A flap of a butterfly’s wings causes a hurricane on the other side of the world.
I’ve used the idea countless times in my works, often to my own amusement. The surreality of the saying hooked readers and me alike, it was an interesting phrase to start with. But that was just it- a phrase.
Or so I thought.
I was just sixteen, beside me and with the rest of my schoolmates that year was Philpost’s Nationwide Letter Writing Competition. The Journalism Class that I was part of was required to participate, as was the rest of our campus press seniors. We practiced, we discussed, we wrote, and we wrote and we wrote.
I knew of my ace cards from the beginning, I was a writer. Everybody knew it well. The glimpses of my world behind my intricately woven words and expressions in my work, they loved it. I was set for something bigger than my school classroom, bigger than the spaces in my papers, bigger than-
My body shot up from my seat as I grasped my phone with both my hands, trembling in a mix of fear and anticipation. My gaze skimmed from the bottom of the announcement boards until I reached the top.
And there I was.
The announcement text from my journalism mentor sent me reeling, it set my reality in motion, however it failed to bring me back down to earth. I had crossed the highest finish line there was in the competition. It read:
“Congratulations! Regional Letter-Writing Competition sponsored by PhilPost- Shema Kailah B. Sacman of Grade 9 Eucalyptus, Regional Champion. The 1st and 2nd winners are going to represent Region XI to the National Letter Writing Contest in Manila on March 12, 2020.”
Before I even finished reading the entire text, I already threw myself into the air, phone in hand and cheering as if God had allowed me into Heaven by His side. My clammy hands grasped each of my family members’ as I announced the good news.
Honestly, that was enough for me. It truly was. But I knew there would be more ahead, and that made it all easier. I had one more letter to write, more feelings to convey- there was more.
My own efforts, my own words and my own feelings got me more- a ticket to the other side of the country. I made this, I earned this, I wrote myself a new life chapter that supposedly- only money could buy. And it was only going to get better from now on.
“THE PHILIPPINES’ FIRST COVID CASES SPARKS PANIC AMONG NETIZENS: GOV’T
URGES CITIZENS TO STAY AT HOME”, the first headline of the day.
That was it—the last time I ever saw the spark fizzle away right before my eyes. Without warning, a pandemic swept across the globe, bringing down businesses, mental health, families, loved ones—
Opportunities.
This was the seemingly tiny flap of a butterfly that set my life’s trajectory a hundred-eighty degrees off-course. I laid beside my nation and my world, and we all were destroyed and devastated from the calamity. Since then, I knew I would forever stay sixteen.
Under the rubble two years later, post-pandemic, my mentor reached out to me again. “I was tasked to find a student journalist and writer to represent our school for this year’s first Philippine Youth Convergence in Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan,” he explained in front of me.
I held my breath and hid my hands under my bottom nervously. He continued, “The region has recommended me one, however the SPJ program already has a writer of the caliber they’re looking for.” He looked at me with an expression that I could only see as pride and complete utter trust.
I was at the other side of that world, the world where I stayed sixteen. And before I knew it, the tornado came and blasted the debris and bandages left from years ago.
Right before my eyes, the dark room of purgatory I was held in burst through all sides. Left, right, infront, behind- doors were opening like dominos falling onto each other.
The trip across the Philippine Ocean, I saw as a testament to redemption and change. And from that academic roundtable, I found myself connected with youth support groups, non-government organizations, friends and allies around the Philippines—and around the globe.
And to think, it was all from an unwritten letter.
My story is just a part of the many experiences and stories people have, especially in the time of uncertainty and hopelessness. Everybody has a butterfly-to-tornado moment at least once in their lives, and perhaps knowing and acknowledging it exists is the next step for others. I continue to walk in the road of open doors, thankful for the powerful gust the butterfly gave me.
As for new tornados, perhaps it may be a blessing in disguise- not now,, but maybe later. As I look back on my days through the eyes of Facebook memories and bygone Messenger messages, a single text catches my eye from that fateful moment of announcement from my mentor.
“..I am so proud of you.”
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in the Banaag Diwa 2025: Nasaag Literary Folio of Atenews.