Traffic: Philippines Vs England

When I went home to England during the summer there was one thing that stood out for me, that was the traffic in Manila. I hadn’t been back for two years and I forgot how there was hardly any traffic there compared to what I have experienced so far in the Philippines.

It was so easy to go around, we would be able to drive straight without stopping, it wasn’t like here in the Philippines where you would be staring at something for at least 20mins while waiting for the traffic to lessen. The traffic is so bad here foreigners become familiar with it, for example we are compared to India who also has heavy traffic. You can be stuck in one place for at least 20mins or longer. Taking public transport makes it even worse, you’re stuck in traffic while being squashed and not being able to feel your legs and bum after the journey.

The traffic here can mean that a 30minute journey from Paranaque to Manila can sometimes take up to 2 hours, how bad is that? I have experienced taking public transport to and fro but I feel sorry for those who use public transport every day, I do not know how they do it. I feel sorry for those who do but I know that some have no choice and that is the way things are here, however things can change. The traffic has become part of the Philippines but it shouldn’t be, it may not be one the most important issue but people have to suffer every day and it is a great pain to many. The heat makes it even worse and to top it off people are made to fill up every inch of the jeep even if your bum is halfway off of the seat the jeepney drivers make sure their vehicle is packed and they are making enough money. I don’t think this is right at all, I mean should it be?

The government recently started their project on the new skyway which will connect the North Luzon Expressway with the South Luzon Expressway. I am currently living in Paranaque, when I first heard this news I immediately thought to myself, “More traffic!” This would create even more traffic and who knows how long it will take to build, especially with all the floods Manila gets it may take years.

           

            Traffic can irritate those who take public transport daily but to top it off, do people not know how heavily pollution is dangerous for us? Every time I would come back to the Philippines the one smell that I used to love here as soon as I stepped out of the airport was the pollution. For some reason when I was still in England the smell of pollution would remind me of the Philippines, it was such a refreshing smell, until I grew up. I finally realized that the smell of pollution was coming from all the cars because of the heavy traffic, this is not healthy. The air is full of carbon dioxide and can damage our earth, but no one seems to care. It is hot enough here to ride a bike, so why don’t most people do it? It can mean you get to places faster and it is healthier but then again with all the street children and robbers it is not always a great idea to ride your own bike.

            

           There are many ways that traffic can be dealt with one of them is to properly educate the drivers. Drivers overtake and cut lanes without indicating; then you have jeeps and fx’s stop in the middle of the road making drivers furious. Drivers should be taught how to use their indicators and drive within the lines of the road and not on the middle of it, three lanes can made into four and people use the second lane to turn right on big roads. Drivers should be taught the rules properly and not only taught but the government should be stricter when it comes to violating the rules. The penalties should be bigger or heavier punishments should be implemented for drivers to become scared. In England penalties are bigger and not only that points are taken off of their licence, they start off with 10 points and every violation a point is deducted, when there are no more points left their licence is taken away. Drivers in England become extra cautious and the majority of them follow the rules on the road. If the police were maybe more stricter drivers would listen, though it will take a while they will be forced to obey them and the roads will be more orderly. One of the reasons that there is so much traffic is because of how disorganized the roads are and how the drivers here just drive the way they wish to.

Review: The Best of Me

 I was so excited to finally get to watch The Best of me, after writing an article on it for one my classes I really wanted to see it for myself. It was said that it would be the next Notebook, after Nicholas Sparks books were made into movies many of them did well. I loved his two books The Last Song and The Lucky One but I was disappointed by the movies. Although I still do watch these movies again I guess I would have to say I am a fan of Nicholas Sparks. Though I have watched the movie The Best of Me, I still plan on reading the book so that I can compare. I was told before by a professor that books and movies should not be compared as they are two different mediums, but I will go against this as sometimes I cannot help it.

I would have to say I did like this movie, although I do not relate to this in real life. Growing up I realized that movies are nothing like real life and movies today make me look at things differently. This movie does cover love and loss and everyone can relate to it, we all have those what if moments. The movie shows the couple seeing each other for one more time, this does not happen to all of us, but it was nice to see that in the movie it can gave us the chance to see what it “might” be like.

