Reaction Paper on Crossroads

Joseph Eli B. Tan

LEADERSHIP S57

May 31, 2015

Crossroads as defined in Merriam-Webster dictionary is a place of intersection of two or more

roads. In the journey of life, we all have to come across a lot of crossroads. These crossroads are crucial

points in our life that will lead us either to a more meaningful and fruitful journey, or to a harder and

more difficult way to our destination. Whenever life takes us to certain crossroads, we are given an

arduous task of making a decision in which path to take. These trying times of making a decision would

present itself as an avenue of getting to know ourselves more and an opportunity to become a better

version of ourselves.

From the video The Last of Journey of Ninoy Aquino, Ninoy encountered several crossroads in

his life. The crossroads represent the challenges in Ninoy’s journey to democracy. Ninoy’s crossroads

include choosing between being a public servant instead of living as a simple family man, being arrested

and detained for seven years in prison, going on a hunger strike for the sake of freedom, and having to

decide between having the audacity to go back to the Philippines despite the threats to his life. For all

the crossroads that Ninoy faced, one thing that is definite is that he had an option to choose the easier

path to a more quiet life, but at what cost? At the cost of a Philippines that is handled by a tyrant under

the martial law regime? Ninoy chose to stand by his ideals. I could still remember his patriotic

statement: “I have weighed all the virtues and faults of the Filipinos, and I have to the conclusion that

the Filipinos are worth dying for.” Ninoy decided to dedicate himself for the common cause of having

freedom for the Filipino people. Moreover, it was Ninoy’s indomitable spirit and faith in God that led

him to fight through the martial law and for the people. His burning desire for change has inspired the

hearts of the Filipino people and led the people to unite...