
and pronunciation. Some originate from flowers like Daisy, Marigold;
or from cartoon characters like Minnie, Mickey and Donald. Grandparents
usually refer to calendars in search of names like Almario, Julita
and Apolonio and others have historical or literary origin.
I asked this
because it has a great significance to what I'm going to narrate.
As a matter of fact, it has something to do with my unforgettable
experience in searching for friends.
The idea of
pen-pal writing came to my mind in the summer of 1983 (there was
no Internet yet). I wasn't much preoccupied then and boredom seemed
to be a typical problem for teeners like me during that time of
the year. So my sister and I decided to have our names published
in a song magazine.
Luckily, the
editor did not disappoint us. A week later, letters came filling
up our mailbox. There were letters from far away places like Quezon
Province, Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Mindoro, Ilocos, etc. (we
were then residing in Lipa City). But much to my surprise, I already
had fifteen letters on the first week, all of which were friendly
letters. However, my sister received only three, all of which were
chain letters!
On the second
week, more letters arrived but this time from other countries like
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Singapore and Japan. And that made me
think I was quite popular. If you were to ask about my poor sister,
well, she still received friendly letters, but curiously, chain
letters came pouring in.
Now if you are
wondering why pen pal writers were easily attracted to me--the answer
is perhaps because of my name! My name is unique (it used to be),
simple and easy to remember.
Slowly but surely,
the same name has become part of the entertainment world. It was
first heard as the name of a young girl in a television soap opera,
then by another young girl who used to co-host a popular noontime
show.
However, having
the same name as that of famous personalities has advantages and
disadvantages too. This I found out when I applied for a position
in a leading fast food chain in the country. We were then advised
to submit our biodata and wait for our turn for the interview. When
my turn came, the interviewer loudly called my name and then people
started making fun about it even though they did not know who I
was, and some began to laugh. I could not imagine a hundred people
teasing me so I pretended I wasn't the one and never made the move
to proceed to the interview room. I guess what I did spare me from
further humiliation but the fact is I missed an opportunity. It
was such an experience and I really learned from it. Now I have
the courage to face any situation as long as I am doing right.
On the other
hand, in spite of all the teasing I get in some instances, I learned
that it usually is the start of a beautiful thing called "friendship."
Because of curiosity
and the experiences I've had, I made a research on the origin of
my name. I found out it was the name given to Abu Bakr's favorite
daughter.
But no matter
how popular those people with whom I share the same name with, somehow
I am not bothered. Why should I? After all, they may all sound the
same, but have totally different spelling.
I remember what
a dear friend taught me to bear in mind: "the first and the original
is always the best, it lasts." In my own way, yes I am!
May our names
stay that way, full of sounds, full of charms!
By the way,
before I forget, my name is Aissa, what's yours?
Aissa P. Bautista
June 1990
==========
Obviously,
Aissa loves writing.
