Life’s like that

When you were a child, you must have watched shows about superheroes, like Power Rangers, Batman, or even my personal favorite Bugs Bunny. And in the end, what side always won? The Good. But a lot of times, I preferred to watch Voltes V, and now that I am older, I realize why.

It was because even though Voltes V would triumph in the end, he always had to go through many hardships to gain each victory. And that is how life usually is, when times are usually rough, and you think that they are never going to get any better, you can rest assured that they will.

When I was younger, my parents took me to the Fiesta Carnival in Cubao. As we walked in and I looked up, I saw the biggest and tallest roller coaster I had ever seen in my life. I said to my Dad, “I want to ride that one.” And he said, “Ok, when we get over there, we will.” So, as we went through the rest of the exhibits at the park, I just kept looking up at that roller coaster, waiting to be able to ride on it. Finally, I was skipping up the ramp with Lotlot, my sister and my dad to get in line for the ride, when the attendant stopped me, measured me, and told me I was an inch too short to ride. That was probably one of the saddest moments in my life. I had been waiting for three hours to ride on it; only to find out I wasn’t big enough. It didn’t help much either when my sister got off and said, “Whoa! That was the coolest roller coaster ever!!”

But my dad saw how dejected I was and promised that he would take me back there some day to ride the roller coaster when I was bigger. Sure enough, a couple of years later, my dad took us back to Cubao and we went back to the Fiesta Carnival, where I was tall enough to not only ride the old roller coaster, but also their newest roller coaster, which was even bigger and better than the old one. So, after my world-class disappointment, some good did come from it.

Throughout history, we see many examples of this, like in the books of Moses. When the Jewish people were turned into slaves, they didn’t imagine that in 400 years that a child would be born, one who would lead them out of slavery and punish those who enslaved us, one who would guide the Jewish people through the desert and would be the one to whom God would pass to us the Torah and the Ten Commandments, the very basis of our religion.

But there are other examples also, like during World War II, when Hitler orchestrated the genocide which lowered our population. Shortly after that, the land of Palestine finally became the State of Israel, Homeland of the Jewish People. Through many attacks by Israel’s neighbors, when things didn’t seem hopeful, instead of pushing Israel’s people into the sea, Israel still existed, and stood stronger than before.

On the terrible day of September 11, America and the rest of the world witnessed a monstrosity. But later that day, and each day since, we have seen American flags sales skyrocket as tall as the World Trade Center was, and American flags are still flying everywhere today. Patriotism is alive again in America. So, even after the devastating horror that shook our nation on 9/11, the uniting of the American people has come from it.

When you see a boulder in your path, don’t allow it to stop you. Use it as a stepping stone to go higher and higher. I am certain that everyone, during some period of his or her life, will experience rough times. Perhaps that is what makes us appreciate the good times that much more. You need to have faith in God and push yourself to take one day at a time and move forward. In the end, if you keep up, something good and positive will prevail. We must never forget the history of our people but our eyes must always be glued and focused on the future that is still before us.

The views expressed are strictly that of the author. Fajardo is the editor of the Saipan Tribune.