Them Damn Starstruck Kids

Im a frustrated entertainer.
Really.

When i was a kid, i dreaded family reunions.
As with every normal filipino family, this meant a time to showcase your artistic and godgiven abilities.
It was a time all the kids were lined up to dance, sing or do whatever special talents they know
And i had none of those.

One by one, my titas would talk proudly about their kids- "My baby has such a cute dance number...", "My little boy can sing the..." or "Little nene here can play the piano"
And then it starts... The session...
A dance, A song, another dance

And then it would come to me.
After the nth reunion proving that i had not a single musical or even coordinated bone in my body, i get this intro:
"My boy adrian... well, he can... umm... he can... read the encyclopedia!! See, how smart he is?"
And i just stand there, suddenly in the limelight, thinking desperately of how the hell i should show this talent
What do i do? Read in front of them?!
After the Ooohs and Ahhhs, and obviously no response from me, they move on to the next kid on the intro.

Damn, that was a frustrating time in my life.
I felt like a loser then, reading the encylopedia early on being my only claim to fame...
Luckily, i realized that there are other talents besides acting, singing and dancing
There is also... umm... ahhh... unmmm... well, other talents

_______________________________

Anyways, i was watching TV awhile ago and chanced upon the Starstruck kids competition.
these were kids who had no problems whatsoever performing in front of an audience
They must have damn big families

Must be easy getting kids to join that too
I mean, if every filipino family has reunions that arent complete without the usual musical entertainment, the kids are bound to show their aptitudes early.

And all kids below 5 are cute.
I have never seen a butt ugly baby.
Or at least anyone who admitted having a butt ugly baby.
If ET were born of a filipino, the family would still squabble over who gave him the "Cute" beady eyes...
Or even the three fingers... (I could imagine one of them saying... "Ah! Si Tita Baby, ganyan yung daliri!")

Well, they should enjoy this time of their lives
They're only cute til puberty
Then they'll realize that they should have just read the encyclopedia when they were smaller