Human rights lobbyists did not develop their opinion regarding slave labor overnight, nor did the feminists, the Republicans, the communists, and other such modern revolutionaries, gain their view on the issues that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for in the blink of an eye. Their beliefs, principles, and convictions were obtained through time, through much experience, and through acquiring a deeper understanding and knowledge on the passion that consumes them to this day. Using this same theory, I can say that I will not be able to explain the perspective or angle in which I perceive myself as a person, without first making it known how I truly comprehend the concept of being a “person.”

What makes us people? What defines a person? What traits must one have in order to be considered a “person?” Any dictionary would tell you that a person is either a man, woman, or child; a human being; an entity having a complete set of limbs, appendages, sensory organs, etc etc; a being capable of executing various life processes and physical activities. But then again, there are those whose legs have been surgically removed, whose eyeballs are purely artificial, and whose faces are made of latex and synthetic rubber. They—though not in possession of a perfect set of body parts—are considered human, persons just like their “complete” counterparts.

Perhaps there is something deeper within the body that defines one’s humanity, that proves one to be a person; a thing that is not a thing; an intangible essence that lies beyond the neurons and mitochondrion of the body. What separates us people from robots… from a ten-foot gorilla? For don’t these creatures also possess body parts, and are capable of being? What sets us apart from the rest of the organisms that roam this earth? I believe that it is our core, our soul that identifies us as humans, to be a person. Of course, other beings also have spirits, but there is something outstanding about the human soul. This enigma, this ethereal quality enables us to have our own distinct personality. It defines our humanity because it gives us the chance to develop our own individuality, a trait that no other life form in this world can claim for its own.

Thus, the method in which one describes one’s soul is the manner in which one sees himself as a person since it is our soul that distinguishes us as people, and effectively proves us to be of human descent.My next statement may come as somewhat contradictory. I have shared earlier my belief that it is our human soul that makes us unique and different, for other organisms cannot possibly duplicate this gift that God has bestowed upon us. I would describe my soul, my personality, as something quite ordinary. I believe I am not outstanding. I am commonplace and very much forgettable. But it is in acknowledging my commonness that I have become uncommon. For in accepting this weakness, I am growing to become a better person. It is because I am aware of my utter unoriginality that I can strive to improve myself so that I may soon become someone special. In this way, I see myself as human, as a person. Persons have the natural instinct to survive, to participate in this long running competition to dominate the species. In my quest to become better, I try to become unforgettable; to survive long enough to stand out in a sea of nameless faces.

This task is not simple. Change, though the only constant thing in life, has never been an undemanding process. But one must start somewhere. In my Junior year in Assumption Antipolo, I have grabbed all the opportunities that I could, to revolutionize myself, to begin a newness, a brighter chapter in my life. As I involve myself in more extracurricular work and give a hand in organizing different projects, I feel a change happening within me, and a hope begins to burgeon in my heart; a hope that someday, I may accomplish what I have set out to do: to become someone worthy of great things; someone who has found herself, and in a way, has added light to her surroundings, helping overcome the darkness gnawing at the contours of the world that she lives in, and shares with the rest of humanity. I feel that the realization of this dream is nearing, and I strive ever so much harder to get to that point in time, the dawning of a new era in my life.