Tell us about your first day at something — your first day of school, first day of work, first day living on your own, first day blogging, first day as a parent, whatever.

One of my favorite memories is my first day in elementary school. I will never forget how nervous I was and excited at the same time. I actually remember my outfit that day too, a white dress designed and sewn by my Grandma and a red pair of clogs with a gold accent that my mother sent from Japan as a part of my birthday gift. 🙂

School starts at 8AM and my grandmother woke me up around 6AM to get ready . I took a shower shortly after waking up then ate breakfast. My grandmother made some boiled eggs for my snack to bring with me to school and put some orange juice in my new red Hello Kitty tumbler, also a birthday gift from my mother. I also remember my Grandmother doing some kind of good luck ritual with me before leaving that day and she said that’s to help me do good in school :). My grandparents believe in superstitions and I’ve grown up seeing them perform many rituals and that’s just one of them. She only does that particular ritual with me though on the very first day of school. I truly believe that it works along with patience, dedication and hard work ;-).

My school wasn’t too far from home and I can’t remember exactly if my Grandpa and I took a walk or rode a tricycle to get there. My Grandpa didn’t leave right away. He stayed right outside my classroom where I can see him. I think he wanted to make sure that I was fine before he left because I was a very shy child, barely spoke and have separation anxiety from my grandparents most especially from my Grandmother. I don’t know exactly how long he was outside my classroom but when I looked outside again, he was gone. I was still feeling nervous at the time but I was so interested with what the teacher was teaching us and that kept me occupied and made me forget about being nervous :D. I haven’t really made friends yet by recess time, which is usually about two hours after the class had started, so I was very happy to see my Grandpa again as he came back to check up on me and gave me ₱2.00 (PhP) in case I wanted to buy something. He left shortly after that and came back to pick me up when it was lunch time. I went home for lunch everyday because our lunch time is from noon to 2PM then we spend another 3 hours in class.

That was pretty much my routine when I was in first grade. I made a few friends although I didn’t talk much but I enjoyed being a first grader. I finished my first year in elementary receiving 4th honor, Most Neat and Clean and Most Charming awards :D. Hahahaha! Mentioning the awards that I received cracks me up but it made my grandparents happy and proud and knowing that made me very happy then until now. That is why it is one of my favorite memories as my grandparents were there with me in every step of the way. My Grandma helped me get ready everyday and my Grandpa took me to school and picked me up after. They also both helped me with homeworks and school projects. They took very good care of me and like I always say, I feel blessed and I am forever grateful that God gave me such amazingly wonderful grandparents <3. I miss them dearly but I know that they are in a happy place now and they are watching over me 🙂 <3.