Introduction

This poem emphasize that every Filipino have their own skills and knowledge that they can

use, for them to live. He wants that we should explore everything for progressive of our country.

He wants also that we have cared our motherland, especially their so many influences of the

different country. We support also our traditions, cultures and we use our own product, so that

we can show that we love for the country. Because we young Filipinos, are the model of our next

generation. If Rizal is still alive today, I think he would still cater to those lofty ideals of

greatness in the Filipino youth, even we wouldn’t squeeze a bit of nationalism into our daily live,

he would rather guide and support us, he would still hold us. To be cultivated as treasures even

he sees how we squander our studies, because he wants us to have value on this world even

though we did something. Rizal wants us to wake up, so he did everything for us to stop our bad

attitudes or bad deeds. The young Filipinos who are walking barefoot while carrying guns and

knives are the youth who are care by the government or by their families. But when they give

care to them, they can change their doings into good things. A hundred and fifty years, after his

birth and a hundred and fifty years before his death, can we honestly say that the Filipino youth

are turned into what he becomes? But not all because there are some young Filipinos who are

wasting their time in doing something and squandered their studies. We young Filipinos must

give lights and hope of our country, we need to protect and care our motherland. We use our own

product to show our nationalism and we do not adapt the work of others.

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 Rizal's Poem: To the Filipino youth

When he was studying in UST, he submitted a poem entitled “To the Filipino Youth” for the

poetry contest which had been organized for Filipinos by the Manila Lyceum of Art and

Literature, and though he was but eighteen years of age (1879), he won the first prize, a silver

pen. This poem, one of his most famous and most difficult to translate, was dedicated to the

Filipino Youth.

To the Filipino Youth

Raise your unruffled brow

On this day, Filipino youth!

Resplendent shines

Your courage rich,

Handsome hope of my motherland!

Fly, grand genius

And infuse them with noble sentiment

That vigorously rushes,

More rapid than the wind,

Its virgin mind to the glorious goal.

Descend to the arena

With the pleasant light of arts and sciences,

And unbind, Youth,

The heavy chain

That fetters your poetic genius.

See that in the bright zone

Offers the son of this native land

Resplendent crown.

You who ascend

On wings of your rich fantasy,

Seeking from Olympus in the clouds

Tenderest poetry,

Sweeter than nectar and ambrosia;

You of the celestial accent,

Melodious rival of the nightingale,

Who with varied melodies

Dissipate the mortal’s bitter pain

In the night serene;

You who animate the hand rock

With the impulse of your mind,

And with prepotent hand makes eternal

The pure memory

Of the refulgent genius;

And you, who with magic brushes

Are wont to transfer to simple canvas

The varied enchantment of Phoebus, beloved of

Apollo divine,

And the mantle of nature.

Run! For the sacred flame

Of the genius awaits to be crowned with laurels,

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 Spreading fame

With trumpet proclaiming

O’er the wide sphere the mortal’s name.

Day, oh happy day,

Philippines genteel, for your soil!

Bless the Almighty,

Who with loving desire

Sends you fortune and consolation

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 Body

We are the future of this nation because in the most literal sense we will one day become

the generation that leads this country. But we are also the future of this nation because our

actions today will shape the course of tomorrow. And although this has been said to us countless

times by our parents, professors, and mentors (who were once also told this very same adage in

their youth), allow me to emphasize that never has there been a more exciting time to be a

member of the youth sector.It has been said time and time again that there is something different

with the circumstances surrounding our generation. We live in an era where our social impact is

accelerated by the wealth of resources we have at our disposal.In the age of the New Media and

exponential technological advancements, we have the capacity to do more, reach more people,

and act earlier – but the caveat is that we must use these resources responsibly.And it is not only

in the use of our resources that we must be responsible, but also in the expression of our

idealism. Although our youth is marked by our idealism, let us temper our idealism with humility

– in accepting the fact that we can only do so much, and that we cannot solve all the problems of

our nation overnight.

Once we accept that we are individually limited, it will be much easier to move forward,

with the understanding that in order to serve the nation, it is enough to do well in whatever we

do, and trust that our fellow youth will do the same.And once we accept that progress takes time,

it will be much easier to move forward, with the understanding that nation building is a lifelong

commitment, with its own ups and downs, that we share with like-minded fellows.There will be

times that it may indeed be tempting to simply leave and explore greener pastures overseas, but

please stay because our natio needs us. Our nation needs our talents and skills, infectious

idealism and irreverent refusal to accept social ills as all that is and all that will ever be.But if we
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must go, wherever we go, let us take the dreams of our people with us and hold them with

reverence.

