My Mama: How I First Learned Humanism

HAPI Scholars, humanism, Youth

My Mama: How I First Learned Humanism

HAPI Admin
August 15, 2020

by Shawn Evans V. Quiming
Malolos City, Bulacan

She can be funny, witty, strict, childish, and sometimes she acts like my age. That’s my mom.

Whenever we are having a mom and child time, she always reminds me about being a good person. To treat other people equally, that they are also like us. Why did she tell me that? I remember telling her about my gay classmates, how they act around me and she just told me that they are part of the LGBTQ family but that does not mean that they should be treated differently.

One thing I’m sure of is that whenever I have questions in life she is there to patiently explain it to me.

At first, I was confused about why my mom never goes to church. I mean, our family always goes to church every Sunday and she’s the only one who stays at home. Unless she is asked by her friends to be a godparent of their child or invited to a wedding.

Then we had this conversation about different kinds of religion and she asked me what I think of her belief is? Of course, I couldn’t answer as I have no idea (but I was actually thinking she’s a catholic).

“I’m a humanist. Do you know what a humanist is?” Then she told me to look for it and read it.

That’s when I learned why my mama does what she does. Why she always helped other people, why she chose to be with other people who needed her than to have fun with her friends. She finds happiness in what she is doing with HAPI together with the HAPI people.

My mama, she never pushed me to be like her. She wanted me to follow what my heart desires. I can say this because I remember one time when she told me to get the course that I want when I go to college, and I wanted to be a Nautical Engineer which is what she wants to be when she was young.

“Just because I didn’t become who I want to be doesn’t mean that you have to do it for me. I want you to follow your dreams.” Those were her exact words for me.

Now, I question a lot of things around me and my mama always gives me advice to research and learn, and not just accept everything that other people will tell me.

Maybe I am thirteen but I am lucky to say that I have a mama who allows me to choose what I want to be when I grow up and what I want to believe in the future.