I guess I am slowly turning another chapter again in my life as I write this entry. It has been rough the past few months but I am slowly getting the beat again.
I realized we needed some painful setbacks for us to recalibrate our visions, our goals, and ultimately, our perspectives in life. There was this one moment when all the things that I hoped for crashed and all the trust and wishes for a smooth sailing life eventually turned into ashes.
It made me cry. I felt restless for weeks. It made me think of the many things that most of my age encounter these days — sadness–an overwhelming kind of sadness.
There were moments when I just wanted to quit, stay on the side and just do whatever I needed to do to survive a day.
I am barely living the life I wanted.
I was so tired of thinking where to go next, what to do, and live the life I am supposed to live.
But there came a day when I found hope on all that is happening. There must be something out there or someone out there watching me and directing me take a closer look on what I have right now and where I want to be.
With those few but big bumps, I am slowly appreciating the rough edges. Maybe, those were necessary to motivate me and transform me into a better person. Maybe, each problem, each day lived in desperation, each person who made me feel something — they were all necessary.
It brought me to the idea of checkpoints. Maybe I was in another checkpoint during those times. Maybe I am being led to another path or being led to another level.
Whatever it is — I came to realize that it’s normal. It is necessary and so I must move forward. There will be several checkpoints ahead of me and I must not lose hope.
No, I am not yet Kathleen when Martial Law was declared. But I studied and I have opened my eyes to various literature that reminded me of the crimes committed during Martial Law and I refuse to close my eyes and shut my mouth just because I am not yet Kathleen that time.
I was born in 1993. Too far from the glorious days of the Marcoses. But why am I too passionate about it? It’s because it’s part of our history that should never be forgetten. And sadly, up to this day, there are lots of false narratives and myths about it.
Let’s stick to the facts.
I am fortunate to have a Professor in DevCom who witnessed first hand the atrocities during Martial Law. She was a journalism student in UP Diliman when then President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law throughout the country. For our DevCom 80 class, we had to recall many events in the past that shaped our society in relation to the field of communication. And of course, Martial Law is a very significant period. Many of the known journalists today witnessed and have been part of the struggle to fight for the freedom of the press during that dark period in our history.
Problem is that: many parents/adults living today continue to narrate stories about the “good things” they experienced during Martial Law. I am glad my parents are not among those. But I know so many people who refuse to believe in the narratives written and published by credible sources and literature. Their narratives usually start with “tahimik nga non at maganda ang buhay”. “Maraming takot sa gobyerno noon.” “Walang gulo, lahat naniniwala sa gobyerno.” “May mga ration ng pagkain.” “Maunlad. Nagkaron ng mga kalsada, ospital.”
Two words: peaceful and prosperous. I don’t blame them for believing that the Philippines experienced its golden years during Marcos time. In communication, there is always a reason for why people believed in that messaging.
That was the plan of the Marcoses. To make it look like it’s “peaceful” and “prosperous”. People can’t see news reports about the actual situation of the Philippines because TV and radio were controlled by the government. Publications were closed. People opposing and exposing government anomalies were killed or were sent to jail (just like what happened to Ninoy and many more). You can’t see news stories of people being murdered, tortured or being raped because it is not allowed. If there were reported cases, only few will know. Mostly, those near the capital. Mostly, those who were part of underground movements and student-led organizations. These people struggled to get the message across because, as said, the Marcoses owned the masses. The masses were blind. They didn’t know what’s happening.
It is just sad that until today, the struggle continues. Many people refuse to acknowledge facts presented to us by history. Many people refuse to understand why people continue to fight the return of BBM and all other evil Marcoses. Many people refuse to acknowledge the lessons given by our past.
Being a communication student and now a professional, I accept the challenge to continue to educate people and send the message across. I will not stop. I will continue to narrate the facts. Facts don’t lie. I will #NeverForget.
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Was it really a Golden Age for the Philippines? Different people may tell different stories, but the data reveal only one thing.
When I was in college, one thing I was too excited about was to be part of an organization that I like. Not like the usual academic clubs and organizations in high school where we were forced to be part of, in UP, we have the liberty to choose our organizations.
