Education, anyone?

How many times were you scolded by your parents for failing in your exams? Haven’t you realized how blessed you are for having such compassionate parents, and the privilege of being sent to school to be educated when others have nothing? Did you ever reach a time in your life when you regretted learning how to read? You shouldn’t. Many children in this world hunger for the skill of reading, of education. You first learned to read in school. Reading is undoubtedly the most basic part to being educated. It is never a shaggy dog story. It is your rite of passage when you learn. Meaning, you belong to the circle called “literate”.

Long time ago, our ancestors did their best to be educated, used leaves and sticks to write, anything, just to learn. Now, how lucky we are for we are in the period of globalization, international influences, and the mega trends which calls for development and transformation. Because of these, there are many resources now made available and accessible for people to easily learn and gain knowledge through a medium of fun. There are the different media: televisions, periodicals, Internet, and many more. We do not even know what other hi-tech instructive equipments will be used in the future.

Education certainly is a very vital process. Through this, we are transformed into better and productive people through the noteworthy and life-changing experiences. It is also a social process, where dealing with people is a must. Here you also get the chance to meet other people and add them to your catalog of friends. By being educated, you experience life in its best form.

Many people think that education ends in graduation. A child’s graduation may be one of the greatest achievements a parent can have. Parents definitely will be proud seeing their children taking the center stage, having all their skills in school incorporated, graduating. But that graduation is not the end of the story. Education is growth and is a never-ending process. It is learning what is essential in life, and then gradually responding to the various opportunities for discipline and transformation.

Education is a fabric that can clothe you, take you to distant lands, and help you win your dreams. With this, you can possibly do anything. After all, everything is possible for a man who dares. The buildings you see, the cell phones you use, the vehicles you drive, the eyeglasses you wear as aid to read this text. They are all products of educated people, of education. But education is not all that matters, what is the purpose of knowledge if you will not put it on fire, use it to make a difference?

Consequently, education is the forefront of nation building. People could surely make a difference if they make their homes and society a real community,
“Where values are upheld, where values are lived,
Where morals and ethical behavior is set as an ideal, and
Where young people meet older role-models.”

Education is important. Treasure it. It is the only wealth that no one can take away.

The Look

Let me express my views on this short poem of Sara Teasdale:

The Look

Strephon kissed me in the spring,

Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at me

And never kissed at all.

Strephon’s kiss was lost in jest,

Robin’s lost in play,

But the kiss in Colin’s eyes

Haunts me night and day.

A beautiful poem isn’t it? It is just brief but it meant a lot. Yes, the voice of the poem was that of a girl. He had many boys in the past, which was evident by the author’s use of words of the seasons like spring and fall. The spring and the fall may also symbolize the different angles and sides of our lives. That sometimes, we grow and bloom like in the spring, or sometimes get disappointments and feel bad and withered like the time of fall.

Why a kiss? A kiss symbolizes care and love. That is why, the poet used this act to attract people to get interested on it because it somewhat describes the act of loving.

Why the look? Well, as I have just discovered recently in our batch retreat, loving does not only require physical attractions and verbal expressions. One thing to express love is just to act, or simply by the use of the eyes. If you love someone and you really get along with each other, one look is enough to share a whole day experience.

By using all the things used in the poem and take it deeply, not just its mere dictionary meaning, we can say that the poem tells a story.

It tells a story about a girl who had many relationships before. And these relationships were of all season, that is, it’s always changing. This is because the girl is just having a relationship without the proper and the right relations. She just find comfortable with the guys she is with but deep inside, she is searching for that somewhat who would complete her. And she did not find that in all the guys that went through her, as stated in the poem that their kisses were eventually lost, and instead to somebody who does not or only has a little feeling towards her. That is why the girl wants his kiss but the guy can only give her the look. But the again, the look has many meanings. It may be that the man does not really like the girl or we do not know that the man has also a mutual feeling of love to the girl.

Some important learnings in this poem is that you should choose people best for you and you should express what you feel towards the person you longed to be with. In this way, you do not have to pretend that you enjoy each other’s company if you really do not. And you will not have all the regrets by not doing the first move. You might end up being like the girl in the poem, having the man she likes only by the look.

Our Research: Vermiculture

Finally, everything we had to do was done. One thing left to do for our research is making it hardbound. But before we graduate the course Research II, I would like to present what our study is all about; how we came up with the study and the experiences we had by doing the study.

But before everything else, let me define some terms you will encounter upon reading this entry further: African Nightcrawlers – they are a kind of earthworm that eats all kinds of organic matter and convert them into useful worm castings; Worm castings – these are the organic materials produced by the African Nightcrawlers. It is like worm castings is to earthworms as a dung is to a cow; Vermiculture – the process of growing healthy worms; Vermicomposting – the production of worm castings through Vermiculture.

