Climate Alteration

          So there’s this little thing called climate change, you may or may not have heard of it. And I know what you’re thinking: by the greenhouse effect. For those rusty on biology, the greenhouse effect is a mechanism by which the earth traps in heat being radiated by the earth usually in the form of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane, etc. However, in excess, these gasses contribute to the continuous warming of our earth. What’s wrong with a little warming you say? Well, more than you might think. 

          Many argue that climate change isn’t propelled by human actions. There have been changes in climactic periods before and there will be changes in the future. And even if this warming trend isn’t our fault (which I doubt), what harm will come from making our planet a more sustainable and healthy place? We should be doing everything in our power to ensure the future and survival of this amazing planet that we have.  

          So what now? If we agree that there is a problem, what comes next? How do we stop a future that is seemingly inevitable? Well, we can start by doing what we can in our everyday lives to limit the amount of waste we produce. Try taking public transportation as much as possible. Make an effort to reuse what you can and recycle what you can’t reuse. When possible, buy local or organic food products. Also, push policy makers to shift to renewable energy sources. We live in a society almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels, and resources like oil are becoming harder and harder to find. Instead of going further and deeper to find new fossil fuel sources, what if we used energy that has been there all along and will never run out? By the solar and wind power as our main sources of energy, we could greatly reduce the amount of energy we produce, a goal that we have been working towards for several years now. Renewable energy sources not only make environmental sense but economic sense as well. 

          These changes may be difficult and kind of a pain to implement; however, the benefits of creating a better world far outweigh the costs. We must try our best to live in a sustainable way. By ensuring the survival of our planet by living more sustainably, we will not only be working towards energy independence, but towards creating a cleaner and healthier planet.

Equal Rights

         

          People go on about how it’s so important for freedom of speech, correct? However, for some people only certain things can be spoken freely. If a straight person announces they could never, ever date a person of same sex they are bashing on homosexuals however even though it is their opinion, voicing it would cause more trouble? It seems we can openly and freely talk about chosen subjects, but freedom of speech is everything. People are allowed to hate, and voice their dislike for something, or someone. I do not like vegatables, there I said it, I said it freely however if I were to say being around homosexual people makes me uncomfortable I will certainly be anxious and fearful, because I could and may be called upon as a hater or someone who ‘doesn’t understand’ however, in my statement I have only told my opinion and thoughts, I have not jeered or bullied but it is still frowned upon.  Again, a big no for probably half the population. Why is the worth of the woman put to who she belongs to, or what she does as a living, and not on her herself? Why do they “belong” to men? They should have the ability to say and do what they want, but every time a woman speaks out, her opinion is covered over and stepped on and hidden under the rug. I believe that the women should get to choose what they always wanted. I believe that they are still not treated as equal to men, and I find that really sad. We all want to be treated equal and yet people voicing negative opinions is uncalled for. And see, in the end, when you die, it’s not going to matter what gender you are or which gender you fall in love with because we’re all just souls in the end. And I don’t believe God hates gays. He’s God. He created them as people, he chose them for the path they were on.  And you also shouldn’t control someone’s love. Love unconditionally, love freely, love everyone, and live your own life, one that YOU are proud of. In the decade that we live in surely we can walk away from fighting for equal rights and actually be equal as individuals? Am I asking for too much in our human race or am I speaking sense?

English Month Celebration

          The beauty of the English language does not lie within sentences before a punctuation and after a clause. Instead, it is the clear distinction between relation and realisation. 

          When we love something so deeply, we often find it hard to pinpoint what exactly is it that we love. For instance, if you love Mathematics, you can’t possibly tell your friend you love Mathematics just because you love solving mathematical sums or algebraic equations. If so, that probably isn’t love but yet, it’s something that you enjoy doing. You enjoy doing algebra because finding ‘x’ gives you a sense of great joy, a sense of greatness, a sense of achievement. And that is exactly how I feel when I learn a new word from a book or simply just reading off the dictionary!