From what I can see from this movie you can re-unite with someone you were once in love with, but it does not lead to getting back together. Things cannot just go back to the way they were, you can see them again and still have feelings with them but sometimes getting back together just doesn’t happen. I guess having feelings for someone doesn’t mean you have to be with them, because of circumstances having them in your life is just as far as it can go. That’s ok, having someone in your life is better that not having them at all. Feelings can’t be helped and there are so many things in life that make being in a relationship complicated.

You can’t go back to the past and even if you do it won’t be the same.

#NicholasSparks #TheBestOfMe  

The "Quiet" One

They always say that the "quiet" one's have the devil inside of them. Being one of those girls who is shy and quiet, people get shocked when I do things they wouldn't expect someone like me would do. I used to always be against this theory and I used to always laugh. Until I actually realized that they are wrong, this is where being judgmental comes in.

It is not about being quiet, for me just because we don't talk as much as the others, does not mean that we are not capable of doing everything everyone else is capable of doing. There's a reason why we quiet people are quiet, what if we just don't want to tell anyone or what if we just want to keep secrets, it does not mean that we haven't done anything. We do not wish to tell everyone everything that happens in our life, what if we pick the people we tell. Why do we have to broadcast everything we do?

Maybe we don't go out a lot, maybe we've never done things before but it doesn't mean that it won't happen. For me life comes to you and there are things that you just can't control. Lets say we don't choose to kiss someone right this second, but you know that it will eventually happen. Sometimes the quiet ones haven't done it yet, it doesn't mean that it will never happen, maybe they haven't been given that opportunity.

I don't have anything to prove, I am still learning and finding myself but whatever I do is because I choose to do it. There are times when I lose control and do things beyond my usual self wouldn't do but when this happens I realize I am actually capable of doing things I would have never done in the past. For me this is life. I've seen different versions of myself; some have shocked me; some have opened up my eyes and some have made me realize who I am becoming.

Everything right now is scary to be honest and it doesn't help when I hear the line "it's always the quiet ones," since when exactly? All we want or all we really need is guidance, maybe even a slap to the face (not literally) every now and again but how is giving someone a lecture going to help if it's already happened. We all make mistakes and we all know you can never erase mistakes, I'm afraid there is no eraser in reality. What's done is done, in the end the things I do is not because I am the "quiet" one, its because I'm human just like you and everyone else.

Candy vs Cosmopolitan

                                   
 This paper compare and contrasts a type of journalistic writing. Journalism has many different fields such as news writing, broadcast journalism, investigative journalism etc. I will focus on magazine writing, using two examples of popular magazines in the Philippines and in the world. This paper will focus on the Candy magazine which is the number one teen’s magazine in the Philippines according to the Synovate Media Atlas Survey and Cosmopolitan the number one magazine for young women in the world declared by the Bauer-Media Group. This paper will compare and contrast each magazine to show why these two magazines are worthy of this title. A list of contrasts and comparisons included in this paper is that it is aimed for females, it shows how to apply make-up, gives different types of advice, illustrates what to wear and how to wear it and has an entertainment section. I will go into detail the context of the two magazines which are an example of a type of journalistic writing, magazine writing.

Candy and Cosmopolitan magazine are two of the most popular magazine aimed for females. Their contents are purely for females; whether they are pieces of advice or entertainment articles. It is aimed for females as their target audience, written to satisfy their lifestyle and needs guiding them through life helping them to cope with their problems and worries that they face in their everyday lives. Issues that are tackled would be weight loss, health, body image, appearance etc. This can be one of the factors to why both magazines are two of the most popular magazines for females.

These two magazines are overflowing with images of make-up; beauty is a guide to women into feeling, looking and being excellent. . It shows readers how to put on make-up, how to try different styles and when to wear different types of make-up. They give step by step procedures on how to apply make-up and the dos and don'ts when wearing or applying them where to buy them, the price and what it looks like when it is applied. Make-up gives females a boost in confidence making them feel and look excellent.

Advice makes a big impact on all females. Both magazines directs them through their lives and shows them that they are not the only ones with these problems. The advice can be about beauty concerns, relationships or the realities of their lives etc. These two magazine give advice about anything relating to a woman’s needs. This shows how these problems can be a big impact on the lives of females.

