"We are only as strong as we are united and weak as we are divided"

    Everyday, an average person faces problems, mostly at work. Wether a small of large problem, a problem is a problem and it isn't very easy to get rid of.

     Here in the Philippines, the most common problem we Filipinos face is corruption. The one thing easy to get rid of and the one thing that we up until now has not yet been stopped. It takes almost half of our hardworked money. As Professor Albus Dumbledore says, "We are only as strong as we are united and weak as we are divided." If you look at our country right now, your eyes see robberies, accidents, and fights. Do we look united? We're divided! Here in my blog, you'd notice that some of my posts are mostly about thinking of the future, and how Filipinos act. But this quote can extremely be related to our country. Filipinos aren't united very much, and I can see that we aren't strong. We're totally divided, and as sad as it may be to our ears, we are weak.

     If Filipinos became better people, surely the Philippines will also become better. If we were united, we all become strong. If we're divided, we all become weak. The said quote doesn't just apply to the country, but everything done as a group. A class work, a movie production, a family business, or a journalism team, we all need other people to help us, and if we're united, strong we will become.

When Rich Becomes Poor

     One day at a fancy mansion, lived a ten year old boy and his father. The father's wife had died due to breast cancer nine years ago. The boy asked his gloomy father once while swimming in their pool. "Father, why does death happen?" His father stared with a scary face and went inside the house without a word. The little boy got used to him. Well, that was life. He'd never really known his mother after all. He didn't know what she looked like. Never heard how she laughed. Never felt her loving embrace. He was just a boy living in a nice house. It may be hard to face, but in reality, there are people like that.

     Twenty years passed, and the boy was still in the mansion, with his barely-there father, and his ten year old child. His wife had died as well. "Father, let's go out and explore the village!", said the child. The little boy who was now his father was a very good one, despite how he had been raised. They rode the carriage, father and son. The were passing by the roads of poor people when the father finally said, "Son, do you realize how much poor we are?". "Father, we're the richest in town, how could that happen? We have more food than we desire, we have more money than we need, and we have the largest house in the universe.". The father was dumbfounded. "Son, we have walls when they have friends. We have a house when they have happiness. We have each other when the other children have a mother and a father." The child considered this and said "Father, I don't care how poor we may be. I may not have a mother or anything else, but I have the whole world with me. You." 

*Short Story

Changing it up

     Hey! Starting today, I'll be posting everything with a specific topic. I won't be posting things randomly anymore, except if I've really got to post something for an important reason or something. If I do, I will be canceling the scheduled topic. Here's the new schedule.

Monday: Harry Potter. To show my Potterhead pride, I'll be posting everything Harry Potter. Crafts, news, short pieces of fan fictions, poems, and more.

Tuesday: Random time. I'll be showing formal themes I've written at school, short stories, and poems.

Wednesday: Fanfiction! Every Wednesday, I'll be creating episodes of fan fiction, and each piece will be good for one month. For every month, there will be a specific story.

Thursday: Inspiring Quotes. Just like my previous posts, I will be featuring quotes said by many different people, and I'll be discussing them as well.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Classic Wonderings of a Writer. On these three days, you'll read about book reviews as always.

     I may not be able to post stuff everyday, but there will surely be at least three posts in a week. I will also be starting on Thursday, October 1. Happy blogging!

Curiosity Answered

Ever since I was a kid, wonder was always present

I asked everyone everything

But an answer to me was always absent

The answers weren't as I expected

But I don't blame them - my curiosity would not be lessened

Why oh why do butterflies fly?

Why can they have wings and almost reach the sky?

That's really unfair, letting them fly all day with us only watching

Tara, they're insects. What if it rains? Where will they go?

I considered this, and realized I had a home

Free from rain, danger, heat, and snow

Why oh why mum, are plants alive? 

I don't see them move, talk, or even strive.

Teacher says not to kill them, but they don't feel hurt

Oh dear oh dear. They provide us our life.

What if you were killed, and couldn't defend yourself?

I then knew I had parents who defended me from every pice of evil

Mum, why can't it be morining everyday?