          Just 26 letters is all this language needs to bring across a message or simply deliver an awe-inspiring essay. Such charm is something worthy to be utilised deftly. I personally have an aversion towards profanity and I strongly feel that some of us have morphed the beauty of the English language into ugliness. Language is a double-edged sword. While profanity is something which mars its beauty, there are also others which inevitably elevates its infinite charm. A perfect example is that of William Shakespeare. He is a person of great repute. His literary work is evidence of how English can be appreciated where poetry is concerned. 

          While the English language interests me, it also confuses me. Why is there a “b” the word “doubt” when it is clearly pronounced as “dout”? Why then is “double” pronounced with a “b”? Shouldn’t it be pronounced as “doule” then? Why is “melancholy” pronounced as “meh-lan-kol-ee” instead of “meh-lan-cho-lee”? It does bewilder you too am I right? Well, this is just the wonder of the English language and how things are supposed to be done (or in this case, pronounced). The English language is also fun and humourous if you understand it quite enough. 

          Language, a great poem in and of itself, is all around us. When reading something that is so heartfelt, we develop a certain framework of relation with the content. We are able to relate to it and understand it better. That is the magic of the English language.

Confession Two: Mirror

          Never beat yourself up over something, understand that it is a catalyst for your improvement and another step to making you whole. Whatever it is, a comment, a critique, a suggestion, a judgement, helps to point the way to things that have not been completely faced and brings them to the surface. It’s like this other person is helping you see everything within yourself, things you’ve acknowledged or not and expresses whatever that is to you so that you can see it more clearly and face it. The other person is a shortcut to your inner self. You can explore within yourself for areas that need care and other people will also reflect that to you so you are always being supported! There is not one person alive who is not helping you be more in tune with you, because it’s you that you’re encountering everywhere.

My teacher? The Hero.

       

         

         Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Captain America are what we are taking into consideration our heroes since we are still juvenile because they have superpowers. For us,  being grown ups, the doctors, policemen, lawyers and even OFWs are what we are considering our heroes. Because they save lives and help populace who are in need. But don't you think a big name is missing? It’s gloomy to say that we frequently forget our teachers.

         Since we were brood they were there to educate us. They taught us how to comprehend, tot up and even resonate and dance. They have enormous patience. In emit of our bad behavior, they by no means gave up teaching us. Until at the moment, they’re giving us a bunch of persistence. Think about it, even though every now and then their students seem to be not fascinated on what they are teaching and just keep chatting and talking with their seat mates, even though no one participates the class recital, and when the clatter in the class causes them so much nuisance they still come to our class day by day and endeavor to teach us new lessons. I realized that our teachers are giving so much time teaching us that they frequently forget theirselves. They fritter almost 9 hours in school and when they get home instead of resting, they are preparing lessons and thinking about what are they going to teach us the next day. Our teachers deserve to be cherished. Because without them we won’t have doctors, lawyers, policemen and all other professionals and teachers are more than professionals because teaching is more than a profession. It’s a vocation. To become a teacher, one has to have the compassion to educate. They are under compensated yet they find glee seeing their former students achieve their dreams. It is what completes them.

         They may not be like we used to watch on movies that can save us and help us all the time. But for the sacrifices and hardships they’re doing, I can say that they are stronger than those superheroes, and they should be everyone’s hero. 

Science Month Celebration

          The simplest elucidation regarding why the environment matters is that, as humans the environment the Earth is our dwelling. It is where we subsist, respire, consume, raise our offspring, etc. Just because we as humans have the power to obliterate environment and further genus, this does not furnish us any right to do so. But more persuasive to the ones having supremacy in today's humanity is probably the monetary disagreement. That we cannot afford to annihilate the Earth systems,

          Protecting our environment allows us to live at no cost of any pollutants or hazards that we might commence into our environment. That leaves us free to strive to carry on in the "natural" environment which includes things like sharks, noxious insects and reptiles, pollen, poisonous plants, viruses, bacteria, thousands of parasites, and other animals that contend for food and land. Protecting the environment allows future generations of humans to nurture and live without having to covenant with anything we've done to contaminate the environment in which we do live and they will live.