Both magazines are filled with fashion. Fashion might not be for everyone but these magazines have it all throughout their pages. Whether it is to advertise or to be inspired by from celebrities or even how to wear the latest trends. It is not just for a particular type of females but for all sorts of females, for example the different tastes and interests of women. It attempts to satisfy fashion for everyone, even attracting and making them develop an interest in fashion, filling all pages with fashion.

Celebrities are a favourite to many readers, Summit Media says this statement and so both magazines are filled with latest updates and information about celebrities. Containing everything they need to know about celebrities e.g. biographies, their likes and dislikes or who they are dating etc. This satisfies the needs of readers to know what is happening to their favourite celebrities.

To satisfy different age groups Candy magazine is intended for teens however Cosmopolitan is for young women. Candy magazine is aimed at teens whose age ranges from 13 to 18 year old's according to Summit media. These girls are high school girls going through puberty and experiencing high school life. On the other hand Cosmopolitan magazine also according to Summit Media is targeted at women from the age ranges of 18 to 35 years old's. This magazine helps women to take control of their lives as they are already experiencing life outside of college. Teens and women have a completely opposite lifestyle and so these two magazine have a clear distinction to satisfy the different age groups.

Candy and Cosmopolitan magazine target different lifestyles of women. Candy girls would want to buy cheaper make-up where readers of cosmopolitan would pick the pricey make-up. Candy girls would be interested with copying the make-up of their idols such as celebrities or how to deal with any of their beauty concerns. Cosmopolitan girls would want to learn about the new trends for the face or must-have make-up buys. This is what differentiates Candy and Cosmopolitan magazine when it comes to beauty as it aims at different lifestyle of women.

Candy magazine is for women trying to cope through problems with high school whereas Cosmopolitan is for women who are trying to improve their lives. Cosmopolitan helps women cope through the stages of being independent, work and being in more serious relationships. They require advice on how to keep the relationships going or to make it last longer.  They need advice on what they should and should not do in a relationship. On the other hand a teen is going through the stage where they will develop crushes. Candy shows them how to approach their crush or how to act around them. It guides them through this stage giving them advice on how to handle and deal with having a crush. All these advices give all types of women ways to cope with problems they occur in their lives.

Fashion is included in both magazines, where Candy magazine aims for what to wear when going out with friends and Cosmopolitan magazine is what to wear at work or nights out after work. Candy magazine has clothing that is cheaper and makes the use of a limited amount of clothing, Cosmopolitan magazine is affordable but yet accessible at the same time. All these clothing’s are suitable for whatever the occasion such as school or work.

Candy and Cosmopolitan magazine both contain celebrity articles. Candy gives an insights to the minds of Candy Cuties, teenage boys. It tells them what are they’re interested in, what kind of girls they like or dislike, helping girls relate and use these information for their own experiences. Cosmopolitan magazine however helps to keep readers up to date with the latest happenings in pop culture such as the latest gossip, their latest fashion or make-up trends etc. These two magazines contain an insight to celebrities using a different angle.

All in all Candy and Cosmopolitan are similar in many ways at the same they are dissimilar. However they have topped the markets together achieving their goals to please all the diverse females out there. Individually Candy and Cosmopolitan reach out to the taste buds of their readers and perfectly know and understand how to please their readers. They do this by both having mutual and dissimilarities in each magazines.

Candy Magazine

Cosmopolitan

#cosmopolitan #candy #essay 

How Journalists Are Portrayed In Movies

Morality, war, pain and suffering is what is tragically depicted in the movie titled: The Big Bang Club. It is a true life story of four journalists from South Africa who cover the war during 1990-1994. During this time there was a war taking place within Africa because of the elections, just before Nelson Mandela had won. The journalists seek to tell the truth taking photos of the most extreme deaths shown in the movie. They take pictures of the deaths and fights that go on during these years. They get as close as they can to take pictures of the conflict as if it is just a movie.

This movie is strongly based about the lives of journalists, it shows a brutal and panful life that they have to live in. They are exposed to many things that can scare anyone’s minds. The movie at first makes it seem like they have so much free time, they take pictures hand them in and the photo editor will go through each picture carefully picking which ones can be used. It doesn’t show deadlines or stress like what most people would imagine.

