Dreams Never Fade

“The gull that flies highest sees the farthest.” This is the most famous proverb in the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull written by the famous author Richard Bach. The magnificent novel is all about the unpredictable adventures of a witty, spunky gull named Jonathan Livingston who is very different among all the seagulls living near the fishing dock. He chooses to be away from the flock and rather practice flying at faster speeds near cliffs than hunting and eating fishes with foolish seagulls on the vast ocean. Jonathan sees the life of a seagull as not limited to just eating for survival. He dreams more of becoming the fastest flying seagull ever born of all time. Of course, the other gulls including his parents and flock elders just laughed at his hopeless dream. His once colorful and well-developed feathers on his wings were one by one falling due to crashes on the ocean. Then one time, he accidentally crashed on the place where all the other seagulls were busy eating their meals. He was ordered to stand in the Center for Shame and it means that he no longer belong to the flock. He was called a foolish outcast but this does not hinder him from fulfilling his rightful dream. Sooner than later, he met two seagulls flying at higher speed while he was practicing an acrobatic elevation of flying and they let him joined their group. He realized that the he and the two seagulls have the same dream and that is to be able to fly at higher acceleration and soar at higher altitudes. Afterwards, he was taught by an old but fast-flying seagull on the proper way of doing acrobatic flying and the secret way of defying the forces of nature such as the wind factor. As time passed by, he was the fastest flying seagull in his new flock. He never lost hope and did many sacrifices before he patiently achieved his goal.

I really enjoyed reading the short but interesting novel for it tells us of one important thing, and that is to fulfill your dream no matter how long it would take and the circumstances that will come. I can relate myself to Jonathan Livingston because at first, he lose hope but sooner realized that letting the opportunity to pass by is a foolish act. Because of the novel, I knew that my future does not depend on my destiny but destiny depends on my doings. The novel taught me about the real fact about patience, sacrifice and the determination that you will succeed in achieving your most admired ambition in life. To tell you honestly, I easily lose hope especially when things turn out what I did not expected. But after taking a moment of reading the novel, I switched that attitude. Now I know that no thing can really hinder me from my success if I just do what is rightfully correct. I do not care if people all around me think that I am crazy. The best way to magnificence is not to avoid problems in life but rather overcome those problems and still have faith to go to the right path. Dreams never fade away but it only takes up so much time that is why people must practice patience in a hard way.

Discipline

“Discipline is the name of the game”, this is the famous quote ever uttered by the famous basketball all-star Michael Jordan. Honestly speaking, all successful people and even powerful leaders all around the globe are equipped with discipline. Discipline really affects a person’s way of thinking, actions and most importantly, his behavior. I know not all people are disciplined like a monk but every one can be if we are only guided by quick-witted, disciplined people.

I know I am not totally disciplined for I always end up being called by our student welfare for violating again a not-so-serious school rule. Sometimes, I even sleep in class because maybe I hate the teacher or the subject. I even easily lose my temper when playing hardly on the basketball court or arguing to my classmates on a heated debate. I am a short-tempered person who outrageously acts first before thinking what I have wrongly done. But all of these changed when I was in fourth year high school. The reason for my step by step changes is when I took Civic Welfare Training Service or CWTS for short. At first, I was not really ready for the subject because first and foremost, I do hate discipline-oriented subjects. I hate being told by my CWTS officers to do things that I never have done before. They always tell me to tuck-in my white t-shirt which I perfectly hate because I am some kind of a guy who adores hip-hop very much. They also watch every move I make which I feel like I was controlled by a wicked dictator. Most of all, they demand respect from us by telling us to do side-steps whenever they walk in front of us and calling them “sir” whenever we talk to them. Funny but true, I do not like being controlled by any of my classmates. Honestly, I felt at that time that I was like a pet and the officers are my strict owners. Sooner I realized that I was just over-exaggerating and foolish when I thought of those things. One by one I adapted to their style of disciplining us, the cadets. They told us that we do all their rightful demands so that we can be disciplined individuals. Discipline is not just about being quiet in meetings or listening to all of your teacher’s lengthy lessons but also following other’s commands without much hesitation. What I meant is discipline is the way of teaching correct and acceptable patterns of proper behavior. Thus, our CWTS officers were disciplining us all the way from the start. Of course, one also needs good thinking to know what is right from wrong. The officers taught us about the real essence of cleanliness, responsibility and patience. Most of all, they oriented us about teamwork since we, the cadets, are grouped into platoons.

