This is a story of a young boy. A boy who has been known as an average guy next door by many, the guy who always smiles and shows that he is happy most of the time. This boy came from a well known school, achieved quite a number of praiseworthy achievements, but sacrificed the so called "night life" by his generation. He may have studied hard to pass his classes, but missed out a lot in terms of experiences. This boy grew to be exposed in a different type of fun. A fun that most "nerds" or "geeks" would connote as "FUN". This fun is known as the "virtual reality". Being more attracted to the joys offered by the fake world or universe provided by cartoons, gaming, and anime is what made him experience joy and excitement. Being a citizen of the "virtual" world, This boy became one of those "unknowns" or "hidden" faces in his school. Why hidden? Because you would not expect him to be part of this school due to his "different" image from the usual norm of the people hailing from that institute. People from this said school are usually fun, interactive, social, and wild. You will even wonder how on earth would a boy who does not exhibit those attitudes survive in such a school. Probably, it is thanks to the existence of other individuals with the same interests as this boy had. A bunch of young kids who shared a passion in watching anime, reading comic books, and playing various video games became the crowd of this boy. But as the years pass, the boy reached the age wherein he had to face a change. The change of being exposed to a new environment. An environment so radical, that various cultures, lifestyle, and beliefs existed mutually. The environment of "college".
Who would have thought that this Nerdy boy would one day detach from his own world and try to face "reality". Unlike the environment that he had in his secondary years, wherein their world was basically limited to the people in his group of friends, this boy had to engage different kinds people with varying attitudes. Some were fun. Some were sad. Some were weird. Some were awesome. This boy tried to carry his old self into this environment. But as the saying goes, "There is no constant thing in this world but the idea of change", this boy experienced a lot of changes. Changes that lead to what he became today. Changes that made his group change their view and impressions of this boy. Changes that broke his ties with his first crowd and opened the bridges to new circle. The boy did not want most of the changes to happen. He just wanted everything to remain as it used to be. Wherein he and his old friends are hanging out and having a good time. He did not want any conflict between his friends to arise. But what can he do? Being exposed to such a dynamic and radical environment affected his personality drastically. The boy who was once a shy and quiet kid who lived in a different world became the "new" boy who got exposed to reality. To the reality known as "life".
Who would have thought that this Nerdy boy would one day detach from his own world and try to face "reality". Unlike the environment that he had in his secondary years, wherein their world was basically limited to the people in his group of friends, this boy had to engage different kinds people with varying attitudes. Some were fun. Some were sad. Some were weird. Some were awesome. This boy tried to carry his old self into this environment. But as the saying goes, "There is no constant thing in this world but the idea of change", this boy experienced a lot of changes. Changes that lead to what he became today. Changes that made his group change their view and impressions of this boy. Changes that broke his ties with his first crowd and opened the bridges to new circle. The boy did not want most of the changes to happen. He just wanted everything to remain as it used to be. Wherein he and his old friends are hanging out and having a good time. He did not want any conflict between his friends to arise. But what can he do? Being exposed to such a dynamic and radical environment affected his personality drastically. The boy who was once a shy and quiet kid who lived in a different world became the "new" boy who got exposed to reality. To the reality known as "life".
The reality of life changed the lifestyle of the boy. He became an outgoing person who had different ties with different groups. He rarely hanged with his previous friends. He left the "virtual world". He basically became someone who is going "out" and lives a life. From having only one set of friends, he now had multiple "gangs" or "barkadas" as they would call it. He had different personalities to interact with the varying groups that he became part of. When with the serious group, he becomes a "serious" guy. When with the the fun group he becomes a "clown". This boy became like a chameleon. One who adapts to drastic changes in his environment. He went under a lot of adapting to different environments to the point that he almost lost trace of who he really was. The only thing that makes him remember his identity is the moment when he is alone. Moments wherein he can reflect and evaluate himself. Moments wherein he is able to ask himself, "Who are you?", "Are you really this type of guy?", "How long will you keep putting different masks?", "Can you still identify your self?" and other similar questions. These moments makes him realize that he has been forcing his own self into different environments wherein he can't be himself. The the boy is slowly shedding the real him from his own life.
Just like other people, this boy has made quite a lot of mistakes. By putting on a lot of faces, he developed a bias and has become too comfortable in some of his adapted environments. He did not realize that he has trespassed into a territory which he shouldn't have. He realized it too late. This is but one of the numerous instances wherein he made such a mistake. Mistakes that made him regret his actions. He knows that all of the things that are happening to him now, are the effect of his own actions. His actions that leads to a lot of conflicts. Sadness. And other mix of emotions. Actions that make him realize how bad he has turned out. That the changes he has undergone only made things worse for him. Though he has experienced tons of things which he would wouldn't if he did not change, the after effect of such changes outweighed the joy he had when he chose to be part of some events. This made him realize that he probably has gone too far. That he had to give himself time to reevaluate himself. That he should pause for a while and think. That "Maybe I should stop adapting to the change in my environment and start on working on myself first". That he should become someone not by becoming "one" with a group, but by becoming "someone" instead. This boy realized that he should not let his environment affect his own identity, instead, the environment should be the one to realize that there is a "somebody" like this boy existing in that environment.
Unlike the nerdy boy whom he originally was, this kid has already experienced a lot of roller coaster rides and has developed drastic changes. Changes that made him experience a lot of things, from the unstoppable joys with a continuously growing group of friends, to the painful moments of realizing that he is truly alone. Changes that made hime view things in life in various perspectives. This boy realized a lot of life lessons as he went by the days of his college. He learned how the rule of society works the hard way. He attempted to be a douchebag to score a girl. He became a naive person as he fell in love. He experienced rejection through his stupidity. He discovered the feeling of being wasted in different ways. He has travelled "high" and fell too "low". He excitedly became part of some big events, some of which were successful, and some were quite depressing. He was able to reach destinations he didn't expect he would. He also felt the various sentiments of his friends regarding his personality and what type of person he had become.
Though this story of a boy is still a work in progress, this boy still truly hopes to find a happy ending. Despite having more depressing experiences over joyful ones, this kid is still putting up a brave front and continue to face the different challenges in life that is being thrown to him. Having learned a lot of lessons from the experiences he has collected, this boy believes that he would not make the same mistake again. Not unless his memory lapse kicks in, he jokingly remarked.
