When was your last FIRST?

When we were kids, our parents were obssessed with all our "firsts". I don't know about your folks but I'm a first-born child so my parents documented everything from my first haircut up to my first footsteps, first birthday, first words, first day of pre-school, first medal, anyways you get the picture.

I'm sure you've noticed that, as we grow up, these firsts become a rarity. The more you do something, the more it becomes integrated into your everyday routine. Like walking, for instance. I'm sure your parents went gaga over your first few footsteps but you've done it so much after those initial ones that it's no longer a big deal.

The question is: When was the last time that you did something for the first time?
I first saw this question in a tv ad. I forgot what product the ad is for but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with cars. Or electronics. Whatever. Anyways, it got me thinking. When was the las time I did something for the first time?

The answer to that is June 2, 2007.

It happened at my aunt's house in Quezon City. I ate tuyo for the first time in my life. No kidding. It might seem perplexing to you especially if you know that I grew up in the province. I mean, there is an endless supply of tuyo in our province, that's for sure. When I was in elementary and high school, tuyo would sometimes be served alongside the usual longganisa, scrambled eggs, and fried rice for breakfast but I never tried it. Not because I'm "pa-sosyal" or whatever but because I genuinely had no idea how to eat it. I would watch my grandmother or my aunts or my cousins eat tuyo, thinking "how are they eating that, it's practically just bones?". I never mustered up enough courage to ask for instructions for fear of being ridiculed. Besides, I thought I was too big for my lola to, in tagalog, "himay" the tuyo for me. In other words, I never really tried.

Last Saturday, I was right in time for dinner when I got to my tita's place. There was adobo on the table so I was a happy person. We had just begun eating when my cousins' yaya placed a plate full of tuyo on the table. Everybody just went for it. Really, I mean everbody. Even my littlest cousin ate tuyo. My curiosity got the better of me so I decided to give it a try.

"First time ko kumain ng tuyo," I boldly announced to the whole table.

My cousins just stared at me.

"I'm serious," I insisted.

Then they just laughed.

"Sosyal! La Salista kasi eh," one of them said.

"Hindi ah! Di lang talaga ko marunong kumain," I said in my defense. "Pano ba kasi?" I prompted.

"Watch and learn," said one of my cousins then she proceeded to instruct me.

So that's how I ate tuyo for the first time.

The End.

It might seem like a simple thing to most people but that incident made me realize that I really am starting to grow old (I know, eighteen's not really THAT old but you know what I mean). I want to start doing more things that I heaven't tried before. Like try out for the Green Archer fencing team or something like that. I'm starting to run out of firsts so I want to make sure that when I do something for the first time, it will be worth storing in my memory bank.