I learned many things in our CWTS class that really shaped me to be a better individual and at the same time, a good model to young ones. Now, I never committed a violation of our school’s rules again and I always play basketball without losing my concentration and temper. Most importantly, I now know how to balance my study time and leisure time. I know it takes time to change all your bad habits but all we need is just plain patience and the strong determination that you will possibly change.

CyberFair: A Portal to Technology

ARTICLE

A PEEK AT THE NATURE

“Enjoyable, natural and memorable,” these are three of many words that best describe the liveliness in Mountain View Nature’s Park. This gladsome place is located at Barangay Busay, Cebu City. The park is very wide and the exuberance of the trees makes the place cold like winter. It is a good place to hang- out and to have a picnic with your friends and loved ones. Mountain View is appropriate for all ages since it has a delectable playground where young kids can enjoy playing the seesaws and monkey bars under the blue sky. Older ones can also have their conversations anywhere since the place is clean and blithesome. The fanciful mini zoo can also allure the visiting tourists. The place is so natural; you can bask under the heat of the sun. People are always secured wherever they will go because the park has affable and approachable personnel. If you want to stay for two days or a week, you can check- in at their homesteads. The most interesting part to visit in the whole park is in the giant cross’ spot. In there, one can pray to God and thank Him for the blessings you received from Him. When the night comes, you can see the whole view of the city from the topmost part of the park since Mountain View is situated at the hills. One can also feel the cool breeze while stargazing. Mountain View Nature’s Park is like your second home, a place that animates your odd life. If you visit Cebu, never miss the opportunity to go to this magnificent park and experience the total enjoyment of your life.

SUMMARY

We made a website for our group’s topic which is the Mountain View Nature’s park. This is a well-built park where families, friends and lovers spend together watching the whole view of the city below. It is a nature-filled place that accommodates people with its nice cottages and well-furnished rental rooms. Most of all, it is a good place to hangout since the place is cold and very peaceful. We had a very hard time in making our article because the park’s management staff does not like to be interviewed at least for a short while about the park. But the good thing is we were allowed to take pictures anywhere on the park. We took twenty-eight pictures of the different areas in the huge park which includes the Mini-zoo area, Children’s Garden, Camping area, Giant Cross area, the Children’s Garden and many more.
Funny but true, we also had a hard time roaming around and taking pictures of the whole place because it was very sunny and the park is very wide and we do not have any transportation at that time. So, I recommend to people that when they plan to visit in Mountain View Nature’s Park, they must have vehicles to ride on. But despite the hardships we took, we still managed to create a unique website of the park which was one of the many topics of our school’s website piece for the International CyberFair Contest 2007. Nothing really is impossible if we believe that we can make it.

Lifelong Memories

Last Saturday, march 24, 2007, we had a pre-graduation reconciliation of hurts seminar or most commonly known as Retreat. Our first activity was the Prediction of Outcomes activity which was facilitated by our dear school guidance counselor Madame Anabelle Maglasang. According to Madame Maglasang, “predicting outcomes enables a person to choose and make good decisions in life. Life is what you make it, thus adolescents must think about what can happen after he makes a risk-taking decision.” During the activity, I had hard time thinking about a certain question that really shocked me. The question I rarely asked by people but one needs deep thinking to answer it. The question somehow tells us that we should be thankful to God for he blessed us with lives so we can feel happiness and excitement but sometimes, hardships and pain. Life seems so hard to fulfill but it is not just about the problems but also the good memories and experiences. By the way, the question was “What would happen if you got an illness and was told to live for only a month?”

I really stirred up my mind to think about the answer to this riddle. If ever that happens to me, I would be very sad for my existence has come to an end. The very first thing I would do is to tell all my family members that they are very important to me for they made my life meaningful, complete and colorful. I will say sorry to my loving mother for all the bad things I have intentionally done. I will also apologize to my understanding father for I have not been a very good son to my parents. To tell you honestly, I am a type of son who sometimes does not follow my parent’s advices. I am also the type of guy who is down-to-earth secretive, I do not show my true feelings towards people.

Next, I would meet all my friends in high school. They helped me to be a better person and they are the ones who undoubtedly accepted me no matter how I act to people. I would definitely spend time with them reminiscing all our high school days like group jam sessions and funny basketball experiences.

I would surely miss all my most memorable and embarrassing moments in life. I would also miss all my friends, family and relatives who shaped me to be a better individual to everyone. I know that death is inevitable but before it comes, I would do all the things I have never done before. The last thing I would do during my last day on earth is visit the tombs of my grandparents. They are two of many people whom I have not shown my love with. They died while I was still at a very young age and I did not even have an opportunity to say to them how important they are to me. I regretted much and everyday I feel that I was not a good grandchild to them. If I can do these things for less than a month before I die, then I would die happily knowing that I left a part of my soul to all the people I have met and known better when I was still alive.

