Reflection

What a journey it has really been. We are again about to end another chapter of the book we are writing. We are again about to leave this institution which had taught us so many experiences and learning which are very useful as we continue facing the battle of life. It seems like it’s just yesterday when we got to know who our classmates really are.

                Fourth grading will soon end and I surely will give myself a tap in the back for a job well done. This grading has the shortest meetings yet every meeting was worth remembering. I have been very busy during this final grading because it’s the time for the student-athlete in me to show. I attend daily trainings in preparation for this coming Region 1 Athletic Meet but I just can’t leave my lessons behind too. So I make sure that I can still cope up in the lessons even though our grades aren’t affected of the missed classes and activities.

                It’s too tiring attending trainings everyday and even during the night then coping up with your missed lessons and activities in school. To be honest, sometimes, I feel like uttering the words “GIVE UP” but there’s just a part of me urging me not to.

In my four years of being a student-athlete especially during fourth gradings, I have learned the importance of time. It taught me how to manage my time wisely. Lastly, it taught me how to stand up on my own knees and to never give up. 

My Dream, My Future

“If you are dreaming for something, you must work hard first before you can achieve it,” this is what I always tell myself whenever I really want something. Graduation is fast approaching yet I haven’t even decided where to study and what course to take up in College. It is really indeed a decision which needs enough time to think about the right answers. Because this decision that we’ll soon be going to make will surely make a big difference in our lives in the future.

                I am still so confused on what to take up on College. Should I take the path towards the Engineering way or the path towards of Medicine? I do not know. If you have to ask me, I would like to take up an Engineering course. I may not be one of the Math wizards but I am not either one of the people who experienced flunking in this subject. I find dealing with numbers comfortable and fun. On the other side, I would like to take up Medical courses too. But I just do not find it fun dealing with blood and human anatomy.

The choice of who we want to become lies within our hands. They are sticked in there so no one could ever make the choice for you because this single choice can transform you and define who you really are. It defines your passion, the things you would surely love to do in the future. So do not ever let someone steal this choice from you.

                Our dreams are like the stars above at night, they just stay there shining while waiting for us to reach for them. It may seem impossible to catch one but if you believe, nothing is really impossible. There is no easy way to success. But once you have made achieved it, not a single word can describe the feeling.

Change: It Starts With Me

A famous song by once said, “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself in the mirror and make a change.”. Since the day I heard this line of the song, it just can’t get out of my mind. No matter how long it’s already been since I first time heard this, I just can not forget it.

                I truly believe in the saying that the only constant thing in this world is change. It is absolutely true. The morning you had just today will soon be gone and changed it into another morning of tomorrow. Yes, both still are mornings but they can never be the same. The things that happened or will happen will never be the same.

                We, the people living in this crazy big world are constantly looking for change. If we say change, of course, it’s a change for the better. We keep on dreaming of better things to come. We keep on hoping of better things to happen in our lives. We keep on telling to be better. We keep on criticizing people. We see the littlest mistakes they make. But are we able to see our own flaws too?

                You can not find change in others. You can find it just right within yourself. If you’ll search for it, you’ll find it. Let us start the change we are all dreaming with ourselves. Once this change has been found within is, it will surely spread to our neighbours and to the whole wide world. 

Kannawidan Ylocos Festival 2014

           

         
        The Province of Ilocos Sur once celebrated again Kannawidan Ylocos Festival for the fourth time. “Kannawidan” is a local term used by the Ilocanos which means ‘a traditional practice’. This occasion had opened the eyes of the Ilocanos to the culture and traditions their ancestors in the past had brought them. It’s also their way of celebrating the Ilocano spirit that continues to drive locals to boost their home province.

           The opening of the Kannawidan Ylocos Festival started out with a lively music and colourful view of the new tourist attraction in Ilocos Sur which is the Musical Dancing Fountain located just in front of the Provincial Capitol. After which, a fireworks display just brought colors to the sky during that evening of January 29, 2014.

          Different activities were sponsored by the Local Government of Ilocos Sur which surely made the Kannawidan a fun-filled festival. Here is the list of activities:

           

January 29 (Wednesday)

·         Misa konselebrada ken Libut; Dancing Fountain and Rimat ti Tangatang; Siglat Ilocandia; Talent Search/Salisal ti Banda

January 30 (Thursday)

·         Panaglukat a Ritual; Kinnantaan ti Koro ti Ilocos; Contemporary Dance; Dinner and Fashion Show; Saniata ti Ylocos; Guest Artist Show

January 31 (Friday)

·         1^st Gov. Ryan Luis Singson Invitational Shootfest; Motorcade for Rodeo; Salip Saririt; Sun soaked Ilocos Sur; Nakaugalian a Sala; Barn Dance Party

February 1 (Saturday)

·         Awarding of Siglat Iskwela; Beach Fiesta Party; Banda Rito, Banda Roon

February 2 (Sunday)

