“Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so we ask ourselves: Will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we were gone and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?”
Beautiful isn’t it? That’s the opening line for Troy.
Dear ______, fellow ______, let me tell you a story about someone who I need to get to know even more. A story about someone who I don’t even know how to begin with.
This is my opening line. Listen up...
9/21. Two numbers that marked its significance in our history. The month and the day when one nation received its most significant accomplishment yet.
No, that’s not its Independence Day. It’s my birthday. I was born on a Monday, yes! It also is the exact same date when Martial Law was declared in the country.
But who am I, you may ask.
To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t know.
All I know is that, I am scared. I am scared to know who I really am. I also am scared of not knowing what I may be.
Recently, I found myself contemplating on how to give my life meaning. How to live my life with a purpose. There must be something, you know. Have you ever had that kind of feeling? Have you ever had those kinds of thoughts? Do you sometimes just stare blankly into the ceiling and look for answers?
I have been living away from home for a total of almost 10 years now. I used to go home once in every year until this pandemic happened. The past couple of years have been really challenging. And so here I am, stuck!
What am I doing about it? Nothing. First of all, I live in a nation where English is not the primary language. They don’t read English. They don’t speak English. Even if I want to do volunteer work - to contribute, to make a difference, I’d be deemed useless. Again, I ask myself - Who am I? This is not who I am. This is not what I am supposed to be.
So many questions, right? And by surprise, another question seem to have found me an answer - What can I do? What can I do?!
And just like that, here I am sharing with you a project that was created out of all this mess. It’s a platform where people of all ages from all walks of life can participate. I founded a small and simple club I proudly call “Halo-Halo Open Mic Lab” - It’s an online performance platform that’s accessible to anyone who has the passion, the talent, and the skill to showcase what they can do, share what they know, and tell the community who they are in the process. It’s a safe place where they can sing their hearts out, dance like no one’s watching, read a story they’ve been longing to introduce, and perform like it’s the last day of their lives without any judgement. It’s a place where we communicate, connect, and feel alive despite the distance. More importantly, learn. Most important of all, believe! So far we have accumulated a total of 20 active participants from Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Once again, I ask. Will our names echo across the centuries? Maybe not.
Will strangers hear our names long after we were gone? Probably not.
Will strangers wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved? Perhaps not ever.
But, we can not let ourselves forget about us. We need to remember who we are. We need to know what we are made of. I made myself know and realize what I can do. I made myself remember, ME! I created an opportunity despite the difficulty.
I am success. I am a failure. I am a dreamer. I also am my own reality.
That’s my story and I continue to be a work in progress.
Everyone, My name is ____, born in the _____, raised around the world. Thank you very much for listening and I’m glad to be a part of today’s session. Back to you, ______ Cherry!
