Dear Filipino, You Don’t Always Need to Have an Opinion—and That’s Okay
A reflection on the Toboso 19 discourse, social media outrage, and the illusion that constant online opinion-making necessarily reflects real political transformation. Drawing from research on trust, culture, and public life, this essay argues that democratic politics is often slower, more ambivalent, and far less spectacular than social media suggests.
When the Title Isn’t the Point
I still feel a quiet joy whenever someone calls me “Dr. Mendoza.” It reminds me of the long, uneven journey toward finishing my PhD at the University of Canterbury in 2023—the exhaustion, the doubt, the relief, and the kindness of people who carried me when I needed it most.
Moving Through a Year of Transition — and Turning Forward
A year of transition has reshaped how I hold trust, care, and responsibility in scholarship — clarifying both the intellectual direction of my work and my commitment to kinder, more dignified academic spaces