The Making of a Philosopher

by Marie Jeddah Legaspi

My favorite cousin is a brilliant philosopher. His age? Nine.

A philosopher (according to Websters’) is a person that seeks wisdom or enlightenment; one who meets difficulties with calmness and composure.


At first look, he’ll give you an impression of a jolly pal, who knows nothing but (excessive) eating and kalokohan. Yes, partly correct – but that’s not all. There is something more than what meet, the flabs... oh, I mean, the eye! :) Don’t let the funny comic-look fool you; this kid is just incredibly composed of humor and sense. The nameplate is Cedrix Diaz – a certified hotdog addict, a gadget boy, a WWE fan, a dog lover, a student who always sits in row 4: tabi ng basurahan.


His nana is a nurse abroad while his tata works full-time. If not playing with friends, most of the time he’s with kuya Chokoy and their yaya at home. But that doesn’t limit his concept of family. During weekends, he has his own schedule of bakasyon to his "other families" so beware! His next target bakasyunan might be your place. Be ready for his kakulitan and prepare loads of food for he'll surely eat all of your stock in the refrigerator. But anyway, you'll love to have Drix at home. He’s like a gentle wind that relieves stress. Just look on the bright side.


A few months ago, sometime between school closing and summer, he decided to spend his long vacation in our home. At night, I go to his room to check his beddings and do a tiny ritual called kwentuhan portion to make him fall asleep. In return, he'll give you a power hug without telling him to do so.

I placed his favorite hotdog pillow beside him and threw him a simple question with the intent of bantering, “Bakit gusto mo dito magbakasyon? Uwi ka na raw… hahaha”

The bashful kid smiled, seemed not sleepy and replied, “Masaya kasi dito sa inyo ate Madjid!” (Majed is my nick, but he calls me Madjid)


Curious about what makes him "happy", well, aside from PSP, hotdog, and malling; I pinched his bubbly round face and asked, ”Bakit? Masaya ba dito?” His dimples grow deeper as he pinched my face back, “Oo, kasi lab nyo ko e. syempre masaya pag lab ka ng maraming tao. Ikaw talaga, ate Madjid!”



No wonder when we’re still children, we seem to have so much fun. I was thinking, probably, he’s right. As long as people continuously showers love to us, we should be happy, and thankful. Kids are happy because they treat life as playground – not a load of complexities; but as we grow older, we forget it.


Thanks to a little help from our not so little philosopher, I’m reminded…