I always thought I would be in Silliman University to attend the National Writers Workshop. I was rejected not once but twice (!) because fate had other plans. They turned out to be Great Plans that included testifying in a Senate hearing and teaching in an Arts-Environment Festival.
This week, I find myself in Silliman as a speaker at the 1st National Youth Development Summit (NYDS). The opportunity to be with some 200 youth leaders from all over the country is pretty awesome 🙂 Ika nga ni Katy Perry, “no regrets / just love.”
I felt like a participant during this event and sat in almost all sessions. Tito Tony Meloto, one of the greatest visionaries I know, kicked off the series of talks. His mom passed away before the date, but he wanted to go to the NYDS before the wake because he “lives for the living.”
“I went to the best schools but they didn’t teach me vision. They only taught me ambition,” said Tito Tony. His ambition is now married to an extraordinary vision: to end poverty in the Philippines by 2024. He brought up the World Economic Forum and quipped, “I was the only one old there. I was with Anna, Lynn, and Pie — puro bata. You know why? Dahil ako lang ang 62-year-old na hindi pa tapos mangarap.”
The indefatigable May-i Fabros then talked about women’s health. She shared stories of a 24-year-old with 12 kids (first kid at 13), and a 15-year-old with 3 kids. May-i flew back to Manila right after her talk to attend what would be the historical third reading of the Reproductive Health Bill at the Senate and House of Representatives.
Xiao Chua capped Day 1 with a lecture entitled “Learning From Our Heroes.” He revealed parts of our history that our Araling Pilipino teachers never told us, from photos of Rizal playing dress-up with his friends to etymologies of words that bring new and rich layers to our heritage. I am certain that if all Filipinos had him as their teacher, we would have a deeper appreciation of our past and a clearer direction to our future.
I missed most of Day 2’s speakers because THE Eve Ensler happened to be in the auditorium across NYDS. Eve Ensler is one of my heroes; I’ve read the Vagina Monologues, I’ve seen it on stage, and I’ve seen her TED talks.
Eve stood behind the podium and spoke with no PowerPoint presentation, no props, no fancy clothing — just her and her message to end violence against women and girls around the world. She spoke about her beginnings as an abused child. In her experience, her heart and spirit broke wide and far enough to let more love to enter. Isn’t that a beautiful thought? The overwhelming stories of resilience and hope from the women and men she has met through the V-journey continue to break her and heal her.
Eve briefly discussed how recent events made her think about violence and what caused people to commit acts of violence. She pointed out that violence made her think of love “and how scary it is.” She adds, “The only thing that moves us forward is love. That is the only antidote to violence.” She invited us to open ourselves to love. Eve also congratulated the country for the RH Bill and stated, “The women’s movement in the Philippines is one of the best in the world.”
I went back to the NYDS in time for Mae Paner’s (a.k.a. Juana Change) talk, the last of Day 2. I first watched her in the rally for the National Artists years ago. “Kung may gusto kayong baguhin, kailangan kaya niyo silang banggain,” she declared. Mae also stressed the importance of recognizing one’s weaknesses and finding ways to engage the good and bad sides for constructive change.
Halfway through the year, I started questioning the value of giving talks. I would have 4-6 speaking engagements a month and started to feel burned out. “It’s not like the audience members will actually remember anything I say and DO anything after this,” I thought. From July onwards, I decided to focus on projects in Cebu and Palawan and accept only one invitation a month.
During Xiao’s talk, he compared inspiration to a candle. If a candle fails to pass on the light, it won’t be able to draw a flame from another candle and reignite. He said we had to keep lighting candles and passing on the inspiration, so when our light dims, we can rekindle it. That’s exactly what the NYDS did to me – rekindle my sometimes dimming positivity.
It’s a great time to be alive, lovers. It’s an even greater time to be a Filipino in the Philippines. Let’s set our souls on fire 🙂
Annalysis 