I wake up to the sound of my ever annoying alarm clock. I lazily reached for it and pressed the snooze button. With a still tired brain, I stared at the wall for about 5 minutes like I always did until finally, I decided to grab my phone from the desk beside me and looked at the screen. My eyes were fixed on the date today - December 10, 2029. If I remember correctly, today is the birthday of my friend from high school, Cindy mallorca. I've heard she is now a successful singer in Broadway.They say that not a single seat is empty every time she performs. I sent her a message saying happy birthday and that I missed her so much. It has been 10 years since I graduated from high school. Undoubtedly, a lot has changed since then. As for me, I am now a prestigious accountant and situated here in the philipines. It was difficult at first but I eventually got the hang of it. Still lying on the bed, I heard my stomach growl. I finally stand up and head for the kitchen. My house, talking about structure, is personally designed by the famous architect, lester jay mirabel. The interior however is designed by Kimberly medina. A renowned interior designer known for creating interesting innovations. I arrive at the kitchen and start to wonder what I will be making myself for breakfast. I look to left and see my favorite cookbook on the table. It is a collaboration written by two famous chefs namely: Chef antonette madronio and Chef reo mondejar. antonette now owns several restaurants all over the world -- one being a five-star restaurant in Paris, France. reo, better known as a pastry chef, owns several branches of cakeries and cupcake stores in many countries. I flipped through the book and decided to make myself some of my favorite strawberry French toast. After eating breakfast, I went to the living room, grabbed the remote and turned on the television. On the entertainment channel, I watch as Kristen Guillermo, Jeanne Mabutas, and Leslie Adina perform their latest hit on MTV. It is said that they are the first Philippine girl band to garner over 50 million fans all over the world. I flip through the channels and stop as it arrived to TFC. In the morning show "Umagang Kay Ganda," I watch as the ever beautiful Nicaela Lodor and Angel Alcantara counsels people who seems to be having problems about love. Once again, I looked at my phone and realized it is now 10:30 am. Oh no! I have a flight connecting from New York to Manila this afternoon. I decided that I will be spending Christmas with my family in the Philippines. Hastily, I turn the TV off and prepare for the flight. Fortunately, I arrived on time for my flight. I sat on my seat and waited. A few minutes later, a woman sat beside me. We both looked at each other with a strange familiarity. "Ria, is that you?" I asked her. What a coincidence! I cannot believe I'm in the same flight with my high school friend Ria Evangelista. I took this opportunity to catch up with her. My jaw dropped when I found out that she teaches Psychology 101 in Harvard University. It turns out that like me, she's going to spend her holidays in the Philippines as well. Still bombarding her with questions, I asked her, "How's your best friend, Nia?" "She's doing fine! Do you know that she is the current CEO of the major company Coory Inc.?" "Oh my gosh! Really? How about our other high school friends? Have you heard of them?" I asked. I found out that Sandy Hiponia won the lottery of 250 million pesos and donated half of it to organizations like Bantay Bata. Ciara Crisostomo, Kristel Suiza, Zham Sedano, and Carla De Toro are now very famous runway models of various companies. In the Boracay beach, Maydah Manalao owns the most famous resort that is usually always full. That's why the tourists reserve as early as possible. Our chatting was stopped when we heard the pilot speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Cpt. Alyssa Rosario speaking. We are about to take off. Please pay attention to your stewards and stewardesses as they demonstrate the emergency procedures." I was wondering in my head because the name sounded really familiar. Of course! We were classmates in high school as well. I heard she pursued her dreams of being a pilot and has now been working as a pilot for 7 years. My attention now goes to the aisle where the stewardess is showing us where the emergency doors are. With widening eyes, I realize that that stewardess was also my high school friend, Mara Oliver. As soon as she finished, I waved at her with excitement. She waved back and we chatted for a while. Afterwards, I asked if I could have the newspaper. She gladly gave it to me and left to attend to others. "FIRST FILIPINO ASTRONAUT TO LAND ON THE MOON," the headlines say. I read it further and found out that it was Ezra Briones! She is the first Filipino to ever join NASA's moon exploration project. I look at the photo beside it wherein she strikes a pose which for some reason looks awfully familiar to me. Ah! I remember now. That was the pose we often used back in our high school days! I turn the pages to the sports section and I see Bianca David, Danielle Nuesa, and Irene De Lima. It seems that they will be joining the Winter Olympics to be held in Belgium this year. Bianca and Irene will be joining the
Figure Skating competition while Danielle will be competing in the Speed Skating competition. I would say that no matter what they achieve, they would make Filipinos like us very proud. I put down the newspaper and reach for the magazine behind the seat in front of me. On the front cover is the winner of the Miss Universe 2024, Antoinette Mofar! Her elegant golden dress, flowing from all directions, looks stunning on her. This dress was designed by famous fashion designer Nhorain Bangasin. I continue to flip the pages until I saw an advertisement wherein Denise Lazaro, now a famous movie star, is flashing a pose showing off the watch on her wrist. It wasn't long until I fell asleep for the rest of the flight. I always have. I arrive at the NAIA International Airport. Just when I was about to exit, I saw a huge crowd of people. There were also photographers everywhere. Then I saw senator Kim Uy. I heard she was running for president this year. The majority of the people seems to like her and I can almost see it. President Kim sitting at the office leading the Philippines to prosperity. I got a cab and got home safely. When I was about to enter my house in Quezon City, I didn't notice a rock in front of me and so I tripped. I woke up at midnight. This time not by the sound of the alarm, but by the sound of the train passing by. "It was just a dream," I murmured. I sighed and quickly went back to sleep. Tomorrow's the day, I think to myself.…...