Carla Labto / The SWC Sun
A Perspective
Every morning, I wake up bracing myself for whichever headline will crush my spirit: a woman murdered in Mexico, another war invading the globe, a student sexually assaulted, a new family detained by ICE. The list is endless. I wake up with the hope that someday things will change, that humanity will turn its gaze inward and discover what it so desperately seeks on the outside. Peace.
Recently, I had the opportunity to give a short speech at the Celebration of Awakening 2026 World Peace Festival. It was a unique event where people spoke about how they cultivate peace. This experience sparked an internal dialogue within me about what peace truly is, beyond a phrase muttered during a Catholic Mass to wish someone well, or a simple gesture made with the index and middle fingers.
During my research into the etymology of the word, I found that according to the Real Academia Española (RAE, n.d.), “paz” (peace) originates from the Latin pax, which signifies a “pact” or “agreement.” While the use of this term is commonly associated with the absence of conflict, it denotes a state of tranquility and harmony. Overanalyzing this concept left my mind restless. It echoed in every corner of my thoughts. I asked myself then, and I continue to do so now because the answer is so elusive: how am I supposed to find peace when the world shows me everything but peace? It is as if that “pact” or “agreement” is broken.
In my speech, I shared how studying journalism has completely transformed my reality. I spoke about how injustices crush your heart, and how interviewing individuals who had pieces of themselves stolen by those claiming absolute authority makes my blood boil. Every single story in this world deserves to be told. As a future journalist, I want to be a voice for all those whose perspectives have been minimized, or whose pain has left them speechless. This sentiment echoed deeply during the festival when fellow speaker Carmen Villareal noted, “Perhaps peace truly begins when we understand that no life is insignificant and that our compassion does not need to have borders.”
This is where the true internal work begins. I believe it is absolutely vital to share this insight during a time of such global uncertainty and chaos, especially on a platform where fellow students who might feel the exact same way can connect. Peace cannot be sought externally. Peace is not something you can walk into the Student Union cafeteria and ask for, nor is it something you can board the trolley and expect someone to hand to you.
During one of the panels, a young girl sharing the stage offered a profound reminder of this simplicity: “I always breathe and take my 5 min to analyze my environment and find my peace again, because peace starts within us.” Her words point to the exact truth we often overlook. Peace is found within. It requires looking at oneself with compassion and gifting yourself just those five minutes a day to breathe. In a world this lost, we need to take those breaths over and over again, reminding ourselves that true goodness always stems from within.
The world is already sick enough without us continuing to commit selfish acts against it. If we have the opportunity to cultivate a pact of peace and harmony, let us be the first to do so. Let us all be part of a process of positive change. Let us be the reason life is full of stories told, the reason we speak out about what is usually silenced, the reason peace is brought forth from within, and the reason no one is ever deprived of freedom of expression. Just as peace is defined as the absence of conflict, let it also be the reason that we, the youth, live in harmony.
