Ojo de la Plata
A Reaction to Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”
It was 1833 when Ojo de la Plata, a mysterious Spanish pirate, was spotted on board a ship carrying the British flag sailing on a vast ocean. Little was known about this pirate except that he is Spanish and mysterious. In fact, no one knows how he got into a ship filled with English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish people. They rarely got the chance to ever talk to him because of his inability to speak any English word. He is but only known to them as Ojo de la Plata.
But as weeks passed, Toothless Bill (one of the pirates on board) came to know what Ojo de la Plata means. It means “Eye of the Silver.” Even the meaning spells some mystery, however. Nevertheless, it gave them the idea why he is known by that name: he has foresight, he has vision (thus the "eye"). He is both gifted with the talent of foreseeing events and the talent of solving difficult problems with the use of analysis. Hence, the captain of the ship chose him as a close adviser.
But this is a mere romanticization of nothing but a game I played three years ago. Ojo de la Plata is not real. It was not even a product of any literary mind. He was just another character of a game that I played. For months, I didn’t bother what his name means in English. But even when I finally learned, his name still mystifies me until today. Later on, I came to associate it with “Silver Bullet,” a legendary substance known to be the only thing that can kill a werewolf. This phrase evolved into an idiomatic expression which means “any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness.” Yet, all these googling never clarified what the name ever means!
I adopted the name to myself, nevertheless. I became Ojo de la Plata. And this, I carried with myself and made as an inspiration to do well in life. You see, I am a dreamer. I have so many dreams in life. I want to become a leader, either as a town mayor, a governor, a congressman, or even a president. It has always been my dream to serve the Philippines and transform it into the place I always wanted it to be: the best and most beautiful nation to live on earth. It is not impossible considering that we already have some of the best beaches and we are located in the tropics. We have all the sceneries and a little accentuation of Hispanic customs and traditions. What we only don’t have is a government that serves our best interests.
As a law student, I am bent on learning how the government works and what laws are in place. I have already joined a new movement composing young professionals who advocate institutional political and economic reforms to achieve better socio-economic status for the Filipinos in the country. These are just some of the first few steps I am making to achieve my dreams.
I am aware of how difficult it is to achieve these dreams. It takes strong willpower and dedication, among others. Yet, I know I have some qualities to achieve all these...
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I have foresight. I have vision. I am Ojo de la Plata. Call it delusion. I call it inspiration...
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