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What seemed to be a hesitation turned out to be an unforgettable experience. I have been contemplating whether or not joining the Area Conference was a good idea. I could have just spent the money on watching Dear Evan Hansen in Manila, or could have spent it slowly on regular days. But the universe took a toll on my decision and registered.
This AreaCon Mati 2025: 45th JCIP Mindanao Area Conference is my first, and I will never trade this for anything. I did not regret joining. It’s a life-changing event I could not miss out on experiencing. It was as if I had lived the moment I set foot in Adelina Hotel on the first day. It was that life-changing.
I had several reasons for this participation in AreaCon, one is to gain more insights about the JCI culture, two is to compete in public speaking, and three is to find something or someone that I could hold on to make me stay in JCI. This AreaCon has been a roller coaster ride—from attending the opening night to celebrating Gawad Mindanao Awards night, joining the public speaking competition to enjoying the island-hopping training, and doing in-between tropa time sessions to making friends from other chapters.
On the way to Mati, I was well awake and did not even feel sleepy, even though I had only slept for two hours. I was memorizing the speech that I had just made 3 hours prior. I was overthinking. What if I stuttered in the middle of my speech? What if the audience made a face or got bored while I am speaking? These questions and more lingered in my thoughts. I did not memorize the speech.
Arriving at the hotel was overwhelming. We got to be welcomed by a group of cultural dancers actively telling us to enjoy and have fun in our stay in Mati. Everything was surreal because who would have thought I’d be there? We headed to the registration area, got our AreaCon kits, and waited for further instructions. I was on pins and needles trying to get myself together. I haven’t memorized my speech.
Why would I even memorize my speech when I could just yap my way through the competition? That was not easy. I didn’t want to just yap in front because I was pressured by the circumstance. I was supposed to join the debate, but I had no teammates. I only had less than a week to prepare myself for public speaking. I only had less than 24 hours to prepare for the speech. I was anxious and doubtful.
Then I met PE Amara of JCI Lakambini Davao. She was the first friend I made at the AreaCon. She was bubbly and contagious. She talked and talked and made jokes about us switching the order of presentation. Of course, I didn’t agree. The other two participants arrived, and we had fun introducing ourselves. EVP Raydan of JCI Davao Gulf was fun. He shared that he was going to sing, and he did! VP Joni of JCI Kagayhaan Gold was all smiles. She was easy to be with. See? My competitors were part of the Board of Directors of their respective chapters; I was only a Baby Jaycee. Nevertheless, I delivered.
I said a lot of things during my speech, ones that were not originally part of what I had written. Maybe if you are generous enough to read, I would leave an excerpt here—
And so, in the age of Artificial Intelligence—where systems grow smarter by the day—our leadership must grow more human: empathic, real. And just like the em dash, our voices are not defined by Artificial Intelligence but by our journey, consistency, and identity, that beat at the core of our leadership, of our voices, shaping our very advocacy.
May these things remind us that each one of us has our own em dash, not from ChatGPT, and that a harmony of em dashes proclaims to the world that our voices are never muted. That it is our voices that empower others to create positive change.
So, whenever I see an em dash, it reminds me of my mother telling me to own my voice. Now that I have, even with my doubts, my pauses, I realize that these very things make me human.
So I don’t know if I had the chance of winning. But I know for sure, I am here telling you the story, of mine, of yours, and of everyone we met and yet to meet. I am not sleeping off this opportunity to tell you that you can own your own voice, too. You can own your own em dash.
With all this chaos, I was happy that I did join the competition. I gained friends from other chapters. I did not win (I am still on the edge on this, haha), but I got the chance to build a network of extraordinary people. The experience was nothing short of fun and excitement. I’ve been told that since PE Amara won the Public Speaking, the rest of us three would team up to compete for the NatCon debate. See? Redirection.
After the competition, I just wanted to stay in our accommodations. I had to change clothes because I wanted to feel free. Lol. But I realized I did not have my luggage with me. I loaded it into Jerry’s car before the competition began. Regardless, we still went. John and I rode the motorcycle he rented. We were travelling in the scorching heat of the sun! I just wanted to take a shower and lie down.
The villa we were renting was not that bad. I quickly got out of my suit and realized again I did not have my luggage with me. But it didn’t stop me from taking a shower! So afterwards, I only wore boxers until Jerry dropped by to give me my luggage, and that was two hours later. I changed clothes in preparation for the opening night at Kaia Beach Villas. We were supposed to wear all-white, but my slippers were black. John and I went to another villa where others were. Senator Tata invited everyone to go to Dahican Surf and Resort to chill out before going to the venue. Did I tell you it was a hot and sunny afternoon? DSR pampered us with a chill breeze. We stayed there for almost an hour and headed back to the villas to change.
