Fourth Grading - Reflection

          We all encounter the same thing every fourth quarter of the school year; we are already tired of studying, we get excited to end the school year, we want vacation to come closer. But the most unexpected things happen at the most unexpected moments.

 

          During the fourth grading period, you are already tired and lost your interest in your studies. It is already the last quarter of the school year, last time to prove something, to prove yourself that you are deserving to be included in the honor role. The pressure is high so you had to let the spirit of diligence enter your body and possess you. In your ICT class, your lesson is all about Photoshop. Again. Photoshop was your lesson back when you were in grade 8 and now that you are in grade 10 you already forgot what you have learned. But I taught myself to look for the beauty in it. To see everything with a silver lining. So I tried so hard to recall all my past lessons. And now I am really happy that I have my knowledge back. I was so joyful editing my requirement but suddenly a window appeared on my screen. I asked my seatmate about it. She said, our computer hanged and all our activities are not saved. I thought my world is going to end. That was the realest challenge. I was already near to finishing it. But I did not lose hope. I learned to became patient and understand that not every time is your climax. Sometimes you have to fall down in order to see the way to the end of your adventure.

          Do not ever give up on your dreams because they are a picture of a possibility and you should have a strong heart and a prepared mind to turn that into reality. Not everything will come easy. Sometimes you have to really work hard to achieve it. But always keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the Lord. Because at the end of the day, only He can save you.

My 117 Year Old School

          This year, we had our Foundation Day or more known as High School Day last March 1 and 2. This is in celebration of the school's founding anniversary. Remembering everything that our school had went through, our school, Ilocos Sur National High School is now sanding tall, aiming high, soaring, and flying.

           Weeks before the said event, everyone was busy preparing. The students, teachers, everyone. Evryone was excited about what was going to happen. You can see batallions of students here and there, getting ready for their field demonstration. You can see students in high cut shoes, wearing fatigue uniforms, preparing for their drills. You can also see teachers getting frustrated, you can see the school principal talking to student who are not wearing their ID and many more. I am telling you, the school was completely busy. Saturday night, as I was scrolling through my twitter account, I saw a thread by a teacher, also from my school. The thread was all about Foundation Day. I read that and it changed all of my thoughts about High School Day. Days have passed, and the day that everyone was waiting for has finally arrived and I am sure, students just came for compliance, not to have fun. As expected, same practices and routines back when I was in Grade 7 was still observed. I was not surprised at all because I had a new idea, I was influenced by a better and wider perception of what that day was supposed to be. And I thought, there should be unity, we are in the same school, and we should move as one. If all voices were heard, then the game should have been twisted into a more fun and exciting one. But nonetheless, since I am an officer of our school's CAT-1 Unit, I had a part on the Arrival of Honors, and that made me satisfied because many of our senior officers did not have the same experience that we had. And overall, to be honest, that Foundation Day was not the best but definitely not the worst.

           I learned a lot from what happened. All that I can say is that, we should never be afraid to voice out our concerns specially if we know that it is for the betterment of the body. I really hope that next Foundation Day, everything will be really amazing. I came, I struggled, but in the end, I conquered.

Dreams: Better Future, Better Life

          "Dream is a picture of a possibility and you should have a strong heart and a prepared kind to turn that into reality" Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015 once said. We dream of something, whether it is short term or a long term, we work so hard to achieve it. We burn our brows, all day and all night, for us to deserve it.

If happiness is the key to success then dreams are building blocks into a world that only you can create. Yes! With your creative mind, you are the one, you have the choice if you are going to pursue your dreams, if you want to be successful or not. You hold your future. The change must start with yourself. As a poem goes "You are the master of your fate, you are the captain of your soul". You will go through many ups and downs. You will encounter a lot of problems along the way. These problems let you become prepared for your future. They are not useless. Infact, they are your ladders inorder for you to reach your dreams. These problems are not barricades. They are stop overs for you to recharge, to regain yourself after a tiring journey, for you to learn, and get you ready on your next destination. There is nothing to be worried about. Always seek for God's help and guidance because He did not gave you those challenges if He knows that you can not do it. It is there for a reason. So in everything that you do, do your very best, and God will do the rest.

As they say, after every storm, there will always be a rainbow. Your hardships will pay off soon. Just lurn how to survive that storm. You have many dreams right? But dreams are just for the ones who are sleeping. So turn your dreams into goals. If you have yor dreams in life, wake up! You have your goals.