I hate the night

The dark skies who end the fun

I feel like night is danger and I've got to run

But how will people rest, my child? 

I realized that night was a blanket

Who gave me protection and warmness

I don't get it mum.

How people say they're true, when you don't really see it.

Oh my dear Tara. You've got lots to learn

Why do I love you?

Mum, I just know you do.

The ABCs of Hand Lettering

The ABCs of Hand Lettering By Abbey Sy

     Do you love calligraphy, typography, or lettering? Are you dying to get started but don't know how? Well, you've come to the right place. Today, I'll be making a book review about something new, and it isn't a young adult book or a fiction book one. I am pleased to present to you "The ABCs of Hand Lettering" by Abbey Sy. 

      I got this book last month, and a lot of my classmates bought it as well, while my other classmates practically made me a library and supply store by borrowing the book and some of my sharpies. Well, why would anyone be surprised when the book has everything you need to creating the best fonts which help us in our school projects. From techniques, materials needed, fonts, sample works, artists, and tips on how to publish your work, this book has it all. Wether your an aspiring artist, curious wanderer, or anyone in need of inspiration and creativity, this book won't let you down. 

Here are some of my works:

   

      

     Call me too overconfident, but in the future I really plan to be the illustrator of my own book, and I think that this book will definitely help me. 

     This book has suprised every part of me. The letters are all beautifully written, and they all look just so pretty and cute. 

Choosing the One

Topic: The path that Juan takes today

     Are you one of the many Filipinos who complain because of President Benigno NoyNoy Aquino II's way of leading our country? If you answered yes, then I think that you'll be happy to hear that the Philippines will be holding presidential elections next year. I'm sure that you have noticed a lot of commercials of people running for president 2016 on TV, and this year, Filipinos will have to be wise in choosing the leader who they think is worthy of being our next president. 

     Elections are the future of the Philippines. The number of votes are also our future. A single vote could change our future. A single vote could make a candidate win. A single vote could make a candidate a world record breaker. Most Filipinos aren't very wise in voting and they tend to choose anyone without even knowing who they are. If you vote for the wrong candidate, the future may be a dark world. What if that candidate was corrupt? What if he was mean? What if he wasn't a great leader? Think again and again before voting, you may not know that your vote could be the last vote needed to make your candidate win! (Just make sure that he isn't a bad leader though)

    Here in the Philippines, we used to have a lot of presidents who were accused as being corrupt such as Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She was said to be the most corrupt president of the Philippines, even more corrupt than Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada. Take a look at Gloria now. She's been arrested. She's unwanted. She has become a victim of the people she used to lead. 

     In former President Gloria's case, I should say that Filipinos mostly vote for a candidate if he has something in return. Mostly, it's money. If you have seen commercials, almost all of them are about president candidates helping children to complete their studies, helping the elderly have a better life, or giving poor people billions of money. As I have heard from most people, these things are just for show. Some candidates show that they're worthy of helping out Filipinos, and they'll give billions if they have to. But we have to open our eyes. Surely, helping others isn't bad, but to give someone a billion, now that's different. That's too much. Seeing our country today, it doesn't seem like someone would do that. 

      What path will you take? Who will you vote for? Be wise. You never know when that single vote of yours could be the key to a better future. Choose who you think deserves the position. Choose who you think can work hard for our country. Choose who is busier in thinking of ways for a better country than for someone who has done nothing but shoot TV commercials. Choose who you know isn't corrupt, and will always be willing to help Filipinos.

*One of the pieces in Journalism training

Shocked Yet Proud

    Today, I had Journalism training at school even if our report cards were going to be claimed. We were practicing for the upcoming divisions (In the Language I understand, that means a contest against other schools.) since I was one of the representatives of our school. 