The Real Treasure

What makes a man rich? Is it his wealthy fortune? Is it perhaps his family and friends? What really makes life worth living? These are questions that always stir in my mind. But sooner, I had realized the true meaning of wealth, and it all started with a quite oddly movie showing.
Last sunny Sunday, March 25, 2007, I had plainly nothing to do so I watched an interesting animated movie entitled Flushed Away. The movie starts with a wise, well-groomed and happy rat named Roddy who is a pet of a rich, loving family. Although he is living happily in the big house of the St. James’, he is still sad because he does not have a family or a circle of friends but only toys the same size as his. While the St. James’ are on vacation, he felt more loneliness in his heart. Then one time, a happy-go-lucky, mischievous rat from the sewer flushed Roddy in the toilet that led Roddy to the sewer down under. For the first time in his life, he met thousands of rats living in a quite peaceful place in the sewer. Actually, the place looks like a town with buildings made of recyclable garbage. There he met a witted, spunky and loving female rat named Rita who owns a boat named Jammy Dodger. Roddy told Rita to guide him back to his house in Kensington against the ravaging waters of the sewage system in exchange for a precious ruby owned by Roddy’s owners. As time passed by, Roddy found out that Rita had to look for ways to earn money to support her big family. Actually, Rita has fifteen younger siblings to feed including her parents and grandmother. Roddy sooner realized that what makes life worth living is having a family and friends on your side despite the circumstances that may come. The animation film ended with Roddy staying gracefully with Rita and her family in the sewer for the rest of his life.

Honestly, I was carried away by the thought of the animated movie. Now I know that a man is rich not because of his bags of precious jewelries and money but because of his family and friends that always support him in all moments of his life. I found out that being with your family and friends is the greatest gift of all that money can not buy. I do not want to die in this world knowing that I have heart full of loneliness. I am so thankful to God for He gave me a family that cares for me. I have a hardworking father who does his best to support us and, I have a loving mother who never forgets to care for us and teach us good habits and real-life lessons. I have also brothers and sisters who always make me laugh. Most of all, I have funny, jamming friends whom I can talk to whenever I have problems. They make me laugh very hard all the time and they are also my basketball playmates. Definitely, they are the ones who truly accept me for who I am. My family and friends are my most treasured gifts and I hope that I will also be a good gift to them. I maybe far from perfect but I will do my best to make their lives worth living too. If only my grandparents were still alive, they would find out how rich I turned out to be.

A Journey to Live On

Being a high school student is not as easy as it seems. One has to endure the stress caused by sleepless nights of studying difficult and boring lessons. As a high school geek, one must go through strings of hardships to be praised by your not-so-typical teachers. First of all, always keep in mind that you must strive harder for the improvement of your totally-wrecked grades. Set a goal to achieve for it enhances more your determination to gain progress in school. Next, love the teacher and his dreadful subject. Funny but true, this philosophy works out most of the time and I do not know why its existence is much of a great help. My friend and classmate told me that the humorous principle works because the teacher will eventually like you for loving his subject. Funny it seems, I tried to like my subject teachers but their subjects don’t love me in return that is why I end up having only grades little higher than the standards. I guess that philosophy does not work out for happy-go-lucky guys.

Third, never lose concentration during classes even though you are having a hard time understanding every detail of your lessons. Unfortunately, I have a short span of concentration that is why I sleep during class hours when I do not understand the writings on the blackboard. Please do not be such a fool like me because you will only end up scolded by the teacher and be embarrassed in front of your classmates. Now that explains my stupidity.

Fourth in the checklist is that you must always pass your homework and projects earlier than the deadline of submissions. I am not saying that you just pass a mediocre and hastily-done project but rather a well-made one. This will definitely help in because it constitutes one third of your class grades. It does not only make your scores higher than the usual one but it also leaves a positive effect on your teacher’s perception towards you. Next, be good to everyone in the school campus and do your obligations as a responsible student and a model to younger schoolmates.

Lastly, learn to enjoy yourself. Have leisure time by either playing basketball or any kind of sport. You can also take naps during snack breaks so that you will not fall asleep when the teacher is having a lesson.

These are just few of the thousand tips to be a better student and at the same time, a better person. Just like what the movie Coach Carter portrays to everyone, education is the only best option if you want to succeed all circumstances in life.

We should be thankful that we are still studying as of the moment because not everyone is blessed with the opportunity to go to school. Education is the key to one’s success and not as a burden to carry or an opportunity to waste. In life, we must do what it takes because everything happens for a reason. We may not be perfect in nature but we can do better to be almost perfect.

