By: Gia Marcos

No man is an island, we all have heard of that and a lot of us agree on that thought. It’s even funny how we have come to terms with the fact that we people need to interact with one another yet ignore a lot of facts about that very island we try not to liken ourselves with in the popular saying. No man is an island beacause we all have a desire to be one with the crowd no matter the level, and this shows in how we have begun to almost violently conquer the islands like Boracay, Siargao, and La Union to be one with the summer spirit. I guess no man is an island just as how islands don’t seem to still be islands anymore…

There has been an overwhelming wave of news about environmentally concerning issues in the mentioned islands. Boracay is closed to the public for six months beginning April 26, 2018 as for its rehabilitation. To be honest, I don’t think a lot of us thought about the state of Boracay during the past years it has been the host to the annual Laboracay we sadly cannot enjoy anymore this year. We were too focused on the soirees, gorgeous strangers, room overlooking the ocean, and memories to build or have been built on the shores of the beautiful Boracay.

Illustration by: Brian Villanueva

Although our excitement or want for such things offered by the island is completely acceptable, it still doesn’t change the fact that we have forgotten to pay attention to the far more important things like polluting the island. It was as if we came there to party, and not just to get wasted but to get the island wasted too. The island has become man—internally polluted—and like man himself, we chose to be continuously careless.

With Laboracay not pushing through this year, there are rumors spreading that the Labor Day fun is to be moved to La Union, our surfing capital. As a lot of people get excited with the idea, but my heart sinks into an ocean of concerns—what if its beauty gets washed away by man’s exploitation again? La Union, despite it being named after union, does not need people to unite on it in a way that its state is to be damaged. The union it seeks rather, is that of the people who are willing to leave it the way it is—a paradise that may be visited by many but is never robbed of its known and loved serenity.

Speaking of peace and calm, I remember the time when Siargao was known for its unbelievably quiet wonder. It was just this island many people wished to visit for its stunning waters guaranteed to take the urban worries away unlike now that it has become a destination for people joining this bandwagon of the hyped up value of this island, forgetting that it still is nature; it is not like a brand new one we can make a socially disturbing culture of.

Some news about how the island is dealing with so many environmental issues as people have gone there to bring the same wastes they did the past years in Boracay, I just can’t help but think that we are easily and irresponsibly hooked to trends? Or are we just really that unaware of how we have been treating nature? Either way, I think we just simply have to learn that although no man is an island, we are still one with nature—we breathe it, walk on it, etc. Being one with nature means we have to take care of it, make sure its beauty is maintained just as how we are supposed to keep our minds, souls, and bodies transcending into the best it could.