To say that SM influenced my life is an understatement. I was born near SM Centerpoint, our family first lived near SM Cubao, and then we moved and I grew up close to SM North EDSA. Of course, I’ve also had numerous trips to SM Makati, SM Megamall, and SM Mall of Asia. It doesn’t end there; now that I am studying, my classmates and I hang out after school at SM Fairview.
My earliest recollections of the yuletide seasons are of cold dark nights when Dad and Mom would take me on a stroll to the Araneta Center to admire the giant lighted Christmas tree, then a stop at SM Cubao to shop for presents and groceries. Those were wonderful times as I sat atop Dad’s shoulders.
After the family transferred to our new home and my brother and my sister were born in the following years, my parents noticed that I was often shy and silent. While taking snacks at the Food Court of SM North EDSA, Mom read an AAK (Association for the Advancement of Karatedo) banner announcing karate lessons being given by Ricky Lim who had recently won a silver medal in the SEA Games.
Mom and Dad explained to me the valuable lessons I’d learn, but I — then six years old — was still frightened when I enrolled. From school, Mom would take me to SM North EDSA for lessons about discipline, confidence, teamwork, focus, and stamina. For the next 2 1/2 hours, twice a week, I would don my white kimono and white belt and be taught how to punch and kick. Every time it was Dad’s turn to accompany me, we usually ended up hitting Icebergs for halo-halo or going for an ice cream sundae at Jollibee.
To save on trips, it became our regular itinerary to shop for groceries after my lessons. Mom and Dad would put me in the kiddie seat on the shopping cart, but since I was already too big for that, I would sit under the cart. In time, my brother also enrolled, and for several years it became our routine to attend karate classes at SM North EDSA. We would take our exams at the AAK gym at SM Megamall, and after passing them we would celebrate with dinner at the basement Food Court.
After my promotion to yellow belt, I joined the SM North EDSA team in a number of AAK-sponsored tournaments held at various SM branches as my belt changed again to orange, to green, to blue, to purple. However, I think the change in me was more subtle yet very pleasing, because not only did my self-confidence grow as I made more friends, but I noted that the school bullies kept clear of me.
In some ways, the transformation at SM North EDSA caused a significant change in my life. Upon entering high school, I earned my brown belt in karate, a step closer to the black. However, the AAK gym at the SM Food Court was relocated to the Annex basement, later transferring again before the Annex was demolished to give way to the ongoing reconstruction. Unable to continue my training in other AAK gyms, I shifted to taekwondo lessons offered in school, starting with the white belt. Today, I am a brown belt so I shifted to other forms of martial arts.
Despite this change, going to SM North EDSA has become a habit for my friends and me gathering there for reunions. Back in our high school days, we would go to SM City after school, which was just a ride away. The mall was our tambayan and meeting place during the weekends before we’d go to a friend’s house to do a school project. Even without much money, we would go window shopping, strolling, and bonding with each other. Often, we’d pool the last of our allowance money so that we could enjoy merienda at McDonald’s.
Now as a nursing student in a class that is dispersed in various hospitals to gain experience, I still find time with my group to drop by some of the SM branches in Metro Manila. Once after a tiring tour of duty at the San Lazaro Hospital, our group got lost on our way home, riding separate jeeps and buses, but managing to end up at SM Megamall. Though haggard in our white uniforms and laden with medical equipment, we rested and passed the time eating jellybeans from Candy Corner. Wherever we went, people looked at us because of our number. Holding a sphygmomanometer (an apparatus for measuring blood pressure), a playful classmate approached unsuspecting shoppers to offer his service for a “medical mission.” After another hour of strolling, we headed home, while half of our group went to another SM mall to meet up with friends.
For ordinary people like us, SM has not only affected our lives, but has become a way of life. As a part of our everyday experience, it has served as a favorite assembly place, an outsized sari-sari store, or simply a place to relax and unwind after a stressful week. SM has reshaped our attitudes and touched our views on life, so that we even express some colors as SM blue, Supersale yellow, or Hypermart green. I am happy these green and blue bags are now biodegradable.