          When the world needs saving, superheroes seem tailor-made to get the job done, what with their extraordinary powers and spiffy suits. Unfortunately, they only exist in the realm of comic books, television shows and movies. In the real world, everyday people play the hero's and sometimes the villain's part. This is particularly true when it comes to saving the environment. With Earth providing the one and only known spot in the universe that's hospitable to the human race, preserving a healthy environment isn't just a nice ideal, it's an imperative. Mankind has the power to be either the hero or the villain in the quest to save the Earth, but certainly playing the hero will yield better results for everyone. So, though we may not have superhuman abilities or flashy outfits with capes, that shouldn't stop us from being heroes when it comes to saving the environment.

These Heroes Exists

         

          Each of us has someone who they admire the most. Some considers their folks, their associates a modern day hero. Some also consider news anchors, politicians, policemans, athletes, singers, doctors or maybe a street vendor. And if you'd ask me, I dont admire someone on particular.  

          Well I admire people who I don't discern at all.  People I don't identify what their initials are. People who simply gives food to the hungry. People who gives water to the thirsty. People who helps inopportune children on such roads. People who provides programs for these people. And people who supports these kind of programs. People who aren't even have a supremacy in this motherland. But in that very simple act of benevolence, They have helped a bunch of populace. Yeah this hero exists.

Wika Tungo sa Tuwid na Daan

         

          Ang wika nga ba ang sagot sa matagal ng problema ng ating bansa, ang katiwalian? Ang wikang kinalakihan nga ba natin ang magbibigay ng kapayapaan at pagkakaisa sa ating bansa? Ang sariling wika nga ba ang magbibigay ng pag-asa sa mga susunod na henerasyon? Ang wikang Filipino nga ba ang magdadala sa atin at sa Perlas ng Silangan sa “daang matuwid”? Paano nga ba nilalabanan ng wika ang katiwalian? Ito’y ilan sa mga tanong na bumabagabag sa isipan ng mga kabataan na hindi nawawalan ng pag-asa sa sariling bayan.

          Wika. Isa sa pinakaimportanteng pagkakakilanlan ng isang bansa. Ito’y isang bagay na nagpapakita ng kalayaan sa isang nasyon. Ito rin ay nagpapakita ng kaibahan ng bawat bansa, mahirap man o mayaman. Sa Pilipinas, ang ating pambansang wika ay Filipino. Napakasarap isipin na kahit tayo’y isang maliit na bansa lamang sa Asya kumpara sa mga bansang nakapalibot sa atin, ay mayroon tayong sariling pakakakilanlan. Kahit maraming problema man ang kinahaharap ng ating bansa ay isa na itong magandang balita na puwedeng ipagmalaki ninoman, saanman, at magpakailanman.
          Tunay na napakahalaga ng wika. Binibigyan tayo nito ng importansya sa mundo. Ito’y isang sandata na puwede nating gamitin na ni isa man ay walang mawawalan ng buhay at ni isang patak ng dugo’y walang tutulo. Kahit na napakaraming problema na ang kinaharap ng ating bansa ay hindi pa rin tayo sumusuko na ipaglaban ang tama at magdadala sa atin sa daang matuwid. Kaya para sa mga Pilipinong naniniwala na hindi kamatayan at dahas ang sagot sa pagwakas ng katiwalian, patuloy nating gamitin ang ating sariling wika na magdadala sa atin ng magandang kinabukasan at magbibigay pag-asa sa bayan.

