A Little Part of My Story

 

I am Charles Vincent G. Basan, though many people know me simply as Cha, a name that feels lighter, softer, and closer to who I am. I am eighteen years old, from Valenzuela City, and currently a student at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela. As the eldest among my siblings, life has taught me lessons earlier than I expected. It made me understand responsibility, patience, and the quiet strength that often grows in ordinary days.

I believe every person carries a story, and perhaps that is why learning continues to matter deeply to me, because every day adds another page to who we are becoming. I find comfort in simple things: listening to music, watching videos and movies, and exploring makeup and beauty trends online. Among all kinds of films, fantasy has always been closest to my heart. In fantasy, I find worlds where reality softens, where imagination stretches freely, and where dreams feel possible. It is a place where I can rest my thoughts and allow myself to believe in something bigger. People often say I am good at planning and talking to others, but what I value most is the way I easily understand what others feel. Empathy comes naturally to me, as if listening has always been one of my quiet strengths. I also have a special love for songs from the nineties. Those melodies feel like small time machines, every note carrying memories of childhood, familiar voices, and moments that remain gentle in my heart.

At present, I am taking Social Work a path I did not originally imagine for myself. There was a time when I dreamed of becoming a dermatologist because I was fascinated by skincare, by ingredients, by the science hidden behind products people use every day. Later, during Grade 11, nursing became another dream. Perhaps it came from the medical dramas I watched, or from the admiration I had for people who heal others through care. I imagined myself in white scrubs, standing confidently in a place where kindness mattered. But sometimes dreams must also face reality, and I learned that some paths become difficult when financial limits speak louder than desire. That is where I slowly discovered the meaning of Social Work. Though different from medicine, it carries the same heart: helping people. If nursing heals through treatment, social work heals through listening, understanding, and standing beside people in their hardest moments. It taught me that service can take many forms, and that purpose sometimes appears in places we did not first choose. 

My journey as a student has also been shaped by quiet struggles. When the pandemic began during Grade 7, two years passed through screens, silence, and distance. Learning happened inside the walls of home, while the outside world felt unfamiliar. When face-to-face classes finally returned, fear came with it. I had grown used to isolation, and socializing again felt difficult. Anxiety became part of those first steps back. But little by little, I learned to move through that fear. I met people, built friendships, and allowed myself to feel comfortable again in spaces that once felt overwhelming.

Now, as a first-year college student, I have learned that some memories stay not because they are extraordinary, but because they arrive quietly and remain. One such memory belongs to an evening in August 2025 at the ValACE Library and when our group was filming a video project for our ethics subject.

It was there that I noticed someone whose presence, though brief, stayed with me longer than expected. Since that evening, a quiet admiration has remained, gentle and unspoken. I will not mention his name, though I have often thought it carries a beauty worthy of aphroDITE.

In another life, we we're just doing laundry and taxes with him.