     Since not much was happening earlier at training, I asked my mom to make my dad pick me up and get my report card even if our didmissal was at 4.  Sitting at a table waiting for 2:00 to come, my phone suddenly had two missed calls from my dad. I immediately went to the waiting area of the school after passing by the variety store to check on a couple of stuff. I saw one of my new a-little-bit-close friends, Ally, waved and smiled. I sat with her while waiting for my dad. My dad suddenly called, and he said that he could already see me from afar. I turned my head to the right and saw him in that teal penguin shirt walking towards me with a phone in his hand. The last thing I told him on the phone was "Daddy mababa grades ko ha", and in English, that means "Daddy my grades are low". I greeted my dad with a smile as we walked towards the classroom.  We knocked and went inside the door. A slideshow showing our class pictures were being flashed on the board, and the temperature of the room was cool. It felt so inviting. I saw my teacher, Ms. Bay on her table in the right front of the room talking to a mom. As they finished when we came in, my dad and teacher talked a bit, then I found out that I was actually part of the top ten smartest students in class!!! I could not believe it. I don't think that I did my best, but I still managed to be part of the list. And with the new K-12 grading system, I'm sure that this year was definitely a struggle not just for me, but for each and every student. I looked at our class whiteboard, where the list was written on the board:

I don't think that my grades are high, but here's my report card anyway:

The happiness that I felt earlier was indescribable. I was even expecting a line of seven in Math, but Ms. Al was really kind to make me have a score in the line of eight. Me and my dad ended the day going to our favorite mall, being the mall rats we really are, and going to the vet to let our German Shepard have his shot.

Written On: September 24, 2015

The Future in those Hands

     Everyday, more and more kids become more lazy to study. They think of education as something that won't help you in the future. They think that it's just something they're forced to do. They think it's similar to prison - a place your forced to stay at everyday. They waste their parents' hard worked money for nothing. They waste it on nonsense. Kids who study in private schools, especially here in the Philippines aren't very grateful for the education they get that other children don't. They get the education other children wish for when other children would be dying to study in a private school.

     A regular poor child here in the Philippines would have to go to a school with lacking chairs, textbooks, classrooms, space, papers, and pencils. When it's lunch time, sometimes the child would have nothing to eat. Then, after a child gets home from school, he/she has to help their parents in doing work just to get their daily needs - which sometimes isn't even enough. They sweat and they cry. They sleep with an unstable home. They live in a house that where raindrops can get in. And where do these hard worked tears and sweat go to? Nowhere. They think that they're still the poor children who will never have a good life. For them, that's reality.

     The future of the whole world lies in each child's hands. Bare the pain, since I tell you that the result will be better than the good things you ever leave behind. We are the future. Children are the passages to a better world. You don't finish your studies just to get a great job when you grow up, you have to do it for the whole world. Take Lea Salonga for example. Of course, we all know that she's a very gifted singer. And her country? The Philippines. Think of being famous, and representing your country. A country the world wouldn't expect to have someone as talented as her. A country that has fallen into pieces, and still managed to have someone like her. Isn't it just magical? It's so unexpected, yet we manage to have people like her.

     If you're a child, this letter is dedicated just for you.

Dear _______,

     Wether your poor, rich, or the option in between, do your best in everything. Everything. May it be a small game between you and your friends, or a Math Contest against other schools, do your very best. Do better than best. If you fail, get up. If you succeed, keep it up. Don't ever take your achievements as luck. Succeeding is never luck. Remember that. The future is in your hands. The beautiful world you look up to is in your hands. Yes, the hands you're looking at now. You. The future lies in you.

Flip A Coin

     Two days ago, we had our Enrichment Program at School. The program was entitled "Flip A Coin, are you making the right devisions?" which was sponored by the Guidance Department. We held it at our humongous School Auditorium, and I just wanted to share everything we learned there. 

      Me and my classmates went to passed through millions of rows of seats until we finally sat down in the left part of the auditorium. It was quite hot in there, and everyone was making their chairs jingle. The program started with the welcoming and explaining by our batchmates from the cream section (duh). Then we had the opening prayer lead by Our Principal's granddaughter, who is also our batch mate. Then, our principal gave us a brief discussion of how to make good decisions. And here were her tips:

1. Identify your options. 

2. Choose what you think is best for you

3. Think of others

4. Think of the future

5. Make a choice

     Once she was done, she finally gave the stage to Mr. Geliogo, a short man wearing something like a formal tuxedo. According to him, he was  the speaker for the program. He posted two ice breakers on the stage as each student made his/her brain act up. At first, I thought I got the answer correctly, but I was as too over confident. The first one was written like this:

Can you find the the mistake?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 

 I thought the mistake was the colors, since they weren't in proper color arrangement. Then later on, I just realized how blind I was. Two "the(s)". Anyway,  the second ice breaker was really a bit harder. You had to say the color of the words, and not read the words out loud. Get it? It looked similar to  this:

GREEN             YELLOW           RED          BLUE         ORANGE

Mr. Geliogo said that your right brain starts to say the colors, but your left brain argues, and keeps on reading the words. 

