Jem Videl Arias

BSPSY-2105
Self-Discovery: The Global Citizenship Within Me
A great theorist of the developmental psychology once said, as an individual grows
old, by developing a sense of identity, learning to take on initiative and building up
competence, then shares this created esteem and a contribution to others around him.
With this striking assertion is how I would relate the citizen I became now in this
global modern world. Looking back to where I was in my relationship with my
community, I was that one who choose to deviate myself with the issues I simply believe
I don’t belong or just those issues that seem uninteresting to me. As a youngster to
have so little of knowledge of course, it is expecting that I come that way, but in time I
saw how that part of me turned as my forelaying ground in most encounters. From my
little ways that my disassociation contributes to how evident I become uninteresting to
what happens around me globally, hating my history subjects, skipping to watch news,
moving away with issues of the government, citizens in their stands, rallies, and
situations, policies, movements, and even distancing myself with the use of media
believing that there’s no benefit into knowing others’ statuses through it. But there was a
point when I had a big reflection, introducing me to a whole new perspective and
building me up a clear goal that I wanted to pursue in the future.
It was the time when I had to meet up with my grandaunts and second cousins
together with my grandmother away from our urban homes. I was nine at that time,
clueless of who they might be, I was just told by my grandmother that it would be
refreshing for me to meet a part of our family whom aren’t always with us even in
special occasions. To my surprise they live a very poor life, incomparable to the
simplicity of ours. They live in an impermanent rural place and house very unstable and
unequipped. In my eyes, I knew and perceived how much things they can’t afford to
buy. So, asking my grandmother, she simply said that this life of theirs is just the way it
is, they don’t have much money and opportunity to earn and very much declined by the
society and prosperity itself. “Why can’t we let them live with us, we have a good house
that we can give to them.” I told this statement to her but she replied that it doesn’t work
that way, they have their own life and we have our own as well and we can’t meddle
with each other’s. That was the time when I saw that there are lot of other people out
there like my cousins and grandaunts who are outside the margin, inferior and loathed
with privileges by fate and society while others enjoy and strive more for prosperity
leaving them more behind. A nine-year-old passion grew in me setting myself to be
determined that I could help them, I will grab every power I need to be aware of the
people around me especially the voiceless because I realized that though I do not
experience the same things they do, I have the responsibility for them as part of the
nation, even as part of the world we all live in.
 By that goal, I know I cannot simply be a typical teenager growing up who very much
comply to whatever trend I receive. Just because many of my groups or friends
consume the same products, doesn’t mean I have to have the same, just because they
listen to same music of K-pop or watch movies of Hollywood or Bollywood, I watch the
same things too, just because I don’t do the same traditions in trend, I deviate myself to
connecting. I just believe that in those simple ways is not how I can show how much I
am part of the globalized world. If before I was very much distant to uninteresting issues
of my community but realizing that I have a role to partake for those inferior people, I
very much more believe in creating advocacies and messages I could impact to others.
Thus, in my school I usually join campaigns and organizations as platforms for me to
learn more about socializing and interactions and at the same time voicing out my
stands and what I believe in. I also partake in editorial and feature writings, where I
once wrote an essay about impact of technology in the youth nowadays. When there
are points that I see are in contrast to my opinions and to many others, I voice them out
by the power of speech in different contests I participate. This was the kind of mindset
and usual actions I have in my high school years and in these basic ways, I show how a
growing indent of a productive global citizen. However, in time I must develop these
actions into more bigger impacts on which I could directly target my community.
With so much to know and learn about what is happening around me and even the
history of where they all began together with understanding the processes on how every
movement and view in the world happens every day, my finite self is not enough to give
a massive impact for them but this does not mean I am powerless and I have a reason
not to spread influence and still be a voice. There is so much news I hear from my
father each day. He was so inclined with knowing about the government here in the
Philippines and how much corruption exist in our country and he rants so much about
them. It is such a common character that I know so much about my father and we
sometimes go along with what he says and laughs in how much issues he raised in just
single conversation. But with this character like my father is not what I want to transcend
in myself. More than words and rants, I want to give actions. That is when I am able, I
started to be engaged in social works in my community, especially in events and giving
aids. There is just so much burning want in me that I feel like in every thing that
happens around me, I truly have a role to fill in for them. It was kind of like how the
concept of the great Karen Horney, asserted how modern culture becomes too
competitive that resulted in a coping in me to move toward people for attributing
connection with them from the competence existing.
As I mature more, still carrying the same passion and goal, personal dreams were
set to lead me in different paths yet leading with the same destination. As someone who
is inclined in learning about science while at the same time helping and connecting
socially with others, I choose the track to pursue Psychology course. I still remember
back in my senior high school days I was so excited to finally step into a new university
focused to learn a course that I choose.
 But we all know what happened. It was then that the biggest turn in our lives took
place as the pandemic bestowed limitations in our nations. It may have been a shut
down for many of us, but it was somehow an enlightenment as well for us and for me. I
saw how much change of flow in economy, culture and politics happened because of
the crisis. With social media as the stark ground for us to connect with the existing
distance in us, I knew it was my chance to proliferate more my advocacies in the media,
joining youth organizations and being relative to every of my citizens’ status in the
hardships experiencing. And as ironic as it sounds, when many doors closed in this
pandemic, more doors of opportunities opened for me when I was offered to become a
candidate for my municipal tourism ambassador pageant and at the same time a
national tourism pageant. It was really about promoting physical beauty and aesthetics
but I was more inclined in promoting my own advocacy both in education and in mental
health. With by far the greatest platform given to me, I learned and grew so much as a
global citizen, interacting with other provinces learning deeply more their culture,
meeting political and business savvies and also powerfully voicing out my own province
tourism.
Granted with the subject The Contemporary World this college, I learned deeply
more about the global world and I found out that there are so much more that I didn’t
know about this world I am connecting with- from learning in-depth the dimensions of
globalization, how economy flows in many dynamic and complex processes, how
politics can progress by integration and independence, how culture is colored by
influences of mixed diversity and commonality. But with the ground that I had to be
aware of the existing role, helped me find out how that the world out there is already
here. My actions and m integration of every day already defines my identity as a global
citizen. Thus, I am proud of how I’d been before and my current track to this subject,
leading me pursue a job soon as a psychologist and a continuous advocate, tells me
that there are so much more actions for me to take in as well as growing for me as a
global citizen.