Status: Thank you for reading and I hope that you find this enjoyable.
Lyrical
Marion Hong
Lina: Had to go, family emergency.
Marion looked at the texted she received and instantly she knew that her ice cream cravings were going to be satisfied alone. She hated to eat alone! She sighed and texted back,
Me: Aaaaaw, seriously? Fine. :(
Marion put away her phone and looked for where she had seen Lina sitting. She turned and saw her slowly make her way the rows of students and left in a hurry “And there she goes…” she muttered.
At that moment Marion knew that Lina was leaving because of a boy. Lina always threw caution to the wind whenever men were involved and although Marion didn’t know much of her personal life, she wasn’t dunce. She could see how often Lina would be on off and on relationships, and as the seasons changed, so did her choice in men. But like a good Christian, Marion didn’t judge Lina, although she felt the irking to do so. It wasn’t healthy to be jumping from relationship to relationship, she thought and sometimes she would even worry if Lina was being careful with herself. But still, it wasn't her life but Lina's.
“Looks like there’s no ice cream tonight…” she uttered as she corrected her sitting and waiting patiently for the presidential speech to be over. Marion had always hated speeches, she hated staying still and she hated being bored.
She used to have ice cream to look forward to after having endured the whole ceremony, but not anymore. Marion was a social creature and she enjoyed going out with friends, eating out with friends and having fun with friends. But Marion wasn’t always social.
There was a time that she remembered when she used to be an outcast in her high school years who had the highest GPA in her class, but her grades were extremely low when it came to socializing with other children her age. They’d all make fun of her calling her fat and four eyed kiss ass, and although she always kept her composure and would pretend not to hear anything, you would often find her locked in the girl’s bathroom secretly crying. She hid because she was afraid of vulnerability, she was taught to believe that being vulnerable and sensitive was a useless quality to have as a human being. But Marion deep inside would always feel some vulnerability, but this feeling was for her and her alone.
While Marion having excelled academically, her future was bright and many of her teachers held high expectations for her career, they all thought she’s study dermatology like her father. However, Marion wanted to study something other than medicine, she didn’t want to be another doctor in the family, she was tired of it! She wanted to do something that could fill her with some kind of passion—or anything close to it. Finally, she decided she wanted to be an artist and when she told her parents, her mother was thrilled to have an artist in the family, but her father was disappointed in her. He had high hopes for her becoming a dermatologist like himself, and although he felt betrayed, he also thought that it would be wrong to force Marion to study his profession. Her father reluctantly allowed for his daughter to study art.
Marion had always been drawing since she was a child so it should have not come as a surprise to her parents when she told them what she wanted to study. Colors, lines and shades have always fascinated Marion and she wanted to have the freedom to create whatever she wanted and instead of being made fun of, finally, she imagined how people would say “How beautiful…” when they would stop and admire one of her masterpieces.
Marion enrolled in the Sacred Heart University, and as the years went by Marion grew with her art. Still, she was surprised when she didn’t feel fulfilled. She graduated top of her class once again, but she felt unhappy. It confused her to feel that way, she thought that it was what she really wanted to do, but as she grasped her diploma, she felt no happiness. She would often talk to Sister Mary Joseph, a kind and caring nun who Marion confided in. They sipped their ginger honey tea at the recreational plaza, where she felt the liberty to truly say what was on her mind and knowing that Sister Mary Joseph would not scold her, but advise her.
Marion sipped her tea, the warm liquid soothing her dry throat “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m not supposed to be here…” Marion looked down in shame, “I don’t want to disappoint my parents, my father…again. But I don’t think I’m doing what I’m meant to do.”
Sister Mary Joseph placed her cup gracefully on the table, “The Lord might be trying to guide you elsewhere, only he knows what is best for you.”
“Yes sister, that had occurred to me, but still sometimes I wish that the Lord would send a messenger to my parents to make them understand the cause of my indecision.” She lowered her head as she took another sip.
“Sometimes we have no choice but to carry the message ourselves. And with God giving us the courage we need to speak what we must say, everything will turn for the better.”
Marion sighed anxiously, “But still, try telling my father that I want to study something else! He’ll just give me a long speech on how I can’t spend the rest of my life just being indecisive about my future and this and that--” She paused. The kind nun looked at her expectantly, “And?”
“And I…I just want to make him understand that this time, I really know what I want to do with my life.” Marion felt her eyes watering slightly but she managed to control her emotions. Control was everything for Marion, and she had mastered it well.
“My child, as you know, the Lord works in mysterious ways. If you feel that you need to make this decision, then make it. This unsteadiness you've been feeling is God’s way of telling you that you need to go through this path in order to become his instrument.” The nun placed her hand reassuringly on Marion’s and smiled. Marion was able to form a small smile and she felt somewhat at ease by the Sister’s words. It was at that moment that Marion decided to tell her parents that she wanted to become a pianist accompanist.
After the graduation finally finished, Marion walked through the sea of excited families, towards her own family. She smiled when she saw her father and mother waiting for her. She walked towards her mother and she embraced her, “I’m so proud of you.” She said. Marion held back her tears, “Thank you mom.” Her father stood silently.
“Are you going to eat ice cream with your friends?’ he finally spoke.
Marion shook her head, “No, they had other plans.”
“Oh well that’s a pity. Would you still like to go with us dear?” her mother asked.
“Actually mom, the ceremony was pretty long and I’m feeling tired. I think it’d be better if we just left, I told the girls that we could go out for ice cream some other time.” Marion started walking towards the parking lot, the rest of the way home was spent in silence.
