For the longest time now, I have always been intrigued by the idea of being a renaissance man - someone who is well-versed in many different areas and seeks to try one’s hand at all the possible pursuits that we can partake in.

This concept, in turn, has made me eager to engage myself in numerous avocations all throughout my life in my attempt to make the most out of what this world and our time here on it can offer. Thus, I consider myself as somewhat of a renaissance man in that I have a wide variety of interests and hobbies; two of these which may seemingly be unrelated are being an avid sports fan and performing in theatre. 

     First and foremost, sports is an activity which I find extremely enjoyable whether I’m playing in a game or if I am merely a spectator.  I’ve been used to playing sports all throughout the entirety of my life because I love working out, fitness and being active since it is one of the best ways to lead a healthy lifestyle. My parents always wanted me to have some form of physical activity which is why I’ve tried all sorts of sports over the years even if I’ve never been part of any varsity team.

Up to this point, I’ve joined ABS and ABL for basketball, AFC for football, swimming at Ateneo, tennis club at Xavier School, and even aikido classes. In the meantime, while we are in lockdown, I’ve also been riding a bike and jogging regularly around our village in order to exercise.

In addition, I follow numerous sports leagues whether it's the NBA, Football Leagues, the NFL, Tennis Grand Slams, F1 races and the like. For one, I am fascinated by the analytics behind sports like how plays or set pieces are executed, sports statistics, records, fantasy leagues, standings and data. I usually pay attention as to how these translate to the playing field or the court.

 Besides this, I find  the narratives, rivalries and storylines of players, teams and franchises to be absolutely captivating and riveting whether its Lebron James returning to Cleveland to carry out his promise for a ring,  Roger Federer edging out Rafa Nadal in the Wimbledon Semi-finals, or even Italy breaking the hearts of every English fan after the Euro’s Football Finals penalty shoot-outs. 

Moreover, I find much inspiration in the hard work of all these athletes to get to where they are after all the effort they’ve put into honing their craft to perfection. Such perseverance and mentalities are values that I hope to emulate in my own life so that I can also be successful in my own pursuits in life. With all this being said, I do truly enjoy sports because I just find its whole essence to be especially exhilarating; it has such a positive impact on our physical fitness and mental capacity to develop as human beings. 

On the other hand, I also revel in working in theatre as a performing group member of the Dulaang Sibol. Theatre was something that I’ve only started doing three years ago, when I was accepted after auditioning for Sibol. Coming in as an aspirant that time, which is the moniker for new members, I was a complete fledgling in the realm of plays and knew nothing about acting or theatre work. From then on however, I have been enthralled by the magic of theatre because I find all of its aspects and nuances to be exceedingly wonderful in order to express myself in a creative manner in a multitude of ways.

In that regard, I have performed in various productions with different roles such as in Katha, Come to the Manger, Paraiso, Sa Lugar Naming Ito, Adarna, The First Noel, and Sinta. Several of the jobs I have done to contribute to these include acting, singing, song-writing, dancing, props, script-writing, editing, and directing.  Additionally, we pour a lot of time into practice and preparation before these productions come into play.

In the summer, one whole month would be allocated for this wherein we would have workshops and conservatories at the Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan each day from 9 am to 5 pm. During conservatory sessions, we would learn numerous skills such as instrument-playing, dance, lighting, arts, mixing, editing. Through these, I’ve learned numerous dance choreographers as well as how to play guitar. In the afternoon sessions, workshops would be held by acclaimed Sibol alumni in their respective fields such as playwriting, acting, song composition, and even Sibol history. Recitals would be held during Sibol Summer where I have personally performed several monologues and dialogues. When the school year commences, we would also hold sessions every single day after classes, reaching until 7 pm to work on productions.

All in all, perhaps the reason why I love theatre and why I find much solace in it is because I see it as a seedbed for me to grow into not just an overall better performer but holistically as a person. As the name of our group implies, it’s a way for us to blossom and develop into who we want to become, through the medium of theatre.

Though it does get tiring and even draining at times, it is without a doubt extremely fun and rewarding. I feel very strongly about being able to use theatre and music as ways to express myself artistically and as apostolates to spread the message of God. In its entirety, I find theatre as an outstandingly humanizing experience in that while it is admittedly difficult to do theatre work, there’s almost nothing that’s as fulfilling, which is why I’m passionate about it.  

Ultimately, being a theatre performer in Sibol and engaging in sports are two hobbies that I find to be tremendously invigorating even if they are on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of hobbies. As of the moment, these are the ways I manifest my personal goal of being a renaissance man and I find my experience to be immensely gratifying. Hopefully, my experience of trying these two recreational activities inspires others as well to strive for being renaissance men in their own right and to be lyrically in love with life for as Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Life well spent is long.”