Glow in the Dark

                In a field of darkness, what stands out to be noticed is the only source of light in the scene. I love glow in the dark objects because of their ability to catch attention in the dark. They may not be useful in illuminating an entire room, but in the dark, they remain the only thing special when everything around is ordinary. It is a matter of contrast; you cannot know the centerpiece if everything looks like the background. Then, there will be nothing special about that scene—plain ordinary.

                To be noticed is what has driven a number of people to break away from the background. This will has fueled thousands of men and women to stand up when most are sitting, to move when most are stationary, to shout when most are quite. It was what drove the people in history to stand up and against. It is what has been driving people to glow in the dark.

                During the time of Ptolemy, it was regarded that the Sun and all other planets were revolving around the Earth. This geocentric model lasted up until the middle ages and it was considered the authoritative text in astronomy. There was one man who went against this belief. He challenged the idea of the Earth as the cosmological center of all heavenly bodies. He refused to settle on this notion and conducted his own investigations instead. Nicolaus Copernicus asserted that the Earth is just one planet that revolves around the sun within a year. His heliocentric model that was finally published during the year of his death gained few patrons at first. Despite this, interest in knowing more about the set up outside our planet had increased. Started by Copernicus, a number of rebels were born to challenge the geocentric model of the cosmos.

                Another great man, a supporter of Copernicus, paved heliocentrism to a higher level. Galileo and his invention of the telescope almost shut down the geocentrism theory of Ptolemy. His rebellion brought him to an undeserved fate. He was condemned by the Roman Catholic church for blatantly revealing that the Sun and not the Earth is the center of the universe. He died suffering a punishment that he was not worthy of having. He stood up against what was the belief of everyone else. He chose to go against the belief of the church that the Earth is the center of the cosmos as stated by the Bible. And it was when he shone brighter in the dark; and the brightest when his claim was proven scientifically true. Like all other scientists, he has his own stone replica in most institutions in the world. He rebelled and succeeded.

                There were also moments in our history when rebellion did not only account for battles against beliefs but also for fights against oppression. When people could not let themselves drown into submissiveness to an authority, when people could not bear the agony of being restricted is when people start to break free. Together with 800 katipuneros, Andres Bonifacio attacked the Spanish arsenal in San Juan del Monte. It was the first fight during the 1869 to 1898 Philippine revolution. The news of the attack spread in Luzon provinces nearby. It followed several other uprisings in different places in the country. It followed other Filipinos to stand for freedom, some used their intellect and connections. The revolution ended, the Filipino people succeeded. Now, we have our famous heroes, whose lives and achievements are taught in school, whose morals and patriotism are modeled by the society.

                Men dominated our list of rebels and heroes. For a long time, it seemed that women were the inferior sex—weak, fragile, dependent, and almost useless. Until my kind were driven by an impetus to be recognized. My class rebelled for equal rights and opportunities. During this rebellion, feminist movements were born, women started to stand up against a world dominated by men. It was not an easy revolution, our claims were rejected and took a long time to be accepted. We were once ignored, until we finally ignited and succeeded glowing in the dark. With constant effort, finally, we were given the right to vote, we were given the right to work, we were given the right be ourselves.

                The battle of the sexes continues, we are now on the second wave of revolution. Lesbians Gays Bisexuals Transgenders (LGBTs) are also revolutionaries. In a culture where it is assumed that there are only two genders, LGBTs are having difficulty in finding themselves. Instead of going with the general assumption, they have chosen to unleash the rainbow within them. They are the kind that catches attention in a crowd full of ordinary people. They become extraordinary. They glow in the dark.

                We do not only break gender stereotypes, we are also rebels in our own traditions. My family is a rebel in this kind of way. Mine broke one during a wedding ceremony. My aunt longed picture herself in a long white dress, slowly walking in an aisle full of white flowers with my grandfather guiding her towards the altar, following her steps are little children in colorful dresses, farther are her friends in uniformly cut dresses. It was her dream wedding. It was a tradition that she could not imagine of breaking. It was purely unforeseen when she met the man of her dream. She wore a white beach dress. Her hair was accessorized with shells. The bouquet of flowers in her hand was made to settle in dried seaweeds. Instead of walking dramatically, she moved toward her groom with a very enthusiastic glee. With the tune of a party song, her bride’s maids entered as if they were about to perform a dance number. After the ceremony, her wedding was the talk of the town. Several single women in our place admired it. People praised their creativity as a couple. She was counted as one rebellious bride.

                There is another rebellion that most of us are guilty of committing. We are rebels against fashion. We do not always conform to the trend. When everyone else is doing the same things, we feel this urge to stand out. We want to be the celebrated among the bunch of mediocre individuals. Thus, we strive to create our own way of doing things; we develop our own fashion. We want to show ourselves, our uniqueness. This way, we are all rebels against a common image. Turning away from what the society expects is rebellion. Breaking away from the trend is rebellion. When we succeed, we have triumphed in magnifying and glorifying that kind of rebellion. It has attained a glamour so inviting, a nucleus that stirs people toward it. In turn, you, the initiator becomes famous as well because you have glowed in the dark.