YOU know you’re old when a Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson candidate makes “mano po” or “amin” to you. Which happened to me after a group picture at the Pag-ila 2023 for Cagayan de Oro’s District 1 SK chairperson candidates.

Now that I have lost weight (puera buyag), I don’t know anymore how to pose for photos. So, I end up looking like a Citizen’s Army Training First Lieutenant, which I was a long time ago when CAT was still mandatory for senior high school students.

Before posing for that photo, though, I did ask a Xavier-Ateneo employee about their birthyear. She replied that she was born in 2000, and the rest of the crowd probably in 2001 and up since they’re still in college.

That’s when I looked around and realized, Oh my, I could be the oldest person in this crowd. And that included the audience. The SK candidates should have brought their grandmas with them.

But here’s my consuelo de bobo: at least I wasn’t the oldest Namfrel volunteer. Soon I would be, though, a Realization 101 for me after noticing that I tended to be the only one reminiscing on the 1986 People Power when given the opportunity to speak during Namfrel meetings and events. I guess it’s because I was there, guarding Channel 4, and attending the Thanksgiving Mass at Edsa.

But even PBBM has already moved on and removed February 25 as a non-working holiday for 2024. So, what was I reminiscing on? Should I now pretend it didn’t happen at all?

And perhaps by pretending it didn’t happen, I will no longer be the oldest person at SK events. Since I won’t have thoughts of wisdom anymore about ancient history such as the 1986 People Power.

At a business meeting last month, someone did ask me if I witnessed World War II. I didn’t even know how to react to that. But I did reply that perhaps I was already around during the Vietnam War. Haha.

And all along I thought losing weight would make me look younger than my age.

As if to rub that age in, Xavier-Ateneo happened to have their intramurals when we were preparing for Pag-ila 2023. The fun and noise did make me feel young again. The Corrales campus had food stalls and booths selling bags, fashion jewelry, cell phone covers, etc. and, of course, I bought food and a tote bag.

While participating in Xavier-Ateneo events, I always feel like an alumna, with its school hymn as my last song syndrome.

I’ve been part of the team that has been organizing debates and fora for Cagayan de Oro’s political candidates since 2016.

In 2016, it was held at the Limketkai Atrium. In 2019 and 2022, Xavier-Ateneo chose the XU Little Theater as the venue. For this year, it was at the Xavier-Ateneo Auditorium in Macasandig.

As Lourdes College’s grade school students, the Macasandig auditorium was the venue for most of our programs then, and to be back there for Pag-ila 2023 was kind of amazing: Wow, it’s still here. And it’s now renovated and air-conditioned.