Going Beyond Bringing Home the Bacon

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In yet another of his math training sessions in Legarda, Manila for an upcoming international contest in China, I visited my younger brother, Jason, who wore a green shirt with the statement “Without Geometry Life would be pointless”, jeans and a pair of Crocs. At first glance, he looks like just another math geek, but definitely this genius is more than what meets the eye.

“He’s had this thing for math for as long as I could remember.” Joanne, our mother, adds, “At a very young age, he would fight with his siblings over money. He’d cry and say, ‘You stole 7 pesos! Now I only have 13 pesos!’ Even though he’s mad already, he can still compute.” She had already seen manifestations of his talent in math during his early years. He knows that he’s had this special kind of intelligence ever since and that this gift is something that could deteriorate, if not taken care of through the years.

And so, Jason and our mother wanted his talent to be utilized. By joining contests, quiz bees and special educational programs, he was able to do so. He enrolled in Kumon’s Math Program for a couple of years and he is currently in the Advanced Math Program of his school, San Beda College Alabang. According to her, these are simple measures to exercise his skill. Also, she believes that encouragement and advice are some of the best things parents’ could give to his or her child. “It’s a parent’s obligation to make the child understand how special he is and allow him to maximize his potential,” says our mom. Jason says, “Mom and dad have been a great part of my journey. Without them, I wouldn’t have gotten this far! It’s been a pretty tiring expedition but I’m glad I’m on the right track.”

Although joining such contests wear him out because of the constant 7-hour training sessions he’s required to attend and other preparations he has to make, he still enjoys these kinds of experiences. “Being in other places and meeting new people are just some of the nice things about joining contests,” shares Jason. Not only has Jason been in provinces like Iloilo and Cebu, he has also visited Singapore and Indonesia. These competitions have given him exposure to other cultures and a different kind of confidence that he does not earn from school or at home. Another perk is that it would have a positive effect in his academic status, since he is running for graduation honors. He needs big points for his candidacy, and joining (and winning) contests outside school could earn the points that he needs.

For a young individual, the opportunities he gets are overwhelming, in a sense that he is able to utilize his skills in an enjoyable way. He is perhaps privileged to be sent by the Mathematics Trainors’ Guild to other places to represent his school and his country and earn recognitions.

Other than competing in the field of math, he also excels in other aspects. He is a writer for their Grade School Department’s newspaper, a Taekwondo blue-belter and a violinist in his school’s band. Despite being “all that”, would you believe he still has spare time? He allots this time for doing most boys his age would do, like playing Wii and Playstation games with his friends from our village and answer quizzes on Facebook. Being his rival when it comes to the TV and computer at home, I’m forced to watch and see whatever he likes during his turn. One of the TV shows he religiously watches is Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic Channel. He’s a geek like that, even when he surfs the net! I’d sneak and see him reading Wikipedia articles about very random stuff. I’ve come to a realization that my brother’s a monster, being able to do all of these!

“I do a lot of things but I don’t really feel like I’m tired of doing all of them—the math competitions and hobbies. Despite how stressing it is to do these, I continue doing them because I enjoy them!” he states.

“It’s not just being good in your chosen fields and harvesting the fruits of the labor,” Jason says. “Enjoying what God has given you, enriching it and becoming better at it is much more important.” What kind of ‘bacon’ has Jason brought home? It’s becoming a better person each time he overcomes a contest, a day of class, a recital and even just a game of Wii Sports.