The Problem With Men and Women

Racial discrimination has been a history of this world. It has been written in almost all history books and has been one of the main reasons of civil wars and feuds. Sexism on the other hand, has yet to be a problem in this world.

True to the fact that there is an existing House Bill towards equality in sexuality, there is some equally existing fact that each of the sexes existing in this world has what we call, a blemish in their parts.

Before I say anything, I would just want to assert the fact that I am entitled to my own opinion and with that privilege, I assure you that I will try not to touch anybody or to expose a part of anybody that I would use as an example to prove my assertions.

Haha! So much of playing safe, now time for some serious topic.

Now, what could be a problem with men? In my own perspective, I see it a problem that sometimes, they believe that it is their mindset that the others should consider the truth. It seems that they are in control of everything. This proves to be one of the issues that need to be tackled upon. They consider themselves superior in terms of physical strength and leadership. Well, yes it is true. For some point in time, the greatest of the leaders were men but the greatest war freaks in the world were men. They feel that they are the ones right and that they are the ones right in choosing a decision and in making an act.

In a family, a father is said to be the “Foundation” and in the famous religions in the world, I have never heard of a woman as a founder. But should it be important to consider that in every endeavor of a man there will always be a woman to compliment and balance everything?

From a historical basis, men started wars that changed the landscape of human kind. They were great leaders but the ways of their minds were ventured from improvement to unexplainable decisions that proved to be causes of unforgettable mishaps and hair-raising deaths.

On a present basis wherein we could really describe it from a perspective of a mere observer is that, men are such cowards. They prove to be the kind where they diffuse from a more hurtful fact to a less painful or should I say a pleasurable fact.

Hmm… I think I’ve said enough of the things that I should say are a problem of the men in the world. I think it should be time to consider the blemishes of the counterparts of Venus in this world.

The problem with the women in this world is that they are just not that strong when it comes to loving. They may seem to give everything to the person they love but when everything else fails, they’re just like an honor student failing in school, they feel like the world is so cruel. I just don’t really know the whole reason why this race have a very different insight about love but this race produces the majority of those “Dakilang martir stuff” which may not be outwardly bad but hello sister, its time to give some time to yourself!

The ladies are also a problem in a sense that they nag. They keep on opening their mouth in situations that may not demand an open mouth. They blurt out every possible feeling that they have and assert it as their right and that let us not interfere with that right. Ok fine, we won’t! But to come to think of it, it would be of a greater problem also if the girls stop talking and the boys start to do the nagging, what a world!!!

Every individual in this world may be of a different personality but it is so fun to discover and realize that no matter how different we are it still has its purpose and we have a greater similarity in this world, far greater than anything else, and that would be our imperfections.

Reflection on The Look

The Look

Strephon kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,
Robin's lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin's eyes
Haunts me night and day.

-Sara Teasdale-

As they would say it, a kiss is one of the many ways to show love. But this poem seems to speak the different sense of the word love.

For me, this poem speaks of the different characteristics of love that differs a lot in how a lover would show it.

The first two could be concluded as those people really passionate about love. Showy in their ways. Everything seems to be compared.

Two people kissed her in different seasons. This could mean a change of heart for a girl from a person to another person. This could also imply that the boy also had a change of heart. The third never kissed her but instead looked into her eyes in a differently special way.

Time passed by swiftly and the warmth of the kiss left. But never did the meaningful stare erase from her mind.

Sometimes, love need not be very showy. Sometimes love is best when cherished a lot by the memories you spend together. These times may not of the longer scope but the quality of the time spent with the person you feel for makes worthwhile.

“Even though something is not seen, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.” This is a quotation I got from a bookmark from a friend (that’s the reason why I keep bookmarks because they give words of wisdom).

Love may not necessarily shown. There are a lot of cases of love where for more than 2 years they have managed in safekeeping to themselves. This kind of love may develop hurt. But his kind of love is more responsible in a sense that there is always time to think and enough time to think undo safely what has happened.

Each of us have reasons why we fall for somebody, regardless of who that person is, that reason is far explained by the heart alone but also by our minds. We all have reasons why we don’t find appropriate ways to show like a kiss or a letter. We all have these reasons to live by. The world is full of these reasons making it a whole large part if reason and rationale.

I may not be too good to be talking about love as a thing but I will just share a part of whatever it is that I have heard or in some ways, experienced. For me, love does not take two to blossom. Sometimes, it is always better to keep it to ourselves because with this we could be able to rewind everything and change something that in such a way nobody will be in trouble. Love will come our way. It will just come by and it is up to us to decide if it id really the right thing for us. Love requires sacrifice. Sacrifice for a lover who is not loved back. Sacrifice for a lover, who is happy on his or her own and a lot more sacrifice for a lover who is loved back because he or she has to maintain such special bond.

During our young ages, we were fond of keeping memories of those people we love. Even the slightest touch of a person we love, we would interpret as something else, believe what we feel, keep it and one day, we use it to once fill up a frustrated heart, a heart full of yearning for the love that has never came back.

A Smile.. measures pain...!

“It is not always our tears that measure pain… sometimes… it’s our SMILES…”

Could it be true then? Could we possibly measure how painful a person’s burdens are giving him through his smiles? How possible could it be?

The truth hurts. More than what we expect, the truth hurts the most. It is unstoppable, unquestionable and most especially what is what it is in this world.

In this world where we are but species who tend to find fault in every action that we commit and find reason to easily accept these faults even though… we feel the complete contradictory.

A smile could be the sweetest accessory in every move we make but it could be one of the best asset in pretending.

Tears trickle down our eyes when we feel the rush of pain in our hearts. We cry. We break down. They say this is not a sign of cowardice but it is the sign that we are brave enough to pour our hearts out and express what we really feel inside.

Tears symbolize our hurt. It embodies the frustrations, depressions, jealousies and fears we have in our hearts. A tear is the heart’s way of showing that we are experiencing crisis of happiness and we feel a bountiful loneliness is coming our way. But what if, our heart cheats us and gives us a different symbol that we ourselves could not explain? What if we smile even though if we are hurt?

