My Citizenship

What are the prospects and limits of my citizenship?

The Philippine National Flag

My sense of being Filipino has changed throughout the years. I felt that being Filipino meant merely patronizing famous works written by Rizal, Balagtas and the like. Years back speaking Filipino and positively speaking for the Filipinos were enough to say I was a good citizen. I had hoped of getting through school and eventually leaving the country for a lot of reasons be it the pursuit of adventure, greener pastures and even the mark of getting fed up and giving up on living as a Filipino where criminality, corruption and poverty are widespread. Admittedly, my two decades of being Filipino felt more like getting fed up by news on killings, theft, ill politics, showbiz drama, corruption and the likes. It created a sense of helplessness in me and felt like leaving the country after university. I had lost faith in the capability of people in this country to come back to their senses and be able to finally take the few steps in acting to come up with something Filipino to be proud of.

Jose Rizal authored notable
Filipino literary pieces.
Foto credit:skamid.com

It is when, during unexpected circumstances that opportunities are presented and it is up to that person whether or not that opportunity shall be used for whatever purpose it may serve.

For the past year, given the opportunity to work with a team that has helped inspire social awareness and advocacies to help spark up change my sense of being Filipino was starting to emerge from all the negativity of hopelessness and shame, but it was until getting to meet wonderful people from non-government organizations and being guided by people in the academe who speak wisely of our roles and potentialities despite the supposed and assumed limitations such as age, financial capabilities, social stature, political interest, philosophical orientation, type of advocacy and such. In my citizenship and governance class, complemented by my globalization and development class I was able to realize a clearer view of my being a Filipino citizen:

I am never too young to be a source of change in society.

Despite my still being in University, without my own source of income and my own established financial means, I when working with people who have realized the same cause and are driven to achieve that can find ways to succeed.

My desire to achieve should come hand in hand with commitment- the commitment to persistently head forward and overcome hurdles and work around other people’s limitations be it time, finances, degree of commitment and their willingness to partake.

In turn, I too know that as a starting individual, relatively younger and have things to anticipate and be prepared for to experience and undergo I have financial limitations, my circle of influence is still in the process of development and my thoughts are subject to criticism and exogenous forces. I cannot act simply on my own and expect that I be capable of managing everything without delegation- that I am not undermining my capabilities but rather recognizing that properly efficiently and effectively functioning bodies of organization does not flourish with one sole organ but rather parts with clear lines of functions to carry out and co-function in order to realize goals and deliver results.

I am Filipino and I have come to live by my principles of pragmatism, persistence, resilience, passion and teamwork.