     After the two ice breakers, he started discussing the different kinds of decision makers, how to make a good decision, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. I forgot about his other tips, but I found the exact same thing (pictures and tips) in this website:  http://m.wikihow.com/Make-Decisions From a scale of 1-5, I'd give Mr. Geliogo a 3. The flow of the program wasn't nice. There were a lot of times where I gelt like taking a sleep. Nd he didn't even ask us any questions. And when he speaks, sometimes his grammar becomes wrong. I can also suggest that in his presentation, he should have added more real life situations, since I think that I would have understood it better. Now I ask all of you. How do you make a decision? Think about it. Maybe you just flip a coin.

The Story Of My Life

     Once upon a time, in a city far far away, lived a girl named Athena Cat. She was born on March 14, 1999 in the Philippines in a hospital near her house. Her parents, Cindy and Ryan Cat were the best people in the world. They were incomparable. They were perfectly imperfect. Athena, according to her parents, never threw stuff whenever a tantrum occurred unlike some babies. At an early age of two, Athena could speak in english with correct grammar. She thinks that it was only because her mom was good in english as well, and she had just inherited it. Her very first school as a toddler was at Creative Minds, where her mom also worked. It was fun having a mom as a teacher at school for Athena, and it also became easier for her to adjust since she wasn't a very confident girl (Alright, I'll admit it, I the shy type gal. 😳). After two years of studying at Creative Minds, Athena was about four or three years old, and transferred to Learning Center 101. There, her confidence slowly disappears and later on becomes much more worse. And after studying at Learning Center 101 for two years as well, five year old Athena finally goes to a big school where she is still studying until now. At this school, Athena finally discovers what friendship truly means, what effort takes, and what it feels like to be more independent. And after her whole life of living in her old home, July comes and their house is finally bought. It has always been a family dream to sell their house and move to a new one. Her and her family moves to Jennifer Hilles where they rent a house as their proposed house is being built. During Grade 4, the time wherein she lived in Jennifer Hills, she had the worst school year of her life. But, it became an advantage to her as a writer. She never had friends back then except for books, which is also one of the reasons of why she is now a good writer at her age compared to other kids. During Grade 5, Athena had the best school year of all time. Without a doubt, she knew that God definitely answered her prayers. She had great friends, and had higher grades. After two years of waiting in Jennifer Hills, Athena finally moves to a new and better subdivision with her family. To be more specific than saying her parents, and her nanny she treated as a mom because of never leaving her since she was a baby, she also lives with her pet Pomeranian she got in 2010, her two askals (the other askals were given to her grandma) and her new Rottweiler she got this year. Surely, Athena hasn't experienced the real world, and knows that a destiny set in stone is just waiting for her. Everyday, it feels like the end of something new, but for her, the end is just the beginning.

*I know. It's too technical and dull. This article isn't really written creatively. 

Thank You, J.K Rowling :)