Time is not Enough

Just like the good old saying goes, “Time is more precious than a thousand lumps of glittering diamonds.” Time is like a rightful destiny that can never be reversed nor stopped by any mortal breathing on this world full of miseries. Strangely but true, I always dream of going back in time to correct my ill-laden mistakes on the past. I somehow wished that I will have a magnificent time machine that can go back in time when I was still a small, naughty kid in the neighborhood. A famous proverb says that “to err is human, to forgive is divine” but too much mistakes is not normal but rather a shameful one. That is why I am totally ashamed of my wrong doings in the past for I have hurt several human individuals due to the “frigidness” of my self. I was very insensitive and inconsiderate to the feelings of other people around me during my younger years. So as to correct those errors I have done in the past, I have realized that going reverse in time I would definitely change those mistakes.

If I accidentally rub a magic lamp and a so-called genie comes out, I would definitely ask that genie for a single yet a meaningful wish. My one and only wish is that I would go back in time when I was just a little rascal and my grandparents were still alive. Honestly, I was not able to show my love to them because I was still a mischievous child when they were still on my eyes. They were the ones who cared for me during my childhood days, days that were filled with their love and happiness. I admit that I was not able to show to them my love and that they were important persons in my life. If I can possibly travel back in time, I would surely tell them how important they are to me for they brought joy, happiness and color to darkness-shadowed life. I always reminisce those good old times when my Lolo was the one who fixes my not-so-good-quality toys, and my Lola who spanks me in the butt every time she realizes that my clothes are very dirty after playing in our backyard along with my neighbors.

Thinking back again, I am a guy full of regrets. I always think every second of my damn life that I would had a better destiny right now if I just made the right choices along the path. But life is not just about regrets but more on the happy side. I know I am just human and it is really hard to be me. I somehow overcame those mistakes in the past and I hope that I will never foolishly do those again. Apparently, I disagree with the adage “don’t bring back the past and try to forgive” because it is not easy to forget the past especially if it had a big impact on your life. Just like the song Superman goes, “I am only a man with a funny red sheet and its not easy to be me.”

The So-called Research Study

OUR STUDY

Milk is a highly nutrition-filled food. It contains major nutrients needed by the body for good health such as fats, carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and essential vitamins. People enjoy drinking milk in its natural form and also use it to make a wide range of food products including cream, butter, yogurt, cheese and ice cream. Milk intake is beneficial to humans especially to infants since newborn babies lack the ability to chew large masses of food that can provide them good nutrition. Though there are other sources for essential nutrient, milk intake is still a practical way to maintain one’s proper nutrition. There have been numerous forms of milk. Powdered milk includes this sea of milk products. It is often used in baking and always made available in places where fresh milk is not visible. Nowadays, numerous brands of commercial powdered milk are rapidly being produced and advertised on televisions, radios, billboards and other forms of advertisements. Parents buy various brands of powdered milk for their children so that they will stay healthy always. Yet, the consumers need to be assured that these milk brands are pure enough and can sustain the nutritional needs of our body. As part of these consumers, we, the researchers, developed a study which can determine the percentage purity of powdered milk through the process of titration. Specifically, it aims to determine the lactose content of this commercial milk through basing the percentage purities of the milk by the CODEX standards of lactose content. Lactose is used since it is the only sugar naturally present in milk. According to Microsoft Encarta 2006, lactose is a carbohydrate that is broken down by the body to supply energy. We used ten brands of commercial powdered milk in our research study and these are Alacta, Alaska, Anchor, Bonakid, Bearbrand, Promil, UCare123, Nido, and Nestogen. We did several titration tests before we gathered the needed information. The time of experimentation alone took us three and a half months to finish. After analyzing the findings, results and conclusions of the study, we found out that Alacta has the highest lactose content among the five brands of infant’s milk while Bearbrand has the highest lactose content among the five family’s milk. Most of all, we successfully concluded that all ten milk brands in our research study are above the average CODEX standards for lactose content. We recommend to the milk consumers that they buy milk brands with high lactose content and these milk brands are those on our research study. It is advisable to buy any of the ten brands since all commercial powdered milk in the study have higher lactose content than the normal standard which is at least sixty-one percent. Specifically, our research study is only applicable to non-diabetic individuals and lactose-tolerant people.

FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

Strangely but true, we didn’t have any problems concerning laboratory equipments but rather than time management because we must titrate the milk solutions at a given specific time. We let the milk solutions curdle for two days before we can titrate them in order to determine the lactic acid content of the milks. Then we use the CODEX standards as basis for determining the lactose content of each brand of milk. We also had financial difficulties due to the high prices of commercial powdered milk and laboratory materials. I hate to admit it but having a research study before graduation means a lot of stressful days and totally-shocked bankruptcy but it is worth all the hardships when you finish it and you will feel proud of what you have done. I humbly salute to myself and to my entire batch mates for we surpassed one of our stressful and hardest experiences in life.

An Expedition To Magnificence

It was already eight in the morning when I woke up and stretched my sleepy muscles. Funny but true, my neighbor’s roosters serve as my day to day alarm clock. For a while, I remembered that I have an important thing to do, and it was to go to Mountain View Nature’ Park. Fortunately, we had no classes on that Valentine’s Day so we had the perfect timing to go to our destination. When I turned on my damn cell phone, I received four messages and sooner I realized that they were already waiting for me in our school campus. The “they” that I meant are Gian and Lorem whom are both my classmates. We decided to go to Mountain View because it is one of the many topics for our school’s website piece for the upcoming 2007 International CyberFair contest. Our group was assigned to make a good website that features that gladsome place.

After an hour and a half, I arrived at the rendezvous and saw their tired faces, and I know deep inside that they were waiting in vain. Unfortunately for them, I’m invulnerable to shame. First thing we did was to ride a Plaza housing-bound jeepney so we can ride a habal-habal vehicle going to Busay. For those who don’t know, Mountain View is situated at the topmost part of Barangay Busay.

When we arrived at the park, we observed that the place was so peaceful and very natural. The whole park is crowded with big old trees that make the place very cool. We had a good time roaming around the wide place even tough our tummies were already grumbling. We played in the seesaws, hanging bridges, monkey bars and in other playground things. Actually, I took thirty nice pictures of the different areas in Mountain View using my not-so-high-technology cell phone. I was so amazed with the park’s designs and well-furnished cottages that I almost forgot that it was already past eleven o’clock in my watch. And so, we did not waste our time and the three of us agreed to journey to the topmost part of the park where the giant cross of Jesus is located. As we were ascending to the summit, I felt the in tensing coolness of the place even though that day was very sunny. When we got there, we burned ten minutes of our time to reflect to God Almighty. After we calmly meditated, we had a little conversation for the planning of our web designs.

We had a really good time watching the magnificent view of Cebu. I felt that I was on top of the whole wide world. Unexpectedly, it was the very first time I felt that strange feeling, a feeling of true happiness. I felt it not just because of the magnificent park but also I had a peace of mind at that moment. While time passes by, I was on another world, a world of infinite enjoyment and excitement.

From that time on, I discovered that what really makes life worth living is to have a peace of mind and always be optimistic. I even remembered the famous term in the animation film The Lion King which is “hakuna matata” that means no worries for the rest of all your days.Indeed, it was time well spent on that special day of the hearts. As expected, my kin were sun burnt but that was nothing compared to what I just unpredictably experienced.

Meeting The Grim Reaper

Death is both a dreadful fear and an unavoidable destiny of mortal men. Men of all ages fear death, and every individual is destined to die because no one is immortal.

I am a self-confessed thanatophobic, or one who fears death, and so does everyone else. I don’t believe in people who boast that they are non-thanatophobic; maybe they just mean that they are ready to die not because of courage or bravery but they can control their fear of mortality.

Some all-knowing philosophers say that death is the beginning of man’s journey towards his second life. Of course, I doubt those people because no one actually knows life after death.
I once heard of a not-so-funny joke about life after death. They joke says that there are two things a man should worry in his life, it is either he goes to heaven or hell. When he goes to heaven, he doesn’t need to worry but if he goes to hell, he will be so damn busy shaking hands with friends. Well, that joke is nonsensical of course but it tells us of one important thing, we can never stop the day when the Grim Reaper pulls out our souls.

Life indeed is unfair not because every one has his different talents or physical attributes but every one follows different destinies in life. Old folks in my peaceful neighborhood tell me that the good die young, I always tell each one of them that it is God’s plans and decisions to make.
Definitely, I am not yet ready to die because I want to enjoy my short but exciting and happy life. I don’t want to die young because I still have to help my younger siblings, relatives and friends, and also to make my parents happy for they made sacrifices for the sake of my future. I still have dreams and promises to fulfill and one of these countless ambitions is to own a very big and high-technology house with a garden and a basketball court. Remember, always ask God to give what you deserve, not what you desire. It is because your desires may be few but you deserve a lot.

I really don’t know why some normal-minded people foolishly do suicide when in fact life is a happy and exciting journey. Life is the most precious gift form God and we must take care of these epicurean gifts.

