One of English philosopher and essayist Francis Bacon’s popular quotations states: “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. For some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”
Some people are born with the capacity to absorb and accumulate an immensely bountiful knowledge and vastly store every bit in his memory bank without losing its essence and purpose. Others are born fundamentally equipped with the ability to speak verbosely and read with a clever degree of comprehension while some could masterfully put into writing all ideated facts and create an irrecusable literary piece…as if in adherence to Bacon’s universally adapted quote: “Speech maketh a man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.”
However, the advent of the latest digital gadgets and high-tech tools had greatly influenced the developing minds and formative growth of this generation’s youths. There exist a wide incidence of powerful environmental motivators and notable influential factors that provide huge effects in the developmental process of a child…and not to forget the extensive genetic contribution that make up the child’s overall personality.
Today’s youth are smart and well-informed. Being non-communicative doesn’t necessarily mean that a child knows less. Some are just observant and perceptive but could be highly intellectual in times when situation calls for self-expression or defense.
In verity it’s constantly believed that a child mind speaks of the truth and the accuracy of fact is seen by his/her innocent eyes. The child being, banal and transparent, faces copious, complicated and cynical situations ahead that could shatter her innate innocence and might lead to perplexity and confusion.
Take the case of Kaia Alanna, a twelve-year old literary prodigy with a superbly distinct skill to merge and interplay words coherently, when she casually came home from school one drizzling afternoon and handed her dad an A-rated composition she wrote about Christmas. It wasn’t exactly the high mark that astounded her father but the way the piece was almost perfectly constructed and how Kaia exhausted herself of the ideas by interpreting prolifically into writing the voluminous flow of thought crowding her young mind.
He knew his eldest daughter is smart and well informed. She could effortlessly grasp and understand almost every subject he’s familiar with and could even challenge his ability in some fields…even sports, for that matter.
Kaia’s innate quiet personality fails to give away her true intellectual identity. Her parents are familiar with her conversational skill, her being abreast with the latest info, that she can draw and squiggle, and yes, make school assignments on her own…but not writing a full-length article such as what she had just presented.
I’m re-printing Kaia’s “award-winning” literary masterpiece en toto…sans neither modification nor any expurgation… even her punctuation marks remained intact. There may be some few unnecessary marks and redundant word usage but considering her young status, every slight error is comprehensible. Focus on her ability to relate a familiar story in her own peculiar style. Read on…!
A Christmas Story
By Kaia Alanna
“Ho-ho-help me!” cried the voice from the chimney. I sprang out of the covers in my bed and ran to the stairs. As I looked through the mahogany stair case railings that smelled of lemon-scented wax, I saw the ashes and soot sprinkling down to the fireplace every now and then, and heard the sounds of an old man trying to accomplish something with great effort right before it. I decided to climb to the roof and check out what was happening.
But where are my manners? My name is Gilbert, and I’m 11 years old. I am always bullied for being the only kid in my class who believed in Santa Claus, as well as being a nerd with a huge vocabulary. After I saw my parents stuffing my stocking and putting the presents under the Christmas tree, I felt like running out and screaming, for one of the few things I believed in was basically thrown out of the window, and I couldn’t help but stop believing in any other fairytale I’ve heard. That was 3 years ago, and now, I’m listening to a man in the chimney calling out for help.
I grabbed the first coat I saw, and some boots I saw on the ground and hastily put them on as I ran to the closet. I opened the door as quietly and as fast as I could, but couldn’t find a ladder tall enough to reach the roof. At the sudden brain storm I had while it started snowing outside, I remembered that we had a trap door in the attic that lead to the roof that we recently fixed (my sister glued it shut one time and we had to get a softener). I ran back up the stairs and tip toed as quietly as possible at the first sight of my parents’ bedroom. Once I reached the stairs that lead to the attic, I ran up, nearly slipping once or twice, and opened the trapdoor to the roof. The first thing I noticed besides the fact that the light snow became a blizzard was a red sleigh with a huge sack labeled: TOYS on its back with 9 reindeers to the front of it, attached by green leather reins with silver bells. I also noticed that the reindeer on the very front had a red nose that seemed to glow, seemingly awaiting orders.