Marion looked at the texted she received and instantly she knew that her ice cream cravings were going to be satisfied alone. She hated to eat alone! She sighed and texted back,
Me: Aaaaaw, seriously? Fine. :(
Marion put away her phone and looked for where she had seen Lina sitting. She turned and saw her slowly make her way the rows of students and left in a hurry “And there she goes…” she muttered.
At that moment Marion knew that Lina was leaving because of a boy. Lina always threw caution to the wind whenever men were involved and although Marion didn’t know much of her personal life, she wasn’t dunce. She could see how often Lina would be on off and on relationships, and as the seasons changed, so did her choice in men. But like a good Christian, Marion didn’t judge Lina, although she felt the irking to do so. It wasn’t healthy to be jumping from relationship to relationship, she thought and sometimes she would even worry if Lina was being careful with herself. But still, it wasn't her life but Lina's.
“Looks like there’s no ice cream tonight…” she uttered as she corrected her sitting and waiting patiently for the presidential speech to be over. Marion had always hated speeches, she hated staying still and she hated being bored.
She used to have ice cream to look forward to after having endured the whole ceremony, but not anymore. Marion was a social creature and she enjoyed going out with friends, eating out with friends and having fun with friends. But Marion wasn’t always social.
There was a time that she remembered when she used to be an outcast in her high school years who had the highest GPA in her class, but her grades were extremely low when it came to socializing with other children her age. They’d all make fun of her calling her fat and four eyed kiss ass, and although she always kept her composure and would pretend not to hear anything, you would often find her locked in the girl’s bathroom secretly crying. She hid because she was afraid of vulnerability, she was taught to believe that being vulnerable and sensitive was a useless quality to have as a human being. But Marion deep inside would always feel some vulnerability, but this feeling was for her and her alone.
While Marion having excelled academically, her future was bright and many of her teachers held high expectations for her career, they all thought she’s study dermatology like her father. However, Marion wanted to study something other than medicine, she didn’t want to be another doctor in the family, she was tired of it! She wanted to do something that could fill her with some kind of passion—or anything close to it. Finally, she decided she wanted to be an artist and when she told her parents, her mother was thrilled to have an artist in the family, but her father was disappointed in her. He had high hopes for her becoming a dermatologist like himself, and although he felt betrayed, he also thought that it would be wrong to force Marion to study his profession. Her father reluctantly allowed for his daughter to study art.
Marion had always been drawing since she was a child so it should have not come as a surprise to her parents when she told them what she wanted to study. Colors, lines and shades have always fascinated Marion and she wanted to have the freedom to create whatever she wanted and instead of being made fun of, finally, she imagined how people would say “How beautiful…” when they would stop and admire one of her masterpieces.
Marion enrolled in the Sacred Heart University, and as the years went by Marion grew with her art. Still, she was surprised when she didn’t feel fulfilled. She graduated top of her class once again, but she felt unhappy. It confused her to feel that way, she thought that it was what she really wanted to do, but as she grasped her diploma, she felt no happiness. She would often talk to Sister Mary Joseph, a kind and caring nun who Marion confided in. They sipped their ginger honey tea at the recreational plaza, where she felt the liberty to truly say what was on her mind and knowing that Sister Mary Joseph would not scold her, but advise her.
Marion sipped her tea, the warm liquid soothing her dry throat “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m not supposed to be here…” Marion looked down in shame, “I don’t want to disappoint my parents, my father…again. But I don’t think I’m doing what I’m meant to do.”
Sister Mary Joseph placed her cup gracefully on the table, “The Lord might be trying to guide you elsewhere, only he knows what is best for you.”
“Yes sister, that had occurred to me, but still sometimes I wish that the Lord would send a messenger to my parents to make them understand the cause of my indecision.” She lowered her head as she took another sip.
“Sometimes we have no choice but to carry the message ourselves. And with God giving us the courage we need to speak what we must say, everything will turn for the better.”
Marion sighed anxiously, “But still, try telling my father that I want to study something else! He’ll just give me a long speech on how I can’t spend the rest of my life just being indecisive about my future and this and that--” She paused. The kind nun looked at her expectantly, “And?”
“And I…I just want to make him understand that this time, I really know what I want to do with my life.” Marion felt her eyes watering slightly but she managed to control her emotions. Control was everything for Marion, and she had mastered it well.
“My child, as you know, the Lord works in mysterious ways. If you feel that you need to make this decision, then make it. This unsteadiness you've been feeling is God’s way of telling you that you need to go through this path in order to become his instrument.” The nun placed her hand reassuringly on Marion’s and smiled. Marion was able to form a small smile and she felt somewhat at ease by the Sister’s words. It was at that moment that Marion decided to tell her parents that she wanted to become a pianist accompanist.
After the graduation finally finished, Marion walked through the sea of excited families, towards her own family. She smiled when she saw her father and mother waiting for her. She walked towards her mother and she embraced her, “I’m so proud of you.” She said. Marion held back her tears, “Thank you mom.” Her father stood silently.
“Are you going to eat ice cream with your friends?’ he finally spoke.
Marion shook her head, “No, they had other plans.”
“Oh well that’s a pity. Would you still like to go with us dear?” her mother asked.
“Actually mom, the ceremony was pretty long and I’m feeling tired. I think it’d be better if we just left, I told the girls that we could go out for ice cream some other time.” Marion started walking towards the parking lot, the rest of the way home was spent in silence.