ka edong is right. we do what we can. but coming back to the
philippines? i dunno. opportunities are not as plenty in the
philippines as in, say, the us, canada, australia or japan.
especially in my field (chemistry). how am i expected to do science
if i have to think what i'll eat tomorrow? and what of instrument
and equipment? i only want to do science, and where ever there is an
opportunity, i'll go there. your desire to help the philippines by
going back is great. i admire that. tell me that again after five
years, and i'll admire you more. –

I've heard some people can do six months in one country and six months
in the other. In fact, it works quite well: skip winter, skip really
hot summers… If you're important enough to a lab or company that
they'll let you do that, or you run your own business, then that's
very doable.

Sometimes it's not about exploring the limits of what you can do for
yourself, but rather finding out how you can improve as many people's
lives as possible. In the process of finding out how to apply what you
know to people's lives, you might find that you can go farther and
faster than you imagined.

I like computer science, but I don't want only to do computer science.
I want to help people learn life management and communication skills,
and technology is just a way for me to do that.

Let's use a better example. You'd think biotechnology would be
something needing millions of dollars in lab equipment, right? But
technopreneur Maoi Arroyo's not in some comfy lab in MIT or Cambridge.
She's out there, jumpstarting the Philippine biotech industry by
helping people commercialize their discoveries—while remaining hooked
into the global scene, jetsetting and making deals with people
overseas. Not bad for someone in her twenties.

But technology and science are different, you might argue. Science is
a pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake. Let's look at Kendra
Castillo, taking up her master's in environmental management at UP.
She may not have the supersensitive equipment or the finegrained
meteorological data available in other countries, but there are _real_
questions still addressable by the lab she joined. The lack of
resources forces her to be more resourceful and inventive. It's
frustrating to deal with incomplete data and broken equipment, but
that only opens up more questions to tackle through research.

The only limits are those we set ourselves. Sure, the Philippines may
not have given us much. It may not give us opportunities to be highly
paid for doing exactly what we do. But the secret to success is
realizing that we _make_ our opportunities. We determine our future.

I want to make the Philippines better and I am willing to devote time
and effort to doing this. Just words for now. I'm naive and
idealistic, perhaps. But I know older, more accomplished people who
are doing just that. They're bridging the divide through their
efforts. They care about nationbuilding. Through their initiatives,
they create jobs and wealth and _meaning_ for people who are just
waiting for opportunities to come their way.

It's not too late to discover how you can make a difference. All you
have to do is try.