A certain “Help me, Gilbert!” rang into my ears that sounded like the same voice from before. I carefully ran through the tiled sloped roof towards the chimney, inspecting the red blob I saw on top of it, since the blizzard reduced my vision nearly to the equivalent of a blind man. Once I got close enough to actually see the man in fine detail, I stood in utter shock. The man, to say it simply, was fat, and sported a snow-white beard (which I could tell even if it was a blizzard) and a red cap on his head. He wore a red, wooly jacket held by a black leather belt with a gold buckle. With his jolly old face and the get up he wore, I would be surprised if you didn’t say he was Santa Claus.
“Great to finally see you, Gilbert!” Santa said with a jolly tone. I, who was shocked to the point couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality, couldn’t speak. “Pardon me if I sound rude but may you help me out?”he asked in a seemingly eternally cheerful tone. Snapped out of my trance, I helped him out with some oil grease and other products I could find, and he thanked me joyfully. After a moment of silence, he finally said: “How would you like to take a ride with me on my sleigh?” Which I speedily agreed to. I hopped into the seemingly ancient sleigh, surprised to see all these high tech buttons and a long list of names and checkmarks. He soon came in and grabbed the reigns. He called to his reindeers and ordered them to fly. Suddenly, the reindeers picked up their hooves and jumped into the air, not landing on the ground again.
We were suddenly flying in the air! “Don’t stop believing in us, don’t be in a hurry to grow up, and don’t listen to anyone else says.” Santa says. “Wait wha-“ I was suddenly cut off when we went into a hyperspace like speed to another continent, and started sending the presents and coal to their respective place. It was very tiring work where I suddenly drifted off. The last word I heard was “Believe” in a jolly voice and everything else was gone…
The next morning I woke up in an unfamiliar place, slowly realizing it was my bed. On my head was the same red cap I saw in my… “Dream” I blurted out. It was early morning and under the tree were presents just like the ones I saw in my…”Dream” I blurted out again. I then noticed that the door was unlocked and there was a note with a silver bell on it. “Don’t think it’s a dream. Tell your parents to get a bigger chimney, too. —SC” it read. The back said: “Merry Christmas.” I stared at everything in the room and wondered if everything else I believed in was real, but for now, I’m convinced. I won’t forget these series of events for a long, long time. (The End).
Below the paper, Kaia’s teacher wrote her remark in green ink: “Wow! You are a great writer, Kaia. Keep it up!” And on the lower right hand side a 100 % rating was deservingly affixed.
A consistent honor student since first grade, Kaia has evidently exhibited her promising skill in story-writing…undoubtedly, a budding raconteur, she is!
It won’t be surprising at all for Kaia Alana to be gifted with an innate flair for writing since her dad, Brian Harvey Dealca Yalong, is unmistakably a talent personified having had attended prestigious Philippine schools like Ateneo de Manila and UST. Here in the US, NYU offered him a full scholarship grant leading to a Journalism degree after his impressive on-the-spot writing assessment on different subjects like Economics, Sports, Music, Politics, Entertainment, Religion, and others…which he notably accomplished in just two hours. Sadly, he turned it down since what he wanted was a degree in Corporate Administration. “I can’t be a fulltime student for I have a job (as a nurse) and I have to work to support a family and pay my bills,” was the justifiable reason he gave.
Adding credence to Kaia Alanna Latoja Yalong’s copiously nascent intellectual endowments and to what she has remarkably written, Francis Bacon also said: “Begin doing what you want to do now…we are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like snowflakes…”
Consequently, Kaia’s action is just timely and on the right track. Given some few more years with proper guidance in honing her writing skill, it won’t be a bolt-from-the-blue if her name stands at par with the bestselling authors and writers of Barnes and Nobles and her literary works get to be in the files of prominent libraries and reference shelves.
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