Shallunah.......the drama princess.........

Shallunah the drama princess of the barkada. “Sha” as we call her is a very strong girl yet easily cries but not on certain things but on stage. She is the representative of the barkada when heavy drama is the category. Sha may appear mean for others but for us her barkada, her being mean is natural, we used to it already. This girl had performed already many times on stage. She dances gracefully on interpretative dances. She has been the member of UPSTAGE since our first year and bloomed as a very talented lady. We are so proud of her for she is indeed a drama princess. This lass is a lucky girl for she has very loving parents. Sha is childish but in our four years of friendship, I have seen that she is growing slowly. This girl has many “foolishness” in her mind. Sometimes she does very funny things but we are fond of it.

One thing I can never forget about Shallunah was the celebration of her 15^th birthday. We, her barkada and other close friends had a surprise party for her in cooperation with her mom. She doesn’t have any clue about the party. Her mom just contacted us all telling us to come to their house on the day of her birthday to prepare for the party but we should make sure that she will never know about it. That day was our periodical test so our class was only half day. Right after the dismissal, we let her go home while we stayed in the school to gather together to go to their house altogether. She was told by her mom to go to their store and go home with her dad in the afternoon so that we will have time to prepare at their house. When we arrived at their house, we prepared the balloons and set-up the foods. When it was already 5 pm I think, a taxi arrived with Shallunah and her dad. Since the venue was at their rooftop, so we hid in place where she cannot see us while going out of the taxi. She was told by their household helper to go upstairs. When she opened the door going to the rooftop and turned the lights on, we started to sing our barkada song which is the “At the Beginning”. She cried because she did not expect it and most of all she did not expect us to be there..

That event was very memorable to Shallunah and to us as well. We are so proud of having a friend like you. That event also was an eye-opener to Shallunah that her parents love her very much and we her friends also.

All I can say to you Sha is stay the same. Go on with your dreams and we are just here at your side. We will never leave you whatever happens. I had been your friend since first year and I promise that it will be forever. I Love You!

Legalizing gambling...are you in favor or not?

Gambling has always been illegal in the Philippines but still a lot of people are enticed in these activities for they make money out of it. It is in gambling that poor and rich people became equal. Poor people who cannot afford would be forced to borrow money for gambling. Rich people in the other hand would just waste their money for gambling. What good does gambling bring? It will just make poor people poorer and rich people richer.

How much more if it will be legalized? Only the rich people would benefit because they will get the money of the poor people. I have to make a stand. I am not in favor of legalizing gambling. It would bring more poverty. It would be more beneficial if the rich people will donate that money to charitable institutions for in that way they are helping their fellows. At the same time many would benefit in that act.

If gambling will be legalized, all people might become gamblers and there would be chaos. Killings here and there. Robbery will be rampant also because people may think that it is the only way to become rich. It is a common knowledge that all people wanted to be rich. So, even in the most risky activity, they would go just to survive.

If gambling will be legalized, then the Philippines will become home of gamblers. Even now that it is not yet approve to legalize gambling, it is still rampant in the country. Politicians especially, are also engaged in this kind of business. They make money out of the stupid people for them to be rich which is a kind of injustice.

Jueting is one of the kinds of gambling. We can recall that former President Estrada, was jailed because of this type of gambling. We can just imagine that even the highest ranking official of the Philippines had engaged in gambling. How much more “small people” especially those who are really in need of money. It just proves that legality does not matter. Legal or not, people are already engaged in it. We cannot stop them because it became their livelihood. It is how they raise their family to be able to survive.

For those rich people, they should not waste their money rather invest it to worthwhile business that would benefit not just themselves but all people as well.

For those poor people, you better look before you leap. Your money will be more wasted in gambling than buying food for your family. Gambling is not the only answer to poverty. Wake up and get a job! Let your children study and invest in their future. Don’t put your future in gambling because you have no future in there. You are stupid if you let yourself be fooled by gambling. Remember that in gambling, the poor become poorer and the rich become richer. I am not in favor of legalizing gambling and I will never be. It will not do good to us.

My Speech in our Public Speaking Class

One of the activities of our public speaking class is the read speech in where we assume a personality and we are to make a speech for a specific occasion and we are going to read that in front of the class. Luckily, I was assigned to assume as a speaker in a High School graduation. I want to share with you my speech.

Graduates, teachers, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

It was 10 years ago when I also wore a toga in our highschool graduation and I believe on what they say that graduation is a mixture of feeling because I also felt that during my graduation and I know that is what you are feeling right now. The feeling of happiness because after all the obstacles and struggles, you are able to make it and pursue to the next level. Sadness because you are now about to leave the portals of your Alma Mater where you begin to discover the real you, meet new friends whom you share your laughter and tears and you begin to see how beautiful life is. I salute you graduates that despite the difficulties in life, you’ve made it this far.

