Here Comes the Sun

An autobiography

SOL FRANCESCA CORTES

The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and

dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it

had nothing else in the universe to do Galileo Galilei

Prelude

In May 18, 1988 Maria Theresa, a banker and Cesar

Augustus, a salesman vowed to tied the knot in the

Malate Church, Manila.

They planned that their first child should come a year

after their marriage to give them enough time to prepare,

and of course enjoy each other.

Cesar wanted his first child to be a girl. This was

because the nature of his job obliged him to be out of

town most of the time. He thought that a daughter would

be a suitable companion for his daughter.

Eager for more grandchildren, in-laws from both sides

constantly asked for a baby.

And so it was.

Theresa had a smooth-sailing pregnancy. Her baby was cooperative – one who allowed her to go to work without having to deal with nausea. She claims to have talked to the child in her womb to help her get through the day.

And as if it understood her, she only felt sickness once she reached the house.

The child showed more of this perceived receptiveness. It woke up and moved about late at night when Theresa

would open the door for her husband. Cesar would then greet his wife and the child she carried.

When Theresa would go back to bed, the baby in her tummy was still active. She then asked her husband to whisper to the child to go to sleep. Cesar did and the

baby obeyed.

As Theresa neared her due date, her OB Gynaecologist warned her about painful contractions. Weeks went by, and still no contractions, not even minor ones were felt.

“If no contractions occur by the 29th, I will have to open you up,” said the OB Gynaecologist.

And that was how I was born

Chapter 1: Daybreak Here comes the sun, du du du du

I was born on the 29th of January,1990 before the year

of the very eventful eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. I was

delivered under the caesarean section because my

mother felt no contractions – she thought that I was busy

sleeping my life away.

I was an post mature baby born

after 40 weeks… and I looked

quite dif ferent from other babies.

My hands looked liked it was

wrapped in cling wrapped in cling

wrap.

My mom said that I had the

loudest cry in the nursery.

Because of my condition, it took

them a week before they were

able to bring me home.

And when they did, I still kept on

crying…

Until my yaya took me out of my

parent‟s air conditioned room to

sleep with her outside. The crying

stopped and I was able to sleep

soundly. So did the rest of the

house.

Apparently, I was just cold.

Being Catholic, I was christened 3 months after I was

born. And then I of ficially had a name :

SOL FRANCESCA CORTES

“Sol” was taken from my paternal grandmother‟s name,

“Sol.” While my mom always liked the name

“Francesca.”

One of the more memorable events my parents had of

me as an infant was of me singing – or rather humming.

It was a sign that I was sleepy. Because when it stopped,

It meant that I was already asleep.

So there I was, a peaceful addition to the family until I

turned two.

Pictures from my 1st birthday: before I got too talkative.

Trivia: In this picture, we finally moved into the house we live in up until today.

The house did not even have paint yet. My parents wanted to move in

ASAP, so that they can save money from rent and our it all in the house.

Chapter 2:

The Early Bird

is A Noisy Bird

Some people were born quiet. I was born to be

sociable. I began talking at a very early age, and not just

talking – it was non stop talking.

At this point in my life, my parents have decided to call

me “Cheska” which is short for “Francesca” since my

grandmother was already known as Sol to family and

friends.

Going back to my story, I began expressing myself pretty

well at age 2. A regular adult would ask me: “What is

your name?” And I would reply, “My name is Cheska

Cortes. Smart na, pretty pa, intelligent pa, *insert all the

other adjectives here.”

So obviously, I wasn‟t the prettiest child, but I probably

was one of the witty ones.

This surprisingly high level of sociability was probably

one of the reasons why my parents decided to send me

to pre-school at 2 years and 7 months. Well, aside from

the fact that I would miss the company of my kid

neighbors who were about 5 years my senior and also

went to school.

Anyway, I was sent to those little intra-village preschool

that claimed to be international. I went to

PLAYSCHOOL INTERNATIONAL!

Check out my uniform:

I think that days spent at PLAYSCHOOL proved to be one

of the happiest times in my life. I think it was so happy I

could remember some of them very clearly – we had

play time, story time, art time, science time, eating time,

reading time, drama time. It was literally fun and games all

the time.