I have many options. I can choose an academic organization that can help me get through my studies; a varsitarian organization that can help me link with people who have the same interests or roots; a debate organization that can give me trainings –there is just too many to choose from.
But I chose to be part of UP SIBOL, a socio-civic organization that helps the marginalized sector through outreach and development-oriented programs.
Helping the marginalized? It seems ambitious. As an ideal college sophomore, I had that level of ambition to contribute to something bigger than myself. Something that I think I can achieve through UP SIBOL.
And yes, it helped me. A lot.
When I got in through a process that felt like hell, prime motivation was still aligned with SIBOL’s mission of uplifting the lives of many communities through little ways of a student-led organization. We have several outreach programs that cater to the kids, indigenous peoples, mothers, and many more sectors that needed attention.
It gave me something to look forward to. It provided an avenue for my passion to serve the community.
Joining means you care
I am no rich kid. I came from a middle-class family that happens to encounter financial struggles every now and then. But I grew in a family of givers — no matter how small, we should always share. That’s what my mom taught us when I was a kid and she continues to influence us ’til this day.
When I joined UP SIBOL, it felt like I am finally leading a life with purpose.
I remember so vividly my first activity as a newbie in my organization. We had our annual Street Kids initiative where we held a Christmas outreach program with the abandoned kids of Laguna.
It was a fulfilling first of many.
I can still remember the night before our outreach, we were too busy preparing food items and collecting Christmas gifts for the kids. With no decent sleep the next day, my heart gained tons of happy cells and energy when I saw smiles from the kids when they received their Christmas gifts.
We had so much fun. I had so much fun and it felt really good.
And that was the beginning of my journey of sharing a part of my self to the people I think we have to give our attention to — the poor and the marginalized.
Deeper, meaningful programs
Our programs expanded from catering to the street and abandoned kids, to providing opportunities for mothers to receive alternative learning.
It was one of the things I really liked about SIBOL — arms wide-open — we are ready to extend assistance in any possible way that we can as a student organization.
And when I got back from my study program in South Korea, I was too happy to know that we are finally touching more lives of not just kids but IP kids.
The Aetas of Zambales gave us another opportunity to extend our hands and hearts to the community.
AETAguyod is a brainchild by one of my seniors (also one of my early mentors in the organization), Sonny.
When Sonny was elected President of the organization, he had a chance to pitch the program to the members and alumni of UP SIBOL.
Sonny envisioned it holistically address the immediate needs of the indigenous kids in a school run by Franciscan nuns in Zambales. This school provides IP kids an opportunity to receive primary education for free including daily meals and lodging. However, like any other social institution, the school lacks sustainable funding and has difficulties in many aspects.
Sharing a piece of ourselves
More than helping them receive donations and immediate supplies, we wanted to empowerthem. That is for sure. We believe that it is always more than the material things.
As most of the resident members are development communication students, we did series of community analyses on how we can help. We have personally learned from them their views and perspectives about our society as a whole.
It dawned upon us that more than the material things that we think they are lacking or haven’t had the privilege to enjoy, I personally felt that, what they lack is the confidence to face the world with their roots and culture. They are not proud of who they are.
They never felt that they were normal people experiencing discrimination on a regular basis. This made them feel like they are inferior individuals and that being an Aeta is something to be ashamed of.
Hence, most of them stopped believing in the future, they stopped dreaming.
And that’s quite sad, right?
Imagine children without dreams? Children without faith in themselves
and what the holds for them?
For our our first attempt to help them realize that they are important part of our society and that there are people who believe in them, we worked harder to let them join us in UP Los Banos.
We raised funds from our own little ways to fund their trip and did a benefit concert* where they shared their excellent talents with the UPLB community.
*All proceeds went to fund their immediate needs including supply of food.
Students of St. Francis Learning Center performed to the UPLB Community during the AETAguyod Benefit Concert organized by UP SIBOL.
They had fun and the people enjoyed every performance.
They were applauded and supported by the community.
We were touched by the fact that there are so many students who are willing to share a part of themselves in making the Aeta kids feel loved and valued.
