Education Hero: Getting to Know Lala Jara-Tuazon
Lala is a self-taught artist with an academic background on psychology and education and holds a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of the Philippines and a Master's degree in Education from the Ateneo de Manila University, where she also completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. In her campaign #artforeducationph, a portion of earnings from commissioned artworks and ready-to-purchase art pieces are pooled together to support scholars of Mano Amiga Academy.
Tell us something about yourself
I love painting abstracts, reading books, sharing good food with family and friends, playing with my sons, walking and jogging with family, and being able to give tight hugs.
How would you define your mission in life?
To continuously grow into becoming a better mother and wife for my family, to create more meaningful art, and to encourage others to let their light shine in their own unique way
Why do you think providing access to quality education is important?
I believe quality education empowers individuals, no matter what their background is, to become the change they imagine themselves to be. Providing access to quality education gives scholars opportunity to work with grit towards their aspirations and in turn create a brighter future for themselves and the community. I’m thankful that through Mano Amiga we’re able to contribute to this wonderful mission.
What would you consider to be the best learning experience of life?
The best learning experience of life would be our mistakes and our life’s low points, because in those difficult moments, we learn to fail forward and we learn to strive harder, respectively. In failing forward, we recognize what went wrong and we acknowledge our own shortcomings, then we keep moving forward with not just new understanding, but also humility. In life’s difficult moments, we learn to muster strength and we learn to adapt. Openness to learning and change at any age and at any point in time also allow us to grow.
One of the things I learned in painting that we can apply in life is that we can change direction at any point in time. The act of painting is forgiving because we can always paint over our previous brushstrokes to make the artwork better. It allows us to self-correct, and to keep learning as we keep painting.
Painting teaches us to work hard with its techniques, to find our flow in the process, to keep going no matter what, to pause and reset every once in a while, to enjoy the journey, and to create something meaningful both for ourselves and for others. And we can also apply all these learnings to our everyday lives.
If you could tell your 10-year old self one thing, what would it be?
Dream, do, live each day with gratitude & kindness, and enjoy childhood. ☺
What is the WHY that keeps you going?
My WHYs would be my family whom I love dearly, art in different forms including the process of making it, the call to contribute in my own way, and faith in God. In the famous words of Fr. Arrupe, “Fall in love. Stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
How do you think we can empower/uplift and strengthen each other during this time?
I think when we practice gratitude and kindness, we also begin to uplift others. Little acts of kindness go a long way -- a smile, a kind word, or a kind gesture – may help make someone else’ day better. Gratitude and showing appreciation also uplift our own spirits and those around us. More love, kindness, and openness to one another can help us strengthen each other.
What is giving you hope during challenging times?
Faith gives me hope. Amidst the challenges, I believe that God has His reasons for everything that transpires in our lives. He also gives us our support system through our family, friends, and our community. Together, we can overcome challenging times.