However they show clearly how journalists are risk takers, as these journalists would be right in the middle of people fighting and killing each other. No matter how terrifying the situation is they get as close as they can and take the best pictures they can, they don’t back out or turn around. To top this off whatever emotions they have no matter what they see they have to block it out and keep on going. In the movie not only is their work life shown but also their social lives where they hit the bars for drinks and smoke to calm themselves down and to forget about the things they saw during their day at work. They are portrayed to be people who drink a lot and their hours are shown to be all over the place. They don’t have a fixed schedule as they wait for something to happen and they’ll be there right away.

For me I love how they highlight the emotions that a journalists go through. The main character in this movie dies by committing suicide. He cannot take the guilt, the things he’s seen and the pressure put on him. The picture he took that got him his award was a great picture to many but it tests his morals as he did not help the girl he just took the picture. There was also another incident where another character snapped a shot of a man burning alive. The issues arised from this is should they help them? Should they make sure they are ok? As a journalist they are just doing their job. They are getting pictures for the public to see what is really happening. The more outstanding the picture is the more people will understand and it will reach out to the emotions of the audience. They are there for the people and so the first thing they think of doing is taking the shot, making sure they are okay is maybe their last. This is the main portrayal of journalists in the movie.

What these journalists did is bad but I understand them as it is their job, they cannot let their emotions get the best of them. This movie shows a different side of journalists, I chose this movie as it showed the downside of being a journalists. Most movies show the glamorous side but this movie shows that this is not what being a journalists is all about, there is more to what they do.

Bang-Bang-Club.jpg

#journalism #movies 

Who is Afraid of the Mass Society?

Mass Society

        

The mass today has a great influence on the mass society, they can be a threat to the mass society. The RH Bill can be an example of how the mass is a negative aspect to the mass society. Many share their opinion on whether they disagree or agree with the RH Bill. The Philippines is a Catholic country and so many are strongly against it, this brings together all the Catholics; on the other side are those who agree with the RH Bill therefore there is a separation.

The mass society has been divided or separated from each other an example would be that, “The Catholic hierarchy may strip a school of its affiliation with the church if they go against its teachings particularly on life issues.” This was a statement from a ranking Archbishop. As we all know most of the Filipinos are made up of Catholics however there are many who are Catholics but yet are Pro-RH Bill. The Catholic Church believes that the RH Bill goes against the teaching of the church so should not be taught in Catholic schools. The more that are pro-RH Bill, the more start to go against the church and start to question their beliefs. The Archbishop Jose Palma believes that the Rh-Bill is a contradiction to the teachings of the church. Another issue about this Bill is that next up will be divorce and abortion that will be followed through. People have many arguments pro and against it and there are even signs or posters around schools showing they are against the RH-Bill, we have this here at UST. Harold D. Lasswell’s focus of study is on propaganda and the signs around UST are an example of this. It advertises and tries to make everyone become or tells them to be anti-RH Bill.

This has become such a big issue that people do not know where they stand or what to believe in. Emile Durkheim says that, “There are certain ways of acting, feeling and thinking that are expected and required from people if society is to operate in harmony.” The Catholic Church does not give people the option to make their own decision. In an article I read mentioned that in Ateneo there are professors that are pro-RH Bill but they stated that they do not speak for the school but they are just giving their opinion. This shows how the professors are separating themselves from their own school because of their own opinion, they speak for themselves and not for the school. This expresses how the mass society can be positive towards the mass society, if they are able to separate themselves and not go with whatever everyone else agrees with. On the other hand many are scared to stand up and give their opinion as the mass is against them, such as the Catholic Church. In UST there are signs that the school is anti-RH-Bill, as a Catholic they are expected to be against RH-Bill because of their beliefs and the teachings of the church which immediately links back to Emile Durkheim statement. It is not giving people the freedom; making the mass itself a threat to mass society. As a Catholic church you are expected to be against the RH-Bill this is what the Archbishop and Bishop is trying to get across. You have the masses which are consisted of Catholics who stand up and go against the RH-Bill however in Article II, Sec. 6. Says that “The Separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.” The Catholic Church strongly stands up for their beliefs however the Catholic Church should not go against the state. The Philippines is run by the President and is not run by the Church or rather should not be run by the Church. The Church try to overpower and make decisions they should not be making. The division can affect many people on whether they are anti or pro RH-Bill, it is very hard to tell who they should follow or believe in.

