Good Riddance

When I was in high school, and about to graduate, people and teachers were telling me and my batch mates that it’s different in college. They say that there are a lot of new experiences that we’ll encounter there. There are a lot of different people there. When I got to college, though warned, things still shocked me. Things were unimaginable and unimaginable things still come to me even now. Close friends backstab each other. Girls disparage their body and have unrighteous sex with lots of casual or unworthy persons. People, you thought are your friends, pull you down or use you. People are antagonistic to others who are actually just trying to be good. People choose the bad from good just to be accepted, or to be happy for a while. But you know what I think the worse is? The worse is we accept these things! A lot of us choose to be nonchalant about these issues. We even get to have the foolishness to find reasons to get along with these things. Guys, we must find reasons to stop these things, not the other way around. Or, if you think you can’t do anything anymore, at least get away, instead of tolerating bad things to happen. I remember Atty. Evidente, my attorney professor, who shouted and was scolding one of my classmates who cheated with his assignment. Such berate was quite questionable for me until the professor told us his side. He said that he is working for a senator and he just sees a lot of extremely bad things there in the government. He then told us that he really hates the behavior of the student he scolded, ‘coz in such small behavior the “extremely bad” things arise. After the class and even now the moment makes me smile, thankful that such professor exists. But then again, we don’t need to have professor like Atty. Evidente to change us. We don’t have to be professors to help stop bad things from happening. We just have to focus on ourselves and what God is telling us and not focus on our own understanding. Let us live for Him, not for the people around us. Don’t live in purpose to be happy, but live in purpose to be happy with Him. Let us strive to be accepted in the place He has for us, not strive to be accepted by people around us. Besides, in striving to be accepted in God’s place, you get to see who really accepts you...even bring forth people who will really value you. It is not easy. It really isn’t. Nevertheless, we can always find reason and strength every time we falter. Just go back to the “reason” why you are trying to stop bad things… to the “reason” why you are trying to do good. To end this article, I’d like to share the sermon I heard last Sunday that helps all of us in doing what’s good and not tolerating what’s bad. Fr. Nilo Mangusad, vice rector of Our Lady of EDSA Shrine, started asking who among us prays before his meal in a public place, like in a mall. A lot chuckled. He said that we, at times, find it hard to do good things. At times, we find it hard to practice His words. This is mainly because of fear: fear of what others might say; fear of rejection, maybe; fear of all sort of things. We must all strengthen our relationship with the Lord, he said. And so, after all, what else can we be afraid of if we are strong with the Lord.