An Entry on July 6th, 1989

By: Althea Kaith Fernandez , June 19, 2025

Committed to nurturing the holistic growth of their students, STI College holds annual and nationwide competitions in various aspects. From sports tournaments, talent showdowns, pageantry, and to academic endeavors, students are given various avenues to showcase their skills and passions.

One of the competitions is the STI Tagisan ng Talino’s Essay Does It, an essay writing competition where the best student writers from all STI campuses gather to produce the most substantial and moving essays.

 

 

In School Year 2024-2025, here is how the National Champion from STI College Cubao, Althea Kaith Fernandez, responded to the prompt:

With the advent of social media, opinions and beliefs are more divided than ever. An effect of this is the rise of culture wars that affect minority groups in society; minority groups that are often unheard, or at worst, voiceless.

Thus, the question is:

How can you explicitly impact an undeserved community you are not necessarily a part of?

 

An Entry on July 6th, 1989

          The sun smiled brightly among the infrastructures of Metro Manila, when I found myself drenched in a pool of nervousness. The clock read 7:05 am, its irritable tick hammering through the veins in my ear, elevating the anxiety I found myself in. The classroom was slowly filling itself up with students—who I knew by looking at their ill-lit faces, were just as drenched in fear, discomfort, and uncertainty. I gawked around the neutral hues of our classroom, familiarizing myself with the novel faces I am surrounded with. Everyone was different, and surprisingly, I found myself comfortable.

          A girl just by the window was pampering herself with heaps of cosmetics, painting her cheeks with various shades of red. A boy just right behind her was browsing a rather advanced book of mathematics: his eyes carefully digesting its contents. Just as I was about to digest another novel individual, a familiar screech echoing through the room diverted my attention, my eyes now fixed against another set of students entering the door. My eyes followed along a set of boys that they were mimicking the moves of their favorite basketball players. The horrid friction of their rubber shoes against the polished concrete flooring rung against the walls of our classroom.

          "Mawalang galang na po, may naiistorbo po kasi kayo eh". A girl with a profound aura spoke. To a 14 year old child, she seemed as though bossy, as her orotund voice halted the childish activity of the other students. She wore a pair of slacks, and a rather formal attire. "Ay, president na toh," another student from the back of the classroom chimed in. The discomfort I was met with earlier, slowly faded into tranquility, as I managed to stare at my classmates in awe, acknowledging the beauty of their individuality. This marked the last entry of my mother's teenage journal, on July 6th 1989.

          In my 16 years of living, there was one thing I was certain of: Life is a dynamic journey. It is given that as we venture through the challenges in life, we meet people who possess multifolds of uniqueness. We meet people who we are alike with, and people who are much different than us—for it is in the nature of human beings to be changing and unique. My mother always liked to believe that it was through our uniqueness that we are unified. She always nurtured me with the idea that when people come together, it is to utilize the uniqueness of their individuality to achieve a certain goal.

          A great philosopher once said: no man is an island. Collectively, human beings are driven by their desire to survive, and it is only through teamwork that people may find a safe haven to reside in. Through this teamwork, people are able to showcase their unique abilites, ideas, and talents that contribute to the progression of mankind. These traits are our individualities. It is what makes us an individual, and what makes us different from the rest. To put things frankly, our individuality is what makes us, us.

          Amidst the novelty of our society, people are often ashamed of being different. With the deceiving ability of social media to dictate people's life, the youth are hypnotized into following the world's current, rendering them blended and untrue. People are so invested into being like the rest, that they mask themselves inside the skin of another, painting themselves into a socially constructed persona. They hide themselves behind the shame of being different, yet what they don't realize is that, their uniqueness is beneficial. Their individuality is what keeps the society running! Their diverse interest is what unifies humanity. Their character is the building block of success.

          As a student, I too have fallen short into the temptation of masking myself in the skin of another, for in myself, I found no use. I thought that the difference of my characteristics would be of no contribution to the society, and would only render myself embarrassed and unuseful. It was embedded in my 13-year-old brain that the unique abilities I possessed was only worthy of laughter and shame. However, as my knowledge grew alongside society, I found that it is by my individuality that I am beneficial. I discovered that it is by my ability to be unique that I contribute, not only to the people around me, but also to the society I live in.

          My mother was a testament to the contents of which I wrote. She witnessed the capacity of the unique abilities the she and her classmate possessed, and how it contributed greatly to our growing economy. The girl who she knew loved cosmetics, now owned a beauty line, earning lots of money and contributing well to our economy's market. The boy she knew who developed a strong fondness for mathematics was now an engineer, helping society with the advancements of its infrastructures. The men who she knew had a deep obsession with basketball, now were famous athletes, competing against other teams at regional championships. The girl she perceived as bossy yet profound, was now a manager inside a growing company. Lastly, her daughter, who always perceived herself as unworthy, is now writing this essay, competing alongside other National Competitors, contributing to the wellness of our society.

          Our ability to be different does not put our character to shame. Our profound uniquenes is not something to hide, rather, something to be proud of. It is something to exercise, and something to fully utilize in order to contribute to our society. Now, as I write this essay, I am encouraging you to embrace your individuality, for it is in your differences that you are rendered useful. It is by your unique traits that you are made a person of character. Venture through different fields with your treasured possession, so that you may find yourself alongside with other unique individuals, building a strong foundation for our society. Live your life free of shame, so that you may find yourself and others inside a sense of unity! Lastly, embrace your individuality, so that you may find yourself in tranquility, like my mother in her entry on July 6th, 1989.