·         Fun Run; Amazing Traditional Race; Liwliwa dagiti Artista

Residents displayed products under the One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) namely: onions, garlic products from pickled and dried garlic and garlic polvoron for Sinait town; bamboo products such as trays and baskets for Cabugao; buri palm leaves products such as mat, bags, baskets, fan, hats for San Juan; corn husk bags, flowers, curtains, slippers for Magsingal; local wine called basiâ for San Ildefonso; sugar cane products namely vinegar, basi, balikutsa, muscovado and dudulâ made of rice cake and raw sugar topped with coconut fat for Santa Maria; nata de cocoâ for San Esteban; blacksmith products, knives, bolos, scythes for Santa; vegetables for Santa Catalina and yellow ginger or turmeric for Gregorio del Pilar. 

          

The New Me in 2014

 

          "Let your dreams be bigger than your fears and let you actions be louder than your words. Make a difference." These were the words which urged me to become fearless in this year 2014. It's telling me to stand up for something even though, it may mean standing alone.

            During the year 2013, I have been a coward. My feet were glued with fear which made me can not even take a single leap or step. And as the new year stars, I wish to remove this glue which is sticking me with my fears. I wish that I could escape from the hole of fear where I am trapped in to. I wish I could leave my fears behind and run away from them. I wish to chase my own future and reach for them as if they are just in the next room waiting for me. I will shape my own self as if making a pot. Breakable but can be still reshaped again. I wish to make my own future for my future lies within my hands. I have the power to make my own future.

          2014 is giving me so much thoughts in my mind. One is the big G. Graduation. Am I ready to leave the foot steps I had just imprinted in my very own Alma Mater? Am I armored with enough knowledge to fight for my College life? Questions start to flood me. Slowly, they are seeking for answers. And soon enough, I can't wait to feed these doubts inside me.

          In this new year, I will become fearless. I will be brave enough to face the challenges whatever life may bring. At some point in time, I will surely be down on my knees but a helping hand will always be there to make me stand. And He will be no other than the Lord God. He will never leave. He will never fail me. He will always be there for me.

          And if there's one thing I have learned something in life.... that is we're all a little stronger than we think we are.

Just a Few Steps Away (A Reflection for the 3rd Quarter)

         I was already about to take a step of the clouds and make glimpse of the clear blue sky above until I realized that I was still fingertips away. I still need to help myself from reaching what is up so I never stopped.

          Third grading period is about to end but the race has not yet ended. During the second grading period, I am just .1 away from the 10^th honor and with that fact I was really craving for my report card so I could see what made me not in the top. When I saw that ICT was my lowest grade I didn’t know how to really react on it. This was the main reason why I was really urged to strive harder and to prove what I really deserve. Though I wasn’t the leader of our group project which was given earlier for us to work on, I put all the best I could just to make the most presentable output. We may not have the most beautiful work but at least each member in our group contributed for the project’s betterment.

        During this grading period, we had missed so many classes because of attending such extra-curricular activities like the Division Schools Press Conference, Pre-RSPC Write shop, Regional Schools Press Conference, Youth Leadership Seminar and the City Meet but we never failed to forget our academics. Academics is still in our top priorities so we did what we could just to make up for what we had missed.

        Third grading period is about to end but I keep on reminding myself that it’s not yet the end of the race. I still have time to prove myself and to prove that I need to get what I deserve. 

The Season of Giving and Sharing

 

        Extravagant cars, big houses, cabinets of clothes, pairs of shoes, cellphones, DSLR's. We are showered with bountiful blessings. We are receiving more than just enough of what we need with each passing day. We are very luck that we can satisfy our daily needs. Very luck to eat three or more than three times a day. Very lucky to wear different clothes everyday. Very lucky to sleep in comfy bed On the other hand, our fellow citizens in Visayas are still in the state of shock from the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda which hit them recently. The question now is, what have you done to show your affection to your fellow brothers and sisters there?

        The season of giving and sharing is fast-approaching. Isn't the timing just exact? I hope this would serve as an excuse for you to be generous on this Christmas day. The true essence of Christmas is not on how many gifts we will be able to receive but on the number of times we are able to put a smile on other people's face and made them happy. It is about how the spark of love in our hearts can stay ignited despite of the cold weather this season is bringing. It is on how we are able to let the typhoon victims feel the presence of God and His hope that will keep them breathing.

        In this Christmas season, you are to celebrate it with your family and maybe even relatives. You are to eat delicious food together. You are to receive gifts which cost more than a dollar. You are to be happy in this Christmas season yet have you ever wondered how will our fellow citizens, the typhoon victims are able to celebrate Christmas? Some lost their families. Some lost their homes. Most of them have to food to eat nor water to drink. It is not yet too late to make a move. Let us share what we have for it is better to give than to receive. Let us continue being affectionate to our fellow brothers and sisters.