Be FARE enough

“Student po.”

It used to roll off my tongue so easily

a small assertion of a right I memorized more than understood

Even on weekends.

Even on holidays.

Even when the driver hesitated,

I insisted.

I used to get irritated whenever a jeepney or tricycle driver refused.

I would think of fairness.

Of policies written somewhere official.

Of the small relief a few pesos could give me.

I never thought about what those same pesos meant to them.

Lately, the roads feel heavier

The rising cost of fuel is no longer just a headline

It is in the way drivers pause before starting the engine

In the way they count coins twice, hoping the numbers stretch further than they can

In the tired lines on their faces

No discount could ease their burden

And suddenly

“Student po” does not feel the same anymore

Now I sit quietly

I hand my fare without a word, no reminder, no insistence

Sometimes, when the change comes back

I close my hand and say, “Sa inyo na po”

Not because I have more,

But because I finally understand when not to ask for less from someone who already has so little.

And I begin to wonder

Do I really need to claim a student discount to call it fairness

When the system itself has never been fair to the ones who drive us forward

This is not about abandoning a right

It is about recognizing reality

Somewhere between what is fair and what is humane

There is a gap no policy can fill

Maybe growing up is learning when not to claim everything you can

Especially when someone else is already carrying more than enough

So today,

And maybe for a while

No discount.

Just a quiet offering 

to the hands that keep the wheels turning

Even when the cost of moving forward rises.