Utopia, according to me.

In our Political Science course, our professor told each of our groups in class to make a video of our ideal society. We asked ourselves and thought deep about it. What came into our minds were peace, equality, non-violence and all those goody-goody things that everyone wants. Sure, we wanted those too but it sounded too cliché so my group thought deeper. We came up with something a bit more off than the usual ideal society. We thought that since we are young, we did not want to deal with the problems of the adults. No corruption? Low tax rates? A better government? I mean, those also affect us and how we live but we since we are just kids, we wanted to deal with our own personal teenage dream.

Our concept was the outdoor freedom. It is what every teenager wants – to be free. Some of us want time to fast forward and just grow up. Some of us want to stay as kids. Not having jobs, being able to do whatever we want, receiving allowance, being able to play, run and cry and it would be okay and having people to take care of you. It’s a child’s life that we want!

In our video, it shows how every kid looks forward to summer or any break or holiday. Always being out of the house, hanging out in the playground, playing sports in the park, and all those ordinary things a kid does because he has all the time in the world to do anything before school starts.

Also, we thought of a world where everything is just full of nature. Kids these days are into technology, going to malls and all that but sometimes, we just want to play around. We want to run around a field of grass and flowers, swim on the lake, and simply just enjoy nature. We want an environment that is not polluted and we want a nice view where we can see nothing but the moon, stars and the skies.

We want a society where friends can enjoy being with each other. We want a society where we don’t waste our time and lives at home just staring in front of a computer. We want to live life to the fullest.

So, how do we achieve our ideal society?

There is this one thing that we go through when we want to go out – Asking permission from our parents. Personally, I find it a hard task because I am afraid of rejection. Also, I dislike it when my parents would ask me every single detail about what I am going to do, where I am going to go, who I am going out with, etc. I know they are just trying to be protective and they want me to be safe but it kind of bugs me sometimes. When I want my freedom to go outside, the best thing to do is to be the best daughter I can be. I have to study well and excel in school. I have to do whatever they tell me to do; to be an obedient daughter. So that I can be allowed to go out, I have to make my parents happy. It makes me happy when they are happy and especially when I am the reason for it. To be able to get something you want, you must give back in return. Having a strong relationship with our parents and family is what I want in my ideal society.

Little things can make huge differences. Simply throwing trash in the right bin can help the environment become a better place. In other words, don’t litter! Reuse, reduce, recycle! I can plant trees to avoid floods and more trees = more air/cold weather = less use of the airconditioner (It releases greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants that create holes in the ozone layer). I can join outreach programs that would help out the environment like clean-ups, etc. I can lessen the use of plastic! They take forever to break down. Did you know that the first ever made plastic in history recently diminished? I could shop and use a bag made of cloth for my groceries. Use paper! There are kids right now who think smoking is cool. I will never ever ever smoke in my life. One cigarette can cause little smoke that can harm the ozone layer but if everyone smokes, that’s one huge hole coming. Since I am college now, I have to be more independent and avoid relying on my parents too much. I have to live in reality and commute! That is what my father would always tells me, “Tapos na ang buhay Assumptionista mo.” I was so used to being brought to school and being brought back home using a private car. Now, I have to commute going to school and going back home. It’s actually fun because I get to experience real life and knowing how to go to places on my own. The perks of commuting is not having a curfew and going home anytime I want! Anyway, back to the topic, lessen the use of private cars and increase the use of public transportation to reduce the amount of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced every day. It is also cheaper! If I go to a near destination, I could walk or ride my bicycle (no, not to school) and at the same time, exercise my way there for a healthier lifestyle.

Life would be perfect if all these could happen but in reality, we can’t have everything our way. Happiness is the solution to everything. Look at the positive things in life and don’t be a hater. Look at the glass half-full and not half-empty. Enjoy life with your friends and family because not everything lasts. Whatever you want to do now, do it. Don’t hold back. There are only so many tomorrows.

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