My junior year in college was concluded with an oral examination about the Philosophy of Man. I think I fairly kicked ass, or at least that’s what I’d like to think. Or maybe I was just too excited about ending what seemed like a never-ending school year, so I kept rattling off about everything and anything. But somehow, somewhere in the mumbo-jumbo of my 15-minute spiel — I was actually able to churn out something real this time, and not the worn-out, battered I-got-to-know-myself-more, I-will-serve-God-and-others-better speech that my Philosophy professor must’ve heard a thousand times over.Aside from walking off with an A in that exam (hey, positive thinking never hurt anyone), I honestly walked off with some resolve to ask more questions each day and not just accept things as they are. Part of what I said to my professor went something like (my Philosophy class is in Filipino):

“Madali lang sumagot ng ‘Eh basta ganoon’, lalong lalo na kapag kinikuwestyon ang mga bagay na nakasanayan mo na, lagi mong nakikita, araw-araw mong ginagawa. Parang, ano pa nga bang isasagot ko? Paano ko ipapaliwanag? Wala na akong ibang masasagot kung hindi: ‘BASTA.’ Pero sa palagay ko isa itong katamaran sapagkat tinatanggap na lang natin ang ating nakasanayan, ang pamilyar. Sa bagay, mas madali nga naman kung doon na lang tayo sa ligtas–bakit ko pa pag-aabalahang guluhin ang mundo ko? Pero bakit ka titigil sa ‘Basta’ lang? Hindi ba’t dapat ka pa lalong magtanong–’Bakit nga ba?’”

Rough translation: (It’s easy to just answer with “Just because”, especially if what’s being questioned are the things you habitually do or experience, things you always see, things you do everyday. It’s like–What else can I say? How can I explain it? I have no other answer except: ‘JUST BECAUSE’. But I believe that this is a form of laziness, because we just accept what we’re accustomed to, what we’re familiar with. But come to think of it, it really is much easier to just settle with the safe answers–why bother further shaking up my world? But then, why stop at ‘Just because’? Isn’t it better to further probe and ask–’Why is it like this/as such again?’”)

I don’t plan on philosophizing my writing life away. Heck, it’s summer and I deserve a break and a long and happy reunion with my bed. The bags under my eyes have taken up 80% of my being, and it’s really not a pretty sight. But what’s a small portion of my time probably a few times a week to wonder about the ordinary things, the habitual things, the things we pass by everyday on the street, the things we use, the things we read about?

Questions about the little things.
Making the most mundane things complex, asking what makes things interesting.