Obviously, we are afraid to show how we feel. We are not brave enough to share to others what we feel inside because we fear that they may not able to understand and that they may not be able to accept our own beliefs and principles. A smile in a time of pain is a device used to defend ourselves from self-incrimination. It is widely used by people who themselves cannot accept the truth. They flaunt this smile with pride as a symbol that they are brave but actually they are not.

Bravery and courage are not outwardly shown through barbaric acts and vigorous deeds but are completely shown through a heart that is willing to peel its own cover and hurt. Hurting oneself does not necessarily mean to bleed but it is completely defined by this statement… “Die a little to make others live!”.

Dying means sacrificing. It is in this way also, that we can make a step to make a better world for us all to live. A world, even though filled with the negative and bad traits can still be a good learning environment. Sacrificing needs guts. Guts and wisdom to know what to do and be able to decipher why we are doing such thing.

A smile, a tear; both could be symbols of those painful pasts and presents and even the future that we may encounter. It is on these things that we decide to feel, either we get hurt and accept it or get hurt and deny the fact that what hurts us most is the truth.

Know Your School Day

Even the moment we entered those kindergarten days, we were accustomed to seeing a teacher in front, wanting our attention and scolding us every time we mess around.

We were taught that they are our second parents, or the parents we have in school.

What if, the teachers were given a break and the students become the people in authority? What could happen? Would it be just the same thing, no difference at all? Would it be better? Or would it be… chaotic? No one would know unless somebody would try.

For the past years that I have studied in UP High, there is always this annual celebration for teachers. They call it the ‘Know Your School Day’.

In this activity, students line up to their respective subject teachers and staff of the institution not to have their clearances signed but to apply for the position for them to participate in such a challenging role.

The students gear on for a higher challenge once they are accepted of the position. They could be the Principal, the Division Chair, a Subject teacher or the equally demanding job of a clerk. In one day they could be in these positions.

The KYSD, as they call it, is a project of the Student Council to honor the sacred job of a teacher who finds big ways to give importance to the mind of a child. It is one of the ways to finally be able to give these teachers a break from a hard day’s work and to give them the chance to relax and enjoy how their students are faring in their job.

The students in return feel a sense of accomplishment upon hearing a sigh from their classmates, a sign that at last they have understood a lesson that at the beginning seem to be void in form and importance.

As for those students who have always been students even during the KYSD, it’s better for the teacher to be a teacher and a student to be a student. Students may be entitled to teach their classmates but not to the point of introducing a new lesson because if not given the proper treatment, this might endanger the students thinking and understanding of a certain topic. Teachers, on the other hand, great as they are, they need to be beside their students most of the time. They should guide their students even in this moment of time where their most trusted students are teaching his/her classmates because they don’t have the same wavelength and the same understanding and this might affect a lot.

Students and teachers alike have equal responsibilities of their own. They make up a nice team of learning environment and a diverse pool of individuals eager to learn about the things surrounding them. Life is always a thing to be understood and lived by in the most proper way possible. Learning is one of the processes that we have to undertake. Though there might be other factors and people that may affect our learning, let us not be covered by them. Instead, we should learn in a pace where we have adapted, no matter how many factors have always been changing, still we become consistent in our struggle to learn and to live.

Top Eight things I have acquired because of high school… (Part 1)

You finish your elementary and you start another chapter called High School. For four years in high school, have you counted the number of things you gained from it, or the number of immaterial things that you have acquired? Well, as for me, here is my assessment of the things I have acquired because of high school, no matter how small or how life changing.

8. An e-mail account or a Yahoo briefcase.

Well, I had this when I was in first year and I believe this is an important element in high school. This is where we store data that we must make sure is safe and will not be corrupted. Diskettes and other file storage systems can be used but we need to have copies of our files saved right up in the internet for easy access anywhere we go because in high school you might need these files. Teachers are slightly demanding and you might need long essays and researches that is essential for your notes. Also, teachers may tell you submit projects through your e-mail account.

In high school, there are a lot of memories that you want to store and you can’t afford not to have a copy of which. What we do is we send our pictures through our e-mail accounts. Also, the world right now is on the verge of the Information Age where computers and internet access is already becoming not only a want but a lifestyle!

7. A Friendster account.

What better way to have new friends on this age of information but to have a Friendster account. With friendster, I was able to connect with my classmates in elementary and was able to see their pictures with my other classmates and witness the growth of this studs who I have spent time with when we were just mere students, no yet teenagers, that’s what I mean! Also, with friendster you can have friends outside of school and even know more your textmates. You discover their hobbies and other things about them because of friendster.

Probably the most important thing about friendster is the fact that you can meet new people and treasure them without the problem of being criticized by the clothes that you wear or your weird accent but you just get to personalize your presentation with a little talent and love for the Net!

6. I owned three pigs…just for a project!

Haha… Imagine me owning three pigs and these three pigs are used for our research project. Imagine the cost and the risk that I would offer these pigs of mine. I laughed at the idea of owning pigs but I thought it was cool to have them as pets, weird but it sounds cute also to own pigs as pets. Hahah… well at least I never cuddled them as if they were dogs but the treatment I gave them, if only they were not subject for our research project, I would’ve carried them when they were still small.

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Top Eight things I have acquired because of high school… (Part 2)

Before I continue, here is what was at Number 8, 7, and 6.

8. An e-mail account

7. A Friendster account

6. I owned 3 pigs… just for a project!

Here are numbers 5, 4 and 3:

5. Thick Books

Thanks to Calculus and Physics, I get to have thick books. Whoa! High school is really causing pressure among its patrons, the high school students, of course. With subjects here and there, you can’t afford not to have reference materials such as books and journals, from the library or even having it for your own.

It started in our third year that we need books that of Leithold and Paul G. Hewitt. We can’t seem to see carrying books like this almost every days of our high school life, but as fate would have it, it went down to our system easily, even though we wished we won’t use it.

Especially in our Senior year that we are to own thicker books, The TC7 by Leithold, our book for our Math course is three times thicker than the book we used for Physics. Well, who will not be proud of carrying these thick books, but the thing is, our task is to understand what lies inside these books, and we are sure they are not easy to understand, might be difficult or we might be able to understand them at all.