I have a question in my mind that really needs critical thinking and experience to answer. “What if God gives you the gift of immortality, would you accept it or not?”

I would apparently refuse to accept that special gift, even though I was chosen by God as the gift bearer, because I don’t want to see my friends die one by one as time passes by while I am just enjoying the gift of longevity. I admit that I rather have a mortal life than being an immortal person like a vampire. It’s better to have a short but enjoyable life rather than a long but boring one.

And so, I realized that death is not just a fear but it is also a destiny where one must fully accept. I hope that the man by the name of Grim Reaper will come knocking on the door only during the right time.

I Love This Feeling

Love conquers all but it is one of the hardest things to keep. If a glass gets broken, you can always buy a new one but if a relationship gets broken, you can never have the same one. We must love each other faithfully because the virtue of true love is not finding the perfect person but loving the imperfect person perfectly.

Love is like a jigsaw puzzle where one must arrange the pieces appropriately one by one without haste because love needs patience. Love is like your dreams, it has no limits.

All of us experience being loved or loving a special someone without something in return. I will share to you my short but interesting love affair.

We first knew each other through text messaging. Dinny, my female friend, is our cupid because Dinny was the one who gave her number to me. I still remember every detail of our relationship, it was December 23, 2005 when I first texted her. We were still strangers at that time. I was so excited to know her since Dinny told me that her classmate and best friend is sweet, jamming, and funny and a humble gal.

Fortunately, she replied to my message and she also likes to be my friend. We have the same age and we have similar likes and dislikes. From that time on, I always call her “bai” which is a Visayan vernacular of the word friend. We always share our experiences in life and all our secrets. We even know each other’s parents and siblings. We always text each other from early morning until the break of midnight hour.

I was so happy because I finally found a girl whom I can trust with. By the end of December of that same year, I felt that I had fallen in love with her. I told her about my feelings towards her and she also liked me.

From then on, I started courting her even though it’s just through text. Oftentimes, I call her on the telephone just to hear her sweet and loving voice. Her voice can erase all my regrets and misfortunes in life. Sometimes, she also calls me by surprise. Our relationship got stronger and more serious as days passed by.

Finally, we decided to meet in personal and the rendezvous was at SM mall. Actually, I was very excited and nervous at the same time on our meeting. We had a very romantic date because we had a good time chatting about our relationship. On that tête-à-tête, she honestly told me that her parents are strict when it comes to teenage relationships. However, she answered yes when I asked her if she could be my girlfriend. Honestly, I was so happy at that time and I felt that I was the luckiest guy ever born in the world. It was already seven in the evening when we went home.

To make the story short, our relationship lasted only for three months because her parents knew about our secret love affair. Her family is very conservative; they want her to finish her studies first before having a boyfriend.

I was so sad about what happened, I just lose an important piece in my heart. Definitely, it was the first time I had a serious relationship with a girl. For two months, we hadn’t communicated because her mother took her cell phone.

I soon realized that I have to move on with my life but it was not easy to get over with that relationship. I always remember her when I hear on the radio or when somebody sings the song “Officially Missing You”.

Once again, I experienced loneliness. Loneliness is when you go to sleep at night without any one to say “I love you” and when you wake up on the morning, you realized that nothing has changed, you are still alone.

The last word I uttered during our break-up was “Take care, Mary Grace Lazo”.

By the way, we started texting each other again but we are just friends as of now. I don’t want to rush things up.

All About Neil

Hi! I am Neil Audrey Arellano Talolong.

Others call me Neil or Dodgie. I am a 16 year old student of the University of the Philippines (UP) high school in Cebu.

I celebrate my birthday every 10th day of August.

I reside at 130-J A. Lopez Street, Labangon Cebu City.

My parents are Marivic and Bern Talolong while my siblings are Kuya Onie, Jong2x, King2x, Faye and Babes.

Most people describe me as a shy, friendly, sporty, jamming and a risk-taking guy. Some people say that i am also secretive and humorous sometimes. I am also often a pessimist.

I have a lot of close friends whom I can trust with, they are David, Ralph, Byron, Artsron, John Paul, Reniel, Nico Martin, Joseph, Janua, and Melbert. We always hang-out together in malls (especially in Ayala Mall) and have jamming sessions or boys talk every time.

My hobbies include playing basketball and PC games, listening to music, and watching animes on television. I also enjoy answering crossword puzzles, playing the guitar, sleeping and eating (of course).

My motto in life is “Impossible is Nothing”. For me, nothing is impossible if you just believe in yourself. But every body knows that everyone has his limitations in life.

