It’s normal to see students rejoicing over class suspensions during the rainy season. Because for many of them, it means a day off from the pressures of school and (maybe even) having an extra day to prepare for their exams or projects. Although this is true in most situations, a lot of working individuals–particularly those who have blue collar jobs–don’t always have the luxury of going home when the storm hits the metro. Sometimes, these people have to brave the gloomy weather to earn their day-to-day paychecks.
This was the sentiment Facebook user Cass Mediodia realized when she saw this image outside her office window, along Diversion Road in Mandurriao, Iloilo.
“While I was excitedly waiting for ‘SUSPENSION OF CLASSES’, I came to see these brave souls in blue and yellow raincoats. Some of us are hoping for ‘todo pa bi nga ulan para wala klase’, (more rain so that classes will be suspended) while them heroes are braving the hard rain because ‘kinanglan namun mag-ubra para may ipakaon sa amun pamilya’ (we need to work so that we can feed our family when we get home). Then it hit me. These people are working hard despite the bad weather, to make the city beautiful, and we need to appreciate that. And there are a lot of people out there, who brave the storms to feed their families. We need to stop complaining. We need to stop ranting and appreciate the life we have,” she writes in her post.
Through her online post, she hopes that more people will acknowledge the hard work of these individuals and realize the little blessings they have in life. Whether it’d be having a roof over your heads during the cold weather or just by having a comfortable place to sleep on, she says we should all learn to value the benefits we are given.
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