Allie's Letters to Danielle: Part 4

Ma chèrie Danielle,

Yet again, this is the 22 year old, crazy persona of your mother.

How are you? I do wonder what’s on your mind right now. Are you dreaming about that little spark of ambition you’ve been nurturing since you were running around with your doll? Are you thinking about the people you’ve created in your mind that you’ve been itching to put down on paper? Or, are you in reverie over that sweet, dashing young man you’ve told me about in the secret of a mother-daughter bond session? Oh, we most certainly have a lot to talk about, don’t we, my dear? Haha! I do promise to deal with all that pretty soon. I await writing to you about these pressing matters of growing up.

Again, I do still wonder --- as a twenty-two year old tapping on her laptop, still reeling in from her studies --- how the world of my future daughter will be like. Are all children given the rights to go to school? Is there food on the table for every family? Hey, who holds the highest office in the land; who makes all these things possible in the first place?

I’m sorry if I’m suddenly prodding. I guess it’s just the effect of the season. For you see, as I write this, it is barely month away from me and the rest of my countrymen casting their votes to see who will lead the nation for the next six years. That’s right. We are about to elect our next president, and, well, until now, I’m still weighing in who I will shade on that ballot.

Every single thing about each candidate really must be considered. Have they, even before venturing into politics, done something to better the lives of those around them? How’s their family; are they whole? How about their heart? Will they ever think of stealing from the chest of this land to go to their expensive sports cars? All of these, I really must think thoroughly about.

Why? Because I’m thinking about one person when I cast that vote. You. Well, it’s actually you and the rest of your generation. You see that little blot of ink corresponds to six years of handing someone the future of my beloved country. That’s six years where he is able to make lasting changes in our beloved islands --- whether or not it’s beneficial to society. Yes, that one day will impact not just the next six years of the Philippines, but you right there reading this around thirty years after I’ve shaded that circle.

And, that’s why I must take into account everything. That’s the way I choose to vote. I choose not to step blindly into that precinct. For my nation’s sake. For your sake.

I hope the decisions I and the rest of my country make on the 11th of May will turn out for the best. I can’t wait to see you grow up in a land where everything’s possible.

Of course, Mummy always loves you!

With love,
Mum