On my own little contribution, when Sonny asked me to host the program with Bryan, I immediately said yes. It was surreal.
Bryan and I served as the hosts for the benefit concert held in 2013 for the Aetas of St. Francis Learning Center.
They thanked us, numerous times. But in reality, it wasn’t us who helped them. It was them who helped us realize so many things in life.
They weren’t just the ones with new dreams — we learned to dream bigger as well, not just for ourselves, but for them. I think that’s the best thing I learned to treasure in my heart over the years. I won’t stop dreaming for others.
Caring continues
The concert was just the beginning of our journey with the AETA kids. We had several outreaches in the community. Conduct of learning experiences about proper nutrition, culture appreciation, livelihood making, and a lot more! We did our best to transfer knowledge that we have to their community that we think will be useful for them someday, or somehow.
UP SIBOL have been instrumental for me to realize that opportunities are limitless when it comes to giving and caring.I can always be an instrument in making someone’s life a little easier and lighter. I can’t sponsor a child (yet) but I know I can always try to be an inspiration to them to dream big and conquer their struggles.
Preparing the kids’ breakfast during our visit last March 2018.
There is a Chinese proverb that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”
True enough, many people have claimed that the road to happiness is actually the road traveled by givers and carers. Happiness is found in caring for others.
I guess what I’m saying is this: I know for a fact that these things are so little compared to all the big battles we are all facing — poverty.But I know for sure that if caring continues for these people, slowly, we are letting them know that they are not fighting the battle alone.
❤️
To know how you can help, send @UP SIBOL a private message on Facebook or talk to me (we have something exciting in the pipeline). 🙂
..”can you please briefly describe yourself?”
Forced to be part of the editorial team during her schooldays, Kate developed a love-hate relationship with writing throughout her school life. She majored in community broadcasting because she loves creating content for the eyes and ears! She immediately started working for the government when she graduated in 2015 for her hope to contribute in advancing government relations to its people. As a wide-reader of current events and a non-fiction book fan, she describes her self as a bookworm and a movie buff. She sips coffee most of the time and she really can’t deny that Obama is her modern day hero.
A little overview of some of my work.
This was delivered by my boss in a forum in Germany last March 2017.
Let me know your thoughts about it! Happy reading! 🙂
Like in other countries, the business landscapes have changed in the Philippines with the advent of advanced technologies and various disruptive business models. We are now facing the rise of a new economy – the digital economy. Countries around the world are now shifting from traditional to digital.
Today, my task is to share with you what the Philippines is doing to promote women entrepreneurship and startups.
As the Philippines’ embraces the rise of a digital economy, the government has been fast tracking policies and interventions that would uplift the innovative spirit of Filipino entrepreneurs and would enable an environment for new breed of businesses to thrive.
In the past, we have been implementing various interventions that would help women improve their entrepreneurial skills, capacitate their businesses, and access new markets. But among these initiatives, on top of my list and probably my favorite, are the interventions that we do that focus on Women in Technology.
CHANGE OF MINDSET: AN ESSENTIAL FIRST
Technology and social media have afforded us access to wide range of information. There are many stories out there that are based on facts and evidences which are powerful enough to build confidence of the women in technology. For example, contrary to the belief that technology is historically a male-dominated field, there was Elsie Shutt, a woman, who founded the first software business in the US. Shutt formed her business when the time Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were both only three years old.
Another example is from the World Economic Forum report saying that many of the pioneers of computer programming were women. In fact, a group of women who fought secretly during World War II, while men went off to fight in various battlefields, were women calculating trajectories and ballistic tables for soldiers and bombardiers in the air. These women were mathematicians or “computers” as they were secretly called. A documentary was created featuring this amazing story.
Even after the war, programming was still an industry dominated by women. When Elsie Shutt founded Computations Inc. or CompInc in 1958, all of her company’s programmers were women. It was only in the 1980s when the once female-dominated field became a field for men due to advertisements highlighting computers as toys for boys.
