When is enough, enough?

jhay — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:06:17 +0000

Here I am again breaking the super-extended blogging hiatus forced upon me by my off-line engagements. School is just a part of it, the part that cannot be compromised and really blamed for my blogging absence.

So what’s the culprit? My extra-curricular activities!

In school, I’m actively involved in 4 organizations;

SERVE Volunteers – The student volunteer organization of the De La Salle University – DasmariÃ±as directly under the Lasallian Community Development Center. Community service and development, medical missions, education services, para-legal services, youth formation, environmental and socio-political advocacy are among the things that we do as SERVE Volunteers.

Socio-political advocacy is my specialty and has been my job at the volunteers’ since I joined this awesome group of Lasallians almost two years ago. I coordinated and organized round-table discussions, mobilizations and information campaigns ranging from the “Hello, Garci” scandal up to the Subic Rape Case and even the controversial JPEPA agreement. I’ve climbed up the ranks and since I’m among the few active senior volunteers, the rest have graduated, I have a feeling I’ll be chosen as the group’s formal leader come tomorrow’s general assembly and election.

SENTRO Political Party – This is amongst my newest involvements, I officially joined the party last March when I was elected to be its Secretary-General. A gargantuan task especially during the campaign and post-election period. I never knew campus politics in La Salle DasmariÃ±as were almost exactly like the local politics outside the school.

As Secretary-General, my job is to keep the party alive by recruiting members and be well-prepared for the coming elections logistically and ideologically. The latter being the hardest given that campus politics in DLSU-D has been the game of those who want to fatten their resumes while genuine student service is but a lip-service. The following months will be long and tough.

Vox La Salle Debating Society – this I co-founded with two good friends of mine, Jackner Borja, now CLASC President and Clemen Tuala, a Pol-Sci graduate now a Med-Rep for pharmaceutical company. The debate society was envisioned to revive the active culture of debate and discussion that once flourished in DLSU-D. Or so they say, still, the cause is noble and what the heck, I might as well join in since I’ve always been the one who’s always at odds with almost any one else.

Lasallian Students for Justice & Peace – under the leadership and initiative of University Student Council President Joymay Amihan, the USC has formed a dedicated committee for advocacy and social awareness named the “Lasallian Students for Justice & Peace” with yours truly as the committee head.

The task of the LSJP is to get rid of the appalling passivity and apathy so prevalent among the students of DLSU-D. Many organizations and student governments have gone and passed by with this goal at hand, so far none has succeeded. Would we do it? Time will tell…

Have you joined me in counting those organizations? The latest count is four isn’t it? By latest count I mean there’s more. Aside from in-campus involvements, outside of the school, I’m quite engaged as well. Engaged in other similar organizations, and here they are…

Sining Bayan – this by far is the oldest organization I’ve been with. I co-founded it about 6 years ago right after graduating from college and long before I ever got hooked into blogging and worshiped Google and consumed RSS feeds right after getting up from bed.

Sining Bayan is a socio-cultural youth organization aimed to train the youth in the various fields of the arts and inculcate in them a sense of nationalism and pride in Filipino culture. Our kind of art strives to advance Filipino culture, that’s why we carry the tunes and music of Joey Ayala, Gary Granada, Noel Cabangon and Buklod, Bayang Barrios and the so-called alternative art. All we are aiming for, it to contribute to the meaningful change of society, a society that will be as the great Ka Pepe Diokno once said, “a nation for our children.”

Municipal Youth Development Council – Silang – This is the newest organization I have to think about, a lot. Because just this last June 23, at the 2nd Youth Congress of Silang, Cavite; I was elected to be its Presiding Officer, another enormous task as the MYDCS is the umbrella organization of all the youth organizations in Silang. In that same congress that elected me, 22 youth organizations representing almost 2,000 youth of Silang were present.

In the next 12 months, the pressure and weight of such an enormous responsibility will rest on my shoulders. My friends and family would say I’m nuts, even suicidal since I took on these responsibilities.

Now add to this my academic load, plus this, my online engagements. I’m nuts ain’t I?

But just like always, I’d say to them as I will to those who will say or ask the same thing, I do this because I want to. I want to because I don’t want my time to just idle away while there’s so much I could do. Life is too short to be spent on self-serving endeavors.

All I have to do is put into practice some serious time-management tricks and tips that will make the most of my very unlimited time. Keeping this lifestyle is really a balancing act. Pray that I’ll walk away from all this with sanity intact.

I have gifts, talents, experience and knowledge to be shared to the world knowing that in return, new experiences, lessons, wisdom, friends and enemies would come my way. I say again, bring it on.

The Four-eyed Journal » Organizations

When is enough, enough?