THE RISE OF THE SUN-GODDESS

The Rise of the Sun-goddess
Christian R. Vallez

She dreams of a house by the beach because she likes to stare at the infinite horizon. The horizon hides a million things beyond and beneath it. The fact that one cannot discover everything it hides is attractive to her. And so she'd live by the beach.

Her affinity with the waves may have its roots from her being a Cebuana. Aside maybe from the fact that part of her name was borrowed from the sea, the shores of Cebu that separates her from imperial Manila may have imprinted this longing into her desires. No, she does not want to escape into the horizon. She will not abandon the sands of the beach to pirate the treasures beyond the sky and the sea. Eventually, she would leave Cebu only to magnify herself. Her mind attempts to take a glimpse of infinity and is humbled by the fact that not everything is to be known and beheld.

Marie Sol has no messianic complex about her. Instead, she dreamt of becoming a teacher when she was a child. Not that she wanted to change the world through education. In fact, she wasn't quite sure why she wanted to be a teacher, except that she loved the idea of having a stick to point with. She would not end up a teacher in profession but her vocation seemed to lead her back to that childhood dream. She would have that stick. She would point at something. She would have her audience, eagerly looking at where she pointed. She would teach, but not in the lecture halls of universities. She would preach outside its classrooms; not to the students, but to its young leaders.

She calls herself a Youth Leadership Training Camp Junkie. It was never quite part of her plans but she suspects that her involvement with the Ayala Young Leaders Congress started it all. Every year, around 70 student leaders all over the country would come to Tagaytay to dialogue with their counterparts in all the other sectors of society. In 2000, she was one of the delegates who was fortunate to exchange ideas with the country's most influential and inspiring leaders. Two years later, she joined the AYLC secretariat as Program Manager. As the new head, she is involved, hands-on, in the conceptualization and development of the program, and in the selection of role-model resource persons for the following AYLC generations. She may have been unconscious of it but she made sure she'd get her regular "fix" of inspiration—junkie that she is. Little does she realize that her addiction started way before she got to Tagaytay.

Sol always found something to fix. She says that this comes from her inability to solve her own problems. Instead of sulking in despair, she decided to focus her energies into trying to work out other people's problems. She had her hands full as president of the University of San Carlos-Supreme Student Council in 1999. In the same year she was National Vice-Chair for Visayas and eventually, the National Chairperson of the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines . Despite the fact that leadership and politics have long been antonyms, Sol has managed to be critically political in her leadership without being a politician as we know it.

It is only later on that she would figure out why she wanted to have that stick to point with. Living up to her name, Sol would shed light to the young hearts and minds of emerging leaders. She is a formator—shaping the idealistic youth and chipping off their rough edges, preparing them to face a cynical reality. But she would not point at the white board as a formal teacher. She considers herself an informal leader. She does not aspire to ignite a revolution or to inspire social change. However, she is so sure about what she is pointing at with her stick—hope. Sure, this country needs too much fixing, but we have enough brilliant and passionate minds to share the load. Sol makes sure their talents and ardor are channeled into positive action. She is forming an entire army of what she calls "hope warriors."

She is "Ate Sol" to the entire Ayala Young Leaders Alliance (AYLA) and the other youth organizations she is affiliated with. Sure enough, everyone is looking at her pointing stick. Whenever there is a national crisis or issue, everyone would go to her for advice—What is our stand? What do we do? What is our course of action? Although she never was formally instituted as head or president of these youth alliances, they would still call her and solicit her wisdom.

Her influence to the youth is even respected by the religious sector. Recently, Sol was invited by the Archdiocese of Caceres, Naga, to inspire the participants of the Marian Youth Congress in Bicol. There, she shared her servant-leadership anecdotes in front of 3,000 young individuals who were eager to join this hope army. In the same trip to Naga City, Sol went to help organize the First Regional Engineering Student Leaders Summit—a project of the AYLA Bicol chapter. She just couldn't get enough of her "fix." The fire needs to be fed—and be passed around.

It is not therefore surprising that Sol was chosen to be one of the ten fellows of the 1st Philippines 21 Young Leaders Forum. Ten promising young leaders came together to exchange ideas on how to make the Philippines a more hopeful country. The delegates were some of the most exceptional in their respective fields such as government, business, academe, arts and culture, non-profit organizations, military and the religious sector. Initiated by the Asia Society-Philippines and the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the two-day forum facilitated the brainstorming and interaction of the fellows so they can have a wider perspective of the national situation and eventually come up with resolutions. Sol eagerly shared with her fellow delegates the issues that face the youth today. Her involvement with various student-leaders nationwide enabled her to share a clearer picture of the strengths, weaknesses, aspirations, and passions of our youth. She was equally zealous in absorbing what the resource speakers and her peers had to share. It was surely an ecstatic experience for her, getting more than enough dosage of her usual "fix."

Sol left the shores of Cebu not to escape into the horizon. She only left so she can move closer to it; so that she can point at it with her stick and show her fellow young leaders that there is something profound beneath and beyond this sublime line that divides the earth and the sky. And in November, she will move farther from her shores. Sol, together with the other ten Philippines 21 fellows, will be sent to Seoul, Korea for the Asia 21 Young Leaders Forum. There, they will have the chance to exchange bright ideas with their counterparts from the other Asian countries. They will all share a single vision—to make Asia a more dynamic community.

Her dream of a house by the sea might be too peaceful an image for her passionate soul. One might even have the impression that a dream like this is an aspiration to escape the noise and cynicism of the real world. Old men dream of homes by the sea, to behold the sublime, to detach themselves from the wounded earth. But for Sol, this dream is a reminder of her calling. She dreams of a house by the beach because she likes to stare at the infinite horizon. She points at it, the eyes of her fellow young leaders looking at her stick. That line hides a million things beyond and beneath it. Not everything it hides is to be known and beheld. But that sublime line that divides the earth and the sky is hope—hope that someday, we shall have a glimpse of infinity.

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Christian Vallez's gift to me on the occasion of my 28th birthday. To be published in the Starfish Magazine.