When Elsie Shutt was asked why she thought so few women were programmers, Shutt explained: “I think if there have been fewer women than men in computing, it’s because they’ve been discouraged back at the education level from majoring in math, or engineering, or computer science.
Mindset plays a very important part in building confidence in a woman that she can be as good as men in the area of technology. S.T.E.A.M. AS A WAY TO GO
Our call is to revive these times – attracting women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (S.T.E.A.M) as according to a study conducted in the United States, women with STEM jobs earned 33 percent more than comparable women in non-STEM jobs. As a result, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs.
We, in the Philippines, include the Arts with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – the STEM subjects in the educational system in our country. It is an added dimension that makes STEM fun to study.
As we realize the evolution of businesses, the competitive market, and the dynamic behavior of consumers around the world, we see that innovation is the way to go. But what drives innovation? It is creativity – the ability to play with ideas, concepts, and models – an essential in birthing new products and services. It is imperative for entrepreneurs to understand these to put something new to offer and to continuously improve services and product offerings that would pave way to new businesses and industries.
Thus, we see arts as an essential component in building the innovative capacity of economies. Arts induces and sharpens creativity which when combined with logical thinking, can further enhance the entrepreneurial abilities of women and men alike.
According to the same study conducted about STEM, there could be many possible factors contributing to the discrepancy of women and men in STEM jobs. These include: lack of female role models, gender stereotyping, and less family-friendly flexibility in the STEM fields.
These causes are not far from the results of the study conducted by the United Nations (UN) that identifies four overarching factors that impede gender equality in all forms of work and at all levels of development: adverse social norms, discriminatory laws and insufficient legal protections, gender gaps in unpaid household and care work, and unequal access to digital, financial and property assets.
Regardless of the reasons, the findings of these studies emphasize the need for societies to encourage and support women in the said fields.
Hence, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) together with ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (AWEN) greatly support events and initiatives that would further our efforts in encouraging women to step up and disrupt the stigma that women are not as equal as men in terms of skills and knowledge in STEM fields. CHAMPIONING WOMEN IN ASEAN
In the Philippines, it is with pride that I share with you that we are doing better for our women agenda. In fact, in the recent report of the World Economic Forum in terms of Global Gender Gap, we ranked 7th among the 144 countries that were surveyed. This is a good indication that the Philippines’ efforts to improve policies and landscapes for women are being recognized and lauded by economic organizations around the world.
The Philippines is by far the best-performing of the 10 ASEAN members with 79% of gender gap closure. It is also regarded as the only country in the region to make the top 10 globally with its progress on increasing women’s participation in economic and political spheres with a fully closed gender gap on health aspect (WEF, 2015).
These findings motivate us not to stop with our battle to champion women with no reservations.
In the Department of Trade and Industry – Philippines, we have various support services particularly for technology-driven businesses that also allow women to participate in propelling the economy.
We have Slingshot Philippines or Slingshot PH, a government-initiated platform that supports public dialogue and partnership, and helps in building and nurturing an enabling environment with policies and programs for technology and innovation entrepreneurs. With SlingShot Philippines, the government realizes the importance of nurturing an ecosystem and supporting the community by allowing them to convene, discuss, and move mountains through networking and linkages. These will further enable our women. As small businesses integrate and adapt with available technology, they make it work for them by creating virtual spaces – spaces that we believed are more flexible and practical for women. It allows women to provide the necessary work that a company requires without them leaving their homes and duties as a parent.
We also highly encourage women entrepreneurs to seek services available in Negosyo Centers or one-stop shops which cater to the needs of established and potential entrepreneurs.
As the Philippines host the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit this year, the Philippine government works closely and in collaboration with ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW), ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (AWEN), and various women organizations, in elevating discussions, building commitments, and establishing a common understanding on various gender issues in the region.
I hope the message here is clear: women are partners for growth and are equally important as men in terms of advancing our economies. It is with technology that our women are more enabled and more empowered in unleashing their potentials and ideas in creating disruptive businesses to the world. As technology further allows women to work while they remain to be the light of their homes for their families, the more that we need to urge young girls of today to seek the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
Thank you for all the birthday wishes and all the love!