For me the mass society is very strong. It is good to have many people come together to share their opinions and arguments to get their message across, but it has come to the point where it is against the opinion and your faith. The media presents all these arguments online on social networking sights, blogs, websites and articles. Signs are used all around the Philippines to promote anti-RH Bill. “I am pro-life. I am anti-RH Bill,” “Choose Life, Reject RH Bill” “UST is Catholic, UST is pro-life, UST rejects RH Bill,” are examples of some of the slogans used on posters. The Catholic Church along with the mass believe that the Rh-Bill is going against them. However it is not up to the Church to decide what is good to the country or what is not. The state is not run by the Church. The Philippines is strongly a Catholic country and so try to get in the way of the bill that was passed. The Church believe that it will corrupt the minds of people however it is up to the mass what they will do with the information being fed to them.

The RH-Bill issue is an example of the two step flow theory. The mass media spreads the news of the RH-Bill to the public and there are then the opinion leaders in this situation, the opinion leaders are the Catholic Church and the President. Propaganda is used to convince the mass to reject the bill.  The masses has then separated themselves in whether or not they are anti or pro-RH Bill. There is even a group on the internet to prove how the mass has come together to fight for what they believe in, “Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill.” It illustrates the message that the people get from the RH-Bill. In fact the intentions of the RH-Bill is to control the population of the Philippines and to decrease the transfer of aids and STD’s. The Catholic Church does not see this as they are just looking at how it effects the minds of the Catholics and how it goes against many teachings of the Church. The Church does not look at the bill practically, they only see one side of the argument.

(2013, April 20) Schools Defying Church Teachings May Lose Catholic Status, CBCP NEWs. http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=2280

Patricia, Kim Arveen. (2013, March 19). SC Stops Controversial RH Bill For Now, Yahoo! News. http://ph.news.yahoo.com/sc-stops-controversial-rh-bill-for-now-065809268.html

De Leon, Hector s., (2008, June). Article II – Declaration at State Policies, Section 6., Textbook on the Philippines Constitution. Manila, Philippines: University of The Philippines Former Associate Professor, Far Eastern University.

Pedrosa, Carmen N., (2012, December 22) ‘Pro-RH’ may have won the battle, but ‘Anti-RH’ won the war, Phil.Star

http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2012-12-22/888723/pro-rh-may-have-won-battle-anti-rh-won-war

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill. http://www.antirhbill.com/members/antirhbill

#essay 

No Such Thing

Listening to the song Shirtsleeves by Ed Sheeran made me think, it drifted my mind away from the paper I am currently working on. You can not go back, you can not start over as much as we want something to go back to the way things were, that just doesn't happen. If anyone was to go back to the way things were either things will be better or worse, maybe there's an in between but my point is it will never be the same again. There is no such thing as starting over again because you can't go back, you can't change things. The best thing you can do is to make things even better before or just let go and move on. This will require even more effort and hard work, there's always a reason for things right?

I hate not knowing the reasons for things, I am a very curious person and I want the answer straight away. Sometimes I can be brave asking these questions, at times I might not be ready for the answer and it may hurt but I am glad to know the truth. I don't want to be sitting here thinking about possible answers as I could be thinking of the worse possible answer in my head.

I'm Not A Fan!

Where do I start? I'm not a music geek and I don't know much about music. The first song I heard by Lady GaGa was  Just Dance and I loved it! It was very catchy, it's something I would listen to but not something  I would listen to all day.

Then Lady GaGa continued to make music and they all did really well, some had a meaning like Born This Way. However the music videos were slowly becoming explicit and I don't know why.

She wears less clothes, does provocative things and it's not music anymore for me. For me a music video should relate and tell the story of the song. I guess a music video is for entertainment but shouldn't a music video mean something. It shouldn't be about how you have less clothes on but about the song, the meaning and how we can relate to it.

I always tell people how I much prefer to listen to artists from Youtube. The songs are original or rather not auto tuned. Artists off Youtube don't try to impress the mass, they're not mainstream but they sound better than the ones on mainstream because it's different; it's not the same thing you hear everyday and everywhere. Mainstream music adjust to the mass however those off Youtube don't need to do this even though they might not have as many fans as those mainstream artists.

