According to Jordan Cooper: “If you are over 65 and can still remember these 12 life events, your mind is in remarkable shape.”
We have tackled half of the events in previous posts. We are now in #7: A CREATIVE FIRST
“The first time you performed, sold a painting, published a post, nailed a recipe without peeking. If you can recall the room, who was there, the specific feedback you got, and the bodily sensation afterward—buzzing hands, quiet pride—you’re demonstrating a healthy loop between memory and motivation. Creative ‘wins’ become beacons your brain uses to guide you forward. If you can still see that stage or smell that studio? Chef’s kiss.”
My very first performance was not done inside a room but on stage in front of the Koronadal Pilot Elementary Sch. students in an open field surrounded by flower gardens and vegetable plots. There was a program after the Flag Ceremony and I was one of the 2 participants. I delivered a Filipino declamation while the other one rendered a song. She was quite small but had a very powerful voice that could break glasses and mirrors.
The feedback that stuck in my mind was the consensus of the teachers that I could replace the school’s Filipino Declamation prodigee who was about to graduate that year. I felt a great sense of pride because I was only in Grade 1 then.
My intensive training started that year. The following year and every year thereafter until I graduated from Elementary, I represented KPES in every Filipino Declamation contest in the region. I won most of the time but oddly, I always lost whenever Nanay accompanied me. This would cause unecessary debate between my parents. But then again, Tatay and Nanay would argue on anything and everything under the sun. That’s why their marriage only lasted for 55 years.
To be continued . . .
