Onto her liberty of truth - a photo essay

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Onto her liberty of truth

by Joshua Usigan and Rodelin Ponce

Chit Estella Journalism Arwardee: 2nd Best in Photo Essay and Special Commendation from the jury

Philippine Journalism Research Conference 2023

held at University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City

"In reality, all I wanted is to write, and journalism reminds me of my true passion, where I feel most genuine to myself and get to live my dream," lucidly told by an identity nomad. Angel Columna, 18, an overachiever with active roles in their school, has to be known as someone who chose to lead her school publication even if it means disapproval from his "baba", a term she expressed for her father.

Her dad wants a different path for her. This stems from why she struggles to determine whom she is supposed to be. She always takes note of how to please her parent.

More than a few young Muslim women have bypassed the drama in recent years by leaning into their family's traditions of arranged marriage. For some, it's a matter of faith. For others, it's just plain practical. But Angel desires neither of them. She couldn't subscribe to her religion's stereotype that ladies pick to settle down over pursuing their dreams.

So, she became hell-bent on proving to his baba that she was more to that custom. She tried different scholarships, joined different school organizations, aced her academics consistently, and even became the Supreme Student Government President of Naval National High School, a public institute in Biliran island.

She enjoys the size of a father's suptport, but sometimes it pulls the trigger of her breakdowns. Having been told, "That's your fault" when she runs her problems to him. For the young girl, she just needed someone to talk. Wherefore, she learned to hide her emotional points.

Generation Z is the loneliest generation, a significant study reported. A thing Angel couldn't disagree with. There were times that she really didn't know whom to talk with; there is the unbearable weight of what she felt in her bones, her forest gets dark, the trees are sad and all the butterflies have broken wings. Good thing, she came across their guidance counselor’s office, which then plays a colossal role in expressing her mental state. How school guidance counseling should delineate.

Moreover, "In between family's approval or treading own path, I chose to live my personal dream. Because, with it, I won't be separated from them, in contrast, if I chose to get married," she asserted. Although family issues are present, the negative atmosphere at home is suffocating her, being surrounded by her stepfamily who serves to bring her down, she'd stay on course to feed parts of her younger self who lost a complete family figure by her mother's passing when she was 9. What we would resist for a family picture?

Caterwauling in her reflection is how a toxic environment radiates into us. During the peak of pandemic lockdowns when she was zoned to the gloomy everyday scene, she capitulated on developing trust and anger issues out from it. Which she came to project upon socializing.

Consequently, she would prefer her life in school than at the home. Especially, with the rebirth of her school's publication. Amid the tunnel of fulfilling multiple responsibilities already, she went straightway to unlock this door because as she quipped, "This is the dream!"

As a Muslim, her religion didn't become an issue. Although during her first few years in secondary school, she wasn't fully socially accepted. She felt that if she wasn't able to join different school clubs and wasn't performing back then, she wouldn't be accepted by other people. "I got to prove to myself that I'm not worthy of being treated as trash because I have my own skills, I can make my own life," Angel affirmed.

On pre-pandemic, Angel has been offered to join the publication but with his baba's advice "You cannot worship two Gods at once," she didn't go through. But now, with a lump of courage and love, she's doing that "most dangerous thing" serving the campus as the publication Editor-in-Chief.

No one can say that her journey to campus journalism has been easy. Yes, it was a smooth entrance given her immense intelligence, but the decision to get there has been rough. She had to convince her father's approval. While she could not make head or tail of how is this validation going up to now, she'll go to a do-or-die for that.

"Ang akong papa ang rason ngano gi-ayo nako tanan, ngano ganahan ko mu-excel (My daddy is the reason why I do things in great, why I wanted to excel," she said.

In this season of press conferences comeback, their preparations revealed how lack of confidence and self-doubts ruin student journalists’ roles and performance. This might be one of the post-pandemic aftermaths to school publications and student journalists — incompetency after dysfunction.

Angel likewise expressed how school competencies became strenuous where students are having troublesome on acting like 21st-century students. Hence, the members of the school publication lack time to fulfilling their work and purpose. For this reason, the Department of Education (DepEd) K-12 curriculum revision on its congested learning competencies with high cognitive demands, should be invigorated the soonest.

This life story of a Muslim high school student and her various truths are representations of Gen Z's reality. (1) We need to prove ourselves before we get accepted. (2) Gets blamed for standing up for ourselves. (3) Are family pleaser, and yet (4) Empowered to gravitate toward making own decisions. Somehow, we are all like 'Angel'.

Her liberty remains authentic to herself, onto her liberty of truth.

A cherished moment frozen in time. Angel shows a photo of her Baba that brings back floods of beautiful memories.

Much clearer than the lens of her eyeglasses, is her aspiration to make it her way. Angel dreams to do what makes her happy.

The EIC and the adviser in co-leading the practice of journalism on their campus.

Angel, along with the other members of the Editorial Board

Handwritten notes of a young truth-defender. Papers that are about to tell the tale.

On a mission to revitalize the student journalists’ knowledge of different journalism disciplines, they were trained by members of the lone official tertiary student publication in the province.