Jodie Neil C.

Brazil
BSAR 5C

In a very personal standpoint, times like this really call for more inspiring words from
someone. As Ar. Jo-anne Quizan started her lecture, that is more of an inspiring talk for
all of us, I was compelled to listen not just because it is a requirement (just like what I
used to), but because I can feel it in my bones that I am going to hear things that I need
for the moment. I, for that time being, was reminded of my whys. Why am I here? Why
did I allow myself to reach this far? Why am I still on this track? Why do I keep thriving?

She mentioned this quotation from Simon Sinek that says “If we don’t understand the
cause, then even the right answers will always steer us wrong, eventually,” and too many
thoughts started rushing through my brain and I still think of them up until now. Just one
question appeared in my mind that leads to so many surmises on why I am living my life
the way I live it now. Where did I come from? That moment I realized I didn’t even
remember what was the root of it all. I didn’t even remember what was the drive that kept
me going for years. I didn’t even know if I really had a purpose for doing all of these right
from the start. Right at that moment, I can feel how desultory my life was. It was like I’m
doing just the things that need to be done. Just finishing something I don’t even
remember how and why I started doing. I was just a human being with a fleeting
motivation. But guess what? I managed to keep myself moving. I guess that’s the beauty
of not knowing it all. You just have to live everyday hoping to see what’s going on next.
You have to wake up everyday to look forward to things you didn’t even know. Aren’t we
all so spontaneously living a life because it’s so dreading to plan for a future we’re not
even sure will exist?

Perhaps, the reason why I always feel like I’m doing myself dirty by not having a
concrete plan for my future is that I don’t know why I started this journey. Architecture
sounded so cool to me when I was younger. I even entered this world with uncertainty
not knowing what’s ahead of me. I guess it was my dream. It was my dream to be part of
this world. Just a mere part of it, I was not even looking at the bigger picture. But this
dream cost me a lot. It cost me my mental health, my physical health, my happiness, my
relationships, my all. But all dreams have a prize, and you have to pay. I am saying this
because I have to constantly remind myself that I didn’t have this easy, and I am not
going to get this easy. I still have so much to take, and as I get from what Architect
Jo-anne, if I can’t handle the worse now, what am I gonna do when I’m on the higher
level of this career path? That’s why I learned to take care of things and myself and
manage them well now. I learned to take architecture as a part of my world and not my
whole world. That I have to learn as much as I can, and execute my work as earnestly as
possible.

Ar. Quizan talked about different skills that we should embody as an architect or even as
any other professional in any field of work. I firmly believe that we can’t be doing things
great all at once. We have to focus on one skill and be so good at it. Some people are
experts on hard skills while some are good at soft skills. Both are important to any
profession. We don’t have to be good at everything, we just have to pick one thing and
be an expert at it. That’s the first step in developing a skill for me: to know where to be
passionate about. One more thing I can take from this conference with Architect Quizan
is that one should know himself so much because that’s how he’ll build his empire. For
me, self-awareness is a gift. I don’t understand people who can go on their day without
self-awareness. Because for me, being a person who knows every bit of yourself is
something that sets you apart from the rest of the world. You cannot figure everything
out, but if you can know who you are, you can be something you want yourself to be. So
for me, learn so much from the world, from the people you interact with, from your
experiences. That’s the same advice I will give myself.