Wala Lang

It is early in the morning in Notre Dame and I am listening to UP Concert Chorus songs about the Philippines.  It is amazing how emotional and nationalistic you can get when you are far away from your country.  I listened to their version of UP Naming Mahal and I am so embarassed to admit that I really cried.  Here in Notre Dame, we are taught that our loyalty is to God, country, and Notre Dame.  Well, I think my heart is still for God, country, and UP.  I owe my mind and whatever strength of spirit I have right now to these three entities.

I can honestly say that it was in UP that I decided who I am and who I am going to be. Some of my childhood friends who have only seen me after my 8 years in UP get so surprised.  It is difficult to explain to them what I went through for 8 years.  How do you explain the feeling of marching with fellow students in the middle of the streets of Manila, declaring that as an "iskolar ng bayan" you are now having your say?  How do you explain the rush of drinking beer with your country’s most respected writers and critics and actually engaging in a discussion with them?  How do you explain the intellectual satisfaction of sitting in a classroom arguing Sartre, Marx, and Constantino with people who you would later meet on the other side of the barricade?

UP taught us to live, love, and die for our country.  It does not, however, tell us how to go about it. And that, I believe, is the best part of all. I try to live and love for my country. I find my own ways to do it. And if the time comes for me to die for my country…I pray to God that if ever that happens, I will be doing honor to UP.

I am what I am now because of UP — whether the world likes it or not.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 12th, 2005 at 6:58 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.