TEETH TALK

A wisdom tooth is one of the four rearmost molars on each side of the upper and lower jaw in humans. Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt, typically in early adulthood.

But what's with the name?
It is generally thought to be called wisdom tooth because it appears so late—much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are presumably wiser than as a child, when the other teeth erupt. In Korean, its name is Sa-rang-nee (love teeth) referring to the young age and the pain of the first love. In other words, it's called wisdom tooth because it it thought to erupt once the person becomes wise. Wisdom teeth usually appear between the ages of 17 and 25.


My wisdom tooth hasn't erupted yet. The thought of having it makes my legs tremble like shiiiit. Hiiii! I can only imagine my ohhs and ahhs! For that, I may need a very patient dentist. And oh, does that mean I'm still not wise? =p I can't quite consider the parameters of human wisdom. Most of us want to be wise yet aging scares us. I find it illogical, actually. Why do we have to play hide and seek with it? We see it as something stealing our vigor and bloom. We don't see it bringing the privilege to grow old with someone we love. Does age equate to wisdom? What counts as being wise, really?

When I was younger, my parents wouldn't allow me to ride a jeepney alone. They say I didn't know how to. Maybe I did. I was just not given the chance to. Finally, my first on-my-own-jeepney-ride was when I was in first year high school. I was 13. I thought I was a big girl then. I felt independent.

Then, I wasn't allowed to ride a cab alone. It was just when I was already in college that I learned how to ride a cab on my own. HAHAHA! I was probably scared of the rape-stories I heard back then, plus mom's "Hala ka!" look.

Then comes the boyfriend issue, which I'm sure almost everyone can relate to. :D On the contrary, I was allowed to have a boyfriend after I finished high school. Yee! Maybe my parents thought I was "wise" enough to make my own mistakes. HAHAHA! Mom would always say that I should learn from my own flaws and that I must master the art of standing up after a hard fall....with a hair-flip and a wink! ;-) Hence, do not attempt to teach that which you yourself have not yet mastered.

So what really counts as a wise one? I'm an advocate of sex and age equality so I think you can never be too young to be dumb nor can you be too old to be wise.