It is a challenge for every one of us to know these books by heart. We hope these books also have the heart of being read and understood by its owner. Books are friends for they carry knowledge essential to us, they help us in times where we are confused, they enrich our minds, but some do pollute. For me, I don’t care how thick a book I might be carrying the moment you see me, the thing is, I would be very proud of it, even if I don’t understand most of it, but as long as it’s good, helpful and knowledgeable. What else could I ask for?

4. USB

With projects here and there, requirements everywhere, and papers flying to and fro, its best to own a USB. A portable device for you to save files of large byte size or even many small files. It is safer than a diskette and a CD. The portability of this device is its main asset. So small yet so useful, you can carry it to school and even attach a cord and make it into a necklace.

As for me, it has been very useful especially at this time where there are a lot of requirements and projects to submit.

3. My Own Research Project

Every person has something to be proud of and as for me, something added to the list, my own research project. It is an effort made together by 4 senior students as a requirement for their subject Research II.

Here we are to make our own project, a study. As for our project, we dealt with pigs because our project is all about making feeds for pigs out of water hyacinth.

During the day of our defense, my classmates and some of my groupmates were in a nervous condition, as for me, I was excited. I don’t know why but I felt excitement and pride because we will be presenting a project where we exerted a lot of effort and used most of our time just to finish it.

The moment of our defense came and it was the moment I felt an upsurge of nervousness. I was in a real nerve-wrecking situation. Funny how I managed to say the right words at the right time.

For me, it ended well even if I wasn’t able to discuss my project up to the end of it. Nevertheless, there is still the fulfillment and success that after all of those sleepless nights and worried days due to nearing deadlines, we finished it!

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Top Eight things I have acquired because of high school… (Part 3)

Top Eight hings I have acquired during or because of high school… (Part 3)

Part I and Part II showed:

8. An e-mail account

7. A Friendster account

6. I owned 3 pigs… just for a project!

5. Thick books

4. USB

3. My own research project

Here are Numbers 2 and 1.

2. A Grade below 80!

I have been spending half of my life in schooling and for the first time in my life, I have experienced having a grade below 80.

To some extent I thought of it as a shameful experience but up to some point in my life, in made me reach for the better.

Yes it was difficult to imagine but it was an eye-opener. It was like a mark that everybody has his or her own low times.

Mathematics became my weakest link. It is the very first subject that I got a grade below 80, well at first it was difficult to accept but as time goes by, you learn to laugh at it and make fun of yourself to the point that you don’t want to experience it again and make certain precautions and acts just in order to avoid such grade.

Time came and I did say there was an improvement. But the subjects were really reaching higher difficulties at a fast rate. It is I who must be able to go with the flow and slowly sway with it, adapt it and challenge yourself to surpass it. It was exhausting but it was beautiful.

The lesson I got from this experience is the fact that we are to expect the worst that we could ever bear. This is for us to be ready to accept the equally grueling consequences that come our way and the equally hurtful events that will slowly unfold in front of us.

It is always by learning every time we fall that we get to measure one’s strength and wisdom. It is by implementing what we try to say that we get to calculate a person’s consistency and strength upon a decision and it is by failing that we get to stand up and realize that the best way to overcome failure is to fail it come into you.

1. Friends

It is said that the best part of living is when your family become your friends and when your friends become a part of your family.

Living with friends who are so dear is like living with a companion for all the days of your life. In those times where you were scared of the people around you, they are always there to a guiding ang motivating strength, for you to move on.

For those times where you can’t seem to do anything else but to laugh and laugh they are always there to share a giggle even if they themselves are on the verge of crying. For those times when you are about to blurt out a cry, even though they are at the top of the mountain of ecstasy, they would still go down and go with you in the rocky road of your tears.

These friends are not just your peers in times of joy and bounty but also, they prove to be your greatest asset when even in your times of struggle and times where everybody seem to find fault in you, they are still there waiting to be gripped and waiting to be slapped by your hurting heart.

Every now and then we may find a person who can be with us in those times when we need company but still, it prove difficult to find a friend who could take you to happy and heights and be with you in depressing downs. Friendship is not measured in the times you spent together, how long and short these may be but it is measured through the quality of the time spent, the love shown and the gratitude’s sincerity.

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 1)

“You’ll never miss the water... until the well runs dry!”

If 2005 was a year of blessings, gifts and memories, then 2006 could be labeled to be the Year of Responsibilities and Challenges. The year paved the way for things I have never experienced before. Things I never thought of doing. Things I never found to be fun and enjoyable.

The year 2006 definitely, was likened to the personality of the Dog. Not only by the typical Chinese belief but as to how it came to be in my life. Tranquil at times, playful in some moments. Fearless… Harsh… Sensitive… Very human! There were a lot of opportunities barking by my front door steps but when examined I thought of them as rubbish. How could I have possibly considered it to be rubbish when in fact I never had any taste of it at all? Lesson number 1: Being bitten by a dog is no trouble at all, bite it too and the dog will feel the greater pain… from shame and your bite!

2006 opened. January came in. A new year and a new month for change. January 2006 became a time to realize and finally assess the past. It is the month of looking back and of rekindling happy thoughts and learn from bad memories.

Every New Year there is a tradition of a new year’s resolution. For me, a new year’s resolution would be appropriate to set and start living with it from the very first day after your birthday. Nevertheless, I have one! My New Year’s resolution is to be closer to my Creator, God. It seems to me that I have been truly blessed the last year and it would be truly ungrateful if I don’t give any appreciation to that. Yes! I am thankful! Very much thankful and grateful to God and to everybody.

