EDITORIAL l What Freedom Feels Like in 2025

Are we free — or just fluent in surviving? We fight not just for our futures, but for the right to dream boldly, speak bravely, and live authentically. True freedom is not waving the flag once a year, but carrying its meaning in how we choose to live every single day.

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Independence — what does that mean?

I came to ask myself: does the presence of chains, or the lack thereof, define one’s freedom?

Am I truly independent?

As children, we were taught that freedom was won in 1898 — to stand tall and sing the anthem with pride, and honor our ancestors for fighting and giving us our identity, our dignity, and our right to exist on our own soil.

But as I pause between which bag to choose, as I scroll through apps that teach me how to “sound more fluent,” and as I write this in English, I begin to wonder. Am I truly free?

Why do I feel like there are still chains rusting in my blood?

— like I’m handcuffed but my feet are free to roam, like I’m strong enough to make waves but barely reaching the shore.

Does the number of words with no direct Filipino translation — or the fact that we hold English on a pedestal higher than our own language — stain my skin, dishonor my ancestors, and betray the country I claim to love?

To me, freedom in 2025 is not found in flags or ceremonies alone. It is found in the quiet, unspoken ways we are still struggling to live.

Freedom from Financial Burden.

Dubbed as “university for the poor”, this is the most urgent kind of freedom we seek.

We juggle deadlines with duties — not just to ourselves, but to our families, to bills, to commutes, to empty wallets and hopeful dreams.

We fight for grades and for our futures, yes, but also for food, for rent, for Wi-Fi load, for life itself.

True independence is being able to pursue education without drowning in debt.

It is choosing growth, not just survival.

Freedom to Choose Our Paths.

We are often told to be practical, to settle, to stay safe. But what of our passion? What of purpose?

Why must freedom come with conditions?

True independence means having the space and courage to pursue careers and callings that align with who we are — not just what society tells us we can afford to be.

Freedom to Speak and Be Heard.

In 2025, we may tweet, post, and protest — but are we truly listened to?

Freedom is not just speaking; it is being valued.

It is being heard with words not coming out of the other ear.

It is not fearing repercussions for criticism or authenticity.

It is fighting for a world where truth isn’t filtered, where student voices are not reduced to hashtags or applause, but remembered, respected, and reckoned with.

Freedom to Be Ourselves.

Freedom is personal.

It should not be about how high I scored on the final exam or how loud my name roars in our department.

It should be beyond the classroom walls.

It is being allowed to outgrow the boxes we were put in — by culture, by family, by fear.

It is choosing softness in a world that calls it weakness.

It is embracing the parts of us that don’t always fit the mold, and still finding worth in our existence.

So again I ask, what does freedom feel like in 2025?

It feels like a contradiction — to be in a free country, yet bound by expectations, debt, silence, and shame.

It feels like progress and pressure all at once.

It feels like a daily war between honoring what we were taught and discovering what we truly need.

Perhaps, in truth, I am not yet free.

But maybe freedom is not a single moment, but a lifelong pursuit — a quiet, stubborn hope we carry in every sacrifice, in every question, in every refusal to give in.

And maybe that’s what it really means to be independent — to keep asking, to keep fighting, and to keep choosing ourselves anyway.