Lifetime Hero

In our lives, we consider many people as our heroes. Everyday, we may meet people who unexpectedly help us when we're in trouble. They may have cheered you up knowing that you're depressed. They come at the right time when you need encouragement and strength. They inspire us to continue on when things go wrong. They put smiles on your faces when you're in pain. These people can be consider as everyday heroes. They could be your family, friends, neighbors or even strangers who happen to pass by. These people teach and remind you the value of life.

But to me. my best and top most hero is God, Himself. Every time I think of Him when I'm in trouble my mind would be peaceful and calm. I can talk to Him freely with my problems and troubles. I thank Him for giving me the gift of life and for the people around who loves me. He's not just my everyday hero but also my lifetime hero and will always be.

Our Lady of Triumph

You may have heard about the Fort Santiago (Cotta Fort and Shrine) in Ozamiz City. Every 16^th of July, my family always goes to the Cotta shrine and attends the mass. It’s to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Triumph. Inside the chapel and outside Fort Santiago, on the wall facing the bay is an image of the Virgin Mary in the pink and blue attire. The image on the Cotta’s wall is believed to be miraculously growing and has been the object of pilgrimage of devotees.

Legend tells of the miraculous intercessions of the Virgin during the Muslim raids to which the fort was often subjected. Oftentimes the fort was undermanned due to its distance from the main Spanish garrisons and the infrequent visits of the armada whose principal anchorage in the south was Cebu. But the fort had always withstood even the fiercest Muslim attacks, a feat which they could attribute only to the Blessed Mother's intercession.

So every now and then, people pray for her and celebrate her feast day. I too believed in the miracles of our Blessed Mary and knows that she's always protecting us every time.

Activity 7

We're Heating Up

On the day I lost my umbrella, I thought I had to buy another one as soon as possible. Why? Well it's because of the heat of the sun. I can't stand it especially at noon time. It hurts your head in less than five minutes if you don't have any protection. It gives you headache and worst, heatstroke. Even at eight to nine in the morning, the heat of the sun hurts.

This is not normal. Right now, our ozone layer is depleting and some people are making it worst. Cutting trees is one of the factors that led into this. I don't know why they still continue to illegally cut them. The diminishing of trees could also lead to flash floods, landslides and weather change. Right now we are experiencing these things and it is very alarming.

I wonder if it's not too late. But no matter how I look at it, some people are still not willing to save our earth and couldn't care less. I don't understand them being insensitive about these things which is very important. I hope that someday, even if it's little by little, people will open there eyes and see and what's happening and that they will change and help solve these problems.

Activity 6

Fun-filled Memories

When I was on my fourth year, on the month of September, a rumor about having a field trip on the last week of October was circulating in our campus. I was very excited and a bit hesitant. Excited because, what else could be the reason, it's a field trip of course! It's where you will spend time with your friends and could even make new ones. It's where you go to different places and get to learn new things. But why also hesitant? Well, I'm scared that I won't be able to go on this one too. When I was a 2nd year, there was a 3 days-2 nights field trip to Davao and I wasn't able to go because at that time it was a short notice so my mother wasn't able to prepare for the financial matters. When my classmates went back, I was feeling a little left out. So I was wondering then if I could join this trip. I told my mom about it and said that we'll just see to it. Well, God did answer my prayers. I was so happy that I could join at last! It was a 3days and 2 nights field trip to Cagayan de Oro City.

We went to two factories, Asia Brewery and Pepsi, we had a tour around it and also got free drinks. They were huge and cool. It was my first time to enter a factory so I was really curious and amazed. Also, we got to tour around a museum of a university in Cagayan (sorry, I forgot the name). The ABS-CBN station, we also entered it and got to see what's the inside. I got to ride a horse in Manresa farm. It was cool! I think I had six rounds riding the horse. She was a mare. On my 4th round, the person who was assisting me got the horse to run fast. My hat flew and I was shouting and laughing. I was excited at the same time scared because I don't know how to make it slow. Fortunately, the man was able to catch up with us. It was really awesome. I also almost had another horse incident. It was on another place (also forgot the name), the horse I was riding and the other horse of my classmate got a fight. They where kicking each other! I held tight on the rope, I thought I was gonna fall. Good thing the caretaker came on time. I had mixed feelings again, fear and excitement. I got angry to my classmate because he was the one who made our horses fight but also was thankful because it was really a cool experience (even though it was dangerous).

To sum it up, it was really fun and unforgettable . I was very thankful and glad that I was able to come home safely and with a big smile on my face. I treasure those memories and will never forget the times I had with my friends. I hope that when you go to a field trip, don't be gloomy about it because it will surely be one of a kind experience.

Connections

Each of us are connected to one another, our actions, words, thoughts, feelings. We should treasure these because our bonds with other people are important and these help us in our lives. We need these in times when we are in an unlikely situation. But sometimes we can't avoid the times when it breaks or falls apart. Sooner or later, misunderstandings and fights will surface up. We tend to build walls around us thinking that this will solve things but it doesn't. It will make things worst. So from time to time, we should rebuild our 'bridge', patch some holes or even better if we make the foundations stronger.

Don't waste time, don't wait to let it become worst. If its been damaged then rebuild it quickly. We should not destroy things, making and building things (not walls) are the best. We could also help others. We have the gift of creating bonds with other people so we should use it. Help them to build and rebuild theirs. It's not good to runaway or ignore our problems. So remember, it's never too late to build and fix things up.

