Reflection Paper 3: My Passion - by Rony Cabuyadao

Reflection Paper 3:  My Passion

by Rony Cabuyadao

 

What is your passion?  What is it that you love doing?

How is it reflected in your work, daily life, and life's journey?

            I have always been a nature lover; I enjoy and appreciate the beauty of nature.  When I take photographs, natural landscape is one my favorite subjects.  I was born and raised in the countryside and our surroundings then were trees, shrubs, farm fields, hills and plateaus.  When we were young, we used to play outdoors a lot and we're closer to nature.

            It is no surprise that my passion revolves around nature, wildlife, the environment and planet earth.  They are inter-related to one another, so it's difficult to choose only one or two of them.  Although I have other passions in life, like photography, travel and tennis, my greatest passion is about the conservation and protection of nature and its resources, wildlife, the environment and our home planet.

            In recent years, there have been a lot of studies and documentaries depicting the alarming state of the environment, our depleting natural resources, changing and unpredictable weather patterns and other issues that our environment and planet are facing nowadays.  These are caused primarily by the direct impact and by-products of human activities and for the sake of so-called development.  There have also been a lot of dialogues and initiatives that were started by government and non-government organizations to address the pressing issues related to our environment and planet earth, either at the national level or global scale, even involving the large and powerful nations of the world, who oftentimes have much greater impact to the environment.  But, as individuals, we can do our own share and take part in the bigger movement to help protect the environment and the planet.  And, that's where I am passionate about.  I love doing them, and they have become part of my way of life and daily routines.  Here are some of them:

Water conservation.  My passion for water conservation was influenced by my real-life experience during my earlier years.  Back in the days, we don't have readily-available water from faucets and pipes.  The water we need - for cooking, drinking, bathing, washing, cleaning among others, had to be sourced from an open deep well and a hand-pump deep well, about half-kilometer away.  I used to carry on my shoulder two buckets with about 12 to 20 liters of water on each bucket, using a small plank to balance the weight of my water load.  In a given day, I had to make about 3 to 5 trips.  It was really difficult then, especially during summer when the open deep well would run dry.  Water resource then was very precious, so we were trained to use and conserve water supply at an early age.

To this day, even with the availability of water by simply turning the valve of the faucet, I still practice the proper usage of water.  Here's a sample way on how I help in the conservation of water resources among others.  I usually wash my clothes by batch.  On the second and third rinse water of the wash load, I normally use the rinse water to pre-wash the next batch of wash load to remove the dirt before the main wash cycle.  Then, I repeat the process if I have more than two batches of wash loads.  The rinse water can also be used in other ways like to wash rugs or car, to clean the bathroom or garage, to water the plants among others.  So, it's not surprising that when my water bill arrives, I didn't even consume the minimum water usage, and I just have to pay the minimum amount due.

            Energy conservation.  Energy conservation is also another thing that I am passionate about, or it almost becomes an obsession.  Conserving energy does not only help reduce carbon footprint, but it also helps lower my electricity bills.  I switch-off the lights when they are not in use, or I don't use them when there is natural light.  Simply pull aside the curtains and/or open the windows to have natural light during day time.  Also, I unplug appliances, except the refrigerator.  It's funny because, I think I already have a slight OCD on this one, as I need to double or triple check and confirm that the appliances are unplugged before I could leave the house.

Reuse and recycle.  Proper waste segregation is also a big deal for me.  I segregate those plastics and bottles from the non-biodegradable ones.  I collect and keep them, then sold them to those who are in the buying and selling of "junk".  Sometimes, I just simply give them away to those children who are scavenging for junk items. In this way, I am not only helping the environment, but also the less fortunate children.

            My advocacy.  In my call to arms speech last week, my specific advocacy is to reduce one's carbon footprint.  It was closely related to my passion.  In fact, those suggested ways that I have stated in my speech, I practice most of them.  They are practical, doable and anyone can replicate them with ease.

Posting my advocacy on my Facebook page.  I am not really fond of sharing and posting anything on my FB page.  At first, I was hesitant to share the blogsite's link of my speech because my personal and social media friends will see it and might think that I am a self-righteous person or nagmamarunong.  But, I told to myself, this is my advocacy and it should not be limited or confined only to those who are in the Leadership Class.  As the banner of the Ateneo Leadership blogsite says "What is learned in the classroom is shared with the rest of the world."  After second thoughts, I eventually clicked the "Post" button.  I do believe that the Facebook medium could reach more people, far and wide.  In sharing and posting my speech, I am not after the number of "Likes" that I might get.  For me, it is more important that those who have the chance to read it could actually put them into practice.  Many of those who have read and "Liked" the speech might not necessarily do any of those suggested ways, but if a single or a couple of individuals would actually do them, then my sharing and posting did not go in vain.

            On wildlife.  This is not actually my passion, but more of an advocacy, and I just want o share my personal view.  I am totally against those restaurants that put exotic animals or wildlife on their menus, more so if the species that are put on the menu are endangered.  We shall not patronize those restaurants, so they would eventually stop their practices.  I am saddened on why the Chinese culture would allow the killing of sharks just to have shark's fin soup, and the Japanese culture would allow the slaughtering of whales just to have their sashimi or sushi.  Locally, we have our own share of exploiting wildlife like pythons, monitor lizards, turtles, wild pigs, and wild deers among others, for the sake of exotic dishes to draw more customers.  I just hope the day will come that these inhumane practices would stop for good.

            Reflection.  As I contemplate on my call to arms speech and my passion, I came to realize that doing these things alone (just myself) is not good enough.  I need to share the things that I love to do and passionate about with others to have a bigger impact.  In the past week, I had the chance to share my advocacy to the Class, and later on this week to my FB friends.  I have become more vocal about my advocacy and passion.  Also, I become more open and consider the use of social media to aid spread my advocacy farther.  The Facebook medium or platform is far reaching and the boundaries are boundless, and it can potentially inspire more individuals to do their own share.  Lastly, the call to arms speech exercise and this reflection paper have bolstered my commitment to continue preserve and protect the environment and our lone home planet, and have empowered me to do more to spread the noble causes that are close to my heart.  3.5