A LETTER FROM YOUR SOCIOLOGICAL SELF

Hi future self! I hope you are still very much alive to be able to read this e-mail. Perhaps now you fully understand why Teacher Aireen was always reminding you not to die yet. I hope that you are now giving back to the country by serving the people through your profession, in the path you chose to take. I am really hoping that you are applying the learnings you had in college, perhaps you are not able to remember everything already, but I am here now to remind you about a class you have taken in the 2nd Semester of your 2nd year in UP Diliman. Know that at this point in time, you have just concluded Sociology 11, the subject that has equipped you with the sociological imagination that enables you to see beyond the situations that people experience, and most importantly, enables you to recognize the taken for granted realities that equally deserve to be recognized and studied. You must always remember that the different social realities you experience now can be part of a bigger problem, or might even a cause of more issues, and in order for you to see, you must be able to use the sociological imagination in connecting them to wider schemes. As much as I would like to refresh you with the readings you tried your best to understand, the reports you did, and the situations you have analyzed, I would prefer that you take time to observe where you are right now, what has been happening, and try to know what has shaped your life and the nation at present. You may say that a lot of things already has changed in your life, in the society, but the power of the sociological imagination will still hold true and will help you better understand the social realities of your time. I hope that you are still, and perhaps have grown more socially aware through the schooling you have gained from UP and the education from the experiences you have had from your social interactions, in various contexts (and that you still know the difference between education and schooling). Always remember that the way things are at present, especially in our society, did not come to be how it is now out of nothing, nor because of magic or divine prowess, but rather they have explanations, reasons, and in your searching for answers, you have learned that you must not be disappointed if you are left with more questions because in the process, you have learned, and you have indeed stood up to the challenge. These questions that continuously appear and bother you, are not meant to be put to the side and taken for granted, because these are the questions that make your life worth living, as they give you a sense of purpose, a sense of curiosity of things that I hope would push you and not only choose to settle and forego. In Socio 11, you have been taught to challenge existing ideals, structures, and long-held belief on things, and this is something that you must still ought to do, not only because you've been told to do so, but because society needs people who do not just conform, and you must remember and help other people realize that they have the capacity to see things differently, and that there are other ways a situation can be seen. Just like the way you have analyzed the complexities of our justice system in your report, and in the debate you had that challenged the concept of prisons, understanding the different factors affecting the life of the inmates in prison. These are just examples of the times in class where you have been introduced, and you yourself introduced your mind to a new perspective, and I believe that you can still do so today, as you (hopefully) have grown wiser throughout the days experiencing how is it to live, and seeing how other people live in the social world you are in at present. Here’s a quote you’ve learned from class, by Marcel Proust “I think that life would suddenly seem wonderful to us if we were threatened to die as you say. Just think of how many projects, travels, love affairs, studies, it–our life–hides from us, made invisible by our laziness which, certain of a future, delays them incessantly.” Indeed, there are still many things that hides from us, and this is one reason why you must never stop questioning. There is more to life than what it seems. Keep asking questions. ALWAYS REMEMBER, DO NOT DIE YET. There is a whole lot of work to do (Andal to Socio 11 THX, 2015) :) Nagmamahal, Andre.