BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Jeepneys are a form of public transportation here in the Philippines. It was made from military jeep then they designed it and made it attractive for the people to ride on it comfortably.

You won’t see any jeepneys in other countries. It is a part of our culture because of its uniqueness and its form. Almost everything inside a jeepney symbolizes something. The lines “God bless you” shows the Filipinos religious side and the names of their relatives in front or on the ceiling of a jeepney symbolizes the closeness to the family.

It’s cool to ride a jeepney because it’s cheap and easy to ride on. And it’s so cool to see how passengers pass their payment to the driver without even asking someone to get his money. It’s automatic that someone will help you until your money reaches the driver.

Jeepneys are very important to students and workers. They use this transportation to get to their destination without spending too much money. It helps a lot especially in these times where almost everything is expensive.

It is so cool to have something like this, a public transportation that is a small representation of Filipino values. I hope that every one appreciates what we have. Let’s be proud of this - something that is very unique and is a big part of our history and our lives.

LIFE

Life is like playing basketball.

You can shoot the ball, and you will either score or miss. Sometimes in our lives we miss the shot and make mistakes. But after that, we get motivated that the next time we are going to shoot, we won’t miss again. We believe that we won’t do that same mistake again.

In basketball, there is a referee, someone that reminds us that we are wrong, that tells us we are off the limits, and tells us that we made a foul action. We know the rules but when we are pissed off, we still make intentional fouls that sometimes can get us out of the game and make the game more complicated.

There is also a free throw, where you can have a second chance. A second chance to make it better and to score real good without any hindrances. And then there are teammates - friends who are there to help us. These are the people who are there whom we can pass our feelings to and can make us comfortable. Coaches are like our dads. He is there to lead us to where we should go and to guide us and tell us what to do. He is always there to correct us when we are wrong.

And then, after all the efforts you have done, there is a team who is going to win and a team who is going to lose. Some people achieve their goals and dreams in life, and some people don’t. It all depends on you. How you play the game, how you choose your life to be, how you did it and how you want it to be.

So, are you ready to play?

PINOY!

Filipinos are one of the coolest and happiest persons in the world. Of course, I’m a Filipino so I am biased. Hahaha… Filipinos are known to be hospitable and very caring. Even though they don’t have much, they will find a way just for their guests to be comfortable. In fiestas in the provinces, they give food to people even though they have no idea who these people are. We are indeed a very friendly and jolly nation.

Pinoys are extraordinary. The country is a third world country and has an increasing poverty rate; but still you can see many Filipinos shopping and buying expensive clothes and gadgets like cell phones and PSP. Almost all Filipinos have their own cell phones. Yes, Philippines is a poor yet rich country. Weird, huh?

A storm hit a city a few months back. The streets got flooded, lots of houses got wrecked but still when these people affected saw a broadcaster with a video camera, they made sure to be the background and started to smile and wave at the camera. Note that they are all without shelters and nowhere else to sleep on for the night. This just shows you that Pinoys would want to always try and look at the bright side of things.

Pinoy are great in everything! They are good in “diskarte”. They can produce something from nothing. I am very proud that I am a Filipino. I am blessed to be here. If I am going to choose where I would want to live for the rest of my life, I would choose the Philippines even though life here is very complicated. This is where I want to be because this is where I am supposed to be. This is what God has planned for me.

Greatest Love!

What is Love? There are many kinds of love. Love for ourselves, love for our friends, love for our family. But the love that I want to talk about is the ultimate love of all. Love of God for his people. I just want to share to you some things that I know about His love for us. Have you ever heard or experienced the greatest love that anyone could ever know?

The love of Christ for us is very powerful and so great that we could not ask for more. As we all know, Jesus died on the cross for our sins; for us to be saved. If you would think about that, it’s so touching that He, our King, died literally on the cross. It’s our sins, it’s our mistakes, so we should pay for it; but still, He is the one who made the sacrifice for us.

His love is eternal and everlasting, and there is nothing, nothing that can take away His love for us. You want proof? Paul said in Romans 8:38 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” By this verse I know and I believe that His love for me will never end.

Even though people didn’t believe Him before and even though we do things that He does not want, even though we are ashamed of Him before. Still, once we come to Him and receive Him as our personal Lord and Savior seriously and with really a pure heart. He would still accept us as His children. He would still love us the way He loved us before.

