Join the Revolution
When you talk about independence, the first thing that comes to mind is that Aerosmith video. It stars two mind-blowingly gorgeous girls, Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler, having a reckless joyride, doing all sorts of crazy stuff — two girls on a grand road adventure to prove they’re alive.
I envy free spirits like that who roam the world. The most bad-ass thing I’ve ever done is learning how to commute alone at nine years old. I was waiting for my siblings to get ready one day. They were taking too long; I was going to be late. So I said, fork this, I’m heading out on my own. So I walked out of the house and hailed a jeepney going to school. Was I scared of my first solo adventure into the real world? No porking way. I’m bad-ass like that.
When I became a working adult, I decided to move out of my mother’s house. I just felt like I wasn’t growing anymore. I was earning good money, all right. But it was money I didn’t have to earn. The move forced me to fend for myself. It opened a lot of doors I never would’ve opened. It allowed me to explore skills I’d be too lazy to find if I were in the comforts of my family home.
I went with no media for two years. No TV for two years. Not even an FM/AM radio. I wanted to keep myself as raw as I love my sashimi. It was more like a move for my craft, actually. I’m a working actor for TV and films. I wanted to bring my own kind of acting into the table. And the only way to do that was to not watch the TV shows I was in. It was out of a need to go back to a natural state before I entered the acting industry.
I’ve also quit smoking. It’s been eight months now. I realized smoking became an escape from the emotional stress I didn’t want to handle. Don’t get me wrong, it feels good to smoke. But nothing feels better than the thought of having a pair of clear lungs. And the natural high that comes with taking on a new habit. The habit of not being dependent on smoking.
So from time to time, I try to remind myself. Rebellion can simply mean breaking a bad habit to start a new one. It doesn’t have to be crazy and reckless.
Get out of your room. Get out of your house. Ride a cab. Talk to the driver. Be genuinely interested in what he has to say. Ask intrusively about his personal life. Or ask why he voted for Joseph Estrada. You’d be surprised at what a regular schmo has to say. Rebel against the perception of what a “commoner” should be.
Live at the beach for a month. Camp out. Build a fire. Jog every morning. Surf your brains out. As cliche and corny as it sounds, rebel against yourself. Get to know that person better. Be brave when going through all the dirt and muck. For all the goodness you can possess, a person is never a bad person. He can only be a medium for bad thoughts.
Rebel against Facebook. Stop playing that Mafia Wars game. I personally know it’s addicting, but come on guys, it’s a stupid game. And stop stalking her Boracay photos. I know she’s in a bikini, dude, but a JPEG file is useless to a man with two capable hands. Send her a message. Ask her out. It might amount to something significant.
Conquer the world in your stilettos. Wear that skimpy red dress that gets men’s imaginations wild. Conduct yourself like a blond ditz. So what if they think you’re a slut? That’s their problem. And their dirty little minds. As long as there is a significant brain up there, you don’t need to worry. Start your own revolution by changing the way a woman should be perceived. Call it the ditz revolution.
See, it’s healthy to find yourself in a compromising situation once in a while. True revolution is about finding your personal truth amid a pit of false ones. There’s a big, big world out there. Push for what you believe in. Go forth and spread that rebel pride!
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I am a rebel because I’m bored. Follow me at http://twitter.com/pingmedina.
