My Tomboy Beginnings

I went to a wake the other night. It was my dad's brother-in-law's mother who passed away (forgive me, but that's the shortest way i could describe it). While at the wake spending time, chatting with my long-lost cousins (those i have not seen for nearly three months), my dad called for my attention. He wanted to introduce me to his long-lost friend (whom he hasn't seen for years), so i went and met him. I was giving the man a polite nod while we were being introduced when my dad asked me, "Anak, natatandaan mo ba si tito lito mo [do you remember your uncle lito]?" I thought for a minute. Yep, he looked familiar to me. And so i acknowledged with a second nod signifying that i somehow recognize him. So the man looked me straight in the eye and claimed how he perfectly knew me. Here goes: "Oo. Alam mo, maliit ka pa noon. Ikaw yung batang parang lalaki kung kumilos [yes, i remember you. You were so little then. You were the little girl who acted as if she was a boy]."

All right, there goes my secret past. Not so secret. I've always been bragging about how tomboy i was when i was a kid. I've never fancied wearing a dress, not even a baby-tee for goodness' sake (although i remember playing BARBIE back in HIGH SCHOOL)! My mom even had her darkest time trying to convince me to wear an evening dress on my 18th birthday.

I've changed. Though the typical tinay would still be a carefree t-shirt-and-jeans lady, my taste has evolved. This i can be proud of, hihi. So when my tito lito told me how he found me years back, i just gave him my third nod and politely said, "opo, ako nga iyon. Tomboy po ako dati [Yes, it was me. I was a tomboy before]." Then i left and went back to my cousins who made a huge laugh when i told them what conversation i had.

People, a tiny reminder: a tomboy is the boyish type. A lesbian is another story. I was never the latter.