As we all know for a fact, the population is still increasing and rising each year. This may cause various effects including the “too much garbage” we are having. But there is an answer to this problem which, at the same time, could help generate our income. That is the technology called Vermicomposting. It is a method of growing earthworms to breakdown organic matter and convert them into worm castings, which are good as an organic fertilizer. Yeah, it was indeed strange at first. We just knew about this topic because Prime and company’s project was all about this and it was just handed down to us. But even we did not like the topic much, considering the fact that we are going to deal with earthworms, we got excited about it and decided to take the challenge and do the said research. Prime and company’s study was about the effect of sol moisture in the growth of the African Nightcrawlers. And to avoid plagiarism, we had to think what other variable we are going to vary and decided on one other factor affecting the subjects’ growth, the kind of feed they ingest. And to make our study more credible, we decided to include the effect of the feeds on the production of worm castings.

Our study was done for around five weeks. Even though our study has insignificant results, which means the different feeds have comparable effect on the Nightcrawlers, we were still very much happy and glad that we finished it and had it hard bound.

People may say that this is but another ordinary school project. But it is not, at least for me, it is not. It is not just ordinary because we did not just do this for the sake of passing. We did this study with dedication and we did this by heart. Yes, I am amenable that because of much dedication, this study often caused misunderstandings and fightings among group members. But I think what we experienced as a group just made us closer together and made us know each other more.

For other people’s views, I am a leader but as what I have learned, I was never one. I was always the boss, telling my group mates to do this, ordering them to computerize this, commanding them to consult a teacher, and others. It may seem like a selfish act, but I guess it made our research study better and it made our paper good; not to mention that we placed third in the Science Congress. It may be not the best paper in the world. But for me, all the hardships and the experiences we had in making it made it the best.

We hope that everything goes fine in the last step of our research requirement and hope to pass it before the deadline…

Peace-keepers or among the bad guys?

Vigilante killings started last December 2004 in Davao City. It is the act of killing ex-convicts, escaped prisoners and other criminals that are not behind bars. These vigilantes wear masks and are on their bikes. They just pass through streets and bang, kill people. Are they really peace-keepers or are they one of the bad guys?

Yes, I admit that the crime rate in Davao indeed lowered. This is because of their vigilante killings. Yes, this act could lessen crime rates and even help the government authorities to seek the criminals. But I believe that this is not righteous. I believe that vigilantes are one of the bad guys.

They say that innocents are killed by criminals and criminals are killed by the vigilantes. But are we amenable that killing is a crime and by doing such, you may be named a criminal. So I guess being a vigilante is comparable to being a criminal. It is just lessening the number of criminals by increasing their number. Ironic, isn’t it?

They also say that the crime rate lessened. But killing a criminal is still a crime that could constitute an increase in the crime rate if counted, so I think that reason is not valid.

Another reason why I am anti-vigilante is that it is against the will of God. In His ten commandments, the fourth is the prohibition of killing another. So, by being a vigilante, even though your aim is to help and do good, is still a sin! It is still punishable by law and even by the Creator. People have no right to take lives of others because we owe all our lives, including the life of the victim and the vigilante himself.

Another thing is that people are affected by these vigilante killings. Criminals who intend to change are being killed. Some innocents even are affected and mistaken as one of the bad guys and killed by these vigilantes. Not only are the victims of the vigilante killings are affected but also their family members and relatives. What if that person killed was the bread winner of the family? What will happen to the family?

Between killing for good and stealing for life, I think stealing is the lesser evil. In stealing, you only get things- they have no feelings and they are nonliving. Whereas when you kill, you hurt people when they are hit and still survived after the incident or you deprive people of their right to live when they don’t.

Another thing I would like to point out is that you cannot stop something wrong by another something which is also wrong. What I mean is that people who are doing something wrong simply intend to do more wrong things if you stop them by another wrong act.

Again, I would like to present my point. Vigilante killing is not the answer to the injustices happening in our country. We better leave the judgment to the police authority or let Him execute the final judgment that is fit for the bad guys.

Love: An Act of Will, Not of the Heart

“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” –Plato

“Where there is great love, there are always miracles.” –Willa Cather

“Love does not make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” –Franklin P. Jones

“Love is like a quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open, and it stays. Clutch it and it darts away.” –Dorothy Parker

“The story of love is not important- what is important is that one is capable of love. It perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity.” –Helen Hayes

Love. A word of so many meanings. It is the most frequently used topic for poetry, short stories, and quotation books. Even blog entries are filled with the ones about love! But is there such thing? Who discovered it then? Is it merely psychological or is it just a feeling that only a feeling can understand?

Love is not supposed to be defined. It is supposed to be felt.

“Love is like a rosary, full of mysteries.” That is one of the corniest quotations about love. But admit it. It is indeed true. There are many things love can do, even mysteries or miracles. But why is love associated with the heart? That question, I cannot answer. A heart is a mere organ pumping blood for proper circulation of the body. But where is the love in that process?

I do believe that love is indeed an act of will, not of the heart.

