The New Me

(Before and After Photos)
The New Me -- no longer shy but bolder and more confident

I used to be a very shy girl (stress on the word “very”). I would easily hide under my shell and retreat to my room whenever my parents would have visitors in our home. And when this would happen, I would overhear my parents apologetically tell their “kumares” and “kumpares”, “Oh, that’s our youngest, you see, she’s very shy.”

I have never been a sociable person, more so, the “biba” kind. Maybe as a way to overcome my shyness, my parents would usually ask me to play the piano to entertain our visitors. Just the thought of unfamiliar faces watching me would make me cringe, what more when it was actually happening? Yes, I would oblige but those moments were like, killing-me-softly-moments. Thinking about it now, I’m glad I had those moments. It just proved that my parents believed in my capabilities so much and were very proud of me.

I didn’t know why I was shy. I was probably too conscious of my two crooked front teeth (sungki). They were so evident that I just couldn’t smile confidently for fear of revealing my two crooked teeth, which resemble vampire fangs, only shorter. My parents would actually tell me that because I had cute dimples, my “sungki” added more to my cuteness. Of course, I believed them and that helped boost my confidence… but still I was shy.

That all changed when both of my parents passed away at the same time. I wouldn’t go into details anymore because that’s like an epic story worthy of another blog entry. All I know is that the tragic incident TRANSFORMED me BIG time. I was 15, then.

From a very shy girl, I learned to depend on no one but God. I didn’t want to burden other people, not even my siblings just because I was the youngest and the sole witness to that tragedy. My attitude was, we were all going through the same thing, facing a loss of our beloved parents and I was not any different from them to be given any special treatment. I didn’t want to stay helpless and I refused to go on a self-pity mode so I learned to move on rather quickly pouring everything there was to pour out to God, until my cup was empty. I became fearless and brave all of a sudden. I felt I had no other choice but to unleash that hidden courageous animal in me. I was determined. All of a sudden, I was no longer this shy little girl. All of a sudden, I had a new found confidence. I was confident that I would pull through even without those people who mattered most in my young life. I felt that this one more lease in life given to me was a make or break thing. I chose to come out of that episode of my life a better person and not a bitter one.

I still had crooked teeth for all those years that I was a teenager and up to the early stages of being a yuppie but it didn’t bother me at all. My teeth and my looks didn’t define who I was. Oh yes, I had my teeth fixed when I was already working and earning my own keep. I felt fixing them would make my smile look better. That’s all. But yes, I’m still cute... a cute wife and mom (LOL). Now, I don’t see any traces of me being a shy girl. As a matter of fact, I’m the exact opposite of who I was before. I wonder where it (my shyness) all went?

This is the new me, happy and proud of what I have become.

"Glutamax, See the Results"

This is my official entry to the Glutamax The New Me promo.