CHANGE; BEGINS WITH ME

          In my life, I have been exposed to a challenge that is so called "change". Change is inevitable. It comes in many different ways and is dealt with many different ways. I have come to the awareness that can be the deepest in all things. There are many issues in our community that we are facing today. And one of these issues is Climate Change.

          Climate change is the periodic modification of Earth's climate brought about as a result of changes in the atmosphere as well as interactions between the atmosphere and various other geologic, chemical, biological, and geographic factors within the Earth system. This is also due to the fast growing technologies and due to the negligence of the human creation. Since we are already in a modern world, new invented ways and techniques that are invented and introduced to make the lives of the people more convenient. But without thinking the effects of these in our environment. Our planet is the only one who can support life. It is the only one that we have. Because of the irresponsible and illegal acts of human beings, it is already being destroyed. There are pollutions in the land, in the bodies of water, in the air, everywhere. Improper garbage disposal is practiced as well as lack of conservation on the natural resources. Over years, yes we have improved but over years, yes, we destroyed our planet.

           If we only know how to conserve what we have, then we can giv atleast something left for the next generation. If we only are responsible of what we are doing, then our problems would be minimized. If we only are educated then we know how to deal with such. If we do our best then our micro effort will have macro effects in our environment. And therfore we can have a better planet to live in, and the best life to live.

Reference:

            https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Changes-in-Life-P3RD5ZYTC

NEW YEAR; NEW ME

         We anticipate the coming of a new year. It is considered to be the most important and wonderful holiday, since that it is the beginning of a new chapter of our life, a time for people to leave their happiness in the past and get their fortune for the new year. 

         Since it is a new year, we are hoping for a better life. That is why we make new year resolutions to change our bad habits in the past. It is one of the hyped modern tradition. People make promises to themselves to do a certain thing on the new year's eve. They decide to complete, follow the tasks for the entire year. It is a very noble idea that people pledge something to themselves so that some if not all of their problems will be solved. But in reality, New Year's Resolution is becoming a joke. On New Year's eve itself, people have fun, eat, and drink too. Sometimes, a week or two after New Year's eve, people tend to forget their promises already. Some even break it the next day.

          The real essence of New Year is not about those resolutions. If you are serious enough to change something about yourself, you can do it in a normal day. You do not need to wait for a new year for that. It is just an excuse. If you do not have the willpower to do such, you are just kidding yourself. As they say, "Promises are meant to be broken". Like the New Year's day, everyday brings new opportunities to start something new, a chance to starts over, a gateway to escape from traps. Everyday is also special, meaningful, and significant. For as you are loving and you have a strong faith in God and you have Him in your heart, it is already enough. And that is the real eaassence of New Year.


Reference:
          https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/1

KANNAWIDAN: Sangsangkamaysa a Rambakan

          Kannawidan is a festival celebrated in Ilocos Sur during the last week of January until the second or third week of February. It is a three-week long celebration which commemorates the separation of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. It is like an Independence Day for the two provinces.

    During the celebration, there are many activities that are conducted by the government of the provincial such as Street Dancing Competitions, Search for saniata ti Ylocos and Saniata ti Agtutubo for 2019, Muscle Showdown, LGBT Night, Balikbayan Night, and many more. They invite local artists here in the Philippines to entertain the crowd. They also built a booth where you can see and buy the OTOP or One Town One Product of every municipality in the province. There is also a bonsai exhibit where you can see the beautiful bonsai works of Ilocano bonsai makers. There is also an Art Gallery where works of Ilocano Artist are exhibited. Many visitors and balikbayans come to  celebrate with the Ilocanos this wonderful and historical festival.

      For me, I think, it is really important to have a celebration like this because it represents the progress that the province achieve over the pass 201 years of independence. It is also avenue where the young generation could learn and know about the rich culture and traditions that are existing inside the province. It is also a thanks giving celebration to the heroes who fought for the rights of the Ilocanos as well as all the Filipinos. It is important to celebrate this with unity and pride. SURE! ILOCOS SUR!!!!!!

Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities

          Everything in our world today is already modern. Technologies have advanced, many things were developed, and our way of living became more convenient. Our world became more progressive as time passed by. But many issues such as gender awareness remained contemporary. Is humanity headed in the right or wrong direction?