A quotation from Ursula Le Guin says that “Love not just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” Again, love is an act of will, not of the heart. It is not something that exists without the will of the person. It has to be made, created and supposed to be felt. It needs two parties to share the same feeling. They do special things for each other. They nurture each other, and likewise, nurture love, indeed an act of will.

Another saying by Walter Lippman for me holds true, that “Love endures only when the lovers love many things together and not merely each other.” Love is a kind of feeling that is freely felt by a person towards another. But I agree with the quotation stated. Love endures and lasts when the lovers love many things together and enjoy each other’s company a lot. They not merely love each other but all the activities they do together, one thing that proves my point that love is indeed an act of will.

There are a lot of things which support the fact that love is an act of will. Even sacrifices are done for love. Like our Savior, Jesus Christ, he suffered and died for us. All because of his act of will, the act of love.

Indeed, loving is a choice we make. It is up to us whom to love, what to do for love, or basically, if we would love or not. It is supposed to be our choice, our will.

All things in this world, I suppose, are act of will, not merely of any pumping organ…

How Do I Want to be Remembered when I Leave High School

Leaving High School is a great achievement for me. It means you have surpassed every single test and passed all requirements in every subject you have. But being remembered upon leaving High School is another achievement that I want to have. It is for me, being treasured as someone who touched another’s life. It is everyone’s dream, not to be forgotten and of course, being remembered of something. But how do I really want to be remembered when I leave High School?

I am an ordinary student in this university. I am not so popular in extra-curricular activities that need all the confidence in the world. I am barely noticed in school. But still, I do want to be remembered. I do want to hear people say that they for once, met an Arvin in their life…

First of all, I would like to be remembered as a great friend, as someone whom anyone can trust. I want to be remembered as a good companion. That is why I always do my best to make others feel secured and have the feeling of being at ease and at home when I am with them. In good times or in bad, I want to be always with people. In that way, I get to know them more and they, as well know me better.

I also want to be remembered as that person responsible in his acts and has the sense of commitment in all his doings. Of course, as one of the “prominent intellectuals” in class, they say, I always do my best in my studies and always help my classmates, if needed, and of course, if my abilities can carry the job. I want to be remembered someday as the person who helped them in high school in any way I can.

Other people remember me as the one person who has made most of the “shining love teams” in the batch. I also want to be remembered that way. That when they meet me in the future, they would still remember the couples that I made and teased.

I also want to be remembered as that cute little individual who is always fond of tickling people. I am also easily tickled, and I believe that the best defense is the offense. So I tickle people first before they can tickle me. It is my favorite past time because I am having fun tickling people and in that way, we enjoy each other’s company.

Finally, I want to be remembered as one of the greatest smile-maker of the batch. I want everybody to smile and think about the happy memories we have when they hear my name. That is why I deliver even the corniest jokes just to make people laugh and be happy. Of course, not to the extent that I make a fool of myself. In our case we laugh with each other and not at each other.

Again, I do want to be remembered. I do want to hear people say that they for once, met an Arvin in their life…

I do.

According to Article 1 of the Family Code, Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman, entered into, in accordance with law, for the establishment of conjugal and family life.

Here in the Philippines, absolute divorce is not allowed, but annulment is. But what is really the difference of the two? Well, as far as I have known in my Practical Law class, the only difference of the two is their spelling. Yes, both processes are most likely the same. They mean separation of the married couple and after their separation, they are both allowed to marry another. That is the only difference between absolute divorce or annulment of marriage and legal separation.

I am really against the legalization of absolute divorce in the Philippines. First of all because marriage is a sacrament. It is then blessed and holy. Why then would you break a blessed and holy rite? Absolute divorce, for me, is a sin. It is against some verses in the Bible. The following is an example:

“Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” –Matthew 19:4-6 NIV

Marriage is a contract joined by God. So it is not righteous to separate that togetherness. Even though the contracting parties do not love each other anymore, it is still not valid for them to be absolutely divorced or separated, even if they are not happy with their relationship anymore. They must have thought of that before they went into the process of marriage.

Another reason why I am not for absolute divorce is that it has many ill effects on the people. If people are informed about this, they will depend on it. Depending on it makes him play with his relationships with other people, making the blessed marriage ceremony useless. This also has bad effects to the children of the contracting parties. If the parents of the children were happy for around ten years and something went up on the eleventh, causing them to file a divorce, what will happen to their children? See, not only their lives are affected but also the lives of their children.

Legally speaking, according the Family Code, the husband and the wife must live together, observe mutual love, respect, and fidelity and render mutual help and respect.

Spiritually and religiously speaking, these verses support my stand:

“Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love you wives, and do not be embittered against them.” –Colossians 3:18-19 NASB

“So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband.” –Ephesians 5:33 CEV

These are merely my opinions. But I still believe in my stand; that people must think over their decisions many times before saying the two words that can indeed, change your fate in the future: “I do.”