After all, we are all allies in nation building. As an archipelagic country, it is easy to make

the mistake of detaching ourselves from the people beyond our line of sight, and even easier, to

relegate the experiences of our countrymen to something that is foreign to us because we were

born under different circumstances.But it is important to remember that we are all part of the

same nation. And once we come to terms with this and really understand it, it becomes easier to

act in ways that mirror the depth of human dignity, to deal with each other with empathy and

compassion.Let us do away with crab mentality, an approach that is not at all underlying in our

native culture, but something we have acquired from our colonizers.

Let us foster, instead, our endemic sense of community, the spirit of bayanihan, in

celebrating the successes of our countrymen. At the end of the day, the success of one, is the

success of everyone. And we need all the good people that we can in order to change this nation

for the better.Perhaps out of equal parts frustration and hope, Jose Rizal asked: “Where are the

youth who will consecrate their golden hours, their illusions, and their enthusiasm to the welfare

of their native land?” Fast forward over 100 years later, we, the Filipino youth of today, cry out:

We are right here, on the cusp of greatness, brimming with idealism, and poised to make the

Philippines a better place.

Conclusion

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 Therefore, I conclude that the poem “To the Filipino Youth” is a message primarily to tell

the importance of one’s love and appreciation to his dialect or language, for it is the bridge and

intermediary connecting people’s country to each other. In the poem, Rizal praised the rising

generation. This poem can be considered as Rizal’s first testimony and presentation of his

nationalism. In this literary piece, he clearly referred to the Philippines as his home/motherland,

Rizal thought in the poem relates to the role of the youth with the nation building. Dr. Jose Rizal

composed the poem “To the Filipino Youth,” dedicating to the youth of the Philippines. He

wanted the Filipino youth to use their capabilities, talents and skills to stand out not only for their

own praise and success but also for the praise and success of their own motherland, the

Philippines. Dr. Jose Rizal wanted the Filipino youth to build up their abilities and use them to

help those who are in need. Also, Dr. Jose Rizal challenged the youth through this poem to refine

and nurture their talents in the arts, to invigorate and reinforce their knowledge of the sciences,

and to look forward and comminute their chain of servitude.

Undoubtedly, just like the other poems of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, the poem “To

the Filipino Youth” is a masterpiece worth reading and comprehending for. If I were to base my

judgments, I can personally describe it as a “real poem” that is, something that beautifully

incorporated the essential elements of poetry. While I was examining its every line, I was really

captured and amazed with the manner of writing, the message it tries to stress and insist, and of

course with the sincerity and genuineness of the poem. These things made me feel more eager

and interested to continue reading Jose Rizal’s. These aspects were the principal strengths of the

poem, reasoning why my attention and time was whole heartedly and heavily caught through this

poem.

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 On the other hand, the message this poem tries to convey, “To the Filipino Youth” is

holding a very strong one; strong enough to persuade/induce those who are to be

persuaded/induced, the Filipino Youth. As one of those individuals, I could really feel the

nationalistic courage within me glow brighter the moment I finished reading the poem. It was

like telling me that I am one of the existing hopes of our country and that through my skills,

abilities, expertise and knowledge of things, I am capable of protecting its freedom against

oppressive forces that may come through. Moreover, it was like telling me that together with my

co-youth, I am responsible for preserving the Philippines as a nation for me and the rest of the

Filipinos and not for the foreigners.

Lastly, based on what I felt when I was reading the poem and the emotions that were

expressed on each of the poem’s line, as to the sincerity of the poem, I considered “To the

Filipino Youth” as indeed a work from the heart with no pretension, no boastfulness, no

haughtiness and no plasticity. You can really feel the eagerness that Dr. Jose Rizal wanted

everyone to have consisted.

Cited list

http://kwentongebabuhayrizal.blogspot.com/2013/05/rizals-poem-to-filipino-youth.html?m=1
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https://www.academia.edu/38576379/Rizal_-_To_The_Filipino_Youth

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