      Ever since I read Harry Potter two years ago, my whole life changed. I began to see things at a different perspective. I began to be kinder to others. I started studying harder than usual. I became a better me. Out of all the posts in my blog, this is really the only post where I get to thank J.K Rowling, the woman behind Harry Potter. For me, the Harry Potter series is more than books. They're total life-changers. They're your friends on lonely days. When you usually read fiction adventure books descriptions, you'd thing that the story is only about an impossible mission, a now or never decision, or a deathly adventure. But Harry Potter was so much different. It had morals in every part, but J.K Rowling didn't make it like a toddler picture book, she wrote it in a way where she knew young adults would love it, and she made intense adventures still become a part of the story. I've tried comparing it with other Adventure Fiction books, and I think that I've noticed the big difference. Almost all Adventure Fiction books have very good adventures, but J.K Rowling focused on her characters's personality, and made them all have good at least a pinch of good in them. Other stories focus a lot on the adventure, that the characters tend to be left out. I don't really mean that the character should be the narrator, but to make adventure fiction stories better, I think you should balance the characters and the adventure. There isn't a single thing that could fully describe the power of J.K Rowling's words. She touches everyone's hearts, and she makes sure not to leave the fun, love, and adventures left out which a lot of people love. I really really admire her for that, and someday I want to become just like her. Thank you, J.K Rowling, for not just inspiring me, but for inspiring each and everyone of us.

Photo from Google Images:

Invisibility Seen Differently

     Being invisible doesn't always mean that you can't be seen by others. What if you were different? It would hurt, right? Just because you here the word invisible doesn't mean that no one sees you, and that you have the freedom to do anything you want. For others, invisible means being hated and ignored. Take your classmate, for example. You see him. You even hear him. But do you even talk to him? Sometimes, you would even tease and laugh at him. He's already invisible, and you're making his situation worse.

     Every night, you would be chatting with your friends on Facebook, while your classmate would be crying a bucket of tears. You would be a bully. Bullying has never been good, and it never will be. Teachers and parents always say that we should never bully others, but nothing really changes. They waste their time reminding their children and students, not even knowing that they've bullied millions of kids. Bullies multiply.

     It's never too late. Stop being a villain and start being a hero. If you're a victim of bullying don't be afraid to step up and defeat those bullies! For a change, remove that invisibility cloak and follow Kid President's saying; "Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody". 

The Very First School Paper Training...For Me

     Yesterday, a schoolmate had given me a letter regarding the "Inside your Backpack" training on Saturday. Which was today. One word as usual. SHY. If you didn't know, "Inside your Backpack" is our school paper, the one which I have auditioned for. I went with my classmate, Elyssa. Obviously, I never left her side except for the part when we had to go to our high school teachers. Why? All the Members of the School Paper in our level were from the cream section. And when I say all, I mean me and Elyssa were like the only ones who weren't one of them. Actually, those were also some of the reasons of why I sometimes didn't want to attend Journalism training without Elyssa. I do NOT know any of them.

     I woke up at 6:25 am, and got to school at about 7:30 am. I waited for Elyssa in our car, and felt thousands of butterflies flying carelessly around inside my tummy. It wasn't comfortable at all. Once my phone vibrated, I got a text from Elyssa telling me to go out since she was really close. My mom brought me to inside the waiting area of the school, and after a second, Elyssa came out of her car. I kissed my mom as she left. Then, me and Elyssa walked going to the Upper School Annex Canteen with our legs trembling, and each neuron slowly exploding. We peeked through the open path towards the high school building. The high school's School paper members were there. And they weren't very inviting. We knew that they were better than us, and it was kind of awkward to do something when you know that someone's better. Me and Elyssa backed out and decided to pass through another way, since passing there would a bit humiliating.

     Some of the high school students became our teachers, and I do have to say that for high school students, they're doing a pretty good job. Since I chose Feature Writing, my teachers said that it had more freedom and creativity than news writing, but the facts still had to be there. I also learned that Essays get straight to the point and is quite technical, while Feature Writing uplifts your piece,always needs facts, and has a moral in the end. We were asked to write something about these three topics throughout the day; Juan Dela Cruz as the Goverment, Struggles in the New World, and Pabebe (Yes, I know. I don't like the title either.) I also wrote a piece called "Invisibility Seen Differently" which I will be posting tomorrow. When me and Elyssa passed our work with my topic as "Struggles in The New World" to Mr. Harris (Not a High School Student), we thought he didn't call us for improvements since he left the canteen without a word. But as he came back, he DID call us. He told me that the piece I wrote was too short (I think the reason of that is because I wrote my sentences a space apart) and that I should have written something people are REALLY struggling with in the new world we live in today like traffic, etc, etc instead of struggles like how the citizens of the world have become more sensitive (Example: "Ugh! I still can't buy the i phone 6!) and make stuff which aren't problems, problems. When I told my dad about this, he told me that Journalism was really like that since the paper needed facts, and the one I wrote was more on Creative Writing (I loved that comment!). I almost forgot to tell you that one girl in the emblem who was from the cream section and also our batchmate was so annoying. Me and my friends call her "Maarte" in other words. I was finishing my first piece when her dad came to bring her lunch, I looked at her then went back to writing. As she passed by me, she looked at my paper then made her hair move with fly through the wind with hands. Then after a few minutes while I pass by her, she asks for help in thinking of a title. HOW ANNOYING.

