"FAIR IS FOUL, AND FOUL IS FAIR"

     "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" is the most famous and perhaps the most significant line in Shakespeare's Macbeth. This is one of the last lines spoken by the three witches in Act I Scene I, when they are foreshadowing the events that will come in the play. This line is a paradox or an idea that contradicts itself and many interpretations were made to explain what it means. 

       For me, this line pertains to one of the themes of the play which is the difference between appearance and reality. To put it simply, the difference between how something seems and how something really is. It is a major concern that fits well with the medium of the play and it shows that there is no significance of good and bad for their roles can be reversed. 

       I also had a personal experience related to this line. It happened 3 years ago. I was just a freshman at Cavite National Science High School and I didn't know anybody there except my classmates during elementary. I didn't want to interact with my new classmates because I felt really shy and it seemed like they all know each other. I also had a lot of first impressions. I thought that they were all serious and competitive and I also thought that some of them were unfriendly. But as I spend more time to get to know them, I realized that they are all nice people. They are really funny and friendly and they are the type of people who you can call real friends. Yes they can be serious and competitive sometimes but they are always there to help me whenever I need them. Just like what people say, first impressions aren't always true.

       Fair and foul can be different in various perspectives. Like something bad for someone could be something good for the other. A lost for one would give victory to others. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair". It is a world where things aren't what they seem to be. A world where you're never sure which is appearance and which is reality.

THE BATTLE BETWEEN LOVERS

          Great stories like William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" begin with a fundamental list of ingredients: the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. All of these ingredients make up the plot or the events of the story but the most important ingredient in the recipe is the climax. The climax is the point of highest tension or drama and this is where the action starts in which the solution is given.

          "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of Shakespeare's strangest and most delightful creations, and it demonstrates both the extent of his learning and the expansiveness of his imagination. I believe that the climax of this play comes in Act III, Scene 2, where the four lovers, Lysander, Demetrius, Helena and Hermia, are at the height of their confusion. Both Demetrius and Lysander end up pursuing Helena instead of Hermia because of the love potion and this made Helena believe that the three of them are mocking her. Demetrius and Lysander decided to fight for Helena's love and Hermia becomes so jealous that she tries to challenge Helena to a physical fight as well. As they all run off to fight, Puck and Oberon are left to prevent them from hurting each other by tricking them into the right areas to lead them apart and sort the problem out.

          The supposed to be physical fight became an emotional fight between the girls. Harsh words were thrown around and ugly memories from the past were brought up such as Helena thinking that Hermia was a spiteful woman when they were younger. These are the reasons that made this part of the story thrilling and exciting. It made me want to continue reading because it is intriguing to know the true feelings of the girls when you know that they aren't under any kind of spell.

          There are other interpretations of the climax of this play because there are other sub plots and characters involved. My opinions are based on the plot of the four lovers but I believe that no matter what interpretation there may be, this masterpiece will continue to inspire other people and it is truly one of the best.

IT TAKES A STRONG PERSON TO SAY SORRY AND AN EVEN STRONGER PERSON TO FORGIVE

          People always say that we have so many ways to describe forgiveness but only a few strategies for actually achieving it. They say that the best strategy to forgive is to forget. Yes, we've heard this a million times already but is this really how we feel? When you get hurt by someone, could you actually just forget and forgive him for what he has done? Forgiving seems impossible right? It's like giving them the permission to hurt us all over again but forgiveness is not something we do for others, it's something we do for ourselves. The grudge stops here.

          Like everybody else, I also had experiences that caused me a lot of pain. The most painful experience happened when I was still in elementary school. I had a classmate that I had known since kindergarten and she was the closest friend I ever had. She was the person that I called my best friend. I always felt happy and safe when I'm with her and I always say to myself that having this one special friend makes me the luckiest girl in the world. But this friendship slowly faded away as time went by. I noticed that she was becoming distant and ignorant towards me and one day, our friendship ended. I found out that she was saying things behind my back and that made me feel betrayed. It was like all those years we spent together were nothing but worthless acts. I tried to understand her but it was just too much. We got mad at each other and eventually, we stopped talking to each other.

          I eventually came to understand that in harboring the anger, I got myself trapped inside the prison cell of bitterness and despair, serving time for someone else's crime. I was giving the reins of control over to the person who had caused me pain. Forgiving was not about accepting her deeds, it was about moving on with my life. It's saying, "You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future." I took all my courage with me to forgive her and by doing so, I had finally set myself free.

          This experience showed me a new path towards a better life. I had met people whom I can call my true friends and I know that they will always be there for me and I will always be there for them. It also made me realize that none of us are bad people. We run across each other and we learn about ourselves. We make mistakes and we do great things. We hurt others, we hurt ourselves, we make others happy, and we please ourselves. We can and should forgive ourselves and each other for that.

SMART BUT NOT SPORTY OR SPORTY BUT NOT SMART?

       In the world of students, there are two kinds of people. There are athletes and there are academically excellent students. Athletic students are those who excel in sports and those who are physically fit but not all of them have high academic standings. On the other hand, academically excellent students are those who do extremely well in academics and scholar performances but most of them are terrible in handling physical activities. To put simply, athletes use their bodies while smart people use their brains. Even though they have so many differences, they also have something alike. Both athletic and academically excellent students must have discipline, perseverance, and hardwork in order to achieve their goals.  Talent alone doesn't produce athletes and intelligent people like Kobe Bryant and Albert Einstein. Both of them overcame a lot of obstacles and both of them learned from the mistakes they made throughout their journeys.

        If I were given the chance to start over and choose between being good in sports or being an academically excellent student, I would choose being academically excellent. This is because for me, having good grades will give me a higher chance of having a brighter future. There will be a lot more opportunities where I can show what I can do with what I know compared to athletic students. Not many athletes are able to continue their career and some of them aren't even able to share what they can do. Another reason is because I can also use this knowledge in learning and planning out strategies in various kinds of sports. I may not have the physical power but I will have the mind power to counter my weaknesses.

        Smart but not sporty or sporty but not smart. Whichever one you are isn't really important. What's important is for you to be proud of what you can do. What you have is something that God has given you and he gave it to you for a reason. All you have to do is to use your talent and knowledge for the right thing and for the betterment of the world. Always remember that nobody is perfect. Nobody knows everything and nobody can do everything. Just be yourself and always believe in what you can do.