The Media

In life you meet so many people. Some talkative some quiet some maybe even both. But one thing I've learned is that those who are talkative just talk without thinking.  They talk without knowing the truth. They say the first thing that comes to mind. Yes it can get on other nerves yes it gets annoying and sometimes its or alot of the times its wrong.

Studying journalism I have learned alot and it has become so interesting. I have learned that people who watch so much tv actually take in what they see on tv and it actually effects there life. They believe everything they watch theybjudge and make comments. But they just judge what they see! They don't look into it.

For me I don't think anyone know what its like to be in media until you're in it or get to experience it. I am so excited to continue my course,  it excites me every time! I regret not taking media studies back in high school. Its so interesting and fun. Why shouldn't we study it? Media has become a huge part of our lives. The media decieves the people and so we should have a chance to know the truth. We should have a chance to know how it all works.

The media is everything and everywhere! I cant wait to learn more and to actually be in the media. I feel like Im meant to be taking this course,  I feel like im destined to be part of the media one day.

The Power of Gadgets

From a Nokia to a Motorollo to a Sony Ericsson to an Iphone and now to a Samsumg S3 Mini. I've never really been upto date with all the latest gadgets. I only came into contact or rather first owned an Iphone when the iphone 5 came out. It was passed down from my cousin but the condition was great! It didn't have scratches all over it and it didn't look like trash.  However while everyone was using front cameras to take pics of themselves I was left behind. But I wasn't left out,   not all my friends had an Iphone or even a nice phone.

The good thing about UST is that there is no competition with who gets the latest gadget so I never feel pressured.

A week ago while my auntie was driving me home she told that she bought me a new phone and that I was on plan. Which is a contract back in England.  I was happy that finally I wont have to worry about having load (credit) on m phone. Also my phone now has internet on my so wherever I go I dont have to worry about finding a place with wifi. Wherever I go I can keep in contact with family and friends using whats app as I will have I internet everywhere!

The Samsung S3 Mini has a great camera I love it!! And its slim! But im finding it hard to text and type I miss the old phones where it was easy and fun to text with. Im getting used too it but I much prefer texting with the older phones.  However I love instagram and blogging and Facebook and Twitter and whats app that I feel like I cant live without my phone.

I can live without all of this but every time I feel like I am not upto date with what is happening I feel like I am hiding in a cave. How can you be informed or know what is happening without all these gadgets. I experienced living without it and it was weird. You dont know what people are talking about you dont know what is going on. As a journalist student I need to know and be updated with everything otherwise it ia difficult;  why would I even take up this course if I didnt know or want to know anything going on around me.

I try to keep updated by reading CNN as often as I can and obviously through twitter and Facebook.

Never Stop Dreaming

This speech was delivered by a La Sallian engineer in one of the graduation ceremonies at the UP College of Engineering.

"Ngayong araw na ito, sa ating pagtatapos, mayroon akong dalang Transcript of Record. Ang estudyanteng may-ari ng transcript na ito ay nag-aral sa De La Salle University. Sa unibersidad na ito, kapag ikaw ay isang undergraduate, may ID number ka na nagsisimula sa “94”at pataas, kung lumipas ang isang buong school year at umabot ka sa 15 units na bagsak, masisipa ka sa paaralan.

Ang transcript na hawak ko ay mayroong 27 units ng bagsak. 12 sa mga ito ay tinamo ng estudyante sa iisang schoolyear lang. Ang isang subject ay kadalasang may bigat na 3 units. Kung iisiping mabuti, isang subject na bagsak na lang ay pwede na masipa ang estudyanteng may-ari ng transcript na ito.

Ang speech na ito ay hindi ko ginawa para i-acknowledge ang paghihirap ng ating mga magulang sa pagpapaaral satin. Hindi ko din ito ginawa para maghayag ng political statement,o kumbinsihin kayo na huwag umalis sa bansa at tulungan itong makaahon. Ang speech na ito ay para sa mga normal na estudyante na kagaya ng may may-ari ng transcript na hawak ko, dahil madalas, wala talagang pakialam ang unibersidad sa mga achievements nila. May mga awards na gaya ng “Summa Cum Laude”, “Best Thesis Award” at “Leadership Award.” Pero ni minsan, hindi pa ako nakakakita ng unibersidad na nagbigay ng “Hang-on and managed to graduate despite nearly getting kicked-out during his academic stay” award.

