ASLA: Defeat and Victory Share

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I applied in the Ateneo Student Leaders Assembly but, unfortunately, I wasn't accepted. Even though I wasn't accepted, it was really a great experience. As Theodore Roosevelt best said it, " Better to dare valiantly and fail than to have not tried and to be one of those timid souls who do not know neither victory nor defeat. Since I'm out in the application process, I would like to make good use of my "defeat" and share the essays I made on two ASLA essay questions. After all, I am a sore loser and with you being able to learn a bit of what I got to share is victory enough for me. Enjoy!


What was your most meaningful leadership experience?
The most meaningful leadership experience I had was when I was a NSTP team leader. That leadership experience staged the foundation of identifying who I am as a person and my role as a leader. I came to realize in this experience that I have been a leader all my life because I have been influencing people unconsciously, for better or worse and oftentimes, quietly. I have learned to see every situation in my life as an opportunity to lead: be it in my role as a son and brother in my family or as Ateneo student and leader in the community. I had this notion that a leader is someone who leads armies or large organizations in creating flashy programs and having one’s face placed in a tarpaulin during elections. In my NSTP experience, I have learned that leadership is first leading myself. Leading means learning to love the self and others and being able to see God in all things. Everything else will fall into its proper place. Projects and programs will come. People will follow. I am, therefore, a leader not because of my position or what I do but it’s because of who I am.

What is my role in “nation-building”?
The collective action of people is what makes nation building possible and such endeavor can only be possible with individuals who are engaged and aware of what they value and on what others and God mean to them. I am part of this collection, thus, my role as an individual is vital for its making or breaking. Though it is true that I do not directly affect the building neither of this nation nor of change, I indirectly affect it with the seemingly small decisions and actions I make daily. I understand that I have a set of duties and responsibilities that I need to fulfill. But I believe that I’m not only called to simply comply with these “requirements” but I must go the extra mile of really facilitating and engaging myself in the process of molding our society to its betterment. For the commitment of nation building is not a mere commitment of a group of people but a personal and dynamic commitment of its individuals. Nation building is only possible if each builder first builds himself for it is by doing so that we identify our purpose and motivation in building this nation in the first place.