The idea of celebrating my 25th year makes me want to shut the door and just stay asleep in the coming weeks. It makes me anxious, honestly. It reminds me of all the things that I need to finish. As a deadline-oriented person and an Aries (char, joke!), being 25 makes me worry about the life ahead and the missed opportunities. It is as if I have to submit something remarkable on my 25th, like a terminal report.
Some may say, I am overreacting. Maybe, yes. While 25 is relatively young, believe me, most of the people my age today ask the same questions, ANO NA BA KO? Nasaan na ba ako?
Maybe, things happening around us and all the young people making it big at the very young age makes us all worry about our current state and our future. Parang napapagiwanan ka. And I am no different. I want to this, visit that, buy this, and be like that. The list goes on. I have my insecurities and worries, just like your typical millennial.
We always think that something is wrong about us even if we have a good job with a good pay grade, good bosses. Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). That’s it.
That’s the thing about my generation, I guess? We all want to be someone. We all want to be significant. We all want to build our own thing, our own ‘brand’. We all want to be like this and like that. We want to have something to be proud of ASAP. We all want to be successful and it makes us so stressful. We often fail to wait.
The idea of having a deadline in life has to stop.
While there is nothing wrong about being sooo competitive in life, we need to manage our expectations about ourselves and the things we want to achieve. We have to wait. We have to enjoy the journey first. Sometimes, we become so stressed with what’s happening because we’re not prepared for it. I still believe that we need to be exposed to various vulnerabilities before becoming a great person. After reading several biographies of great people like Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, John F. Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, The Beatles, Bill Gates, and the likes, I think all of them took the time to learn and wait for their turn.
See? Char.
Naks. This sounds serious na a.
But really.
To all my fellow anxious *young* professionals, I think we often miss the opportunity to be genuinely happy because we are too busy scrolling the feeds of other people who we think are more “successful” than us, who we think are “living the life.” We are so busy looking at other people’s successes and we forget that we have our own timeline. That everything in social media is just a projection of the happy side of things. You cannot see tons of payables posted on instagram. You can’t see the scratches and the ugly surface published on facebook.
What I am saying is, don’t be blinded by the idea that other people are not struggling like you. Go, take your time. That is why this year as I celebrate my 25th year, I dare to begin a journey of becoming a person with a quiet and gentle spirit. I will begin a new chapter with renewed hope of appreciating the people around me more and just candidly celebrate life!
It’s okay not share everything in social media. It’s okay if it takes a lot of time to cross one item on your bucket list. It is definitely okay not be like her or like him. It’s okay to sleep, be steady, enjoy a book, and chill. You just do you.
Having said all that, I hope I can celebrate the joys of this world with all of you candidly. Cheers to 25 years of existence and unconditional love! Para sa marami pang sablay sa buhay!
Details on how I celebrated my 25th will be up soon!
Can’t belive we’re almost done with the first quarter of the year already! It’s mid-March!!! That means, I am less than a month away from being 25 and that sucks. Oh well. With age comes wisdom, so I better be grateful!
Why do I feel like there’s a deadline for everything?
Anyhoo, to give you guys an update (wow, as if I have existing readers! :P) it’s been a while since I wrote about myself. I am always disappointed about not having the time to write and just be myself. 😦 I guess I have to commit myself more to personal writing.
I am still working as Public Relations Officer slash Writer for *insert government agency here* and I am still enjoying it, obviously. Let see, hanggang kailan.
But recently, I realized the need to rethink some of my career decisions. After my recent accident (got hit by a motorcycle), I realized the need to secure my future and start rethinking my financial decisions. I need to save up! It is really, really smart to keep at least 6-month worth of salary as an emergency money!
So, there. I am still busy at work with so many things happening in the background! Nevertheless, I keep all the learnings that I know for sure will help me in my professional career.
Speaking of it, I would just like to share some of the things that I appreciate about my work:
I get to meet people in the industry – I mean, hey, I was able to talk to media companies not just those from the Philippines but even those based outside (Bloomberg, CNN, Oxford, The Economist, Euronews!)
