Ma. Kara Alexir C.

Calamba Creative Non-Fiction | Autobiography

COMM3A Mr. Manuel Dasig

Ride of My Life
It was a hot sunny day on 8th of September in 1999 when my mother gave birth to me
within the fours wall of Chinese General Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila. My parents were about to
name me as Kara, however, they realized that I was born during Mama Mary’s birthday, so my
first name became Maria. On the same day, my aunt on my father’s side suggests a third name.
She requested to name me after her favorite novel character, “Alexir”. And that’s it! My life as
Ma. Kara Alexir Calamba has begun.

Since I was born, my mother, Carolina Calamba decided to leave her work to focus on
raising me. It’s hard for her to sacrificed her 13-year-old job as accounting assistant in Seafood
and Restaurant, but she did it for my sake. While my father, Jose Calamba Jr. is working as a
police man. He used to visit us weekly because of the demand of his work. That’s why most of
the time, my mother and I was alone in the house. I was one-year old when we lived in the house
of my mother’s aunt on her mother's side, located in Comembo, Makati City. Eventually, my
both parents decided to settle in Cavite. I just turned two-years old when we transferred here in
Dasmariñas City, Cavite. Then, my younger sister, Justine was born. I have this glimpse of my
memory where I used to sleep with her on a crib. When she came, I never felt so alone again in
the house. In fact, we met a lot of friends too here in our neighborhood. I remembered the old
days when we used to celebrate Christmas together in our street. Everyone put tables on the
outside to place their cooked foods and presents for exchange gift. We really had a lot of fun,
dancing over to the loud music and bright lights. We grew up together and created a lot of
happy childhood memories – that was nostalgic. As time goes by, everything has changed. We
still remained in the neighborhood, while most of them went to different paths. For the last 4
years, the streets felt so empty without them – no more loud music and bright lights. I am sad
for this fact, but I am aware that this is something I can’t control since we have our own lives.
One thing for sure, this is a memory that I would treasure forever.

Obviously, I’ve been here in Cavite all my life since I was a kid. During my elementary
and highschool, my schools used to be closed to my house. It’s either I walk a mile or ride one
tricycle to get there. Then, I realized I haven’t explored that much in my old days because my
routine has been school and house only. Actually, this is the reason I am terrified to commute
alone. I took a lot of courage to get out from my comfort zone and I did this by pursuing my
college in Letran Manila. Since my freshman year, I rode a bus every day from Cavite to Manila
for my classes. I am aware that I would have hard time in commuting and studying at the same
time, but this is my way to lessen my parents’ expense for my study. Most of the time, I went
home tired because of my long travel. I find it difficult to keep my focus in my study because of
it. I remembered that I always had a mental breakdown while I’m on bus because I felt so
drained, both physically and mentally. My everyday commute made me realize how severe
traffic takes away most of the time of my life. Thinking how much time I’ve lost being stuck in the
middle of the road just stresses me out, but it’s the reality of life. I am just one of those million
Filipinos who have no other choice but to face it. My motivation to finish my college is what
keeps me moving forward despite all those struggles. I admit, it’s difficult for me to get through
it, but I’m quite thankful to experience all of these because it allows me to experience things I’ve
never done before.

Being in Letran made it possible and let me discover more about myself. I entered
different organizations and I found myself to have talents for photography, enjoying outputs for
events and passion for producing documentaries. Upon entering The LANCE, I learned that I
could take good and interesting pictures. I became a photographer of my school’s official
publication, which opens opportunities for me to do adventure. My most unforgettable
experience as The LANCE photographer was my People’s SONA coverage back in 2019. For
the first time, I saw an actual protest before my eyes and it felt surreal to be in the same place as
them. I never thought that I would witness such event. I remembered myself fighting against the
heat of the sun and rain just to capture every moment that day. Now, seeing those pictures I
took, I could still feel their disappointments and grudge against Duterte’s administration. That
day, I had so many realizations about the reality of life and the society I lived in. I am quite aware
of the injustices in this country, but it just felt so different to hear all those stories in first-hand.
In the same year, I became part of Media Works’ creative department. I discovered
myself enjoying organizing events and producing outputs for it. But my best memory of being
part of the Media Works family was the day I went on stage with them to receive our award in
BAYAN MO IPATROL MO DigiTales: A Mobile Documentary Contest. It just felt so surreal
receiving such an award in front of many people and medias. The whole process of producing
the documentary was really challenging and stressful. We struggled a lot balancing our time for
the contest and our academics but we keep ourselves motivated because we want to bring
honor for our school and proved to ourselves that we can produce a quality and informative
documentary. Personally, it’s the biggest plot twist in my college life because it never crossed
my mind to participate in a contest outside the institution. In fact, we almost gave up because
it’s been weeks since we submitted, but we got no confirmation of nomination for the
competition. I guess, best things happened when they are unexpected. We we’re all surprised
when we received it.
 Looking back to those experiences, I am convinced that I choose the right path. The
process to get those opportunities was rough but it all worth it. Since that day, I promised to
myself that it would not be the first and my last to experience those, but then, the pandemic
happened. It feels like my hopes has been crashed. I started my 2020 with full of hopes of more
adventures but the pandemic prevented it from happening. The bright future I visioned
suddenly becomes blurry, because no one could tell when it would end. Right now, no more
commute and regular classes. I’m in the middle of adapting to the new normal and new setup
of classes. I decided not to waste any more time and pursue my study through online class. I
personally find it as ineffective learning but I had no choice, two years has been taken away from
me. I could not delay my study anymore because my parents are getting older. I really hope I
could fulfill their dreams while they are strong.

Overall, my life was like riding a bus with no specific destination. I’m clueless of how
many bumps or stops I still need to get through to reach my final destination. Nonetheless, I
would live my life to the fullest with no regrets. This is my story and I would treasure every bit of
memories I’ve created, because this is what made me the person I am today.

- Kara