Youth, Society, Destiny

Youth empowerment is a much needed component for national development. The future belongs to the youth, as Rizal would say, owing to the great potential of young minds to bring about social change through getting involved with the great issues affecting the world. From campus journalists, to student leaders. The youth plays a vital part in shaping and sculpting an ideal community of cooperation, tolerance and peace.

The three day seminar workshop held at the Iloilo Grand Hotel is one of the stepping stones in developing the youth's identity as the movers for social and political change. Becoming a part of this great endeavor for the betterment of the nation, I can conclude that my participation in the Central Echo is an opportunity for me to impart my writings to my fellow youth and empower them further to act from passivity and let them be aware of their role in society. It's not about developing my skills in campus journalism, but rather, unveiling my potentials to move the world through the power of writing.

The seminar workshop, themed "Campus Paper Writers in the Realm of Community Building" and organized by the Philippine Information Agency, aims at improving the skills of campus press writers and editors in the field of journalism. With the skills they acquired, these young minds can use them to achieve development for the better.

I can say with total confidence that I have no regrets of becoming a part of my university's campus publication. I have just realized how important my role is to herald forth social change. And I shouldn't ignore my potentials nor should I delve into the habit of passivity. My writings can move society. My writings can scare off tyrants. And my writings can help my fellow man to rally himself towards fulfilling his destiny. I will not let my ideas rot in my mind. I will not leave a single page blank. Let the fires of youth kindle in our hearts. Let us take up our pens, unite and resonate the call for action.

Back (Again)

Haven't been around posting like crazy for a while. Been busy lately with a lot of stuff now that I'm a writer for the University publication. I'm still expecting more to come my way this semester. Like news stories to write, deadlines to meet, more teeth-grinding mental stuff. Despite all this, I'm pretty grateful that I'm beginning to be proactive. Opportunities like this don't come around often.

Wisdom Tooth

Nothing is more excruciating of an experience for a young adult than the emergence of a wisdom tooth. It hurts. And what's annoying is the more painful feeling of an intense migraine that results from the dental pain. I don't know how to deal with it, since it's, shall I say, part of "growing up."

Rising Dawn

On June 12, 1898, a very significant event took place. An event that has become a symbol of national pride and liberty. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, standing on the balcony of his ancestral home before a large mass of his fellowmen in Kawit, Cavite, made the proclamation that the Philippines was no longer under the rule of Spain. It was a moment of victory for the Filipino people. After nearly 333 years of settling at the hands of the colonizers, Filipinos had finally took their first taste of freedom.

But how pure is freedom nowadays? How are we sure that we are totally free from tyranny? From oppression and persecution? The succeeding years after Aguinaldo's proclamation, the nation came under fire from another set of tyrannic oppression. We did not fully embrace total freedom during the rule of the Americans and the Japanese. Even to this day, freedom is but a lone word, distant from our grasps.

The Americans introduced themselves as our friends. Being a nation of freedom-loving peoples, they wanted what is best for a country which suffered under the oppressive policies of the Spanish monarchy for three centuries. Most will say that the Americans and Filipinos are alike in terms of historical background. Both nations experienced the grueling conditions under despotic rule. And both nations took to arms with great eagerness to yearn for total liberty. It is a matter of fact that, in some way, we have this common factor with the Americans. But that was not the case, as they became the successors of the Spaniards. Their authority was far different than that of their predecessors. They trained us on how to run a democratic form of government and introduced us to the blessings of public education. Their acts were only stepping stones towards a better life of being free. But, all in all, we were not totally free being under their boots, so to speak.
The essence of freedom is all about liberation from foreign intervention. Therefore, under the Americans, we were not totally free, but rather, we were having the potential to be free with their ideas of democracy.

With the aid of the Americans, the Filipinos' anticipation for true independence heightened. The Philippine Commonwealth was introduced in 1935 to better prepare the country towards a democratic future. But one roadblock was laid ahead that stagnated the country and subjected it to another regime supposedly far worse than that of the Spaniards. The Second World War brought the Japanese to out doorstep. With their own blend of tyranny and aggression, they terrorized the nation and humbled it to its knees. Under the Japanese, independence seemed a fragmented dream. However, that bloody regime ended, and from the ashes of war, the Philippine nation had been given independence.

Truly, another moment of triumph. The Japanese left our shores, and so did the Americans. Should we conclude then that everything became more different now that foreigners had left the country? There is no reason to be optimistic by that assertion. We did gain our independence, but did we really gain true freedom? True liberty from tyranny?

We had gained our independence, but the succeeding years were blotted by the emergence of another form of tyranny. Ferdinand Marcos rose to power. Martial Law took control of the country by his blend of corporate tyranny and social oppression. His rise saw the mass persecution of intellectuals, student activists, university professors and others who he deemed antagonistic towards the new order.

The collapse of Marcos' regime brought about a new optimistic feeling in the hearts of the Filipinos. But much like in the past years, oppression still exists, in the form of political suppression and social stagnation. How can we call ourselves free if our lives are being controlled by megalomaniacs we call politicians? Corruption is another factor that made me realize that we are not experiencing freedom at its sincerest. With thousands of our fellow Filipinos starving due to the greedy advances of these "crocodiles-in-office", our country is being enslaved by yet another form of tyrannical rule. This time, it's Filipino exploiting Filipino.

Last week, as the 15th president, Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III, took oath as the new leader of our nation, more and more Filipinos are still hoping for another dawn. A dawn that may bring about a new light of optimism. A dawn that may change the souls of every Filipino. A dawn that may write itself in history as the moment of triumph over years and years of tyranny and oppression.

We may not see a new dawn right now. But we should look forward to it, as it may bring about great change. Perhaps, a brighter and much more dignified future that will hopefully perpetuate and overshadow our nation's turbulent past.

I feel afraid
Was it something I said
Was it the way I moved
Walking on the dunes
Alone and so confused

To sail away
It is my decision
To sail away
Cold and bitter
To the fray
Sailing on my own
This time

Drifting pass
I want to break that hourglass
And turn back to the time
I said things that were so sublime
Yet so bad in taste
I load a gun just in case

I hate the way
I move, and talk, and sway
Swaying through the waters of
Life itself
Remembering that fateful day
I said things that were short of honesty
Short of joy and short of glee

Burying
Those bitter memories I loathe and revile
Burying them six feet down
Looking at the sky and say
Was there a time I gave a smile
That fateful day
Distancing from close friends
Is this the beginning
Or is this the end?

Locked away
I bid farewell to that chest of dreams
Of bitter dreams and evil schemes
My mind is blank
And filled with thoughts of senseless acts
If there's one way to lose everything
I'd pick the part where the funeral bells ring

Bidding goodbye
From the fears and awful times
Times I hate where my friends had cried
Because of unsound moments and atrocities

Apologize
The only way out from here
From rational thoughts
That are unclear
And meaningless in taste

Revelry
The only thing I want to be
Is a withering maple tree
Waiting for the fall of leaves
Life is just a heap of leaves
Blown away by hostile winds
Never to be picked up again

Cold and numb
My soul is just cold and numb
Falling away from this cold, hard breeze
Life comes around in a sneeze

(Sorry for the way I acted. Sorry if I hurt anyone. Emotionally. Unintentionally.)

Back

So I was on hiatus for about a week. I miss logging in to my Facebook account. I felt so primitive without an Internet connection. Anyways, I'm back. Still kicking and keeping it surreal, if you will. But I just realized that I need to create at least six posts in this blog for the month of June to compensate and meet "my required quota". So that means I should write in a non-stop manner and at least make blog posts that actually have important and significant content.

Time, time, frggin' time.

So, my classes start tomorrow, so is my first take as a sophomore. I am as eager as a child salivating for a lollipop. I just can't shrug off the thought that time can be so hasty now that I'm in college. It's as if I just finished my Math 26 exam last Friday. Life is moving incredibly fast, and I don't know if I'm the only guy who notices that. Anything can change with a blink of an eye, and I'm saying it in a metaphorical way because time is starting to move in very unexpected ways. Unexpected because I was caught off guard when I realized that June was coming. Much to my disappointment, and with a little piece of eagerness in me, I let it slip away and tried to embrace the very thought of it.

As far as it goes, time can be somewhat burdensome to people like me who just want to take things in slow, semi-serious pace. But I am satisfied right now because I am spared from summer idleness. Now that I am well oiled and my mind is hungry, yet again, for learning, I can fully say that, although time may grab me by the neck unexpectedly, I have got to live with it and ride it smoothly like a wave.