Graduation is the day of reaping what is being sown. I know it is not easy to graduate in highschool. You have to undergo to lessons which you wonder its applications on your present life. Pass stupid projects, take hundreds or even thousands of exams which you only get passing scores. But take note, they are made to shape you from a once naïve student to a better and transformed person.

I was once in your shoes before. A new comer in school who doesn’t know yet what high school life brings. My four years in High school is enough for me to realize that I should give importance to education for it is the only thing which could not be taken away from me. I hope you also do the same. You are the one who is molding your future.

My dear graduates, you are the hope of the future. It is sad to know that many of the youth today are engaged in illegal drugs and many vices that would destroy their future. Don’t be one of them rather be their model. There are also some who despite their very young age are now working to earn money in order to survive. You are so lucky that you are not one of them. You should always put in mind that not all have the opportunity to attain education and since it is in your hands, don’t let go.

You are now finished in your second level of education. And with that, I would like to congratulate all of you for coming this way. Success is almost in your reach. Graduation is not an ending but a beginning of another challenge which I know you can still do. As you pursue in your life, think of all the people who have helped you succeed. Get out of your shell and comfort zones, explore the world and let them see how you make a difference.

Before I leave, let me share to you what Eric Burns said. He said that every individual is a victim, a rescuer and a survivor. My dear graduates, you are a victim of life, a rescuer to somebody else but most of all a survivor among others. Congratulations!

Is it convincing? Well, it’s for you to comment on.

KYSD...the life of a teacher...

Teaching comes with learning. Being a teacher is not an easy job but they say the most stable as well. The “know your school day” of UP is one way for students to experience the task of the teachers. Since my first year in UP, I always apply for the position of being one of the subject teachers. In my first year, I became the Filipino and Science teacher at the same time. In my second, third and fourth year, I was the Filipino teacher of the section where I belong. I really love Filipino that is why I always teach that subject.

It was not easy. I have to plan first what I would teach during that day to my classmates in a way that they would understand the lesson same as they have understood with our original teacher. Keeping their ears on me while I’m talking was not very possible. There are some who are chatting and whispering with their seatmates. There are also some who frequently ask questions which is so flattering in my part because it implies that they have learned something from my discussions. There are also sometimes that they ask a question which I myself also do not know the answer so what I did is to ask to our original teacher. It was this time that I have concluded that when we teach, we also learn. In the discussion the students also share their ideas and at the same time adding also to your knowledge. The interaction with the students also let me feel that we have something in common. It is that, all of us are learning. Upon entering the classroom with the students greeting you with a good morning or good afternoon made me feel that I am respected. All of us of course, demand for respect.

I really felt different when I sat at the teacher’s table in front of my classmates, me as a teacher and them as the students. I felt like I am really a professional teacher with intelligent students infront of me. I was afraid to make mistakes at first, but then I realized that nobody’s perfect. On my second year, yes, I was cautious infront but I was not afraid to commit mistake. A teacher should also be careful on the things that she says because students would believe on everything they say because they are teachers not deceivers.

My experience left many realizations in me. I realized that the future really depends on the teacher. They are the ones who mold the students into well-rounded persons. They shape their future. I also believe that teachers should possess these characteristics:

T-eachable

E-arnest

A-pproachable

C-ourteous

H-onest

E-fficient

R-eliable

I admire all the teachers who possess these characteristics. I salute to all of you for without you we are not here with the knowledge that you poured into our minds. Thank you for all the teachings you have shared with us and thank you for being patient to students like us.

How I want to be remembered.............

“You are the person who proved that first impressions never last”. These are words uttered by one of my batchmate during our plus delta, an activity during our retreat. I was really wondering what her basis of those words is and she started explaining to me. At first, she thought I am a snobby and unkind person but as years passed by her impressions were changed. From a snobby and unkind person to a very cheerful and friendly individual. I was so flattered when I heard those words. At least I was able to change her impressions at the start. I often hear people saying that at first they thought I am not friendly but later on say that they are wrong. I am so grateful upon hearing these people changing there impressions from a negative point of view to a positive one.

I am actually a cheerful, friendly, jolly, and happy go lucky in a nice way kind of person. But I am also a prideful person. I did manage to snob my bestfriend for nine months. It had even bore a baby. I would like to change that negative side of myself.

