Braving Brave: A Life of Cars and Crashes

By Kent Jestoni Q. Gabo

                I remember once when someone told me that life is like a car: you are the driver, you choose your destination. But on the case of Brave Angelo Bayoguin-Cayanong, or Bobby for those who know him, his life is a car, only he is not the one who is driving it.

                Brave knows a lot of cars, and he knows them well. Bugatti, Porsche, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, you name it, Brave knows it. He is fascinated by how cars can take people like him to anywhere they want to. By saying anywhere, he believes that they can take him to a state of euphoria. But what he may not know is that cars can never rev its engine towards achieving one’s dream. Being from a family of meager means, he needs to do a sharp turn to continue to college. 

                His Uncle Toto, who is fueled with kindness and concern to his nephew, turned on the engine of opportunity. But help entails responsibility, and sometimes responsibility means compromising your own dreams. Brave’s greatest dream is to be a computer engineer, however, his steering wheel is held by Uncle Toto who wants him to become an educator. Compromising, he learned, only paves way to discovering new race tracks. Although pursuing his ultimate dream is a crash for now, he promises himself that he will once again revamp all his parts of courage and conviction, for a better horsepower will make the journey faster.

            I would want to compare Brave to a 2010 Mini Cooper, not showy, yet excellent in all aspects. Or to a Lorraine-Dietrich B3-6, which is famous for its near-silent engine. Either way, Brave’s speedometer usually reads 25 km/hr, for he speaks softly, walks idly and eats silently, yet, Brave has the strength of the mind comparable to the highest horsepower possible.

                As much as I would like him to be compared to these cars, Brave would like to insist that his life is a Lamborghini. What makes Brave and Lamborghini cars one is their uniqueness, sophistication and class. As slick as the Lamborghini is Brave’s manner, as fast as its speed is his personal development. This development has become more profound when he swerved to college, where he improved his attitude on dealing with people. Having said these, it is hard to argue.

                It might still be a long way to go. Brave might still be on the starting line to his long and dwindling race track to complete freedom, where he himself holds his own steering wheel. But what is important now is that he is enjoying the ride.