For some reason my destiny was helping me fulfill or should I say “making my resolution come true”. Our Guidance Counselor (Madam Annabelle Maglasang) wrote me in the list of students who will be attending the ADORE 2006, a gathering (as I would define it) of some of Cebu’s youth in an effort to relay the message of God to those who are highly susceptible with temptation. Yep, the youth. This was on February when we attended the conference and somehow it did make an effect to me. After which, I started going to mass every Wednesday noon. I prayed the Rosary daily. Later, it drifted away. I am very sorry to be very outspoken about his topic, many might find it blasphemous. Soon, I realized that saying memorized prayers is not the best way of talking to God. For me, talking to God is holier when you do it alone. Talking to Him as you talk to yourself. You pour out everything you need to say in a manner and arrangement never ever heard from anybody else. What a refreshing feeling it would be for God to hear these words from you. A prayer made by a faithful soul is far more sincere than anything else. God listens, I’m sure of that, and I live because of that. Lesson number 2: Be yourself, even with God.

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 2)

Just in the middle of the month, our first ever experience of a JS Prom (I was still a Junior by this time) came into reality. Dashing gents and gorgeous ladies flocked the hall where we were supposed to show elegance and maturity. It was a great night. Despite the fact that the Juniors and the Seniors have some rivalry during the Intramural games, the riotous memories of mocks and discouragements never dare resurface during the Prom night as if it were just some heavy matter in a small object (thus greater density than water, sink! Haha! Physics again?! Peace!). One thing I am very happy about the Prom is the fact that I received the Legacy of Confidence! Yes and it is really something to be proud of! Confidence is neither a gift nor a talent. It is a special property or characteristic of a person which makes you sing, dance and act or do whatever things even though you really don’t have the talent for it. It is the backbone of artists and politicians and the reason why they are there. Because they believed in themselves and that’s what is important, believe in yourself, because nobody else will! Lesson number 3: Believe in yourself. It is a worn-out cliché, but it is helpful!

March came in and this was no time of joking. Clearly, many are telling me to run as Chairperson for the Student Council next year, I tell them “No, I won’t!” but truly, I would love too. Honestly, there are really some other things in life that you would want to keep secret first before spilling out to the world even if they push you to tell them the truth. My reason for this is, making sure of everything you say and do. As for me, I did tell my parents about my desire to run and my mother in some way, discouraged me but in the end left me to decide to myself, but my father kept quiet. I think it was his way of saying, “It’s all up to you!” and it has always been like that. There are really times in life where you really need to think and never ever dare stop. Thinking is an evaluation of your physical and emotional being through your mental alertness and capability. Sometimes, your brain needs to take a rest and would be best if you follow suit. You need to get away from the troubles of life that may cost you everything. You need to take a rest from work or the technical side of life and get on with your emotional and mental side. As for me, I never took that rest. I ran for SC Chairperson. I won. Was I happy? You’re damn right I was!!! But I never anticipated the things that were coming my way. The things that are slowly revealing themselves in front of me.

The school year ended and it was such a great relief to be able to finish a year again and with a recognition as an honor student

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 3)

April came, and one first challenge came in front of me: The Kool Adventure Camp sponsored by RAFI. It is a camp attended by corporate businessmen, professionals, or students especially student leaders. For the first time the UPHS students attended the 3-day camp and including myself, we walked into an adventure we never thought we would do, but we also never thought we would never forget.

Ropes course! Wall climbing! Standing at the top of a shaking pole! Walking on wires! Oh, such very grievous sight if you don’t accomplish these three things, it’s just frustrating. But you know what, I would be very proud of saying that I climbed the wall successfully and I walked on that wire with patience! As for that pole, I climbed the last step but I never managed to stand at the top of it and reach the other rope, but at least I reached the top, at least I attempted to succeed, at least I TRIED!!! In life, failure is never essential. The effort to continue and the difficulty of that pursuit make life worth living. Lesson number 4: The fact of dying makes us live more. The fact of losing somebody makes us need and want that somebody more. The fact that we live in a life with rules, makes us want to rebel more. What I am trying to say here is that, not all negatives cause destruction. Somehow, they are our motivation to survive in this world. Rebelling is not a heinous crime it’s just that we are attacking certain principles that are accepted as true and a default in the society. I may be rebellious in this article but the thing is that I’m just trying to say what I observe.

May came in and we had our first dose of what is in store for us in the senior year. We attended a Calculus crash course conducted by our very own Sir Basadre (Math teacher) and his very smart assistants, some selected senior students! Unfortunately, I became part of Section A. I was shocked, surprised and astonished. I was partly embarrassed, but hello? What’s the big deal? And on we continued with the tutorials and finished it just by the end of May. Whooo, I smell June coming. I smell class and work; put them together, ONE SCHOOL YEAR… again! But it was not a sad welcoming. It was in fact the lightest entering of the school year that occurred to me. But why?

Yes. I was quite anticipating and looking forward to this new term. It is because this will be our last year. The Senior students of a high school really become sentimental (at least for our part) when we talk about the topic of graduation. I am excited to graduate but in a way, very sad. I know after graduation I won’t be able to spend so much time with the people I have found myself with (my batch mates!) compared to those days where they were just a hand away! I am happy, because at least, it would be a way of forgetting things that need to be forgotten, things I consider as (hmm, how do I say this? Yes, let’s just call them) mistakes! Let’s just stop talking about these ‘mistakes’. Lesson number 5: Mistakes are not necessarily with the person’s consent. Most of the time, the person doesn’t like what he/she did also. With that, lets’ try to understand everybody, forgive, but not forget. Let’s not condemn, embarrass or make fun of anybody, we have our own skin to think of, MIND YOUR OWN FEELINGS! (Go Mae Ann! Peace best friend!).

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 4)

June. The school year opening went fine. I knew who my classmates are for this last year and in a way, got disappointed (I’m so sorry guys!). I belonged to section Gonzalez, full of the geniuses and the chulilings of the batch. In a way, I don’t like to be with them because I know I’m not one of them and I know I will never be like them. Thus, my insecurities again! I would admit the fact that I have some insecurities. Insecurities that other people do not know about. Insecurities that shaped me to this kind of person, thus making me who I am. My section is good, I just “thought” I wanted to be with those people who I know I can enjoy with and at the same time, learn with. I was wrong. I was entirely loving the idea of having the dream of having a resectioning and be with those I want to be with. It was in this time I can say that I was dreaming for diamonds when all I know I can get are pebbles. Pebbles, precious as to that of Darna’s!

My section was like that pebble. I knew that I can never be like the geniuses that are present in my section but I know it happened for a reason. I know I was in that section because I know deep inside me that I can have fun with this people and at the same time learn more. It just occurred to me that some of the people in this section are just like me. The funny type, the dead liner type, the love-for-pressure-type but you know what, they are just the milder side of things but nevertheless, we have one common denominator and that’s why I love this section. Lesson number 6: Don’t judge the book by its cover because it might just not open for you. Sometimes you must bask yourself with the things you think are different from your own being. They give you the different taste of life. They break the monotony of your life, thus making it a challenging one, a life worth living.

July invades the year and turn out to be a time to prepare for a competition or let’s just say a rivalry between the two sections, one that did spark something but never made me feel totally in the mood to compete.

August is the time for the Linggo ng Wika and the Seniors were tasked to mount an opening salvo for the week-long celebration based on a conversation between two characters in Jose Rizal’s novel, El Filibusterismo. This is about the development of the Filipino language, its origins and mysteries to be presented in an artistic manner, the ABAKADA .

There were practices, not to mention shelling out of large amounts for the costumes. Whoa, a hassle but indeed something we all liked. There were some misunderstandings, haha, and cat fights between the two sections but still the show moved on.

By the end of the day, the section Tan got majority of the awards. Indeed, their performance, costume, story and everything were quite astounding. Very well planned and very well executed. As for my part (because I was the one who directed our Abakada), it went fine. Everybody (hopefully) did their best. It was indeed a bad start for some but for me it was not a thing to ponder and waste a lot of time thinking of. For me, it was what it was. An opening salvo all through out. It was nothing to me (sorry again!) but for sometime, I realized it was ‘sayang’.

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 5)

Just by the end of September, as Chairperson and Co-Chairperson of the Student Council, Michelle and I attended a conference of student leaders about managing time, leading effectively and conducting a meeting through parliamentary procedure. By the end of the conference, we started nominating and electing for the City Mayor, City Vice Mayor and City Councilors and Department heads for the Cebu City Government’s annual holding of a Cebu City Youth Government wherein student leaders from Cebu City will assume office for a day. I was nominated for City Mayor and I won the election. It was nerve-wracking. The thought of it made me (shiver, haha) worry a lot. What if I won’t do things as directed? What if someone’s better out there than me? Clearly there is, but why me? And on the day of our taking oath of office, I found out.

Directly after we were sworn into office (I’m sorry if I haven’t accounted the sequence of events as they happened, I just can’t remember clearly.), we were sent to the vice mayor’s office to talk about leadership, proper leadership. We wore barongs, some; suits and the girls wore their office attires and some, their Filipiniana outfits. The talk on the vice mayor’s office went from the formalities of leadership to the type of music the vice mayor likes.

Later that day, we were sent to the mayor’s office. I was nervous; I was to see my counterpart (as they call it). The mayor told us something that struck me and I directly identified it as the reason for my being here. He told us things about playing second best. “It is painful”, he said. He gave an example as to how this could be true. He asked us how many of the rivals of the Philippine presidents during their election period we knew. The answer was, not much. Clearly, we don’t get remembered when we are second best. The second on the list of the Presidency was ALMOST the president, but reality hurts, he never was! It’s not the recognition that did not come to us that troubles me the most but it is the fact that we don’t need to be twice better than them to win but just a little better than anybody to achieve victory, as for the case of the Abakada, as the director, I could have done better. Lesson number 7: Que se ra se ra. Whatever will be, will be. What does that mean? For me, it is just accepting what is set in front of you. Karma or ‘gaba’ or even blessings are what they are but what makes them pleasing or disturbing to you is how you accept things. Karma will never be labeled karma if you think of it as a blessing in disguise. A blessing will never be as such if you think you deserve it. Owning things that are not yours is called, theft. Accepting things that are given to you even though they are not yours is called, blessing. It is meant to be with you. There is a difference between accepting and owning, try comparing a stolen cell phone to a freely-given polvoron. Which is a blessing? Good luck!

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 6)

October materialized and it was the month I have been waiting for. Why so? Because it’s my birth month. It came in very lightly and pleasantly until the time of my birthday came. By the way, me birthday for this year was on a “Friday the Thirteenth”, eerie though but I don’t care; let the happenings of this day judge if that legend is really true.

The morning of my birthday came and I was welcomed by my brother singing, “Happy Birthday to you” at the top of his lungs! It made my day! It is very seldom for me to hear this kind of greeting from a brother whom I hurt a lot (owsss...). I was flattered by that fact and when I reached school I was even happier that I thought I would be. Almost every subject, there seems to be a greeting for me. How nice. The greatest part of the day was when I reached the canteen; there were other year levels (specifically some 3^rd years) who greeted me. I was in shock. Even the ngohiong vendor followed suit. I was astonished. I loved this day. It’s not every day that you get greetings like these, even for a lifetime. I thank again those people who greeted me. You know who you are, you made that day complete. Even my brother’s girlfriend gave me a gift. Haha! Simply amazing. Lesson number 8: Hope for things but do not expect for them. This results to surprises that warm our hearts. There is a big difference between hoping and expecting.

November came in as a storm. Practices for Intramurals abound left and right. First day of classes for the second semester. Two new teachers on the block. A lot of things to look forward to. Haha, it was this one new teacher who made us write something on our blog, Sir Elmer Montejo, our new English teacher (I love posting something on the blog, it makes me express a lot!).

We lost the cheer dance competition, and the pop jazz competition. But I ranked second place in the Doble Kara Competition (ü). And we ranked Champion for the over-all sports, musical and dance competition.

December came. You just don’t know how I love this month! The spirit of Christmas was truly present in each of us. Just like any other December, there is Christmas. Christmas has always been dear to me. This is the time of the year where we give gifts, show how we feel, and most especially thank God for all that has happened to us, whether good or bad. Before the Christmas break we had our Christmas party, we have actually hold this every year. This year's Christmas party was by far the most memorable and the best of them all. During the party, we could really see the happiness in everyone's eyes. Contentment in each heart and sadness in some parts of their limbic system, who could ever believe that this is, indeed, our last Christmas Party together. It went well and fun, thanks to the joined effort of Theresa and Jann in compiling trivia about our batchmates and spilling it out to the open via a guessing game. Isn't it exciting? Well, who could ever forget the endless shouts and screams after every name was revealed and the time came for the exchanging of gifts, later it was to be the Daygon contest.

Memory Chip of 2006 (Part 7)

The Daygon Contest was amazing!!! We won, haha! It was an achievement. Later that evening, we gathered in our rendezvous, the Ayala Lagoon. We had a lot of things to talk about. First imprssions, hopes and the wildest of things we could all but imagine. It was just like being together forever. You won't really understand what I am talking about if you don't even care about your high school friends. Truly, your high school friends stick together (like dan! Peace!). They know who you are because from the very moment that you knew yourself, they were there, with you.

Also, one of the best days of December 2006 was the Batch Outing. It's so difficult to describe how we were on that day, but truly I won't be mentioning it here at all if it weren't a nice thing to remember. The days of Christmas passed and text messages fly abound from cell phone to cell phone. There was this one text message that I receive that was sort of a chain text. It was to be passed to 25 people before Christmas and you will receive a gift from God the day before Christmas. I was unlimited. I forwarded it, to 25 people. Slowly, little wishes came true. how happy I was to know that this and that is this and that. On the day before Christmas, actually, hours before Christmas, I received a gift. An non material gift. Something I never expected but came. I won't push further on what it is. It's for my own consumption. I have opened up a lot of things in this article that I think it would be rightful not to mention all. Besides we have our own feelings to attend to.

Lesson number 9: Open up to people whom you think could do something. Sometimes, saving your skin always is like wearing a jacket on a very sunny day. It just don't feel right. You need to express more in order to be understood. You need to show some more, in order for you to be accepted.

Last and final Lesson: Be gateful! Nobody had his/her throat cut just becasue of being grateful. People by nature, loveto be appreciated. We need positive strokes to heal some broken line in our hearts. Love is fit to be given to everybody. Even to those people who haven't got any heart at all (literally and figuratively) need to be loved. Even those people who doesn't show much of their affection, need love to lubricate that solid heart.

To those people out there who turns out to be reading this blog, I hope you would be able to reflect on what you have just done in your life. Either the past year or ten yearsago. Slowly, things reveal themselves its just up to you to grab it and think of it. People are people, we are just ordinary people. We experience almost the same things in life but we take them differently. i am nothing but just a mere student with the same experience as yours, but with a different perspective as yours. Let memories be memories. Let us drown ourselves with these memories and it shall reveal the mysteries of its own conception and help us in some ways in the near future.

Enjoy, God Bless and again...

Que se ra se ra.. Whatever will be.. will be!!!

Research Article

Ever since time was young, poultry and agriculture have been part of the lives of the early settlers of the land. They raised farm animals and planted farm plants in their habitats thus becoming the reason why they settled permanently. Poultry-raising became a never-ending tradition, a way of life.

People nowadays, inherited this way of life and created innovative ways of making easy this lucrative yet expensive business. Poultry-raisers are now looking at the problem of increase in the prices of commodities. This upsurge in the prices may indirectly affect the performance of their business.

While agriculturists are looking at this crisis, aqua culturists are on for another problem. The fast rate of production of aquatic macrophytes and the difficulty in remedying such phenomenon affects adversely the life in the freshwater communities wherein we get rich sources of food and water.

Because of these reasons, the researchers formulated a research design to answer the problem of the agriculturists and fresh water fishermen. Two pigs were fed with two different kinds of feeds. The control group was fed with 100% commercial feeds and the other group was fed with 30% water hyacinth, six percent molasses and 64% commercial feeds. The pigs were fed with the two different kinds of feeds for 28 days and their masses were taken every four days. These four days yielded 7 different readings and was applied with statistical treatment. The t-test for uncorrelated means was used to determine if there is a significant difference between the mixture of feeds and the commercial feeds alone. The statistical treatment yielded a not significant value therefore we are to accept the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between the mean mass gains of the pigs fed with the mixed feeds and the mean mass gains of the commercial pigs.

This result lead to a finding that water hyacinth could be used as a substitute for commercial feeds since they don’t have any significant difference in the effect to the mass gains of the pigs. However, this finding may not be conclusive at all since only one pig was used for every group. One pig was used for both the experimental and control group due to financial constraints.

A conclusion was taken from the findings of the study. The pig fed with 30% water hyacinth, six percent molasses and 64% commercial feeds and the pig fed with 100% commercial feeds showed comparable effects to the mass of the pigs. Thus, it could be inferred from this that water hyacinth feeds could therefore be a substitute for meager amounts of commercial feeds in the fodder.

The researchers recommend to the people, especially to small scale hog raisers, to use a mixture of 30% water hyacinth, 60% molasses and 64% commercial feeds in feeding the pigs to help lessen the allotted budget for commercial feeds. Though these hog raisers still use commercial feeds, at least, the commercial feeds to be used will decrease because they are being replaced with the water hyacinth and the molasses. With this plan of action, the use of the water hyacinth feeds could finally help our aqua culturists in their struggle for the control of the propagation of this aquatic macrophyte. With the use of this water plant, the researchers could go back to their aim of controlling this plant which has been considered a very big problem in ponds of aqua culturists, a symbol that what is happening in the water could be of big help to those in the land, thus, a very healthy ecosystem.

It has been mentioned for many times in the previous chapters about the number of subjects the researchers have in one group, the researchers recommend to those other researchers to study more on this concept of feeding water hyacinth feeds and increase the number of subjects to assure the value of the data that is gathered.

Also, the researchers recommend to those who will do a follow-up study to consider different percentages of the fodder. This would also assure a wider range of composition.

How I want to be remembered when I leave UP High School…

For four years we have stayed in an institution that we do not know at first. For four years we have stayed in an institution expecting things from us and giving us the knowledge we need. It’s about time to leave this institution and about time to realize who we have been in our four years stay, good enough for us to be remembered.

As for me, I would want to be remembered as an ordinary student, an average student faring good in the academic side of life. In this way I can say I have passionate enough to study my lessons and at the same time I never failed to enjoy every bit of my life as a youth.

Youth could appear the moment you reach the age of 13 and within these years we are on the verge of knowing ourselves and handling too much pressure that we have not much the time in the world to enjoy every moment of this stage.

Also, I would want to be remembered as no less than a student who for once have been a big part in making a step for the betterment of the school. Well I may not have given much of a contribution at least I could say that I did my part.

Being in school is not only all about learning something for yourself but it is also about learning to do something for others. You learn to give something good in return for the knowledge that you have acquired. For so long a time, we have been so focused on the academic side of life that we can’t even seem to think about the condition of our surroundings. Dying a little could be essential for us to grow. Responsibility could be so much as an assignment but it could be the greatest achievement to repay this trust with the proper effort. Life is whole responsibility itself, it’s either we accept it or we just decline it for we believe we could not do something to give justice to it.

Lastly, I would like to be remembered as the person who contributed in distributing smiles in this little institution. I would want to be remembered as that friend who have managed to extend a hand to whoever is in need. That friend who have used some of his time to prove somebody else’s worth in his life. Others may have considered this as a simple way of being friendly but this is the best way to grow. That is, to know other people and know a lot about yourself. I want to be remembered as a person who helped other people speak up, help other people say what they want to say and a person who helped other people realize that we are worth everything in this world.

In this life there are a lot of personalities we could choose to be but then again, in one life we could only be one, we are to choose for ourselves and act appropriately because as Batman would say… “It is not who I am underneath but it is what I do that defines me!”.

JUST LIKE THE SEA AND THE SHORE, INSEPARABLE

“The essence of nostalgia is an awareness that what has been will never be again.”

Four years have passed and it seems like you and your high school batchmates are inseparable. It seems that an end will never come or if not, that end will come but it is always not now!

What we just don’t seem to accept is the fact that everything has an end. Every sweet thing or even the foulest thing would come to conclusion. High school life is the moment in our lives that we can say we grew, we learned, we failed and most especially, we have succeeded. It is the time of our lives that we don’t want to end. But then again, it should and it will.

Graduation will always be in our midst. It will begin in every end and will end when something begins. It is the symbolism of the end of four worthy years of friendship and learning. But it is the beginning of something new, of something of higher level, a beginning of something we must all prepare for.

Imagine your graduation day, full of happiness and elation, full of recognition and pride but have you ever thought of that feeling the moment you get out of your toga? What will you do the moment you wake up the next morning? Are you going to cry, smile or are you going to reminisce the past days of your high school life? Those days where you have shared happy moments with your friends, sang with them accompanied by a guitar, dance with them during your prom night, blurted out chants and shouts during the intramurals, and as you laugh with them when you heard your teacher mispronounce a word.

So funny but so dear!

Well, as for me, the morning after my graduation I would rise out of bed, and be thankful for the new day that has come. A new day for me to think of those days where we found somebody who was our equal, not in mind or heart but in aspiration and dreams, right there beside us on the very first day of class unconsciously waiting to be noticed. It would be fun to recollect those memories of hardships during periodical exams and the funny sharing of answers when a classmate fails to answer an assignment.

Remember those small steps we made by ourselves for a dance performance and those little lines in the songs that we wrote and sang together. Reminisce those times where we went home together conscious of the late time but still want to go home as one. Consider those days where we slipped in front of class. Regret those days where we gritted our teeth because of those immature catfights issued by a clique feud.

Aren’t they fun to remember and at the same time nostalgic? Those were the days where we started to learn who each other really is, the times where we tried to waste every moment of our high school life together and the momentous events where we considered ourselves a part of something big, something nice, something almost like HOME. A home may not be what it is without a family, and a family may not be what it is without parents who nurture and children who spice up our living, but this special home we make is nurtured by our personal experiences and spiced up by our desire to grow together, with each other, forever.

But is it not that sad to imagine that all we can do after is to reminisce and think of those good memories because we all knew all along that it will never happen again? That it could be so difficult to repeat what has happened in the history of our lives?

Our life has been outlined in a sense that there will always be memories in the past, occurrences in the present and naughty nightmares and blissful dreams in the future. A graduation could be part of anything listed, it is a memory that marks all memories of our high school life, an occurrence that happens once in our high school life and a blissful dream that after all the tears and sweat poured, we are to harvest the sweetest grain of our lifetime; knowledge and a certain feeling that you are COMPLETE.

May our batch graduate together just like how we walked together in our memorable Molave Road, may our batch succeed together just like how we jumped and cheered during our Intramural Games and may our batch finally be able to say, ‘Farewell’ and ‘Thank you’ to each other just as how we end every day’s lesson. Good Luck guys, Que sera, sera… Whatever will be, will be.

Cripplers of Our Souls

Fears within me…

As much as we would want to have a peaceful and serene life there are really those times where we find our match. A match in a sense that, they cripple our soul and deteriorate our self-esteem. These are our fears.

These fears are not of the ordinary fear of a common child where they fear about monsters and ghosts but these fears are those which we cannot easily get out of our system because they were perfectly implanted in our minds and hearts by no less than ourselves.

Over and over again we try to overcome these fears but they never seem to disappear. They resurface once again to give us things that we hoped we would never experience again.

A fear of being alone resides within me. I hate to be alone even in a very nice day where everybody seems to be happy. I want to be with somebody else. If there is a thing that may not be comfortable about, that would be the fact that later in my life I would be alone, independent and all by myself. After years of being so dependent with the company of others, time will come that I would need to satisfy myself with the company of nothing else but my shadow.

This fear of mine is not just an ordinary fear but it affects me in such a way that my daily activities are dependent to other people. Let’s say for example, I don’t go to the comfort room alone. I really need someone to accompany me and if there would be nobody to accompany me; I would not go at all. Even a simple trip to the canteen, there will always be a wanted company. See how these fears may affect me. They make me into a person I don’t want to just because I don’t want to feel the awkwardness of being alone.