Activity 4

This morning, as I woke up early and went out from my apartment, I met my landlady at the gate. She greeted me a pleasant morning with a smile. With that, I smiled too and greeted her back. And so my day started with a smile on my face even though we're having our ROTC today (not that I don't like ROTC, I'm just not a morning person but I have to wake up at five thirty in the morning).

You may not know that by greeting someone with a smile, you will make the beginning of his day a cheerful one. That just by saying hello to your neighbor, you'll brighten up his mood or just by saying a simple thank you to someone, you will make him feel appreciated and he may do his kind deed to someone else too, and that someone else will also feel the same and so he will also do deeds for others and so on and so forth.

We should be aware by our doings. Whether what we did was appropriate or not because we may not know that we've hurt or insulted someone. So that's why we are taught with proper manners. But sometimes, some people don't practice anymore good manners nowadays. They tend to forget these things. Some may thought 'who cares, that person is not doing it so why should I', and so they just let it pass by. But that's not good because, you may not notice, we can influence others even the society. So if we're being rude or insensitive, other people might become like us. So we should not forget our manners even though the other person doesn't thank you for it. Just do your job, and you may not know that everybody else is doing it too.

Activity 3

One of my weakest points is that I don't have self-confidence, not like Hani who has great belief in herself. I usually hesitate in making decisions by myself, and when I finally have one, I hesitate again if I'm going to do it. I'm afraid of the outcome of what I chose. I'm afraid to fail because of what I've done. I also don't have confidence in my answers. That's why; even if I have answers, it will take me some time to pass it.

So when I heard the story of Hani, I was amazed by her. The character of having the courage to believe in herself was what amazed me. She, who was not a student in the school where the teacher work, chose to approach the teacher and asked to teach her English (which I think it really took a lot of courage) so she could go abroad and study more. The teacher, struck by her courageous act, accepted her. She then committed to work hard and did her best. Having these qualities, I believe that a person like her would really succeed and achieve her dreams. She proved this because she got the scholarship and was able to attain her dream.

After hearing it, her story made me realize that to accomplish great things, it doesn't really matter if your rich or poor, smart or not, but is to not stop in working hard, doing your best and believing in yourself. So now, I'm going to develop my self-confidence and the belief in myself more.

My Sister's Keeper : a heartwrenching story

Sometimes when you’re in a tight situation or when you’re so confused about the things happening around you, you won’t know what is right or wrong. You can’t even find the right answers because in life, it’s not easy to say that you’re decisions were correct and every decision of yours has consequences. You just do what is right for you and for everyone else. Circumstances like this, you can’t judge a person for what they think is moral or ethical, or even justifiable.

Here, I will share this movie I have watched which made me realized how life is not to be taken granted and how I’m thankful that my birth was not just an ‘accident’ and I’m born healthy. And because of this movie, I can consider myself lucky that I have my brother and sister to be with, and that I'm fortunate to have the family I'm suited in.

When the Fitzgeralds’ daughter, Kate, was diagnosed with leukemia at two years old and needed a bone marrow transplant or else she will die, the couple, Brian and Sara was advised by the doctor of having another child because there were both not a match to be a donor of Kate. And here, Anna was born. The movie follows a 13 yr. old girl named Anna who was made genetically (I think you could say that she’s a ‘test tube baby or an engineered baby) so that she will be a direct genetic match to her sister Kate who has leukemia. Her purpose was to keep her sister alive by donating her blood, platelets, bone marrow, and other cells. And she’s been doing this since the time she was born. But when the time came that her sister Kate needs a kidney, Anna sues for medical emancipation and for the rights to her own body.

I think cancer is the most horrible thing for me because our family is prone to cancer. My mother's sister and brother died of cancer. I can see myself as Anna because, like her, I have an older brother and an older sister, except they're both fine (thank God). But I wondered if I was in here place, maybe I, too, will think that if ever my sister didn't have cancer, will I be brought into this world? Was I only made to save my sister? So was I just to be sacrifice? But it's really difficult to decide when it comes to these matters especially if it involves your family.

Also, I can understand the mother about doing everything to save her daughter, Kate, but sometimes, we become blind because of our love to a certain person, that we sometimes tend forget about the feelings of the people around you. Loving, at the same time, sacrificing maybe a threat to your bond of the people you love and who love you.

This was a book by Jodi Picoult and was made into a movie, starring Cameron Diaz as the mother, Abigail Breslin as Anna and Sofia Vassilieva as Kate. Here is a movie that really moved me and may bring you into tears as how it also brought me. So when you watch it, you better have a bucket to fill up for your tears.

Below is the trailer of the movie. (Note: the book and the movie have different endings, so if you ever read the book, and will watch the movie, be surprise.)

Seeking Something

Activity 1

Right now I’m somewhat confuse when it comes to things like missions and purposes in life. Sometimes I wonder why I'm here in this world. They say that each one of us has a purpose and a task to fulfill in our life. And then the word 'family' comes into my mind thinking maybe my mission is being good, helping them and not being a burden to them, also maybe being a good student right now. But I guess these are just temporary or not really the main ‘mission’ we’re talking about. I can relate God when it comes to these things though because His the one who brought my existence here in earth. I believe that He has something stored for me but I don't know that yet my thus right now my mission in life is to see why I was given the chance to stay in this world and I'm yet to find it out.

empty mind

Have you ever came to a time that when you want to write something but nothing comes into your mind? Well I'm having it right now and it's so frustrating.. no kidding.

hmm.. this is my first time to blog. Honestly, I don't know what to post so I wish next time I'll have something in my mind. Anyway, 'Hi' to everyone...