I am so amazed by God’s grace, I still cannot believe that He is so loving and kind after all the wrong things that I have done. I can never imagine how great His love is. I hope that all of us will realize how great He is. I thank Him for everything, and I can never ask for more.

God bless you!

To God be the glory!

Facebook-ing!

How many hours a day do you spend in Facebook? Can you spend a month without it? Knowing that it is the only thing you can do when you’re bored and you won’t receive any updates from your friends. Can you survive that? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook?

Me, I spend like 3 hours a day on Facebook. It’s already in my system. A daily routine, one might say. It is the first thing I always check when I open my computer. But still I can say that I am not addicted to Facebook. I know that I can survive without it.

Facebook is a social network site that is very popular around the world, especially here in the Philippines. Here, one can put their current status, can comment on anything that friends posts, can publish photos and many more. It’s like the new thing! If you don’t have an account, you’re out and you’re not cool.

Well, what are the advantages of Facebook-ing? One important thing that I observed is the opportunity to keep in touch with friends and relatives, especially those who are in other countries. It’s much easier to communicate through Facebook than sending an email. Another advantage is you get to know the status of everyone. You know and get aware of what is happening around us.

Now let’s talk about the disadvantages. Top of the list is that Facebook eats our time, which causes us to procrastinate school stuffs. We forget about things we should be doing because of the fun and laughter we experience in Facebook. It really affects our study time.

I hope that even if we use Facebook, we still know what our priorities are. We should know what to do first. Let’s not let this Facebook site ruin our life.

AKO MISMO!

Who do you think is going to be the next president of the Philippines? Noynoy Aquino? Gilbert Teodoro? Manny Villar? Joseph Estrada? Eddie Villanueva? Richard Gordon? Jamby Madrigal? JC de los Reyes? Nicanor Perlas? These are the official list of individuals who qualified for the position of president. I just want to give some insights about what I think about them. My own criticism and opinions, things I know about them.

Well, let’s start with Manny Villar. He is a businessman and believes that he can help all the poor people in the Philippines. He said that he is going to decrease poverty in the Philippines. My question for him is, if he wants to help poor people so badly, why spend billions of money for advertising and for campaigns? I would rather use that money for charity!

How about Noynoy Aquino? He is the son of the man in the 500 peso bill, Ninoy Aquino and our own ex-president Cory Aquino. I heard that he was not supposed to run for president, but after his mom’s death, he suddenly decided to run. A sudden change of decision, why? Is it because more Filipinos will vote for him because of this turn of events? Is he just riding the popularity of his mother’s recent demise?

Let’s move on to Gilbert Teodoro. “Galing at Talino”, well I am very impressed with the works of Gibo. In my own option, he is one of the best if not the best candidate. He is really talented and very intelligent. He would fit well in the position. The only problem with him is that he is with the administration. He is on the side of our present President Gloria Arroyo, which a lot of people hate.

Now, Joseph Estrada. He is the former president of the Philippines but the fact that he was thrown out by the Filipinos and was the first president who was arrested and sent to jail, who would honestly want him to be the president again? I really don’t get the people who will still vote him! For me, he does not deserve a second chance for this position.

Then there is Eddie Villanueva, a man of God and a pastor who is now trying to get inside politics. I don’t know what to say about him but I just feel that he should not be in this position. This is not his forte and I just feel that he does not belong with these politicians. But if God really wants him to be the president, then His will be done.

Senator Richard Gordon is next. He is a former secretary of tourism, governor of Philippine Red Cross, and also a former chairman of SBMA. For now, I don’t see yet any issues and wrong doings of Gordon, I can see that he is working well now and I hope that he just continues it without cheating His main problem is that he is currently below the polls that have been swarming the media.

The other three presidentiables, I don’t know what to say about them, and honestly, I don’t want to talk about them.

How about you? What do you think about our presidential candidates? Who do you favor? What are your insights about them? Come on! Let’s go and be aware of what is happening on our country. Let us become the next generation that is going to make a change!

E for Excellence

Manny “PACMAN” Pacquiao is the best pound for pound boxer in our generation. People around the world, especially boxers, know him and respects him. Why is PACMAN so good in boxing?

Manny is from a very simple family. He started as a simple boxer who had a dream of becoming the greatest professional boxer ever.

His recent fight with Joshua Clottey, for me, was not really a great fight. PACMAN did all the attacks. We can see that from the 1^st round of the fight until the 12^th round, Manny continued to attack him hard, even though he knew that he’s going to win. He still wanted to do his best and knockout his opponent. PACMAN is really a fighter.