      Today wasn't really as bad as I had expected. It was quite fun, since High School Students taught us. They weren't very strict and were fun to be with, and they were more comfortable to talk with since we knew that they were students just like us as well. It was tiring, but what's happened has happened, and who knows, maybe everything I've been writing will become better, right?

Ever After High

Ever After High

     After a century, I finally remembered the one thing that made me and my friends last school year even closer to each other. It was like "the force" if we were in Star Wars. It binds the galaxy together. Only in our case, we call it "Ever After High", and that was one thing me and all of my friends loved. And it was also one thing I would never forget.

     Actually, Ever After High is Web show, which is similar to the more popular show "Monster High". Ever After High (The web show) is about a school where all the fairytale daughters and sons study. The students are divided into three; the royals, who want to follow in their destiny and become the next fairytale legends, the rebels, who want to write their own destiny and create their own happily ever after, and the neutrals who are obviously the ones who aren't royals, and also aren't rebels. Last year, we would pick our favorite character then pretend to be him/her (And yes, even the boys liked it). My character was Ashlynn Ella, the daughter of Cinderella, and my two friends were Apple White and Raven Queen. Actually, neutrals at Ever After High aren't very common. Only a few characters like the three little pigs, Helga Crumb, and Dust Crumb are included. What does Ever After High have to do with me and my friends, more than the reason that we love it? We don't just love it, we're addicted to it. 

      Journals, name tags, drawings, books and more! Everything you need to become a total fairytale (FYI, that means we have everything we need to become a student of EAH)! And here are the some of those Ever After High addict stuff we do/have:  

     You could say that we're crazy weirdos, and I sooo agree. 

For more info, visit Ever After High's website here:    http://www.everafterhigh.com/en-us

K-12

     Just earlier at class, our Filipino teacher made us watch a video about the new curriculum here in the Philippines, K-12. She also asked us to write an essay about our reactions and opinion regarding K-12. Then I thought, why not write another article about K-12 but make it longer and written in English? That is exactly what I'm doing now, and to be honest, I like the K-12 curriculum. 

     Once I heard the what K-12 was, especially the part where high school will be adding more levels and there's a possibility of me graduating in 7th or 8th grade, not in 6th grade, I immediately liked it. I really really really hate growing up, and now I have a longer childhood thanks to K-12. On the contrary, K-12 has a lot of advantages as well, not just having the fact that it offers a longer childhood. It will also make students study harder because of the new grading system, where 60% of most of the activities in school will be considered the passing grade, and not 50%. It will also make kids more ready for college. And it will also make the Philippines become a better country because of more and more educated students. It may result to having more educated Filipinos. On the other hand, K-12 also has a lot of disadvantages. A lot of people living in the Philippines are poor, which becomes one of the reasons of why a lot of Filipinos are against K-12. Parents cannot afford the daily needs of their children for school, and what more if additional two years would be added. Another disadvantage would be the crowding of schools. I know well that most of the schools here in the Philippines have just the right amount of space for classrooms, and if new levels would be added, schools will definitely need more space, which means spending money. 

     K-12 isn't really a bad thing, nor is it a really good thing. It will again be one of the tough challenges the Philippines will have to face. It will be a big change, but who knows, K-12 just might be the ticket to a better, bighter, and more peacful Philippines. 

The Watchalculator!

     Earlier today, me and my friends Emma and Holly went to the variety store at school since Emma heard about a cool watch that had lots of buttons. It was being worn by a lot of people at school - even the sellers at the stores. What is so interesting about this simple watch? Isn't it just like any other watch? The answer's NO. Why? It's a chance to having a perfect quiz in Math. If you're careful enough.

