Impressive, isn't it?

And yes, it is an honor for me to have her as my editor for the Guidon News last year. Despite the many instances of a love-hate relationship during my first few months as a struggling writer, of which in the first place, writing has never been my favorite thing to do then. But with her, despite doing a lot of bad things to her (and at times, making her mad :|), things eventually went well, thanks to her persistence. If not for her, I wouldn't love writing more than I would have loved it now.

A recent graduate, with an impressive background (which might take me forever to list down :D), she was asked to write about her experience of being a Philosophy minor, and I was impressed with it.

And here's what she wrote about it (save for the photo :D). Sourced from http://admuphilo.multiply.com/journal

The Insane Journey 
by Ayee D. Macaraig 
AB Communication ‘08, Minor in Philosophy 

    Philosophy is one of the most notorious subjects in the Ateneo. With its knee-high piles of readings, terrifying oral exams, and hopelessly long and dizzying texts, philosophy has become infamous among students. It is also associated with dead people who lived lonely and lunatic lives, far from our culture, time, and selves. Some students also label philosophy as extremely ideal and theoretical, with no relation to their courses, organizations, and lives. 
    My journey to obtain my minor in Philosophy has shown me that philosophy indeed entails sleep-depriving work, befriending many dead people, and an intense struggle with ideas and theories. Yet, it has also shown me that philosophy is personal, relevant, and practical. 
    Philosophy is an intimately personal discipline. My fascination with it stemmed from a sense of being disturbed and curious about topics that shook the core of my personhood: Who am I? Why am I here? Why does God allow suffering and injustice? I hoped that by studying these dead peoples’ attempts to answer their own questions, I would live my way into mine.  
    My decision to apply for the minor program was also due to practical reasons. I believed that the additional four philosophy electives will expand my studies of the core subjects and my training for a career in journalism. I found value in philosophy’s ability to sharpen skills like critical thinking, composition and delivery of ideas, and argumentation. I also saw the program as an opportunity to be under the Ateneo’s most brilliant and difficult teachers, and to meet and learn with crazy students like myself. Ultimately, I viewed the minor in philosophy as a journey to my life questions and also to a heightened educational experience. 
    The journey began with the core subject Philosophy of the Human Person 1. With the help of Fr. Roque Ferriols’ simple but powerful writing, I grappled with the difference between konsepto and meron, and accepted that I am not the master of reality. Through Socrates, I discovered that the wisest person is the person who knows that s/he does not know. Philo 101 taught me that being human involves the use of reason, reflection, never-ending questions, and a commitment to be true to what is true. 
    My journey continued with the electives that I took. In Ancient Philosophy, I learned about the laws of Plato, and the ethics of Aristotle. Fr. Luis David, SJ, taught me the particulars of a city of justice that I found relevant as an aspiring political journalist. I moved on to Logic, and Sir Ranilo Hermida taught me how to construct valid arguments. The lessons on spotting and avoiding fallacies helped me in writing columns, argumentative papers, and essays. 
    The journey went on as my understanding of being human deepened in Ethics, another core philosophy subject. Dr. Ramon Reyes taught me that the person is a mask: s/he plays a part in the drama of life because his/her fundamental orientation to the good gives him/her value. My quest reached new heights as I took the elective The Problem of God in Existentialist Literature. Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, Camus, and Sartre dared me to question the existence of God. Yet, Marcel and Fr. Ferriols in the core subject Philosophy of Religion taught me of a God of Hope, to whom I can cry out, “I hope in Thee for us.”  
    Taking all these subjects definitely gave me some of the answers and skills that I was looking for. I discovered, though, that philosophy is not just practical in the sense that it complements my studies and career plans but also in the sense that it is practiced. Lessons like discipline, patience, humility, participating in political affairs, doing the good, and following one’s conscience must all be practiced to be more faithful to the truth, and by doing so, to be more human. Philosophy as a discipline is personal, relevant, and practical. 
    My journey took a different turn, however, as I took the core subject Philosophy of the Human Person 2 and the culmination of my philosophical studies, an elective on Emmanuel Levinas. From revolving around my life, philosophy became an endeavour for the Other. Levinas and Dr. Leovino Ma. Garcia moved me to shift from asking, “Who am I?” to “What must I do for the Other?” My understanding of philosophy was de-centered from one of self-cultivation and thematization to that of infinite responsibility to the Other. Philosophy evolved from being the love of wisdom to the wisdom of love, a discipline that taught of justice and service “for the Other, in spite of oneself.” 
    This new meaning of philosophy and twist to my journey were embodied in my experience in the Ateneo. The formation programs led me to experience and respond to the face of the Other: the differently-abled workers in Tahanang Walang Hagdanan and the differently-abled wards in Bahay San Jose. The responsibility to the Other also pushed me to work with organizations in the Ateneo to help uplift the country’s educational system, to build communities all over the Philippines, and to call for good governance and political reform. Instead of being compulsory or self-serving, these programs became meaningful because they were an experience in the Levinasian sense of the term: going out of oneself because there is an Other that calls me to be responsible for her, for the many others she represents, and to the God who writes straight with crooked lines. 

    My first philosophy teacher, who guided me through my journey in philosophy, described the minor program as insanity. Having read, re-read, re-re-read, highlighted and annotated the knee-high piles of readings, having braved the 20 minutes of oral exam agony over and over, and having befriended and conversed with dead people, I can say that it surely is. Yet, my journey in philosophy was so much more than these scary experiences. It was a journey to myself. It was a journey with others to wisdom. It was a journey to the Other, to society, and to the absolutely Other. It is a constant journey to more questions and gradually, more answers and meaning. It is a journey that as Fr. Ferriols said, is better jumped into than described. It is a journey that one would be insane to miss.

Ayee / Mommy Becky, idol talaga kita :D