I was raised by my parents to value money. They never spoiled me with material things or ever bribed me just so I'd behave or follow their orders. When I wanted something, I needed to work for it. When I wanted something and my parents didn't give in, I needed to save for it. In our household, throwing tantrums and resorting into rebellious ways will not help you get what you want. So at an early age, I learned the difference between my NEEDS and my WANTS.
I didn't receive any monetary allowance until I was in 5th grade. By that time, I was receiving PHP5 every day! I would put it in my coin bank along with the money I received on Christmas from my godparents. During Christmas, I would break my coin bank to buy small gifts for the whole family. And if there's some money left, I would ask my mother to accompany me to a bookstore. Hello, Sweet Valley High! Wooohooo! Fortunately, my mother subsidized my Funny Komiks subscription so that made my budgeting a little more bearable.
Of course there were days when I'd skip putting my five pesos into my coin bank and I'd buy myself some candies and chocolates. And most of time, I'd munch on this cuties…
Frugality is now part of my system. But there are days when I reward myself of good food and adventurous travels. And since my office is just a few steps away from a Candy Corner store, indulging in a box of NERDS was recently included in my luxury list. When I bought a box of NERDS a couple of months ago, I didn't realize that it would bring back an addiction that has been in hiatus.
When I feel like dozing off in the middle of the day, I'll grab my NERDS stash and eat a handful of it. When I'm out of words in the middle of writing, I'll playfully eat some NERDS straight from the box and my mind will miraculously go back to normal. And somehow, NERDS have taught me two very important lessons in life:
1.) Just like NERDS, there are people who may appear or may strike with a "sour" personality but are really "sweet" on the core.
2.) It's so damn cool to be a NERD! Teeehee!
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