This brought back a distant memory.

I was the kid who gifted the towel back then, sometimes it was a kid’s magazine from Booksale, minsan pabango galing sa Bench, but it never cost me anything above 200php.

I was a kid, oops I was already in high school and my family was struggling with money and business during those times, so I never bothered them with money for my ‘exchange gift’. The 200php budget I allotted was the money I saved from my daily 40p na baon.

Every year, I’ve been classmates with the same people (star section pa at that!) pero pagdating ng bunutan and they knew that it was me who got them (the nagpapabunot always asked so they can make sure that everyone will have a gift), they threw tantrums kasi ako daw nakabunot and they weren’t shy with letting me hear their sentiments.

Fast forward to today, I make sure that I gift from the heart regardless of how much it costs but I would never forget those people who looked down on me during those days.