By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
The zeal of youth can always help push young people in exceeding peoples’ expectations. Their energy is seemingly bottomless, to the point of them staying up till 4 in the morning, and they would have no problem getting to school on time later on. When they play sports they won’t need much rest. And to pair up with their enormous pool of energy is an unquenching curiosity.
The youth’s passion is always growing and sometimes they just need an outlet to release it onto. Which is why its so important for many young people to be properly guided. Too easily can a hopeful youth with great eagerness, be manipulated. But with the right influence around them, a youth can use their vigour to help them achieve good things.
As I ventured outside of Benguet, I saw more of what this country looked like and tasted for the first time what college was like in UP Los Baños.
Those two seemingly made for the perfect ingredients for a bit of radicalism to grow and I found activism to be the perfect outlet for my youthful zeal.
The lessons I learned in my first year in college has always stuck with me, like the memory of that first crush, even after transferring here in UC.
Even if the overall attitude towards activism here is different, I was always an advocate for it. And had an outlook of achieving change.
But overtime, I noticed, how could I advocate for activism if I would still hesitate to stand up against completely irrational teachers. In my reflections, I could notice the hypocrisy in my own actions. Ones that infected the ideals that I have picked up over the years and went against what I thought my outlook was. Because I remember learning about standing up against tyrants not pleasing them for the sake of saving my own skin or being passive and just staying on the sidelines.
A lot of people have good in their heads and hearts but fail to deliver them outside to reality. Or they may think good things but do the opposite. Ideals simply fade without action. And hypocrisy in our actions crumble any grandiose noble ideals we have in our heads.
For my own ideals to be completely cemented and for me to feel better about my self, I still need to do the deeds in line with my beliefs, especially those that seem hard to do and take courage and boldness.
The elimination of hypocrisy, if I do accomplish it, then perhaps comes the time I can walk straighter, my chest puffed up more, and sleep without worries at night.**