     At first, we thought that the watch just had a lot of buttons since it was the design. I didn't want to buy one, since Php 35 was quite expensive. But one Phoenella got her hands on it, she told me that it was also a calculator - disguised as a watch!!! Now that I knew it was a calculator, it meant a lot. Think about the teacher taking a pee. A math test in front of you, and a teeny tiny calculator disguised as a watch right beside you. Tempting isn't it? (But of course I'd be too kind to try that). The fact is, having a calculator and a watch in one is a great bargain for Php 35. Plus, the design's really nice!

Watchalculator:

"There Are Far Better Things Ahead Than We Ever Leave Behind"

     The author of one of my favorite books said that. C.S Lewis. The author of the very famous book series, The Chronicles Of Narnia. As always, I strongly agree with him. We may have experienced a lot of good things, but there are even better things ahead of of us.

     I didn't know what to post on my blog today, and I decided to write something about a quote. I began scrolling through my collected photos from Pinterest, and I knew that this quote was the best quote to suit my feelings today. So far, school hasn't been as I expected, and last year was far more better. When I read this quote, I knew that even though the first "Ber" month has started, I still do my best to stay patient and wait for God's perfect timing. Then I realized that last year was the best school year, but I should know that there are far better things waiting ahead of me. The only answer in making those better things show up is patience. Everything in the world becomes so much better with patience. Cooking, studying, working, writing, dancing and more! You name it. I don't think that there's anything in the world that is done better without patience. Far more better things are just ahead of us. If you want to make them show up, be patient.

Happy Birthday, Mama Mary!

     Once again, I would like to say Happy happy birthday to our Blessed Virgin Mary. A lot of people in the world wouldn't care about a small celebration like this. They wouldn't care. But today is far more valuable than we could ever imagine. We aren't just celebrating the birthday of some random guy in the street, we're celebrating the birthday of sweet Mama Mary! The person who gave birth to our savior Jesus Christ. Mama Mary isn't just anyone. God chose her to become the mom of Jesus, and he did that for a reason.

     Today at school, we held a mass. We also met the new priest of our school. I would just like to say that I kind of miss our old priest, Father Lester. He has been our priest for many years, and he was even the priest in our first communion. It felt kind of weird to have a new priest, but the school welcomed him with open arms. We offered white and red roses to Mama Mary, and had a research activity in the library about the birth of Mama Mary and the Marian celebration. I am very grateful to God for making Mama Mary's birthday a really good day. A day filled with happiness, peace, and positivity. :)


Photo from Google Images:

The Writer And His Pen

     A writer and a pen are the two best things needed to create a something unforgettable, life changing, and magical. They work together as a team, and without one of them, nothing will happen. They are extremely hard to separate, and believe me, you would need something really effective to beat the magic a writer and his pen could make. 

     A writer can make things you'd never imagine come to life. Chocolate waterfalls, a school especially made for wizards, a camp for demigods, you name it. The writer will always be behind the magic. And the pen, the writer's trusty sidekick, will never leave the company of the writer. The pen helps the writer share his ideas with the world, and the pen will always be the reason of someone becoming a writer. Without pens, how would there be any writers? How would those magical ideas be put on paper? And without the writers, what use would the pen be? Its life would have no meaning. The pen would just be a plain old object. Still, dead, and boring. Without each other, a place in the world for these two would be a major problem. Think of a world without words. A world without books. A world without newspapers. A world without writers. And a world without pens. Imagination and creativity would mean absolutely nothing. Value these two things, for they carry much more value than you could ever think.

Stop Comparing

     Last school year, I was one of the top ten smartest students in class for the first and second quarter. Today, our teachers once again asked us to fold a page in our notebook, bring out our crayons, and write "Second Grading Period" as the heading of the new page. Then I realized something. My grades weren't as good as they were last year. I knew that something was awfully wrong. Whatever it was, I simply COULDN'T live with it.

