The participant is the interviewer’s older brother, Joel. He is 23 years old and just graduated from his Tesda Course in Hotel and Restaurant Technology. 

Joel is a paddler in the dragon boat team Amihan. They have competed in various places including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Baise in China, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, and Siargao. 

Being an athlete helped him maintain his physical fitness and gave him a sense of discipline when it comes to his physical health. He engages in physical exercises five times a week, goes to the gym, and attends their 3-day weekly training sessions. He also monitors his diet and weight as they are prohibited to exceed a certain weight, exceeding the required weight will exclude them from the competition, the reason for this, is to maintain balance on their boat for them to paddle smoothly. Being an athlete also helped him lessen his engagement in motorcycle activities to avoid injuries, when he was an adolescent, motocross was his thing, ever since he became an athlete he has been meticulous in engaging in other vigorous activities, having injuries and not being able to compete in dragon boat competitions is out of his list. 

Since Joel is a fresh graduate, I asked him how was his journey in school now that it has come to an end. Now that he’s a graduate, he’s feeling more of the pressure of being an adult. Since he is the first child and an older brother, the pressure is big and real. His decision-making improves and chooses other people’s needs before him as he doesn’t feel the need to pick himself first, he said. He reminisced the moments when he was just in high school, he said he was very impulsive at that time and just acted aggressively, now, he realizes the changes in his actions. I asked him what situations or scenarios made him become the person he is now, he answered: “daghan uy, kay ate bany nimo (his girlfriend), ila mama, sa akong mga amigo sad.” He said that having a girlfriend also helped him become mature and improve his emotional intelligence, and adulting really hit him hard including his friends as they were very “bugoy” in high school. He has to make decisions that will be best for all and not just for him. The issue we had with our father also helped him become a more responsible older brother, he now sees me and it made him feel that he really needs to fulfill his “kuya duties.” I see my older brother as a very laid-back person, nontransparent, and emotionally reserved. So, I asked him why do you always keep your emotions to yourself? Asking him this type of question was not easy, as we don’t usually talk with each other about these topics. He said, that expressing his emotions doesn’t make any difference, he doesn’t want to burden anyone with what’s burdening him, why would he trouble someone that is troubling him? That’s his mindset. And also because he’s a “man”, he said: “di man ko angayan mag ingana oy” he meant sharing his feelings and being emotional. Sometimes I just wanna punch this man in the face, he is the straightest (he’s not homophobic though) and the second stereotyping man I have known with my father being the first. I asked him, do you think you would be like this now if it wasn’t because of your experiences? He answered, “syempre dili, mag bag-o man jud ka, imong personality og pangutok habang ga tigulang labi na daghan nakag responsibilities.” he knows that he is learning from his experiences and from the people he met. 

I noticed that Joel can make friends easily, he knows how to start a conversation with a stranger and can talk to them for many hours. His main friends are his friends from high school and they have been friends for 7 years now. They may have encountered many challenges but they’re still in the best condition. His relationship with his girlfriend is also in the best condition, they face many challenges but they fix it together. He learned a lot with his relationship with his girlfriend, it teaches him to be patient and understanding. I have seen the worst attitude of this guy when we were kids, and I know how impatient he can be. However, seeing him now becoming more patient and understanding, I could say it started when his relationship with his long-term girlfriend strengthened and became more mature. So, special thanks to his girlfriend! Joel and I were like a dog and cat growing up, we couldn’t be seated next to each other or else we’d kill each other. We just recently relied on each other after our issue with our father. He became more protective and a responsible kuya. He is a menace and “sakit sa ulo” to our parents in his rebellious phase, however, that phase is already phased out. He takes care of our parents well and has a ‘healthy’ relationship with them. He’s in the stage where he doesn’t want to ask our parents about his needs and tries very hard to provide it on his own. 

I asked him all the insecurities he faced in becoming an adult, he said it was his height, his weight, his motivations, and his future. He is stuck on what career he will choose, our parents expected that his dragon boat career was just for recreational. However, Joel wants to pursue more of his dragon boat career. He considered it as his biggest challenge now, but I believe he will pursue the path that he is more passionate about. I also asked him what was the biggest achievement he had ever achieved so far. He said it was competing twice internationally for his team in the dragon boat, his coach always includes him in the line-up for every category they were competing, and this made him feel relevant and fulfilled. His coach’s affirmation of him gave him a sense of accomplishment. With all the hard training, hard work, and discipline he did, bear a sweet fruit. He proudly said: “wala man koy medal as a studyante, pero naa koy medals as an athlete.” it’s his prize possession. This man may be annoying sometimes but I am proud of him, I am proud of this Kuya.

Sometimes what we need is a community that helps us not feel lonely. This is something we learned while interviewing a lady full of resilience. We interviewed a member of a church (Rhiah's Churchmate) to get a distinct perspective on what it is like to be in early adulthood in a community of believers. She is a fifth-year college student at the University of the Philippines, Mindanao, studying BS in Food Technology. We can call her " Ate Anton." She is in her twenties, an eldest daughter, and she has a younger sister who shares the same goals as her. Miss Anton is a lady who feels insecure about her appearance, believing she is not pretty, even though she is. But the thing is, there are people who always appreciate her beauty, including us, because there’s something different about it. A beauty that shines, especially when she leads and uses her talent for God. Miss Anton is a homebody who enjoys resting, but she tries to challenge herself to be more physically active by participating in her favorite sport and hobbies like hiking. Eating and sleeping regularly and having time with the community are important to her, but to maintain them, she has her daily checklist to prioritize and organize her tasks. She likes planning everything and even mentioned breaking tasks into subtasks, consistent tasks, and priority tasks, which was new to us since we view daily tasks as the same. Regarding her school life, one major focus for her is completing her thesis. This has been a challenging task, especially since she plans to attend medical school after graduation. She has goals to review for medical school, find scholarships, enroll in medicine school, and prepare for the board exam in food technology. However, her thesis has delayed her graduation, which was supposed to happen last year, so she expects to finish college next year.

Despite feeling left behind, we love that she is determined to achieve her goal and is supportive of her sister, who started UPMED only this year. In terms of her social life, she is part of a community where she can talk to others and seek advice. It is like a Bible study group but more intimate, as they share their problems and hold each other accountable. She meets a lot of people, and while some stay and others leave, she finds it both exciting and a bit scary, but she surrenders it to God. To cope with stress, she reads the Bible, makes a time to rest, and opens up to her small group. When things get tough, she finds comfort in her faith, family, and the community around her. She believes that spending time with that kind of community is important because being alone can lead to feelings of loneliness and negative thoughts. When asked about relationships, she gives importance to her family, but she is closest with her sister, who is also in the same Bible study group. She also mentioned that there are times she wants a special someone in her life, but only in situations like having someone fetch you and take care of you, but only sometimes or during menstruation, she said. For now, she is focused on her goals, like getting into medical school and being involved in church activities, including conducting Bible studies. Her story reminds us of the importance of having someone to share our struggles with. We were truly amazed by her openness, her goals, and her strong relationship with God. Despite her challenges, she is filled with the love of God and supported by the people around her. It made us do a reality check and question ourselves: "Where am I? What am I doing? Am I still on my grounds, or have I been swayed away by struggles with school and home, with no time to rest, filled with worries?" With this interview, we are reminded that we have God and should not let these struggles blind us to reality and His love.

Our physical maturation is complete by the time we reach early adulthood, although our height and weight can increase slightly. The physical abilities, including muscle strength, reaction time, sensory capacity, and cardiovascular functions, are at their peak in early adulthood. Around the age of 30, many changes in various parts of the body begin to occur. The aging process during early adulthood and is characterized by changes in skin, vision, and reproductive capability. Each person experiences age-related changes depending on many factors: biological factors such as molecular and cellular changes are called primary aging, while ageing is called secondary aging due to controllable factors such as lack of physical activity and poor diet.

I’m a student of an English language teaching department at a state university in Malang, and I used to hate to imagine that I’m going to be a classroom teacher in the future..

No, I hate it not because I consider it as a less important job, but in contrast, I consider this job as the most important, valuable and meaningful job! It’s a kind of a big deal, and I just can’t imagine myself handling responsibilities that teachers acquire.

Yup.. I just can’t imagine myself handling a class containing 30 students, teach them some material, get them be interested and active in class, making sure they understand what I’m talking about, bringing students’ work to be corrected at my home and other things.

I’m just not a kind of person who is patiently working on other people’s children needs. And to be honest, I’m not a kind of person who is highly responsible about task related to community welfare. In other words, I cannot work for/with other people. #BADGIRL #SOLAME #LOSER

So this past few years I’ve been thinking about having an easy job which requires no responsibility.

And do you know what I found?

Nothing.

I was so naive, huh?

There’s no such job in the world that requires no responsibility.

My finding comes along with my own experience and exploration.

I thought that become a freelancer would make me free. But that such a wrong assumption. There still is.

I work as a freelance private English teacher and still I have to prepare for the material, method, and techniques in order to make the students get the point. I also need to deal with their parents about whether I’m good enough or not in developing their children’s English skill.

And sometimes I’m suck with this job. There are times when I’m not in a good mood to teach and not well-prepared about the materials. There are also times when the students are not in a good mood to study with me, and they behave as they want.

This crap of responsibility is not only in freelancing. Entrepreneur, writer, illustrator, artist and other jobs that most people think are ‘responsibility free’ actually still requires responsibility.

Because responsibility is the one that makes working people different that jobless ones.

So what’s the point of my writing?

Hmm.. well.. actually I’m just sharing my story about my early adulthood..

I don’t really mean to deliver a message through this writings, LOL

I’m sorry, it’s just a pointless article