A few weeks ago, the world wept. We wept for women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community and every other group that’s neither white nor male. Our collective anguish was palpable at every corner of every room. As we process this terrible turn of events, I hope against all hope that you and I don’t lose hope. Cry if you have to. Break things. Go to a dojang and punch your pain away. But please do not give up the fight.
This is exactly the time where we must not back down.
Trust me, I know it’s not easy. It has never been. These days, it’s even harder. Some days, I wake up feeling like there really is no point because nothing is actually changing. Nothing will ever change. People in power will continue to be in power. Women will keep fighting for the same few seats we have at the table. Wars will continue on. The world will eventually collapse. End of story. Doomsday. Yay.
This is when I spiral down the barrel of sorrow and my mental health takes a plunge. As I listen to Tablo’s "Thank You For Breathing" while I desperately come up for air, I am inspired to pen some of the things I do to keep the fire burning. Because the truth is, we may lose the battle, but we can always, always win the war.
Feel your pain. Remember it. Use it as fuel. 2 years ago, this very thing happened to us, Filipinos. We had a promising leader, one who loved to serve, lead, and watch k-dramas — a true unicorn, if you ask me. We all rallied behind her, giving up weekends, nights, and days after work, to fuel her campaign with our sweat, and skills. She lost—miserably. I kid you not, it felt like being dumped by my soulmate. But that also inspired so much action from many of us. We saw that, big or small, every action counts. Weeks later, we all got up and went outside to find good things to do because it was such a revelation just how fucked up the world was. I personally started writing again — penning thoughts to shed light on issues, to inspire more activism, and to just not feel helpless. Eventually, the pain subsides.
It’s okay to take a break. There will be moments in our lives where we will be too tired to do anything for anyone but ourselves — after a breakup, or a disappointing election, recovering from burnout, or just god damn sick and tired of it all. Again, the reason doesn’t matter because you can’t give what you don’t have so take all the time you need to recover the best of you so you can give your best to the people around you. The world needs you, my friend.
You must know that you will feel like a fraud. You will question your intentions. You will question your expertise (or lack thereof) about the causes you want to champion. Worse, you will remember all the bad names you’ve been called before. But at the end of the day, none of those things matter. All it matters is someone somewhere needs help and you are willing to give it. The world is still better because you’re in it. Case closed. Periodt.
photo credits: unsplash.com. click! click! You don’t need to know everything to make the first step because, big or small, every bit of help counts. The world is too messed up to even measure. Some seasons of my life, I can dedicate time and talent such as during VP Lena’s Presidential bid in 2022. Thank god my workload wasn’t so heavy and I had the energy to function as an overseas researcher to help her overseas campaign messaging. My friend and I spent Sundays interviewing voters, processing data, and drafting communications recommendations. But if you really ask me, my favourite kind of volunteering is the boring-sorting-of-goods-for-donations-stuff because it doesn’t require much talking and thinking. At first, this feels like shortchanging the world but in hindsight these activities are just as valuable as the big ones because again, big or small, every bit of help counts. Do what is sustainable for you because you cannot give from an empty tank.
that #awkwardmoment when we actually zoomed with the VP while campaigning for her in HK Find your people. Surround yourself with people who share the same passion for your cause. When the going gets tough, you will lift each other up. They don't have to be physically around you. These days, there are podcasts, artists, and shows created by people championing your cause. BTS speaks about self-love and mental health at a time where sufferers continue to be ostracised for not being able to handle the pressures of the world. In sports, I look up to Megan Rapinoe’s conviction for causes “outside her scope” in her book “One Life” and her podcast “A Touch More”. Look around you and you will find that playbooks have already been written by equally passionate people to help get you through obstacles as you fight for what you believe in. Find these people when your tank is running low. They will remind you that you are not alone and cheer you on.
when women come together, we find hope. click to know more. When the path gets blurry, your beliefs will give you clarity. As I grow into my role in the corporate world, I am slowly learning that the world is more gray than black and white, more ombre than solid hues. Navigating this gradience is where it gets tricky. Up to which point can I tolerate today to achieve the change I want to see in the future? How long is this long game? Where does it even end? How far is too far? All of these questions will be answered by clarifying what you believe in and how you envision to change the world, or your own little world. Because let’s face it, the world is too big for us to change in one go. But we can always start small, inspiring change around what we can directly impact — our relationships, our communities, our industries.
she may be our one that got away but a wise woman once said, "hangga't may kabutihan, hangga't may pag-ibig, liwanag ang mananaig" (Rosas by Nica Del Rosario) Activism is lived, not staged. More than the instagrammable moments — the rescuing, the volunteering, and all the cool things that come with fighting for something — it is in the battles of the everyday where your mettle is tested. It’s choosing to be fair even when no one is watching. It’s making sure no one gets mistreated anymore. It’s protecting the people under your care from the injustices you’ve suffered when it’s so much easier to just go with the flow. This is what it means to truly fight for what you believe in.
Hate to break it to you, my friend, but activism has a price. It’s expensive actually. Fighting for a colleague’s fair compensation can sometimes mean having to boycott a foreign exchange program meant to reward you because you refuse to celebrate a system that takes advantage of people who don’t have the means to fight for themselves. Even worse, it can cost you your hard-earned promotion. Countless hours of overtime, sleepless nights rushing proposals, and missed meals can all go down the drain just because you’ve decided to blow the whistle on a bully. But at the end of the day, will you really be able to sleep at night knowing that you have traded your values for something as arbitrary as a promotion? By the time you’re on top, what will then be left of you?
Too many questions too hard to answer. Too many naysayers. But there's hope. For as long as we continue to get up every morning to put up the good fight, there always will be.
BONUS: In relation to feeling like a do-gooder fraud which keeps many of us from fighting for causes we care about, the truth is, the world is too fucked up to even care about your moral compass, religious identity (or lack thereof), or how much you used to steal from your mom's wallet when you were 15.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO IDENTIFY AS A GOOD PERSON TO DO A GOOD THING.
Not gonna lie, this has bothered me so much that this piece almost didn't make it here. If it weren't for the unfortunate turn of events early this month, this piece would've just been saved in drafts in perpetuity.
I never wanted to identify as a Mother Teresa because if you've ever been in a fight with me, you would be the first to say I can unleash holy hell on anyone. All I know is that my heart breaks for suffering. Newsflash: Both can be true at the same time. I urge you to not give a flying fuck to anyone that tells you otherwise. You can be mean and still care. Heck, you can even identify as "just a bored bloke" and volunteer at a shelter on a Saturday. Because it really is not about you. It's about the millions of people and causes that need your help in whatever form or shape they may be.
If you made it here, then you must care. So in appreciation for your precious time, allow me to share some of the things you can do to warm those activist muscles up:
for all the girl's girls. click. click. 
if you're up at ungodly hours of the night, click. click. 
to all the gays i've loved before. click. click. 
there's hope for you, babe. click. click. Photo credits:
Photo by Kate Stone Matheson on Unsplash
Photo by Vlad Melnikov on Unsplash
Photo by Dean Enkelaar on Unsplash
Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash
P.S. Except for the animal shelter, Your Girl has worked with these organizations before so you're in good hands.
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