Maaaring isang malaking kagaguhan ang konseptong ito para sa karamihan. Bakit mo pararangalan ang isang estudyanteng bulakbol, bobo, tamad o iresponsable? Hindi ba dapat isuka ito ng unibersidad? Ito yung mga tipo ng estudyanteng walang ia-asenso sa buhay, hindi ba?

Ayun. Natumbok niyo. Iyun na nga ang dahilan. Madalas, pag ang isang estudyante ay may pangit na marka sa paaralan, lalong lalo na sa kolehiyo, nakakapanghina ito ng loob. Nandiyan yung tatamarin ka mag-aral, nandyan yung iisipin mo “Ano pa kayang trabaho ang makukuha ko? Call center na naman o clerical? Ba’t kasi ang bobo ko. Kung matalino lang ako, sana, sa Proctor and Gamble ako, o kung saang sikat na kumpanya.”

Mas mahirap ang dinadaanan ng mga estudyanteng bumabagsak. Kahit na sabihin mong kasalanan nilang bumabagsak sila, hindi ninyo alam kung ano ang pakiramdam ng ganun. Madaling sabihin na “Kaya mo yan, mag-aral ka lang,” pero alam ba natin talaga ang sinasabi natin?

Kapag ang isang estudyante ay bumabagsak sa unibersidad, nandiyan yung tatawanan niya lang yan. O di kaya naman, ipagmamalaki niya pang “TAKE 5 NA KO!!!” o “Pare, magpi-PhD na ako sa Anmath3/ Calculus/etc.” Pero hindi alam ng mga isang Summa Cum Laude kung ano ang nasa isip ng isang normal na estudyante sa tuwing matutulog ito at alam niyang pag-gising niya, kailangan niya na namang ulitin ang isang subject na nakuha niya na sa susunod na term.

Kaya ngayong graduation, ang speech na ito ay inaaalay ko parasa mga estudyanteng lumagpak, muntik-muntikan nang masipa o yung sa lahat ng paraang pwede,ginawa na para lang makatapos. Gagawin kong patas ang mundo para sa inyo kahit isang araw lang. Kahit ano pa ang sabihin ng ibang tao, kesyo kasalanan mo man na pangit ang marka mo o muntik ka nang makick-out, saludo ako sa hindi mo pagtigil sa pag-aaral. Saludo ako na may lakas ka ng loob na harapin pa rinang mundo kahit alam mong hindi ito magiging patas sa iyo. Saludo ako na kahit pangit ang transcript mo, taas noo ka pa rin ngayong graduation at proud na proud sa sarili mo.

Ano ngayon ang mangyayari sa mga graduates pagkatapos nitong graduation? Ayoko nang puntahan yung pwedeng mangyayari sa mga Cum Laude. Baduy. Alam mo namang may patutunguhan ang buhay nila e. Pero dun sa mga lumagpak, ano ang meron?

Maaring makakuha kayo ng mediocre na trabaho lang. Pwede ka rin swertehin, baka makapagtrabaho ka sa magandang kumpanya. Madami pang pwedeng mangyari. Huwag kayong mawalan ng pag-asa. Kung nung college, nagtiyaga kayo e ba’t titigilan niyo yung pagti-tiyaga ngayon?

Pwede ring ganito: Mag-aral ka ulit. Ipakita mo sa kanila na kung sisipagin ka lang, malayo ang mararating mo. Subukan mong patunayan sa kanila na kapag pinilit mo, kaya mo ring abutin yung naabot nila. Na hindi ka bobo, kundi tinamad ka lang.

Baka sabihin ninyo, drowing lang ako.

I’ve been on both sides. Naranasan ko na ring lumagpak, at muntikan na din akong masipa. Naranasan ko na ang umulit ng 4 na beses sa iisang subject. Naranasan ko na ang masumbatan ng magulang, kapatid at kung sino-sino pang propesor na walang pakialam sa pakiramdam ng estuyante.

Naranasan ko nang hindi makatulog ng maraming gabi sa pagiisip kung paano ko na naman sasabihin sa magulang ko na maybagsak na naman ako. Kaya alamko ang pakiramdam ninyo.

