sometime in july i joined other volunteers of rocked philippines in a one day visit to the bilibid maximum security prison in muntinlupa. the situation is not the prison break type as we all might expect. the only difference between this facility and your favorite baranggay in manila is the absence of women and children.
i had the chance to talk to some of the inmates as i was tasked to facilitate in an impromptu creative writing workshop. their stories pierced my heart like a chrome-plated arrow. they tell the stories straight, their words pouring out like the way we describe the heat in midsummer afternoons. but i didnt take it against them. i think they say it that way because of the magnitude of its truth. and sugar coating them is useless. i told them they should begin writing as they have all the time in the world and that their stories should not stop with them. the real triumph of having spent a life behind bars is to tell their stories, so that others may learn from them. and i felt bad telling them that. i knew i didnt have the right to preach.
i left the facility confused.
later that night i realized that my confusion came from the fact that i went into the facility thinking i was better than anyone inside, only to find out that im not a bit different from them. there i was in a sea of people who envy me for the freedom that i have: to see my family, to have an education, a career, a chance to change the world. and yet i complain about these things that they value the most. im a prisoner of the choices i made for myself, afraid to take a step out from the comforts that i have built.
i should be taking risks because im free.
the shawshank redemption (1994). i highly recommend this movie to anyone who are afraid to push themselves to the end. set yourselves free from your limits. i read this in one of my exams in college: if youre not living on the edge, youre taking up too much space. grab a glass of water towards the end of this movie, when morgan freeman walks along the beach towards tim robbins. and prepare a list of things to do before the year ends.