I want to be remembered as a person who always wears a smile in my face. I want to live up with the character my classmates had observed upon me. Being a jolly or cheerful person is not easy. There are times that I may appear very happy but deep inside me are hurts and pains hidden. I can say that I am a good “pain-hider” person because I can still manage to smile even in the times that I am deeply wounded. My classmates say that it seems I have no problems at all because I have a very smiling face. In a way, I am happy with that but on the other hand I am just fooling myself. It’s alright because that is what I want to be remembered by my batchmates during our highschool years that even in the times that I am very down, I can still manage to put a smile on my face. I can’t also believe that I am doing that. Maybe I am a very strong person. I can say this because after all the pains and hurts I have encountered I am still existing and smiling in front of everybody. I may appear a person without a problem but I do have problems also but what I do to be able to keep on smiling still is to cry in my room so that when I go out, I would be relieved. It is my defense mechanism and no one can ever change that. It is the reason why I am still alive today despite all of my problems. It is also my edge among other batchmates of mine that I can still wear a smile on my face despite the stress and pressures of being a UPIAN. I am a person of SMILES!

"Love: an act of will not of the heart"

I often encounter the word love. In signing autographs, there is a portion which let us define love. But is love really describable? My answer would be no which is the reason why I often leave these spaces in the autograph blank. For me, love cannot be described but only felt.

Loving someone is not as easy as 1-2-3. Pain should be expected when you love for they go together. I also encounter questions from people asking which I would choose, is it mind over heart or heart over mind. Well the question really requires analysis. If I let my mind over my heart, too much use of the mind would make me insensitive. In the other hand, too much use of my heart would make me a martyr. Then what would I choose? Do I really have to choose or just balance the two? I think it is possible to balance the two. I believe on this topic that love is an act of will not of the heart. By this I think the two was balanced.

We are given by God the freewill. We can choose whether we do the bad or good. Same as the heart, if it is not the will of the person to do a thing then the heart would follow the will of the person. The heart is not responsible for the decisions of a person, it is the person himself which decides for him. Again, every person is given the freewill to decide which to follow. Love is an act of will. If a person wanted to love then he would love. I am referring to romantic love. If he or she is contented with a life being single, then it is his or her own will. This is the principle behind being a priest or a nun. It is their own choice being single. It is a common misconception to those people who says that they follow their heart over their mind because the heart is mainly an organ which pumps blood to all parts of the body. It is the will which decides for what a person would do. If you are one of those persons then you better change your outlook in life. It is always your will to love not that you are commanded to love but it is your own choice. The heart never thinks. It is the mind.

So if you want to confess to a person then you should not say I love you with all my heart because the heart never thinks it is the mind. So it is more scientific to say that I love you with all my mind because the mind is the one which thinks. There is no such thing as following the heart over the mind, because it is still the mind that controls everything. This is a common misconception to people who love that is why they easily get hurt. It is always the will of yourself and the decision of the mind which controls the person’s thoughts and feelings.

Our research project

Being able to overcome our research project had never been easy. We have to undergo many obstacles to complete it. We have to let our teachers check our grammars and formatting. As a leader, the pressure is really great. We also have to spend a lot of many for printing and for photocopying. That money was taken from our own pockets. There are times that we are afraid to ask from our parents because the amount of money was really big. Sometimes before our parents would give they would have a long litany. There are also times that we want to surrender but we can’t because our grades depend on it. So no matter what happens we have to continue. Being young scientists in our own little way is really amazing. We have to stay late to comply with the corrections of our teachers. It is so complicated. A change on a page would affect all. To give you a little background of our study and how complicated it was, here is a short description of it. After reading this. I’m sure you would surely wonder how we made it through young as we are. You would also be amazed how critical thinkers UPIANS are. We’ve made it through and we are all proud of ourselves that despite the misfortunes, we can still make a difference in this world of wonders. We also hope to improve our country in our own little ways. Our project is entitled “EFFECTIVENESS OF YLANG-YLANG FLOWERS AS COCONUT DEODORIZER”.
Ylang-ylang flowers are known to be flowers with soothing fragrance. These flowers are found in tropical countries like the Philippines and they bloom all year round. Ylang-ylang flowers have a relaxing scent and are used in aromatherapy. On the other hand, coconut oil is known to be a good massage oil that soothes the skin but, the smell is not good.
The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of ylang-ylang flowers as coconut oil deodorizer. The findings of the study may contribute to the development of ylang-ylang scented coconut oil which could encourage some people to use coconut oil for hair and body massage.
The study has three batches with different mixtures of ylang-ylang extract and coconut oil, each contains the same amount of coconut oil to varying amounts of ylang-ylang extract. In obtaining the data of this study, three ml of coconut oil was mixed with different amount of ylang-ylang. The scents of the mixtures were smelled and were checked weekly. Coconut oil was separated from the mixture using a separatory funnel and was put in a vial. The study also compared the dominance of ylang-ylang scent in each mixture of each batch and determined the mixture with the strongest ylang-ylang dominance.
The conclusion was that ylang-ylang is an effective coconut oil deodorizer. In order to have a scented coconut oil the ratio 3:9 this means 3 ml coconut oil to 9 ml ylang-ylang extract.
It is recommended that people and industries use ylang-ylang flowers in scenting mixtures like hair and massage oils.