It was also here where I learned to read and write

Most importantly, It was in Playschool here where I learned to

think of more than myself and how to adjust to my playmates.

This is where learned the concept of “share,” and “fall in line.”

This was also when I had my very first frustration. We ha some

sort of class dance depicting The Little Mermaid. My neighbor

and close friend David, (who was later comissioned to be my

promdate) was picked to be Sebastian. Of course, I

expected to be the Little Mermaid But no,

I was some CRAB back up dancer just

like the rest of the girls and I felt so bad

I told my yaya.

However, all the sadness was gone

when I saw the costume my mom go

t for me: it was a two piece thing, a

little make-up, some flowers and I felt prettier

than the little Mermaid herself.

Chapter 2.5: A Big Fat

Cloud

Looking at the page that just precedes this, I think it is quite

obvious to the reader what the big fat cloud – the one that

totally blocked the sun from shining ever so brightly – is

all about.

I hereby present to you, perhaps my greatest tragic flaw

brought about by the loneliness this single childhoodness:

ASKING FOR A BABY BROTHER. Not just a sibling. Its

gender had to be male.

My mom said, to pray to God so he will put a baby in

mommy‟s tummy – and he did.

And so, I will just let these

pictures speak for themselves

how much of an eager sister I

was.

I loved my brother so much, I

was taking the “BIG SISTER”

role with pride. My parents did

not have problems with

handling insecurity.

And then he grew up, and we

started fighting. I even told my

mom: “Can we put him back

in your tummy?”

Chapter 3: Morning Tea

Since I always perceived tea, as the drink that “old

people” drank, this chunky part is about growing up.

It all starts with the little Cheska going into the BIG

SCHOOL. That school, was a choice between St.

Scholastica and Assumption. Since I passed the

entrance exam of both, the five year old me was given a

free hand.

And for some reason, I chose to wear the plaid skirt for

the next 13 years of my life.

Assumption proved to be a good place to spend an

aweful long amount of time in. It was a place of many

first‟s :

- First time I came face-to-face with my real name, “Sol

Francesca” and hated my parents for giving me such

a long name. ( It took a long time writing it)

- First time I got disappointed at my parents who were

caught in traf fic and was not able to watch my solo

performance. This memory lingers with my mom till

today.

- First time I went with the name “Sol” outside the family

since there were a lot of Francesca‟s. Since then, I

was Sol to people I meet outside the family.

- First legit singing solo at the Grade School Glee Club

concert. Ironic how the song was entitled “Under The

Sea” from The Little Mermaid

- First leadership experience – class vice president in

grade three. And then I was sucked into that world until

high school

- First week-long interschool, leadership trip in Baguio. I

was the youngest delegate (grade 4), yet I was able to

be a finalist at some contest

- First exposure to the world of serious co-curricular

activities : AC Fair volunteer at grade 5. I was also

sucked into this wonderful busy world at an early

stage.

And of course, since the school was Catholic, and my

family was Catholic as well, there were a lot of first‟s in the

Catholic world as well.

The school had special arrangements for coming-of-age

events for Catholic children which my family always took

an active part of : First Communion at Grade 2 and

Confirmation at Grade 6.

Singing the responsorial psalm

And then of course, there was

graduation – the culmination of the

Grade School and probably one of my

proudest moments in life because I

was one of the very two who got the

maximum number of medals: THREE–

one for academics, the other two for

character. I felt like I made my parents

so proud.

Luckily, this part of my life is not all about school. Thanks

to my family I was able to experience some cool stuf f.

I took ballet lessons.

My parents finally got me a real piano.

We received a dog- a first time in a long time and named

it Cheekee.

And who can forget all the family

adventures?

There were always Surigao Summer

to bond with the other Cortes kids and

see my grandmother, the other Sol

Cortes. There were also other trips –

regular road trips to nearby places like

Baguio and Clark, and a trip to the US

to meet Mickey Mouse.

Chapter 4: Noon Time is

the Hottest Time

High-energy, high-hormone, and high grades. That was high

school for me. Starting high school from a school I have

already been so familiar with definitely made it easier – high

school was an oyster I opened with great grace and

precision.

