Benjamin Alves on his penchant for literature

Before discovering his passion and potential for literature, Kapuso actor Benjamin Alves once considered pursuing Philosophy and Marketing. The Adarna actor eventually followed his heart and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Guam.

GMANetwork.com sat down for a one-on-one interview with Ben, who opened up about his love for writing and his creative streak.

After taking up two semesters in Marketing, which included subjects like Accounting, Finance, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, Ben made the big switch to Literature. Could it be because of Math? Hardly.

He said, “I see the purpose, the black-and-whiteness of Math. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong and if you’re right, you’re right. You can even prove it. It’s a good discipline.”

Ben added, “For us who write, sometimes kasi we get the license to reason ourselves out of things. If you did something wrong, you can rationalize things. Math is not like that and there’s no way for you to explain it but only through the right way.”

Despite enjoying Math, the tables turned for Ben when he took an “Introduction to Literature” class. After that, he knew exactly what he wanted to pursue.

He shared, “My professor, who was also my mentor told me that I could learn business over the weekend. He was being pro-literature, when he said it, but I took it anyway.”

Throughout the course of his studies, Ben was able to come up with literary pieces such as novellas, short stories, prose poetry, poetic prose and palm-of-the-hand, which are similar to short haikus.

Ben said, “I still have my collection of it. No one’s ever gonna see it, I think.”

He continued, “The creative mind also needs courage. I think you’re only a writer if someone reads your stuff anyway. You can love writing, but you can’t call yourself an author until you’re published. Until I do that, I just have an English Literature degree.”

Nevertheless, Ben got the highest honor any student can achieve by graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Of this achievement, he said, “Sometimes, I think having that honor kinda maybe limited me from exploring things that I probably would have failed in.”

He urged students to go for whatever field fuels their passion and let go of their fear of failing.

“I hope that people who go to school are not just there to please their teachers or get high grades. That’s a very old school way of thinking. I think it’s okay to fail sometimes, or to not have to share the same opinion as my professors because that would mean I struck a chord in them,” said Ben.

With his talent and charm, Ben never fails to strike a chord on anyone; so what books have struck a chord in him? Which literary works best represent who Benjamin Alves is?

He answered, “Robinson Crusoe (by Daniel Defoe), probably or The Stranger (by Albert Camus). There’s also this existential Japanese novel called The Woman in the Dunes (by Kobe Abe). It’s always nice when a writer brings one character detaches the character from the community in order to find purpose.”

If you find purpose in watching Benjamin Alves onscreen, make sure to catch him in the final week of Adarna on GMA Telebabad.

-Text by Samantha Portillo, Photo by Elisa Aquino, GMANetwork.com