NEW YEAR, NEW ME

                I have always been an ordinary girl—not special, really—yet I have always been trying my best to cope with the society.

                New year means new opportunities, new scenarios, new challenges, new life.

                I may have so many shortcomings last year but I’ll try to fill up the spaces I missed as much as I could. In another 365 days, I’ll have to prove myself that I am worthy to live a decent life for the next years. I’ve grown. I’ve developed. And I will continue growing and developing until I reach the final stage.

                Here’s a quick list of the things I plan on doing this year:

1.       Treasure the last three months with classmates and schoomates.

2.       Do my best in class.

3.       Be more optimistic. Ignore negative thoughts.

4.       Study well (especially in college).

5.       Be a more responsible daughter– do household chores!

As to some other personal changes, those that comes from within, I cannot assure if I can live by that. It depends to the current atmosphere and other influential factors. But of course, I will choose the path to personality development.

                I am happy with who, what, and where I am now. I just hope that this year, whatever journey I may take, I’ll end up happier. New me? Well, slightly, maybe.

BRIDGE TO THE END

The school year is almost ending. We’re now past the third quarter, which means we have to begin the end—the end that will soon close our high school life. But before that, I’d like to cherish every single moment right now. I want to relive the past.

            This quarter might be the bridge to the last one but it was still full of new things worthy to take in. I have learned to differentiate an idiom to another and identify them hidden in sentences. I discovered all the things to be considered when it comes to production plus the ways of employers and employees in solving disputes. I realized how exponents and logarithms have been keeping oru lives from frantic calculations. HTML tags remind me that life isn’t always simple but behind that, there’s always beauty in it. I’ve been also loaded with science concepts that can perhaps be useful in the future. The stories we discussed and movies we watched have taught me several lessons in coping life’s problems.

            The topics must have been as interesting as ever. But no matter how much I want to miss none of the discussions, I cannot excuse myself from other obligations. I am currently the Editor in chief of The Dove so I had to help finish our first issue. Aside from that, I also attended some seminars scheduled close each date. As far as I’ve known, I’ve been out of the classroom for two straight weeks. That’s a lot to miss.

            Despite the fact that my absence threatens my possible exam results and grades, I didn’t let my studies fall off. I tried every way to catch up: borrowing my classmates’ notebooks, talking to teachers, having make-up quizzes and activities. Because I have joined a regional contest and national seminar, my grades will probably retain even if I am supposed to get a lower grade. Almost all of us will, I guess. But retaining is not enough. I need my grades to increase even just a point. I just hope the exam results are high enough for that thing to happen.

            So now, hello FOURTH QUARTER! I don’t know if I should be happy or not. We still have more than two months to spend time together. We are so attached it will be hard to let go. Letting go, it’s the hardest part. I think I would just brace myself and see what happens next. 

WORLD ENEMY: CLIMATE CHANGE

We cannot deny the fact that the world is experiencing serious problems on natural forces due to numerous activities altering the weather conditions. In our country, we have been facing disastrous phenomena that destroy millions of properties and steal the lives of citizens. And this happens because of our own doings.
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions. (Source: Wikipedia)
Climate change is usually linked to global warming, which is the abnormal rise of temperature in the earth’s surface. There are times when we’re experiencing extremely hot weather and drought. This greatly affects our biosphere, making the soil unhealthy for plants and causing several illnesses to both humans and animals. In the contrast, we are suddenly hit by strong typhoons, tornados, tsunamis, and other dreadful calamities that leave us in great misery.
We are the ones who are greatly affected by the continuous threats of nature; hence, we should be the ones who will make ways to prevent it. We should stop the human activities which have been contributing to the deflation of our ozone layer. The Earth is our only home—don’t wait for the time it will be completely ruined and unable to support life efficiently. The only way we can lessen or prevent the effects climate change totally is to finally realize our mistakes and start doing things to stop or undo them. Altogether, we can bring back the beauty of Mother Earth.

CHRISTMAS IS MORE THAN CELEBRATING

“You’d say that the day holds something special

Something holy, not superficial

So here’s to the birthday boy who saved our lives...”

(A few lines from Christmas Must Be Something More by Taylor Swift)

           

            By the look of every people’s faces, you can sense how excited they are for this real special day to come. In the streets, houses were decorated with every glint of Yuletide season: amazing Christmas trees, cute versions of belen, and brilliant lights and colorful lanterns that add to the night’s luminousity. More than that, kids would wander from door to door, singing the most joyous Christmas songs with their giddy and sweet voices. And who said teenagers and adults cannot join them?

            As the day draws near, people become more and more panicky: they’ve constantly been hitting grocery stores and shopping malls to get all the essential things (i.e. gifts and food) for the holy festivity. Apparently, December has been the busiest month of the year. Everyone’s preparing. Everyone’s contributing their share.