We arrived late at Kaia, so the parking was a challenge. We went inside the premises, and everyone was stuffing their faces already with food. There was nothing to eat except for the grilled fish, which were already reserved for others. But this did not stop Jerry from getting us dinner. The lechon baka was placed just right beside us. We were waiting for it to be open,ed but we waited for nothing. However, lechon baboy was served!
The venue was good. Although the tents at the entrance made people miss the happenings in the stage, they were still busy networking. We were seated at the end of the pool, opposite the stage, and beside the table of the big people. When I say big, it was where some Regional Vice Presidents, Past National President Mac, and 2024 World President Kaveen were seated.
Cheer after cheer. Shout after shout. The rain decided to pour and put everyone aback the shade. But it did not stop people from moving on. Miss JCI Area 5 was crowned, together with others, with special awards. The night was not done yet, because fellowship came right after. It was lit!
The highlight, for me, was the fireworks! Don’t judge me, but it was my first experience to actually be in the same place as it happened. I was like a child, amazed and dazzled by every boom it made.
I was not drunk. Sad. But we went home tired, me especially, because I only slept for two hours. The next morning was a sham.
We woke up early for training. It was an island-hopping training, so we had to go far south for the port. We tagged Aljon along the way to the port. We were grouped randomly. There were only 10 of us participants in the boat with one trainer and two facilitators. I wanted to name all 1,0 but my memory failed me to do so. Nevertheless, let me introduce the Best Boat Ever, headed by our trainer VP Art from JCI Iligan, and PE Amara and Belle from JCI Lakambini Davao as our facilitators. BBE would not be complete without BFab from Lakambini Davao, PE Bea from Davaoeña Dabadaba, Nico from Lepa Tawi-Tawi, SG Ebrahim from Greater Davao, PP Tak from Greater Pagadian, and PP Cristine from Pagadian Bayanima, and some others.
The training contained three modules—each one provided different and varied learning. Module 1 was chaotic. We were on our way to Oak Island when AVP Art delivered his instruction. At times we heard him, but most of the time, nah! We just nodded as if we understood him. But we were tasked to write one sentence that would say what kind of leader we wanted to be. We were even made to draw what our sentences meant. Module 2 was fun! We were regrouped so I made new friends. The module was a series of stations. I was supposed to just follow around the team, but no, I competed against other teams. We were leadin,g but we were not. I was so confused as to what the module was really about. Until the last station taught us that we cannot do things alone. We have to wait for others so that we can rise together. Module 3 was reflective. We were asked about what we learned and how we would take those learning as we go along our journey with JCI. It was important to deliver, not frame, information/communication properly to avoid misunderstanding—within and outside the chapter.
As we went back to the port, all of us were so anxious about the news that our villas had no electricity or water supply. We were overthinking things like being late for the Awards Night, or not having dinner.
Awards Night was lit! I got to witness crying, roaring, and shouting for joy—not only from my chapter but also from others. I was involved in the Bids, so I took that night personally. Also, I was nervous because the first award to be given was for public speaking. Like I said above, I did not win. But I got the chance to walk up on stage when the first award given to JCI Davao was announced. It was proudful, I might say. More awards were announced and received by our chapter afterwards. Fellowship came after. Wow. Few were just staying for the fellowship, but it was nonetheless. I got to meet Pres Shing! Not only was she gorgeous, but also mesmerizing. I would not go near her during fellowshi,p though. I’ve had enough. If you know, you know. But it was fun til the ice cubes made sure I’d stop. We went back to our villas at around 2:00 in the morning. I was happily drunk.
Morning came, and everyone was stressed. JCI Elections, that’s what made me feel what they felt. Okay, I’m no voter. But I got the chance to have a glimpse from behind the scenes of both winning and losing. Funny, I was sitting beside VP Sherwin watching him recomputing votes. It was tense! AVP Cha wanted the file to be printed, and since I was in front of the printer, I volunteered to take care of it. Sherwin asked me to give the paper to AVP Cha, but I was hesitant because I saw her in the corner, having a tearful moment. Eventually, I gave her the paper. Got the opportunity to witness the sincerity of the then AVP, now NT Cha. Leadership and compassion are really nurtured from within.
Truly, this is one for the books! Just like what I said in my speech, “This AreaCon has been my em dash—my pause to reflect—and I know that greater things will come after.
Thank you, JCI Davao, for this opportunity. Next year napud!