This was also the start of change in my life. I became more

confident in myself and my skills. At this point, I was extra

curricular queen. I was consistently a class president,

member of the Glee Club and part of numerous school

events such as teacher‟s day, fair, prom, etc. I expanded

my social circles outside school and into the boy world.

It was also the time I would like to call the “Peaceful Years” in

my family because there was a sharp decrease in the petty

fights with my brother. The house was generally peaceful.

Field demonstration

Juniors‟ retreat

Trick or treating with Xavier friends

intrams

Prom

Shakespeare Festival

Perhaps one of the most memorable experiences in high

school was chosen as one of the yearly eight people who got

sent to Assumption Japan for two weeks. Here, we spent some

days in school, some days with friends and other days touring

places near the Osaka Area.

This was my first legitimate cultural immersion since each

student was accommodated by a host family.

For the first time, I had my own independence. I had to budget

my own money and fix my own things. For the first time, I

experienced homesickness and had to fight it of f myself.

Chapter 5: Dessert Unlike most people, I did not march during my high school graduation or went to the graduation ball. I went to Japan as an exchange student for a year. I went despite the fact that it will not be credited academically. Thus, this part of my life is like dessert – unnecessary, but value adding none the less.

I was never really an anime addict of Japan fan. I went to Japan, first because it was free – I was chosen to be granted

a scholarship under the Kamenori foundation. Second, because I thought that it was a privilege to be granted such a

gift, and not receiving it might cause remorse in the future. Third, because I was able to survive Japan for two weeks

and I liked it there. This time, I took it as a challenge – if I can do it in Tokyo, I can do it anywhere.

The Japan Adventure started in the Olympic Center in Tokyo for an orientation. It was a week when we met delegates

from all over the world.

KAMENORI Debriefing

Good Luck Sol!

Class Photo

Kyuushuu Field Trip Tea Ceremony

Dance Performance

Japan was probably the best time of my

life. It was best because it was here

when I felt most free – I was able to do

as I wish. Both sets of host parents were

lenient and allowed me to enjoy my life.

I was able to go out with my friends and

participate actively in school events

making the most out of my 10 months

stay in the country.

I think that it is also one of the most

challenging because of the

complications that language and

especially cultural dif ferences. I did not

get homesick in the duration, however, I

did get CULTURE SICK. A term my co-

exchange students coined to describe

the weariness one felt after living a long

time in a place of dif ferent culture.

Some things I learned:

1. Depend on no one but yourself

2. A tall European boy is no better

than a small Asian

3. Be brave and conquer

Christmas dinner with friends

Post New Year Celebration: Free Hugs

at Harajuku in Animal Costumes

UNESCO Camp

Imperial Palace

Chapter 6: Siesta

Nightmares

This part of my life, is what people call “college,” but I choose

to call it Siesta Nightmares. College is the time when you are

old enough to know what you want and decide for yourself,

making life a bit more relaxing like a Siesta. However, in my

case, I still live with my parents who would intervene and call

the shots for a lot of circumstances leaving me helpless just

like in a nightmare.

College was a constant struggle of trying to balance the

dif ferent aspects of my life – family, academics, friends and

fun. It entailed a lot of sacrifices, prayers, faith, support and

food to be perfectly sane after almost four years in the

University, but it was worth it all.

Thesis submission Hapon groupmates

Geog field trip

Econ frieshes „09 EDH activity

Ecosoc Christmas Party RVC Directorate

Team Publicity

ADB Annual Summit Dinner with friends

The University of the Philippines, my dream school since

first grade, has been my second home and my happy

place.

It exposed me to the realities of the world.

It opened my mind to dif ferent ideologies.

It gave me a network of connections.

But most of all,

I think the over-all experience of being in the University

has allowed me to mature as a person, and trained me

enough for the real life.

Chapter 7: Hopes for a

Good Dinner

Twenty two years have passed since I first set foot on this

earth. I have experienced a lot of bad, a lot of good, and a lot

of crazy things – but there is still more to experience.

With one more semester to go, I cannot help but think of

what is to come. Uncertainty of the future has never been

this high or exciting at the same time. I am about to enter the

real world and join the adults as I live the real life.

So at this point of my life, I give myself a pat on the back for

the job well done through the years, and a peck on the

cheek for luck that things may ever be in my favor.

Here comes the sun, and I say -“ t’s alright”