            Despite the sad fact that some families are still suffering from the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda’s wrath, surely they would fin time to celebrate Christ’s birth. Nothing’s more important to them than being together and staying strong. Citizens from all over the globe have been pouring donations, blessings plus prayers for the victims. This must be one of the greatest Christmas gifts they’d received besides surviving the dreadful calamity.

            Giving and sharing. It’s not something you merely need to do because it was some sort of requirement. It’s something that needs to be done with the willingness of the heart ans soul. When you give or share something, you must commit yourself to it. You must take a part of yourself, a part of your heart and soul with you and share them to anyone who needs it. Furthermore, forget the misconception of doing good things to impress other people. Have a clear conscience and pure intention.

            We may have different ways of celebrating Christmas. We may have different principles and beliefs. The important thing is we must remember that we are all brothers and sisters and that we must celebrate TOGETHER. In Jesus’ name, we are one.

            Hey, don’t sweat these stuffs, okay? Just enjoy this day. Try not to think of whatever that’s been disturbing your sanity lately. Relax. At the same time, have fun. Don’t just celebrate. Fill the atmosphere with love, love, and more love. Stay safe, God bless, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS NOT A BIG DEAL

                We were born from different mothers, from different places, from different races. We were born with different physical features, talents and skills, goals and ambitions.We believe in different principles, in different religions, in different ideas.We speak different dialects, follow different cultures and traditions, wear different clothing, do different habits.

                We are unique: there’s no pair in this world that is exactly the same as the other. Our country is filled with extraordinary people with extraordinary traits that make them stand out. But no matter how diverse we are from each other, there is our one common goal: EQUALITY.

                All the citizens should be aware of their rights as human beings. All of us must be treated equally. No discrimination. No abusing. No negligence.

                Knowing our rights and opportunities will help us cope with life. We know what to fight for, what to sacrifice for, what to live for. Yes, there are times when our rights were overlooked or abused. That’s why there is a need for everyone to know each our rights and that we can always stand up for ourselves, with courage.

                We were all born through God’s will and image. Remember that. And we will all die the same way―buried deep in the ground and left to decay. We are all different but we are loved equally by the Lord. Therefore, let’s treat others equally, too. Forget all those little flaws now. 

String of Unity

                The planet Earth is made up of several continents, countries, and islands. The natives of each place have their own culture, traditions, religions, and of course, languages and dialects. Thus, in order for us to have a better communication, there’s a need to master the universal language: English.

                Over the years, the Philippines has received compliments because of its proficiency in English. Since we entered pre-school, the English language has been used as the main medium of teaching. This practice became an advantage to the Filipino workers for they can easily get a job abroad as long as they can speak and understand the language. The president also uses this language as a bridge to form alliances with other countries. It has contributed so many things for us to reach modernization.

                The English language is the string that connects us to all corners of the world. It’s the common thing that binds us and keeps us together no matter how diverse our nations are. Let’s continue in speaking the language and hold on to this path of unity. 

LEVEL UP!

                We have almost consumed the first half of the school year yet we still have a lot of things to go through. Second grading period was a tough one: we encountered a variety of things, from newly introduced lessons to mind-blowing problems.

                In my own perception, I improved a little this quarter. Take note: a little. You can see one of the evidences in Pre-Calculus. I obtained a perfect score in all my assignments and high scores in my seatworks and quizzes whereas before, I hardly got half of the items. This is just a proof that ‘the first time is always the hardest.’ I am also doing good enough in other subjects like Advanced Chemistry and Advanced Physics. Ekonomiks still holds the Most Noisy and Funniest Class title. On the other hand, ICT has been training us to become future HTML programmers. But of course, always start with the basics.

                September 19 must’ve been the most horrible day of Maxwell– when we were sent to the principal’s office. I’m not sure if this news has reach all our teachers. I’ll just not specify it for privacy purposes. After the short conference, things went haywire. I didn’t actually witness what happened because there’s a practice for honor roll. But based from what I heard, there were shouting, yelling, and crying among the class, even the boys. They blamed on this and that for being this and that. The world of Maxwell seemed to have crumbled into dust.

                People don’t forget things easily. The next day, the air was filled with murmurs about the scenes. Most of my classmates have gone silent; others tried to hide how they really feel. But as days passed, the grief gradually disappears. September 19 transformed into a lesson from the past, and a laughingstock (seriously, everytime someone mentions something related to it, we smile and laugh), yet worth remembering. It has been the greatest challenge for us to overcome.

                Now that the second judgment day is at arm’s length, I hope that we’ll receive a good grade. I’ll continue doing my best and try to keep up with the pace until the end of this school year.