I never thought that writing this piece would be such a pressure for me. Modesty aside, I usually could just write my thoughts out with ease, but with the fact that this will be my first article published under UST and its Sociological Society as well, it was hard not to be pressured, especially because this is about writing in AND about new territory---the newest experience, the newest chapter that I have unfolded in the canvas of life.
To be honest, I wasn’t really that much aware of Sociology at first, mainly because I didn’t know such a course existed in UST. Having a number of story concepts of which some I have already written, I wanted to take up Communication Arts for the purpose of being able to write for the media---to be able to change the flaws in Philippine media, which greatly contributes to our society, and to be honest, these days its contributing badly, with either biased or fake news all around and unintelligent TV shows which could actually be done better. Passing Communication Arts in UST was something I had achieved, but when I found out about a Sociology course in UST around the time I passed CA, I then realized that I want to do more than just be someone in the media, and I realized that in Sociology, there is more that I can do than just help society with the things that I write, although Sociology could help in an in-depth study of society in order for me to be able to incorporate a realistic and grounded approach in the themes of my stories as well. Because of my strong desire to be able to help our society in a much more hands-on way while being able to still keep my craft as a writer in check on the side as a possible part-time job I can still be successful with, I lobbied for myself to be able to get into Sociology in UST, and after a few days of official enrollment in Communication Arts last June, I was finally allowed to shift into Sociology even before classes began.
During my first few days with my fellow Freshie blockmates in Sociology, I was able to witness the minds of such great people at work, thus making me feel glad and honored that I am deemed worthy enough to be part of this roster. As I formed new relationships with people, I slowly felt a little bit more of the home that I expected to feel at first.
I came into Sociology and literally into the Arch of the Centuries not expecting much for myself, as I conditioned myself to just let things go with the flow in college----fortunately for me, the first of flows was overwhelming in such a good way. Come to think of it, I’m already an EA for the Editorial Committee of USTSS! I know that with this flow, in those that are to come and in those that I am to create, there will be more tasks and opportunities to accomplish, and of course, I’ll do everything in my power to be able to achieve a lot, not just for myself, but for the Filipino as well. Why?
You see, the Philippines, like life itself, is a canvas---the very own canvas of the Filipino people. Filipino society is multi-cultural and made up of different kinds of people from different social statuses with a lot to offer, and to me, this is the right ingredient for a colorful palette of people capable of painting a bright and vibrant image of our country into the public conscious. For decades, however, we have been struggling with an arguably bleak image because we fail to fully understand our own society in such a way that, like paint colors mixed improperly, we also fail to mix the different elements of our society. Failure to do so brings forth the rule of poverty, corruption, hatred, indifference, and violence in our land. It paints a distorted picture of ourselves towards the public eye. This, I believe, is the reason why people need to understand society better…. people need to open their eyes and see the ‘now’ and the ‘what’ in our society in order to be able to love it and our country just as much or even more than we can love ourselves.
I know that I still have a long way to go, but I also know for a fact that no matter what, Sociology will be something that will motivate me and guide me, as it will help determine the future that I have. Through all that one must go through in Sociology, all that we should think of is the hope of a better tomorrow for the Philippines, and we in Sociology are the instruments in helping people understand that and to know just how much we can do together as a collective and singular society working together towards greatness.
By Manuel Fernando M. Fernandez
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