What do you think PACMAN has that other boxers don’t have? Passion.

This is the passion to fulfill our destiny and reach our dreams. Most people, including myself, lack this passion. Here’s an example, while we stay awake and sleep late, Manny sleeps early and wakes at around 4 o’ clock in the morning to jog. While we eat all the food that we want, he maintains the food that he eats. He does not eat foods that can affect his body negatively. The good thing about him is that he can control himself. He knows his limitations. He strives for excellence, which is why he reaches victory.

We too can reach our dreams and become the greatest person that we want to be. We just need to have passion in doing everything we do. Let us always try to do our best and strive for excellence!

CRAMMING TIME

Is cramming really effective? What can you say about cramming? Are you a crammer? Why do you have to cram?

Well, all I can say is that I, myself, am a crammer. Like right now, writing this blog makes me a crammer because its deadline is like today. Hahaha…

Cramming is the result of procrastination, and procrastination is the result of laziness. For me, it depends on how you deal with it. It depends on how you use it and how comfortable you are doing it.

Some people prefer doing things earlier and finishing it as soon as possible. But to some crammers, they prefer doing it when it is near the deadline. It is because in this time, there is pressure and they are to do it fast. Their minds are awakened and they said that they could think and manipulate things faster. But one downside of cramming is passing a work that is not your best. Since it is “minadali”, or “hindi pinag-isipan ng mabuti”; it is not double-checked yet and is more prone to errors. But sometimes, if luck would have it, crammers get to do a masterpiece. It depends on how it is used; the important thing is it should be done perfectly, but still considering the time left to finish it.

Procrastination is the problem of the students today that leads them to cramming things. They always delay things and rely on the Filipino term, “bahala na”. Well, based on my own observation, it all comes down to us. Our own attitude towards the things we need to accomplish. Cramming is not a thing we are required to do. It’s a thing we choose to do. I don’t care if you cram or not? The important thing is you did your best, and did it perfectly the way you want it to be.

MODERN HERO

If you think that I'll be talking about Manny Pacquiao in this blog, you are wrong. For me, modern heroes are those who are working hard in other countries to earn money so that their families get to live a better life.

Best example? My Dad! Of course, all of us would say that our dad is the best dad ever. So for me, “my dad is the best dad ever!” Hahaha…

Anyway, my dad works in USA and he’s been there since I was 13 years old. Which means he had been there for about 4 ½ years already. I visited him there when I was 16. We had a lot of fun and a lot of father and son bonding moments. I enjoyed my stay there and I really did not waste a second being with my dad. I only wish I could go back there to visit him again hopefully soon.

Imagine the sacrifice he’s doing. He went to other countries just to provide for us, his family. Knowing that it’s going to be hard for him and that he is going to miss his whole family. Still, he made the decision to go there. I am so grateful and blessed to have him as my father. I could not ask for a better one indeed.

With this, it is one of my goals to finish my studies and have a work that pays well so that I can help my family financially and my dad can finally go home and be with us. Well, for now, I pray that the Lord will bless, guide and protect my dad always. I pray that we can be with my dad soon. I am hoping and expecting for our next family picture to be taken again.

FIRST-TIMER

"Mam, ano po yung blog? ano ba ilalagay dun?" This was the stupid question I asked my professor when I heard her mention about the 10 blogs she asked us to make in lieu of the finals. It was then that I realized that she announced it already before and I am the only one who had no idea about it. Today is already the 12th of March, and I should be able to finish all 10 blogs by the 16th. Wow! Am I the best student or what? Hahaha…

Honestly, I have never been a fan of blogs or blogsites. I really have no idea on what to do and how to start. People told me to just put some of my insights on anything. Anything I want to say or anything I want to express.

So, here I am! A mass communication student, and hopefully a future journalist! Wait! Wow! I just realized that these blogs could be a great start for my career! Hahaha…

Anyway, as I mentioned that I am not a fan of blogs, it is quite obvious that I am not fond of writing blogs as well. Yes, I am first-timer, in writing blogs that is. And I just want to see what it would look like if I’m going to write my first blog about my first blog. Cool huh?

Being a first-timer at this, I hope that this would be a stepping-stone for me. I want this to be the start of my love for writing and the beginning of my own journey in the vast world of journalism.

Well I hope you had fun reading my first blog! So bloggers, here I come! Hahaha…