Jose Rizal: Freedom and Legacy

Jose Rizal is no stranger to Filipinos. His name is etched on every corner of the Philippines.
Parks are named after him, his books are available in thousands of libraries, he is found in every
peso coin. This is a manifestation of how well known he is. I believe he deserves all of this
recognition. After all, he has done so much for this country.

However, as a child, even though I was expose to stories of how great he is, I did not really have
a deep admiration towards him. He was just the chosen national hero among all heroes. I did not
really put value on his title. I believed that his title was just similar to the titles that others have.
But, as I went through this course, Life and Works of Rizal, day by day, I get impressed and
astonished by not just him as a person but how his works brought great impact to this country.
And slowly, the image of just being a “hero” developed a greater significance in me.

Rizal is an epitome of how powerful education is. Being an intelligent man, he used this
intelligence to his advantage. His novels showed his brilliancy; brilliancy that inspired many
Filipinos and brilliancy that gave them hope to fight for this country’s independence. He is also
an advocate for education. In his novel, Noli Me Tangere, it was mentioned that Crisostomo
Ibarra tried to build a school. This is an evidence that Rizal really believed that before holding
weapons, Filipinos should be equipped with knowledge.

Furthermore, it also made me realize that the road to success is not an easy path. Even the
brilliant Dr. Jose Rizal had to experience agonies for this country. He had to leave his lavish life
in order to save money for the printing of his novels, he had to live far from his family, his
family experienced torture and difficulties because of the enemies’ condemnation with Noli Me
Tangere. But Rizal did not let these challenges dampen his determination. Instead, he persevered
more for this country to get the best that it deserves.
One thing I admire about Rizal, he did not disregard and keep his eyes closed on all the injustice
and oppression that our fellow countrymen is suffering from. Instead, he sacrificed so much of
his life and used his God-given talents as a weapon to fight against the injustice that our fellow
Filipinos is suffering from. Fortunately, his sacrifices were worth it as his novels were one of the
reasons why Philippines is a free country.

Life and Works of Rizal also made me realize that having a supportive family and good friends
by your side is an important factor in achieving success. Just like how Rizal was saved through
varied ways by his family and friends, I realized that it is important to cherish and treasure these
good people because at the end of the day, these are the people who will help you even in your
darkest times.

Learning about Jose Rizal in a deeper sense amazed me at how an individual could shape a
nation, how an individual could bring big and relevant changes to the society. Learning about
what Jose Rizal went through and what sacrifices he had to make developed a deep gratitude
within me. I will be forever grateful to our national hero, Pepe.

In conclusion, the Life and Works of Rizal is a course which provided lessons on Rizal’s
greatness, how education could greatly impact a nation, how he peacefully fought for our country
through his novels, and how his ideals brought independence to our beloved country. Surely, this
course is not an excess baggage as some have described it, but a medium to inspire and
appreciate the valuable legacy that Dr. Jose Rizal left. May the lessons that we learned inspire us
to become heroes too, maybe not through shedding blood but through shaping the future
generations as future educators.