You Are the Light

It’s been a long while, come to think of it—those days of hiding under your blankets at half past nine and claiming that your brother’s the one ought to be eaten by that five-legged creature breathing in the dark (because hey, he does more of the pinching and ridiculing!). Almost eighty-seven percent of all the elements of the Earth tell you that darkness isn’t your friend, and that being your foe is the best job he can do—but it definitely does not end at that knot. 

As little, curious, and slightly-scared beings we were, we were challenged to attempt fighting back against this common enemy dressed in black. Thus, lights became the go-to friend for everything and anything qualified in the lane of fear. It is without doubt that this admiration has grown all the way up to our current standing. 

Hop on, I’ll lead you around. 

Photograph by: Carlo Tan

Chances are, spotlights were a thrill that it was able to do multiple things-- it might have helped you get a clearer sight of a silly fighting scene performed by your action figures, or might have given you a chance to imagine yourself onstage, drumming your heart out, with people’s imaginary applause inculcated. It injected something that made your blood rush a bit more. 

Photograph by: Remigio Cabildo 

Sooner or later, lights would remind you of seemingly-lost stars and yonder galaxies and even what they spoke of as the Milky Way. You wished you’d see them in your dreams, or well, at least stuck on your wall or circling around, above your slumber-craving head. 

Photograph by: Alliza Andal 

Who would forget about our favorite days? In the long run, you reveled the holidays by way of the lanterns’ gleaming and shining and screaming; screaming for the spirit of home. Screaming for moments of lying atop comfortable muddled pillows and January night coffee stains on sheets. 

Photograph by: Kerwin Lim 

While continuing that trip down retrospect, you’d begin to see all the imaginary strings of tunes your ears openly absorbed when you were much, much younger: lullabies certainly took the front row. And now that you finally leaped over a couple steps, you can foster a better commitment to every beat and thud you hear, as if lights bloom from every instrument. These lights would fill your heart. 

Photograph by: Paola Valero 

Yes. It looks like this is the part when realizations drag closer and closer to you. When the sky gets its pile of black covers, the lights still make an effort to peek for you, crawling in chains of straight rays and spots. 

Photograph by: Gianna Añasco 

Life has its own line of attacks of tugging you up to the painful limit, yet these lights will come the way down to tell that hope is always on its way. 

Photograph by: Beatrice Formales 

…Because hey, those weaved words and wishes from your heart would collaborate together. By your blow of candles and a hopeful heart, all these bugging shenanigans would come close to vanishing. Your thoughts wouldn’t be as clouded as before. 

Photograph by: Marquee Enriquez 

In due course, the world would look a lot brighter and safer at the same time; probably the way you never imagined before. 

Photograph by: Athena Marcelo 

This may sound surreal for your young mind: Now that you’ve grown, it’s your time to explode with all your energy and go further as rapid as you possibly can, like a shooting star; others waited for you to take your action. Clothe yourself of those of a firework’s, and let others see that you matter. Be the light that seeks despite the struggle in the dark. 

You are light. 
You are your own light. 

Photograph by: Toni Buclatin 

You are that light; the one which can spread rays across a whole picture until dimness isn’t there anymore. Don’t forget that. 

Photograph by: Jelou Galang 

Hope you enjoyed the ride. 



Article by Jelou
Special thanks to Shoot UP Manila
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Mostly seen holding a pen on one hand and a camera on the other, Jelou (struggles) to stand firm on her personal ground rule, "to fathom the unfathomable". She is into oozing-with-cheese pizza and late-night free verse poetry reading. Also, she works to keep up with: being a college student, living as a cheerful extraterrestrial, and staying as the chinwag buddy of her dog. You can find her attempting every possible thing athttp://ajelouishnarration.tumblr.com/.