Akin ang transcript na ito.

Pagkagraduate ko ng college, ano ang ginawa ko? Eto. Nagtrabaho muna ng konti, taposaral ulit. Kuha ng Masteral sa kurso ko. Hindi para sa trabaho o kung ano man. Kundi para patunayan sa sarili ko na noong mga panahong bumabagsak ako, tinatamad lang ako.

This is a rebellion. I raise my middle finger to every professor, over-achiever, naysayer and detractor THAT TOLD ME THAT I CAN'T MAKE IT. I raise my middle finger to every valedictory or graduation speech that only gratifies the university, those who were achievers in school or those who gratify the country when it’s supposed to be the graduate’s moment of glory. You are supposed to acknowledge EVERYONE. Even those who failed many times.
Kaya sa inyong mga graduates na medyo hindi maganda ang marka, para sa inyo ito. Kung kinaya ko ito, kaya niyo rin to. Imposibleng hindi."

I wish to inspire. I wish to show people the way. I may not be God but through God's will I want to be a role model. Just like every human out there I am not perfect. My life is where I want it to be but not what I expected. I did come to the Philippines to be free. I did come here for fun. But I never said that I didn't want to graduate. I grew up with steps in my head to how I will reach my goal. Graduating was one of the steps; coming to the Philippines was also one. I was told that I have to go far away so that I will have self-confidence and will break out from my shell. She was right.

I know that I have come so far right now, I know I still have far to go. However if I do compare myself now to before I can really see a big difference. I'm still not there yet, but I continue to strive forward not yet giving up.

My 1st year of college was crazy! I failed subjects, cried nearly every day. But I made it! I finished my 1st year and still have summer class to go. The speech above speaks for me! Describes how I feel and I just love it! It lets me know that I really do have hope. Yesterday I read a post by one of my classmates who will no longer return to our 2nd year, I thought I would be in his position. I thought I would be the one posting on fb a long note to all my classmates.

I was just one subject away from being kicked out, I am not happy with it. I am relieved but not relieved enough. But I don't want to stop, in fact I have decided to take up my masters. It made me want to prove that I can do this, I can study. I want to show people just because I was pulled down, it means nothing. It really does mean that I will pick myself up again.

I do not wish to give up, it was never in my mind to do this. Instead I will work even harder this time.

For those single ladies out there

I love this! In fact I love Jay Fluent, he's super hilarious and not only that he makes sense; in a harsh way. He managed to hit the harsh points but added humour to it. Most of it is pretty true as I've heard it all before, but it was good he didn't make it to serious, it made it entertaining.

Check out his youtube channel: JayFluent

Lets Learn First

There are many things I still haven't done and that I still have to learn about. One of them is sex. Before I used to think that sex is a bad thing. I used to judge those who do it. However I know some girls/friends who have done it or are doing it. From what I can see it can be an act of love. Sometimes I think to myself why do you really have to be married to do it. Today there are so many issues that get in the way with sex before marriage. Such as divorce.

Many people want to be together but do do not want to get married. They want to avoid that headache thing called divorce...So many now choose to live together before they get married. To me eventhough I am not in the right state of mind or right time to think about it I favor this idea; I agree with it. I believe that yes sex can be because of love but you do not have to get married to show that you love one another. I have a friend whose parents are not married but they had a child and they live together.

But what I disagree on is having sex with every guy that Is your boyfriend. I don't think you should do it straight away or I don't think you should be in a relationship to just have sex. I guess waiting for the right moment and feeling. I don't know how you do this but I guess we will know when the time comes.

Twitter rant

I've seen blogs that have more pictures than words. I know how people feel while reading long long paragraphs about stuff that might not interest them. my blog's purpose is just an online diary to readers out there. I get annoyed with many people who tweet every second, every minute, every hour of the day. Tweets like I did that I did this, I just woke up, I just got home, I'm getting ready for school. Seriously? For me it only feels okay when a celebrity does it because we all want to know what they are up to; but even celebs don't do this. Partly because they are so busy. So I don't know some people destroy the use of twitter and use it to kill their boredom. Well, its up to them... there is an unfollow button so why am I stressing out?

Nothing really, I just want to share my opinion. For me instead of using twitter while they're bored they might as well start up their won blog.