Reminiscing The Fast
1204 Words
Her thoughts inevitably drifted back to the very first day she became an artist.
Star had dreamed of becoming an actress for as long as she could remember.
As a child, she would sit in front of their old television for hours, completely mesmerized by the actors and actresses she saw on screen.
While other children dreamed of becoming doctors, teachers, or engineers, Star dreamed of standing beneath bright lights, hearing directors call her name, and seeing herself on television someday.
It was the only dream that had ever made her heart beat faster.
But dreams were not always practical.
Growing up in a distant province, opportunities were scarce.
Auditions were held in the city, hours away from their hometown.
For a young girl with strict parents and limited means, those opportunities felt impossibly far away.
And then there was her father.
He never believed in the world she desperately wanted to be part of.
To him, show business was nothing more than a beautiful illusion.
A temporary paradise.
A cruel industry that embraced you while you were shining and discarded you the moment your light began to dim.
He would often tell her the same thing.
"Fame doesn't last forever."
"People only love you when you're successful."
"When your beauty fades and your popularity disappears, they'll forget you ever existed."
At the time, Star had hated hearing those words.
She thought her father simply didn't understand.
Or maybe he didn't believe in her.
Her father had different plans.
He wanted her to finish her studies.
To inherit the family's convenience store and help manage the farm they had worked so hard to build. If possible, he hoped she would eventually follow his footsteps into public service.
After all, he had devoted years of his life to their community.
From barangay captain to mayor, he had earned the respect of the people around him through hard work and dedication.
And because Star was their only child, everyone naturally assumed she would one day continue what her parents had built.
It wasn't a grand empire.
It wasn't wealth beyond imagination.
But it was theirs.
And her father wanted someone he trusted to protect it.
Unfortunately, that future was never the one Star wanted.
Because while everyone else was making plans for her life...
She was secretly making plans of her own.
She wanted to act.
She wanted to sing.
She wanted to dance.
She wanted to perform.
More than anything, she wanted to become an actress.
Even now, she couldn't completely explain why.
She simply knew that every time she imagined herself on stage or in front of a camera, she felt alive.
And so when the time came for college, she fought relentlessly for permission to study in Manila.
Her father eventually agreed on one condition.
She would take the course he chose.
Business Administration.
Star agreed.
At least outwardly.
Because the moment she arrived in Manila, she began chasing her dream in secret.
Every audition she found, she attended.
Every casting call.
Every talent search.
Every opportunity.
No exceptions.
No excuses.
No matter how small.
No matter how impossible.
She never missed a single one.
The rejections came quickly.
And they never seemed to stop.
Again and again, she would leave audition rooms feeling hopeful.
Again and again, someone else would be chosen.
There were nights when she cried herself to sleep.
Days when she questioned whether she was talented enough.
Moments when she wondered if her father had been right all along.
But somehow...
She kept going.
Because giving up hurt more than failing.
Then, during her third year in college, when she was already twenty years old and beginning to feel left behind by others who had started younger...
She finally got accepted.
Star could still remember that day as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.
The moment she heard the news, she had burst into tears.
Not tears of sadness.
Tears of relief.
Of joy.
Of triumph.
After years of rejection, someone had finally chosen her.
Someone had finally said yes.
In that moment, she felt as though she had won the grand prize in life itself.
The opportunity was a reality show.
It wasn't exactly what she had envisioned.
But she didn't care.
It was a door opening.
And she intended to walk through it.
Unfortunately, her parents found out.
And everything changed.
Her father's disappointment became anger.
Then anger became an ultimatum.
If she joined the show...
He would disown her.
Even now, years later, Star could still remember that conversation.
The pain.
The shouting.
The tears her mother tried so desperately to hide.
Her mother stood between them, torn apart by the impossible choice of siding with her husband or supporting her daughter.
And Star?
Star chose herself.
She chose her dream.
She chose the future she had always wanted.
Back then, she truly believed she was doing the right thing.
She believed that one day she would return home successful.
That she would stand before her father and prove that he had been wrong.
That she would show him awards, projects, achievements.
Show him that everything she sacrificed had been worth it.
She believed success would heal everything.
So she made the hardest decision of her life.
She dropped out of college.
Three months away for filming became more important than finishing her degree.
And that decision shattered what little remained of her relationship with her father.
He disowned her.
Just like he promised.
No more phone calls.
No more conversations.
No more relationship.
Years passed.
And he never reached out again.
Neither did she.
Only her mother remained.
Secret messages.
Occasional food deliveries.
Quiet reminders that somewhere out there, someone was still worried about her.
Someone was still waiting for her.
And now...
As Star stared at the endless ocean before her, a painful ache spread through her chest.
What had all those sacrifices been for?
The years of struggle.
The countless rejections.
The lost friendships.
The broken relationship with her father.
The education she abandoned.
The family gatherings she missed.
The home she left behind.
For what?
A single scandal?
A canceled contract?
A career hanging by a thread?
It felt cruel.
Unfair.
As though everything she had worked so hard to build had collapsed overnight.
One mistake.
Just one.
And the punishment felt devastating.
For the first time in years, doubt crept into her heart.
A doubt she had spent her entire life refusing to entertain.
What if her father had been right all along?
The thought alone made her chest tighten.
Maybe fame really was temporary.
Maybe success really could disappear in an instant.
Maybe people really did forget.
And if her career ended today...
If everything she fought for truly disappeared...
How could she ever go home?
How could she stand before the father she had defied?
How could she look him in the eye and say she had been right?
Because right now...
Standing on that beach with tears threatening to fall from her eyes...
Star wasn't afraid of losing her career.
She was afraid that after all these years...
After sacrificing everything...
She might discover that the person she worked hardest to prove wrong was right all along.
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