Another fear I would like to share is a fear that people would misjudge me. I think this is not only a problem to me but almost to everybody who is not accustomed to socializing with other people. I think I’m one of those.

Well, I don’t know why. Stares of people that I don’t know makes me think I’m of a lesser human capability. Little by little I think that I am slowly deprived of my right to say something because of this fear, it makes me think I never had the correct ideas. Actually, this could be a bit of a shock to anybody who knows me in UP High because they see me as an outspoken person but even myself I just can’t seem to understand. Even criticisms I hate to hear. Why? I don’t know how I would react to this. I do not exactly know how to comprehend to the words they speak and may react in a different manner from that of which they were expecting me to react. It could be chaotic afterwards.

I may have experienced the ups and the downs of my life but still there is more that I should discover and of those things topping my list of learnings for the next days of my life would be to finally shrug of these fears from my shoulders or even master them because its not really a matter of how you feel that makes these fears dangerous but it is what you could do that makes them hair-raising.

Is "Sorry" really the hardest word...?

A candle lights up… but dies…

Let’s admit it, we are highly susceptible to mistakes but it takes so much difficulty to be able to mend these faults by simply saying, “Sorry”.

A song claims that ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word…’ is it really? Or should we say, ‘A mistake is the hardest… possession’? Well if that is the case, should it be proper to say that blaming others for mistakes is the easiest job on Earth?

On our Retreat last March 24 and 25 we had an activity called ‘Circle of Love’. It is not the ordinary type of sharing where you get to say something good about yourself or of other people, but it is the sharing where you get to accept the fact that you, human as you are, have made a mistake.

It was our task in this activity to give a candle to somebody we think we have hurt in the past moments of our life. This candle would then light the dark shadow cast upon by the hurt we caused to a person.

Yes, it is true. Candles light up dark spots but they die and fade away. They leave traces of heat in our midst but the moment they are blown out, they die quickly, unnoticed, leaving that shadow dark forever, yet in such a way, given treatment.

As much as we try to apologize to those people we have hurt, as much as we try to accept that fact that we have sinned, and as much as we try let go and forgive what has happened to us in the past, we just can’t seem to forget about everything or even a little thing at all.

A candle burns but dies. Just like how our apology lightens up the person we have hurt and disappointed, they die out soon, leaving a trace of the hurt which would be difficult to forget. We love the idea of forgiving but we veto the idea of forgetting the people that hurt us and we hate to accept the fact that we should move on now, forget about the past and move forward. There is just a certain feeling telling us to stop for a while and reflect. A feeling that helps us decide, a feeling that tells us that nothing’s over yet.

Forgiveness could be at all an end to a mistake and it could be a start of something else but it was never made to make us forget. It was made to make us realize how we faired in the past and with this we try to avoid this in the future.

As human as can be, we try to do the best things in life. We try to avoid things that could harm everything dear to us. Humans as we are, we try to be perfect besides every imperfection we carry in our skin, we try to deal with other people like performing dance with a glass crown in our heads, careful and lithe. As much as we try to do this perfectly, we are helping ourselves and other people not commit a mistake towards others.

After all, we could all say that life has its own ups and downs but at this point in time, we are to decide in what side we want our lives to fair good at, this could be done by making the greatest of the decisions and committing the less of the mistakes.

My Speech for Public Speaking

An Elementary Graduation

The last time I have set foot on this stage and spoke to an audience at this very podium was almost twenty years ago, during my elementary graduation, when I delivered my Valedictory Speech.

It was with those twenty years that I spend my life in the midst of pressure and expectation. It was in those years that I can say I have succeeded.

Elementary, the first step towards reaching our dreams, is the foundation of almost everything. It is the stage wherein we learn how to make our assignments away from the supervision of our parents. It is on this stage of our life that we learn to have little crushes, and it is the first stage wherein we feel the heat of competition.

As graduating elementary students, the task for you is not to waste what you have just learned. For in the later years of your life you will not only use them but you are to share them to those people you encounter all the days of your life.

For a lot of years I have been a student and even if I am already working as a lawyer, I am still a student. It is in the nature of a person not to cease learning and knowing for we do not know what would come.

You will graduate, but you will be students again. Not elementary students but as High School students gearing on for a higher level of knowledge and challenges. The only lesson I just want to drive to you the moment you go home and every moment of your breath is this: Thou shall not waste whatever you have learned and whatever you will learn. But thou shall not cease to learn and know more, about life, about people, about yourself.

It is in this rule that I have succeeded in achieving my goals. I may not be that good as an inspiration to you but I can be a concrete example of a person who have learned so much and will never cease to learn.

The amount of knowledge that we could learn in this world is limitless. But our desire to know is limited to ourselves. We learn because we want to.

In this life, we are susceptible to temptation. It is our task to decide with what to do with it and with that, we all need the knowledge that we have and most especially, apply it with the right emotion thus, making us wise.

Congratulations, Batch 2022-2023. More power and God bless!

My speech for our Public Speaking Final Oral Activity. By the way, I would just clear it out that some of the items found on the speech are not really true, these are just ‘imaginary’ achievements and recognitions to strengthen our credibility as a speaker because CHARACTER is the best means of persuasion.

But by far, these are what would likely to happen (Char!). Whenever a person dreams, that person has the privilege to reach those dreams. As for me, I dream too much. I dream to be a Dean’s Lister in college and Top the Bar Exam for lawyers and be one of those best lawyers ever alive.

Isn’t it obvious as shown in my imagination-based speech? Well it just shows that the desire and aspirations of a person could be shown through his or her wild ideas and contentions.

Even if it would be nothing at all to anybody, a dream could be the best tool for everyone as they march on with their life moving forward to a greener pasture. I heard once in a show that when you have plans, you write them because this formalizes its being a plan because if you won’t write this it is just a mere dream, not given proper action, a waste.

As time passes by, we learn to be magnanimous about our victory and even with our defeat. It is learning every time we fall that we are called brave and it is by acting whatever we dream that we are called, courageous and confident.