Actually, I love music a lot especially Original Pinoy Music (OPM) songs. I adore the songs of Spongecola, Parokya Ni Edgar and Kamikazee. Their songs rock my world. My favorite OPM songs are Gemini, Maniwala Ka Sana, Ambisyoso, Martyr Nyebera, Halaga and many more.

My top three favorite subjects in school are Physics, Algebra and Calculus. These are difficult lessons but I learned many things and concepts about these.

I love basketball a lot too; I always watch NBA and PBA games on TV. My hard court idols include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Mark Caguioa, Danny Seigle and Dondon Hontiveros. My favorite team in the NBA is the San Antonio Spurs while Ginebra Gin Kings is my most liked team in the country’s professional basketball league.

I like fantasy movies, history-based movies and comedies that have lessons.

My all-time favorite movies are the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Bruce Almighty, the Lord of the Rings saga and Troy.

My favorite actors in Hollywood are Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler. They are multi-awarded, talented and versatile actors.

Naruto, One Piece and Samurai X meanwhile are my favorite animes today. I like Japanese animations because they are interesting and the characters are well-drawn.

A New Fool

Last January 21, 2007, my family and I together with my relatives went to Uncle Aleg’s house. My uncle held a party because it was the Sinulog Fiesta Day. The place is very peaceful and frigid (like snow) because there are many trees in the surroundings. By the way, my uncle lives in a subdivision but I don’t know the name of it.

The celebration was like a reunion party because all my close relatives went there and we had a good time chatting about experiences in life. We, the “teenage generation” members of the clan were talking about funny jokes. Suddenly I heard a voice from my left side and it took me a while to recognize my Lolo Jarding. He asked me a question without any hesitation, “What will you take up on college and are you prepared for it?” I was silent for about thirty seconds, I could not think of an answer for that “riddle”. I was really shocked because I finally realized that I have not yet planned for my upcoming college life. I also realized that Lolo is not so old because he still remembers that I am a senior high school student now.

Honestly, I am such a fool because I am not prepared for my future. Until now, that question of Lolo Jarding always stays in my mind.

Right now, I already have chosen a university which I like most and the course that I would take up. But I don’t think that I am ready for college life. I would surely miss my funny and jamming peers in University of the Philippines (UP) high school and all f our pranks, boys talk and jamming sessions. Going to college means new friends, new uniforms, new teachers, new classmates, new subjects, new experiences and a new beginning. Honestly, I feel that I am not ready to leave high school because it is enjoying and exciting.

My older cousins once told me that being a college student is very tiring and boring; one must be serious all the time since teachers are stricter. That perception of college life always crosses my mind. Even though I hate college life very much, I still have no other options but to choose it and try to live with it.

I have ambitions in life, but I must follow the right path. Every night, I always imagine myself as the “new fool” in college.

Basketball

Do you know Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or perhaps LeBron James? Did the names Mark Caguioa, Danny Seigle and James Yap ever cross your mind? They have one thing in common, they love and play basketball.

Today, basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines. I always see basketball courts at every place (even in the streets) where men of all ages play against each other. I also observed that many boys are wearing stylish basketball jerseys at malls and school. Some men would even get irked if they missed to watch an exciting basketball game on television. In every barangay fiesta, there is always an amateur basketball league for the youth. These only prove that basketball is the second “religion” of most men in the country nowadays.

But what really makes basketball so famous? Why do some men can’t sleep at night when their favorite team loses? Or why do boys go home early after school just to watch PBA games?

Apparently, you can not answer these questions unless you became one of the millions of basketball fanatics. The feeling is unexplainable.

I am a proud fan and player of basketball at the same time. My idols are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan because they are athletic, aggressive and high-leaping shooting guards. They are also the masterminds of the popularity of basketball.

I play basketball a lot especially when there are no home works and projects to be done. My mother always scolds me whenever I go home late after school because she knows that I played basketball again.

I can not stop playing basketball; I am so addicted to it even though I got several injuries already. Playing basketball is my most favorite hobby because it is a good form of exercise. (A normal person loses about 465 calories when playing basketball for an hour.) You can also meet and gain new friends in the court. The sport is also exciting and can be easily played since the rules are not complicated. Teenagers also enjoy playing basketball rather than taking vices or doing pesky crimes. Most of all, girls are impressed with you especially if you are the ace player in your neighborhood.

Basketball brings many advantages, but despite of these positive effects, there are also bad ones.

In basketball, arguments can not be avoided (especially if the game is very physical) that can lead to fists fights. One very good example of these fights is the Detroit brawl where some players went amok and punched several fans in the arena. In basketball games, there are also thrash talking and bad mouthing. Some players talk harshly to their opponents so that they can not concentrate on the game.