First Quarter: Confession One

         

          Sometimes I feel like such a coward. I feel as though I let fear rule my life even though I’m motivated to do just the opposite. I’ve always been afraid of something. When I was younger it used to be spiders, dogs, any types of animals, roller coasters, darkness…etc. Now it’s the future, success, solitude, goodbyes..etc. There’s always something else and I feel, often, that letting these fears rule my life will only bring me pain, never happiness. Happiness does not last long for me. Even when I’ve got it, I can see the negative coming or worse I actually enjoy myself and the bad catches me from behind.

Reaction (SONA)

         Just like what is predicted, PNoy's SONA was exceptionally astonishing. He mentioned that CCT or Conditional Cash Transfer will be enhanced by our administration and to help lift up the lives of the underprivileged. The inquiry is, is it right to consider this scheme a key to deficiency? Thou it would just be very factual that  the administration will just be giving cash to the unfortunate? There's an  aphorism:"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Although, I do not oppose in giving instantaneous cash to the poor. But is it right in just giving them supply for their wishes? Instead of teaching them such abilities and skills for them to utilize to get a career and have money of their own? Mr President also mentioned about the "good economy" in the nation. And for me, that is very doubtful just like the Filipino populace are wondering about in these precedent  years. It is very trouble-free to react optimistically, particularly if you know that it is what citizens wants to heed.

TLE Month Celebration

         

 

          Nutrition Month is the annual campaign held every July to create greater awareness on nutrition among Filipinos. The 39th Nutrition Month celebration focuses on hunger with the theme “Gutom at malnutrisyon, sama-sama nating wakasan!” (Hunger and malnutrition, let us end it together!). The theme undescores the need for active multi-stakeholder participation to address the basic causes of hunger. Hunger is a condition in which people do not get enough food to provide the nutrients for fully productive, active and healthy lives (FAO). Prolonged hunger can lead to malnutrition and even death. The following are factors that contribute to the world’s hunger: Poverty, Armed conflict, Natural disasters, Environmental degradation,  Rapid population growth, Lack of agricultural infrastructure and Food Prices. For this reason, government policies and programs are in place to address hunger and malnutrition; Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition,  Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps), and Agrikulturang Pilipino or Agri-Pinoy. Though families and individuals can also help reduce hunger and malnutrition by Establishing home, community and school vegetable gardens, raise poultry, small animals or fish both for home consumption and for selling to augment household income. Consuming indigenous vegetables, Supporting local farmers by buying locally-grown foods, Support feeding programs in the community and Be informed. Know, practice and spread good nutrition. And also Spread the message. Be informed. Be concerned. Plant now. And Be a supporter for sustainability.

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,

I believe that you have read a lot of letters already, I won’t take too much of your time so don’t worry.I was just watching the news and saw the coverage about the condition of our Education today. It seems as if the government failed to give enough attention to the only priceless treasure each parent can give to their children.The news reported that almost 75% of High School Graduates cannot enter College because of the lack of money, and this is really heartbreaking. In the world today, we know how competent one should be to be able to survive, and to not be able to go to college just brings an uncertain future to this less fortunate students.It is also disturbing how public schools make money out of the students, how could they even have the guts to do that? The report stated that to be able to have a diploma both in High School and Elementary, you should first pay a graduation fee, which is really unreasonable for a public school. We are all aware that the government has funds for these kind of things, how come the administration of these public schools still ask for more from their students? I’m expecting they know the financial status of these kids.On the same news report, some public schools weren’t able to conduct a graduating ceremony because they have no budget. Seriously? No budget? For a simple graduation ceremony? That’s crazy. How can the administration deprive the students from being able to experience the glory of graduating? The feeling of accomplishing years of sacrifice?How can we live up to the statement of our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal that ‘The youth is the hope of our nation’ when we can’t even give them the education they deserve?Mr. President, please do take time to ensure that your Department of Education actually does their job in a righteous way, we all know how important education is to the lives of each and every Filipino. And if in this simple aspect, the government fails to give the best to the citizens, then I don’t know what to expect from you anymore.May God bless you.Anonymous