In this issue of Conscious Conversations, we took some time to reflect and ended up getting in touch with none other than, well, ourselves. This series is usually about the people we feature, so it comes as no surprise that people would pay no heed to the voice behind Conscious Conversations: me. It feels a little strange writing an issue in first person, for one, and things feel a tad out of place without waiting for an interviewee to fix connectivity issues in a Zoom waiting room. It’s just me, Anya, and a laptop burning the skin on my thighs. I’m not sure where to begin, but the most definite answer would be when the world slowly came to a pause.
October 2019 marked the beginning of everything, and now that I’ve had time to think things through, Mission Isla was there before anyone even knew it was. The wheels were churning, and it took a whole world of silence for us to finally hear the buzz it was making within us. Admittedly, I wasn’t having a great time even pre-pandemic. I was doing well academically, sure, but I’d just gotten so sick of feeling like every single day of my life was groundhog day. I needed something to shake me up, I so badly believed. I felt like my life had stagnated, but instead of trying new things out, I decided to tap into a brief history of everything I felt passionate about, and after months of wracking my brain for anything that would basically give my life purpose, I finally discovered the one thing I could put my entire soul into: the environmental movement.
I was first introduced to the urgency for climate justice and system change in 2016 after my 9th grade literature teacher showed us Before The Flood, National Geographic’s Leonardo Dicaprio-narrated documentary on the harrowing effects of climate change. I knew climate change was important, but it wasn’t until then that I was completely alarmed. I began spiraling into a hole of eco-fuelled media consumption; I started following environmentalists, activists, organizations — everything and everyone I could reach digitally. It started to consume me. Still, I took tentative steps. Despite all the research I was doing, I felt like I still couldn’t talk about it. Like I didn’t know enough. But then I realized that the best way to learn was to get involved.
In late 2019, I began doing more research on how I could join the movement. I was overwhelmed by all the organizations I could be part of and all the opportunities that needed volunteers. I began dipping my toes here and there, but only when the world completely shifted did I journey on as a changemaker full stop. I joined the Youth for Our Planet global movement in mid-2020 — a few months into trying to ease myself in a world shaped anew by a pandemic — and it was there that I met the incredible people who have breathed life into Mission Isla.
To say it started with me would be quite accurate, but to a certain extent, that’s all I feel I did. The team behind Mission Isla (Ally, Maia, Alex, Rica, and Ianne) built this whole thing from the ground up. It’s such a cliche thing to say, but I never would have been able to bring this to life without them. Every single member of the core team is completely indispensable. They are so incredible at a number of things I could never picture myself delving into, let alone trying. To give me all the credit would be extremely incorrect. It was more of me laying down the framework, and the girls building everything from the ground up, level by level.
Our team is an unlikely little bunch. Prior to the changemaking movement, I had only known one member personally, and that was Maia — someone I always thought was a good friend of mine (in fifth grade, I once asked her to write my then-crush’s name on my entire arm in big sharpie letters, so who wouldn’t be friends after that?). I met her when I was ten, and though a great number of things have changed since then, I still find myself in awe of how quickly she can move from one idea to another. She also has this unique ability to grow projects and turn them into things that are far more impactful on a much larger scale. We have a running joke about how her mind seemingly never rests, and honestly, I don’t think it does. She’s like Leo Valdez, constantly building things in her head.
Rica was someone I’d also known for years, though we’d never been more than acquaintances prior to pursuing our careers as changemakers. Back then, we found a common ground in our love for Marvel movies and comics. Today, our shared passion for protecting the environment not only serves as a common ground, we’re also better friends now because of it. Our team wouldn’t be the same without Rica’s bravery. Rica is one of the staunchest defenders of Indigenous Peoples rights and environmental justice for IPs. Normally, that wouldn’t be considered such a feat, but in a country where environmental defenders are quite literally slaughtered (the Philippines is the most dangerous country in Asia for environmental defenders), it becomes something so monumentally heroic.
Ally and I moved in similar circles, but didn’t actually know each other, which, come to think of it, is a little funny considering how small our circles are. We went to the same uni, knew the same people, and were in the same organizations, but we only stopped being strangers once we began workshopping a webinar together under the Youth for Our Planet global movement. I don’t think I’d ever be able to put into words how grateful I am to have Ally. She’s absolutely incredible at everything I’m not. She’s our go to all-around girl. She’s wonderful at human resource management and getting people together, but on the flip side, she also does amazing at handling external affairs. She’s the first person I go to for social media strategies and decision-making — basically, she’s good at everything and she’s good with everyone. I’ve yet to meet a person who hasn’t got good things to say about her, and I’m positive it will stay that way.
Through Ally, I also had the pleasure of meeting Alex, who always seemed like a happy camper regardless of what we were facing. Alex embodies the spirit of volunteerism. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone so game to just dive headfirst into a task the way Alex does. She puts her entire heart into everything she does, and this level of passion transcends what we do in the environmental movement. Alex likes to shed light on political justice, which is of growing importance now that the 2022 elections are moving nearer by the second. Like Rica, Alex possesses quantities of bravery I will forever admire.
Ianne was also one of the people I met through Ally. She joined us mid-project, but she wasted no time getting acquainted with our team’s existing members and our work ethic, and it’s incredible how well she was able to find a comfortable space in our system in such a small time frame. Ianne isn’t one to be picky with task assignments. She keeps our social media channels alive, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that, because as a tiny organization, majority of our publicity comes from our own social media channels. She’s our social media guru. The whole thing would fall apart without her expertise. Everything you see through your screens, Ianne is behind. In a sense, that kind of makes her the face of our little family.
Mission Isla is far from perfect, but I do acknowledge how extremely lucky I am to be able to work with the team we currently have. Disagreements are unavoidable, but conflict isn’t something we cultivate. There’s something comforting in knowing that the people you work with aren’t just colleagues, they’re your friends, too. And in trying times like these, friendship has proven to be more important, especially in youth movements. The pandemic can feel isolating at times, and because of this, it’s so easy to feel dwarfed by issues as monumental as climate change — it’s so easy to feel that not only is the change you’re making insignificant, you, as a whole, are insignificant, too. I can’t pinpoint how many times those thoughts nearly drove me to the point of burnout, but knowing that I was part of a team reassured me of my boundaries and the battles that weren’t for me to choose. It’s so cheesy, but Mission Isla made me realize that no man is an island. It’s so much better to brave storms with people by your side. You can only do so much on your own, but when you link your ideas with people who are equally driven and inspiring, your combined potential goes beyond what you previously imagined.
Welcome to Mission Isla. We are so happy to have you.
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