Basketball needs physical and mental concentration, one must also avoid getting hurt on the hard court. Despite the disadvantages of playing basketball, many people still enjoy playing it. No matter what happens, basketball is here to stay.

Life is like basketball, one must never miss any opportunity that comes and everyone must rely on teamwork. There is one thing on my mind right now, “Let’s play ball.”

The Riddle

Everyone knows that “Perfection” is best paired to the word “Impossibility”. Nobody is perfect (Well, except God of course), we already made our shares of mistakes in life and have been wrong about a lot of things. All ups and downs in our damn life are the handiworks of God. God balances our life by giving us enough blessings to keep us happy, enough burdens to keep us humble and enough hardships to make us strong. God Almighty has a purpose why He made us different from each other. What I am trying to tell is that we are not heavenly perfect; we are just humans with lots of “defects.

There are things that we hate most about the traits of our friends, classmates and siblings because simply we are far from perfection. In this “judgmental opinion” of mine, I will share you my perceptions about the most common defects of both sexes.

The problem with women is that they are too emotional. They easily cry even though the problem is not worth their tears. They easily cry when they lost their not-so-expensive ball pens (perhaps G-Tech) or got scolded by their teachers even though it is a joke only. They are easily affected by outside operations or influences. I am not saying that crying is a weakness, I am portraying here that “crying does not help you solve the problem, it only adds up to your miseries.” (Crying can make your eyes bulging and red which can trigger your peers to tease you rather than to comfort you.) I know that crying is everybody’s best option to do especially in times of depression, but the most effective remedy for your problem is to face it and accept whole-heartedly that you are not perfect at all.

I know that many will disagree with my opinion (especially girls), but that is the truth. They say crying is just normal, but too much of it is otherwise. (Some people would even cry just to evade their problems which are nonsense.) Frankly, crying is not one of my best solutions to my dreadful problems.

In relation to the word crying, some women cry (and even freak out in front of many people) because of either sudden break-ups or they saw their quixotic boyfriends with other women (who they think are better than them). I know that some women are gullible and foolish when it comes to love, but boys must not take advantage of it. The problem with men is that they are unloyal and liars. I think it is the nature of men to be liars when it comes to love (Of course not all men). My loquacious friend said that LIAR means Love in a Relationship, but I doubt him of course. They say women are the kryptonites of men, but that was a long time ago. I am a born liar too; I broke the hearts of some girls. Because of this “natural ability” of men, there came an antidote named “Karma”. One thing I had learned, never ever lie again to a relationship.

You see, our lives are like riddles that only God can answer.

Message Sending Failed

Nowadays, text messaging is the most popular and newest craze of teenagers. Some people would even say that they would surely die if they can not text for just a day. Short messaging service (SMS) addiction is like a contagious virus that has no remedies. Once you ate hooked to it, you can not erase it in your mind. Text messaging is far better than Yahoo Messenger or any chat websites because it is wireless, cheaper, user- friendly and less connection problems. Plus, companies right now are offering unlimited text messaging to all of their subscribers. It is no wonder why teenagers are texting everywhere they go. Apparently, teenagers like texting because they can make friendship with anyone, pass announcements to everybody and even have relationships with a total stranger through text only. Curiosity leads either to good or bad endings.

I am a self- confessed addict of text messaging. Text messaging was once my pastime hobby but it turned out to be an irresistible addiction. Every weekend, I go to Nang Celsa’s store and buy thirty pesos worth of cell phone load. Then I subscribe to the unlimited text service of Globe and wait for five minutes to get the activation message. After that, I would limitlessly text to all of my friends and to my textmates for two days. Honestly, I even had not-so-serious relationships with female textmates.

Sooner, I realized that I was really addicted to SMS and the results were dreadful. I had no money to save and spend for school things, I became irresponsible, my grades went down and I even broke the hearts of my “girlfriends”. Karma is the word.

Then one time, I read about how to stop text addiction in a magazine. I followed the article’s advices and started undergoing “text message fasting” for a month. I had a hard time during my one-month “SMS fasting” because my textmates are always texting me but eventually, I surpassed all the hardships. Fortunately, I was successful in my plan and I resisted all the temptations. I learned a lot about the good and bad effects of text messaging. Honestly, I still text until now but with moderation. I now also lessened the number of textmates in my contact’s list. One lesson I got from my experience, minimize text messaging before the “virus” controls you. Experience is the best teacher.


By the way, I already apologized to all of my female textmates whom I left broken-hearted, and I still have the copy of the magazine.