I get to know great people both from private and public sector – It’s not everyday that you’ll get to witness an important event, but in my work, I almost always see key people in the economic and business sector. I am very humbled.
I share stories of success – As part of my work, I get to share success stories of Filipino entrepreneurs and brands. I always feel the kilig whenever I see/ discover / meet amazing Filipino people. I am just so amazed with the Filipino talent.
I am mentored by the best – My mentors are incredibly brilliant and known in their industry. My supervisor is a seasoned ad person. Our USec is a known leader in the IT BPM and software industry. She is also among the great women leaders today in government.
I am just grateful for the opportunities that my current work opened for me. There is a long way to go cos I know I need to know and learn more pa.
But I am like a young kid right now, always excited for the next challenge!
I thank God for giving me this life and for blessing me every single day.
Congratulations for making it! After a heartbreak, it must be super hard for you to understand that life will keep on throwing you lemons. For sure, you learned your lessons, right?
Don’t be scared, I’m sure you will find the right love at the right time. And don’t be scared to fall inlove again. If ever you get hurt once again, you will definitely make it. Trust me.
I envy you — you, the naive, happy, and confident girl. You experienced cruel and harsh people and yet you continue to value life like it is all yours. Well, it is your life. No matter what you hear and see in the future, just keep your eyes to your goals. Just keep moving forward. Dream big and things will fall into their perfect place.
This is probably the time when all you want is to figure out what you want to pursue — don’t be too harsh on yourself. You will never find out until you’re 25. Life will surprise you with so many things in so many different ways. So, go on. Choose whatever you feel like taking. You want to be reporter? Go, take that communications course. You want to be a doctor? Go, take that hard-science course. Just keep choosing what your heart desires cos it will come to a point where your options will be limited and get stuck in making so many adult decisions.
Thank you for being strong. Thank you for taking that course. Thank you for not allowing any person break you.
I am turning 25 this year and the idea makes me nervous.
We all have our anxieties about life and what makes me more skeptic about it is the idea that I don’t have fixed plans yet.
Am I doing it right? Been wondering for quite some time now.
In 2017, I somehow embraced uncertainty. Rejected a job offer I’ve been wanting for so long. However — where I am right now is something I don’t want to leave yet. Plunging myself to a lot of unusual work, I thought I’m not going to make it. But I find it comforting when I realized that I have done better than expected. Great job, self. *pat pat*
It was comforting to know that I am not alone in these uncertainties, there were, perhaps, a few friends who were there whenever I feel bad about myself and the current path that I am taking. Those people made me stronger. Those people made me feel I am capable and I am truly grateful. *cries buckets of tears*
But more than anything, what I realized in the past two years of trying to adult (hay) is that I need to stand up on my own. I am on my own. My parents won’t tell me what to do next. There’s no course guide in here.
That idea that I am on my own makes me more anxious about my decisions to take, the things that I might encounter along the way, and all the crazy stuff that I have to overcome. But I find comfort that I know I won’t let myself down.
2017 was a wake up call. It was my turning point — it gave me strength to pursue greater and even bigger dreams for myself.
That’s why in the year ahead, I promise to be bolder.
Bolder in a sense that I won’t hold back — easier said that done. But I promise to keep moving forward.
I need to trust myself.
In the past years, I have always been the type of person who worries about what to do next, where to go next, and it was overall a drag for me. Particularly in times when things didn’t go the way I wished them to be. It was tiring, you know? Trying to chase those expectations no one actually asked me to meet but myself. I was also sad and lonely. I feel betrayed by myself everytime I think I failed which I think is super wrong.
So this year, I promise to take everything slowly. From my career decisions to my personal life, I’ll be a little bit lax. I promise not to slave myself with others’ expectations. I promise to live the life I want and the way I want it. I will take life in my own course, my own time. No matter what happens, I will prioritize what makes me happy.
I swear to spend each day of 2018 with joy and optimism. (Luuuh, how?)
I swear no matter how many failures I get, I’ll continue to stand up and will never be shaken by any rejections. I shall keep moving forward.
I’ll be 25 and I know it will take more than knowing the things that I want.
under the sun 