In Their Own Voice

In trying to understand our students' lives, we thought it was important to let their stories be told, to let their voices be heard, to let them speak out for and about themselves. To know the unique experiences and perspectives of young people–the complexity, richness, and sometimes, the sheer ordinariness of their experiences–there could be no better source of information that what they themselves say about their thoughts and feelings, in narratives told in the teller's own words. These then, are the voices of our young people–honest and raw; often rather tentative; at times quite sure. They offer us a glimpse of who and how they are, and allow us to discover how they view their lives. Their narratives, too, may suggest what they could eventually be, and how their hopes and aspirations would, in time, become, real. —From the Introduction by Ma. Emma Concepcion D. Liwag and Rofel G. Brion