          We live in a society today where we are very thankful ta have varied array of people; Men, Women, and now, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer Community, also known as the LGBTQ Community. Before, people belong to the said community were not accepted in this judgmental society. They were abused, violated, and discriminated. But as time passed by, people realized that they are also human beings. They should also be accepted, respected, tolerated, and loved as any other people. And now, things have changed. The beautiful thing about it now is that instead of negating, contradicting, and creating problems, we created platforms and significant projects that benefits everyone, especially them in our society. The government conducted activities that raises awareness about the different matters and problems that the said community is facing. The government also implemented laws such as the anti-discrimination and many more. They became the highlight in many festivities and events such as beauty pageants. They are offered many jobs since they also have hidden talents and skills. Some of them now are already leaders in the province and even in the small groups and organizations in their community. They became the source of happiness of the people around them. They proved that they are worthy of respect and love and that they also have an important role in our society, also observing equal rights for everyone.

         We accepted the beauty of diversity in which it would be understood where different individuals value each other regardless of their skin complexion, the culture that they have, the traditions that they practice, their way of living, their level of intellect, the talents that they have, their age, and the gender that they identify themselves with. It is for that very reason that I believe that humanity is headed in the right direction.

Reference:
           https://www.facebook.com/jayjim13/videos/1800954280002837/

The Essence of Christmas

          Christmas is coming! t is the most awaited and the most anticipated season of the year. Everyone gets excited especially the children. It is the season to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the season of joy, love, and giving.

   

          Here in the Philippines, we are said to have the longest  Christmas season. Starting on September, you can already see Christmas decors such as lanterns and lights around you. During October, you already call your relatives abroad or those who live far away from you and ask them if they want to visit you and spend Christmas with you. After Halloween, on November, you can already hear Christmas songs from Jose Mari Chan and Mariah Carey in Malls. Festivities continue and as early as second week of December, people go and attend reunions and parties with their friends and families. But regardless of the excitement that everyone is experiencing, we tend to forget the main reason why we are celebrating. We are so into the physical and material things not already the spiritual aspect of it.

          If we are going to dig deeper why we are celebrating Christmas, it is because our Savior is born. He is born to spread the words of God. He is born to save us because He loves us. Therefor, the real essence of Christmas is nothing else but love. Let us not forget Jesus who taught us what real, genuine, and unconditional love is. And with that love, us Children of God, we have the responsibility to be human enough to share this to the needy, t the motherless, to the ones who are unfortunate. And because of this, we will feel complete, ready to face the challenges that the new year will be giving us.

Children's Month Celebration 2018

          "Kabataan, ang pag-asa ng bayan" wika ni Gat. Jose Rizal. Kaya bata pa lamang ay inaanyayahan nang pumasok sa paaralan upang tuklasan, linangin, at ibahagi ang kanilang mga natatanging talento at kakayahan sa mga iba't ibang bagay. Dito sa ating bansa, nagkakaroon ng selebrasyon ng Buwan ng mga bata upamg ipaalala sa lahat ng tao na kahit bata pa lamang sila ay may mahalaga na silang kaganapan dito sa ating lipunan, gayon at sa hinaharap.

         Dito sa ating probinsya, Ilocos Sur, ang selebrasyon na it ay matagumpay na naisasagawa sa buwan ng Oktubre. Maraming naganap na parada at programa. Ang mga napiling student leaders ng High School ay naatasan upang maging counterpart ng Gobernador, Bise Gobernador, at iba pang Sangguniang Panlalawigan at maging tagapangulo ng iba't ibang ahensya sa kapitolyo ng lalawigan sa loob ng isang araw. May mga napili rin na High School at Elementary na Student Leaders upang m,aging counterpart rin ng mga opisyales ng lungsod ng Vigan. Nagkaroon rin ng Leadership Camping para sa mga Sangguniang Kabataan at Student Leaders ng syudad. Nagkaroon rin ng iba't ibang patimpalak para sa mga bata mula sa iba't ibang bayan sa lalawigan tuad ng pag-awit, pagdrawing, at paggawa at pagbigas ng tula. May mga naganap rin na seminar at symposium tungkol sa mga karapatan ng mga bata at iba pa. Nagkaron rin ng misa at gift-giving activities para sa mga bata. Masaya at naging atagumpay ngaang selebrasyon.

          Kung lahat ng bata ay matututo at mlilinang, lahat ng bata ay magiging matagumpay sa kinabukasan. Kung lahat ng bata dito sa ating bansa ay mabigyan ng opurtunidad gaya ng mga bata sa Vigan, magkakaroon tayo ng isang bansang puno ng magagaling at matatainong mamamayan. At kung gayon, hindi na natin poproblemahin pa kung paano umasenso, umunlad, at umangat ang ekonomiya ng ating bansa. At kung mangyayari nga,  maisasakatuparan at mabibigyang patunay na ang kabataan nga ang siyang pag-asa ng ating bayan.