Sitting at the farthermost row, I tilted my head up, trying to contain the brimming tears.
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Laureen Velasco was our professor in Philisophy 101 at De La Salle University. Currently at the crossroads in my religion’s faith, I was in a class wherein Ms. Velasco would share her own journey in Zen Buddhism – a kind which appealed to me as free and brought spotlight to the self.
A stark contrast from that chapter of my life – one that was about carrying responsibilities which eventually became a burden. Every Saturday, I would conduct a bible study in a particular barangay – which our congregation called kawan. It was an invitation for Sunday’s mass.
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The tears that welled up in my eyes, they dawned the awakening that I had a choice. And that choice to be free to choose not to do things that I no longer see meaning in was what I uttered in front of Pastor Dan. He acknowledged my retreat in an instant.
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I remembered Laureen Velasco because Emerita Quito was her teacher:
At 12:40 am today (Sept. 17), Emerita Quito, one the Philippines’s greatest philosophers, finally got her wish. The 88-year old former De La Salle University dean and author of more than 20 books died of respiratory failure in Manila. She was a trailblazing scholar, a prolific writer, and a sought-after lecturer. She was also my grand aunt.
~ from The Philippines’ greatest female philosopher has died on Quartz