Nearly 15 years ago, Beverly Aquino used the only money she had to start a business. With P1,100 and a recipe she concocted with her mom, she set up a small kiosk in Laguna and offered plain lugaw or porridge for P10 a bowl.

I met my first love in fifth grade. He was manly for a boy and wore a straight smile, and I was completely struck by his passion for flying. He was my biggest bully, but he changed his ways as we moved up.

When I was a kid, my mom said that all she prayed for was that my sister and I would love and look out for one another — I privately rolled my eyes at how dramatic she was. Now that I’m an adult, I get it. The world can be cold and cruel; when I hit rock bottom, I am always grateful I have my family to count on.

Which kid hasn’t been asked to show off their talents in front of their relatives? We all did at some point in our lives, even Ainna Antiporda. Except her performances didn’t just wow her family. At age one, she recorded the music video of Bie Billy D, a nine-song cassette she co-gibbered with her sister, which turned into her debut as Jimmy Antiporda’s daughter and protégé.

I grew up with mothers. My mother and her mom chose their children over everyone else. Lola sent my mom and her four siblings to college with money from her beauty parlor but never got to pursue her nursing dream. When Papa left for Saudi, Mama still managed to put me and my sister to bed each night without fail.