So What's Next?

(Note: Please read until the end before you start looking up stuff on YouTube. J)

“No, I don’t feel any pressure right now.”

Famous words of the winner of a Philippine beauty pageant in 2008. 

It isn’t customary for female high school students to have boyfriends. Unless you or your parents were born or raised in a liberal environment, you can’t have a boyfriend (or girlfriend for that matter) until you graduate from college, or until you have a stable job or until you’re 30 years old (well, not exactly in that order).

So when the “right time” does come, that’s when you race against time to find your soul mate. Problem is, it’s not as easy as picking the best meat on display, which you get to touch and examine. And to make matters worse, you can’t seem to shake off those badgering relatives who annoy you with questions like “May boyfriend ka na ba?” (Do you already have a boyfriend?) or “May balak ka bang mag-boyfriend? Baka maiwan ka ng biyahe”  each time you see them.

(Attention, annoying relatives:  Now you know why we don't like reunions and get-togethers.)

Eons later, after finding that elusive soulmate (depending on your luck), the next question would be, “When do you plan to get married?”

I can already hear your biological clock ticking the time away...

And after you get married, there’s the “Kelan niyo kami bibigyan ng apo ng mommy mo?” (When are you going to give me and your mom a grandchild?) or  “May laman na ba yan?” to contend with. (By the way, can anyone translate the second question, please? LOL  J)

Heaven must have heard your ardent prayers, because finally, you’ve got your hubby as the father, you as the mommy and your sweet little angel – the triumvirate that makes up your family. You think it ends here, right?

Wrong! You still have to deal with “When are you having your next baby?”

It’s like the test of honor that would not end! So what’s next? “When do you plan to die?”

Therefore, to anyone who says “No, I don’t feel any pressure right now,” this is what I have to say – Ikaw na! Ikaw na, Janina!