Born in October of 1981, I am the eldest of the two sisterless Suarez. I was raised in a faithful Christian family in a small barangay (village) located in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. I started first grade as a seven-year-old Bazooka gum-chewing kid.

Seriously, just like how I thought Thesaurus was a dinosaur, the term Kindergarten was virtually unknown to me until I was about grade 6. I wasn't exactly the worst pupil back in the day.

But as far as I could remember, I didn't care much at all about getting good grades. I had spent my elementary and high school days doing my homework on my own.

I very rarely got a chance to get tutored by my parents the way other kids enjoy. Never did I hear my parents ask me: "How's your Math? How's your English?"

My parents never had a college education. My father works as a painter in our church's engineering and construction division while my mother is a plain housewife.

My father's job takes him to different places across the country and only goes home once or twice a year—until today. My mother, on the other hand, has immersed herself in doing household chores and God knows what else.