Do you ever feel like a hero?

A cousin's daughter requested to interview me for a school assignment.

She told me that I’m the only Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) she knew in our community.

It was good timing that I was at home for my vacation...

So, I agreed.

When the two of us were face to face, I asked, "For what subject is this interview?"

“Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies)," she told me.

I tried to recall my classes on Social Studies back in the day.

I don’t remember an assignment asking us to interview OFWs.

Maybe because the OFW numbers back then were not as big as they are now.

Then, I looked at the list of questions.

And I smiled at the title written in bold letters

BAYANI SA AMIN!

(Rough translation: HERO AMONG US!)

In our country, the government calls OFWs modern-day heroes because OFWs sacrifice the time they could be spending with their families to earn more money in another country...

And pump the local economy through remittances

In short, money in exchange for time

But if you ask me, I don’t feel like a hero.

A hero is a masked person with superpowers who flies around saving people (heavily influenced by Western shows I've watched).

A hero, as taught in Social Studies during my time, fights and dies for the country.

But I guess times have changed.

And besides, this little girl was waiting for my answers.

So I replied to her as honestly as I could.

Of her six questions, there were two that I remember most because they stirred different kinds of emotions.

I'm sharing these questions with you in case you might also need some timely reflections.

• Are you happy with your work and your decision to work in a faraway land?

• Do you want to just stay and work in the country?

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