     I tried to compare last year with this year, and my first hypothesis was because my best friends were like millions of miles away. Last year, my confidence was as high as a skyscraper. And now, I had no one to talk to, no one to boost my confidence, and no one to have fun with just because I was seperated from my friends.

     At this very sunny day, I finally had the right answer, and I am more than a million percent sure of this. Our last subject at school was Reading, and we checked our periodic test papers. As usual, my temperature was cold, my heart was beating fast, and I put my palms between my cheeks. Usually, I don't worry about subjects like these since I never get a line of seven. But this year, my grades weren't very good and I badly needed good luck. As I got my paper, my eyes ran towards the raw score without a minute to waste. Seventy four out of eighty. Six mistakes. It was hard to hide the happiness I was feeling, especially when teacher asked everyone with the raw score of seventy to stand up. And there, I found out that my score was the highest. AND, I didn't even study! (Actually, I never do 😂) But I wasn't completely happy. Perhaps 70% of me was happy, and 30% of me was sad. Then I knew that I discovered the answer to my other low grades. I was so competitive. I always checked the scores of my classmates, I always peeked at my classmates' work to see if theirs was better (I didn't cheat of course), and sometimes I thought that there wasn't any problem with me, just with my classmates and teachers. Competitiveness poisoned me.

       In reality, I was already competitive during the half of the second quarter last year when Vinn became my seat mate. He was smart. For a moment, I even thought that he was smarter than me. And on that very day, something called "competitiveness" was born. Until today, they still haven't abandoned me. Tomorrow, I am so going to kick them out. Being too much competitive made my grades go lower, and I don't want it to happen again, especially because the second quarter has started. Tomorrow, I HAVE to kick that competitiveness out. I HAVE to.

*Written On September 4, 2015

"Why Fit In, When You Were Born To Stand Out!"

     "Why fit in, when you were born to stand out!", said Doctor Seuss. I agree. Why would you want to blend and be a chameleon when you have the chance to be a light bulb in the middle of the dark? We are all unique. The first step to standing out is to be yourself. Don't be someone who you aren't. Everyone was born of standing out, including you!

      Why pick the blue, small, ugly tree when there are better trees than this one? Why be friends with the shy girl at class when the popular girls are right in front of you? Why buy the dress that's been a trend for years, when you know that there's something better? Everyday, these are the few questions that pop in our head, and most commonly, you would pick the better ones. For a change, why don't you pick the other ones? Yes, you heard me, I dare you to pick the other ones against the better ones. You can actually stand out in no time! All the girls at class are wearing the same classic denim dress, when you're wearing a floral mint green dress. All the girls at school are frowning, being abused and bullied by the popular girls, when you have a shy friend who you befriended in no time, and can share your laughs with. All the trees picked at the park are green, when you're tree became even taller, and its leaves became the prettiest of all. What I'm basically saying is that YOU should be unique! Stand out, and don't be afraid to try new things. Who knows, maybe the next thing you need to standing out is right in front of you!


Photo from Google Images:

"Don't Grow Up, It's A Trap"

      Can anyone guess who said that? Don't grow up, it's a trap. Obviously, it's Peter Pan. The one and only guy who lives in Neverland, the one who guy who had a fairy as a friend, and the one guy who never grew up. Once I heard this quote a year ago, I could so relate. Grown ups can be extremely boring and the best example for this could be my annoying but lovable uncle who is more boring than a 10,000 year old human. 

      If you think that the "It's a Trap" part is something like a hyperbole, an exaggerated statement, you're absolutely wrong. Literally, growing up IS a trap. When you grow up, you're actually purchasing a ticket to a boring life, which becomes the trap. It doesn't technically mean that you should stop being tall, or stop letting your parents buy you toys. It means that we should never stop having an imaginative mind, thinking out of the box, being fun & exciting, and smiling, which are the qualities of a child. I have noticed that nowadays, children like my classmates are so excited to grow up. They feel like they're adults, and sometimes even worse. Life is a 1 second roller coaster ride, and I think that we shouldn't even waste a single moment of it. Without a doubt, people who were so excited to grow up, will regret the fact of growing up and falling for the trap.

Photo from Pinterest: