Stolen Moments with comp(YOU)ter

by:  Goddess Hera O. Guillergan

          The day was so hot that even the sun itself was parched. You could see the evaporating steam from the ceilings of the classroom as well as the steaming temper of the teachers for a very noisy classroom setup. Students’ patience all dried up and the only thing left of their minds was the dismissal. I would always remember this very moment in my elementary life (but not so sure whether what grade I was at that time) was it 3 or 4, but nevermind. My name is Hera and I live in one of the far flung barangays of Janiuay, living traditional ways but are aware of the so-called technological advancement.

          I vividly remember that my first encounter with a computer was after our afternoon dismissal. During that time, my mother got promoted from being a grade five teacher to being a Teacher in Charge.So after dismissal I went to her new office which is the Principal's office to help her arrange the things such as books, shelves, picture frames and more from her older classroom. I don't know if you can relate, but having a mother who is a teacher you are always obliged to go and leave school together. There are a lot of things to put into place, I was 8 or 9 years old back then and I am really that kind of child who was so small and skinny so my mom wouldn't allow me to interfere with her "feeling interior designer" moment. I am just patiently sitting there, watching her pushed dividers and designing her very own teacher's table with our family pictures. I am really bored while listening to music with my IPhone (first release of apple), I wanted to go home, but I just can't do it as my mom would be alone here and she has no one to ask for a second opinion whether what she was arranging was good or balanced. While waiting for my mom to finish everything and get home, I noticed that there were HP desktop computers displayed on the side near the organ and the other shelf. I ask mom if I can use it as I haven't tried Computers before, but she wouldn't permit me to touch it as she said that It is the school's property and I might press a key or click something that can destroy the computer. Since I was really a hard headed child with three cowlicks, I begged that I will just try it for a couple of minutes to know how it works and what functions it serves to humans. The first function of the computer for my first ever encounter was to use it for games. I remember I opened "start", "all programs' ' then "games' ' and saw a lot of downloaded games on the computer. I don't know who downloaded it but I explored the list. After trying all titles in the list, I have created my first five favorites: feeding frenzy, rapid roll, vermints, airstrike and plants vs. zombies. In 2008, according to my memory, the internet, social media and signals were not that accessible, especially since we are living in a rural area. Unlike now that though our place were located in a mountain, I can see children who do Tiktoks in steep cliffs and chatting while sitting under the tree. Our school had computers but they were all not connected to the internet, as I have witnessed that they were only used by teachers for typing school reports, for viewing videos and for them to store school related data. Ever since that day, I always look forward to the dismissal and heading to my mom's office. She allowed me to explore one of the computers because there are many of it that was given by DEPED and teachers under her usually use it twice a month for entering their reports. Mostly, the computers were not being used and my mom thinks that it will contribute to shortening the life of the device as it is not functioning, stagnant and for display most of the days.Using the computer often will prolong its life.

                  Exploring the computer after class, that's how my life works every afternoon, but I am not permitted to use it until I have done my assignments and everyone else leaves the school premises. It doesn't mean that it is not right for me to use the desktop computer but rather we are just being careful on what other teachers might think and say. To avoid issues about me like taking advantage of the perks of having a TIC mother to touch the school's device, it is safe that the teachers don't see me or know everything about me learning the computer every time. I learned a lot from exploring the computer all by myself, I have printed my first ever photo (from my phone and transferred to computer using a charger connector), creating my own folder containing the lyrics of my most loved songs that I have typed in Word, storing my videos and photos as my phone has limited storage space, i have made my own stickers (my notebook covers are full of designs that I made, such as my sticker name using word art and colorful designs from the elements of the PowerPoint. I feel like I am very productive as I have a discovery every single time I open it. I won't mind waiting for my mom to finish whatever task she does whenever I'm in front of the screen even when we go home late. There was no problem for us to stay in school until eight or ten in the evening because our house is not that far away from school. Indeed, the best days are from the stolen moments that we shared in the Principal Office.