A PRAYER FOR STORM VICTIMS

Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth,

You who have been our voice in stunned silence since birth,
You who have served as our hope in times of our fears,
You who have tend the grief in our eyes filled with tears.

We recognize our faults, we're conscious of our sins,
Be merciful, O God for all that we have been.
Forgive us for ignoring the things that you made,
We hope and pray that you will always be our aid.

Lord God, thank you for all that you have blessed us with,
Thank you for your love and sacrifices forthwith,
Thank you for helping us go through difficult times
And thank you for guiding all of us all the time.

We hope and pray for the safety of your children
Who have endured the storm and experienced the pain.
Please help them to ease their burdens and their sorrows
And give them the hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Please grant them fortitude and help when they need it
And Lord please strengthen their faith in times that seem fit.
Guide us for trials that come every now and then.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

GANITO KA RIN BA MAG-ENGLISH?

ENTERTAINMENT

Ganito Ka Rin Ba Mag-English?

(To whoever gets to understand this letter, CONGRATULATIONS!)

The following is a letter found at a certain bar in Manila and has been preserved in its original unedited form. Enjoy reading and you may try direct translation in Tagalog, Pls. read with feelings……

October 1996,

To Marije

I am not surprise or wonder why Dennis leave you why? What reason can you think about but you’re very fat body. I thought before that Dennis only use me to his toy but sooner and later I’m realize that he really can’t not beared or stomached to be with you anymore because at first, Dennis say he could not stand you’re habit of making pakialam all his walks (lakad) and always calling to their house what he got home or this or that.

And then he say he get ashame to me either in school or in his family and then asking you to exercise you’re very very, very fat body. But you hate it. Thought you’re the most preetiest girls he knows about. What do you think you are “ BeautifulGirl” of Jose Mari Chan?

Even you are beautiful face (to your think) you do not have the right to called me whatsoever or else difference name one time or the other for the real purposed to insults my personality because I’m never call you names either in the front of Dennis or in the backs of Dennis, but if you start already to calling me different name, I don’t have any other choice but to call you other different name to. Like you are a PIG, FAT, OBESSED, OVERWIGHT, AND UGLY SHAPE girl. Shame to you’re body that is to a BUDING.

You can’t not blame Dennis for exchanging you to me because I am the more sexier that you when you look to us in the mirror. I’m repeat again that you are like Lozada when she is a girl.

Love,

The sexiest Girl of D.M.

P.S.

You say that I’m the bad breathe but who is Dennis want to kissed. Me or you? And the final is me. There you go

         I had a hard time in understanding this letter because it is full of grammatical errors. I had to read it 4 times before I could understand the message that the writer wants to convey. What I understand is that Marije is Dennis' previous lover and the writer is the new one. The writer wants to tell Marije that the reason why Dennis left her was because of her fat body and the writer also compared herself to Marije to prove her point.

This is my revised form of the letter:

ENTERTAINMENT

Ganito Ka Rin Ba Mag-English?

(To whoever gets to understand this letter, CONGRATULATIONS!)

The following is a letter found at a certain bar in Manila and has been preserved in its original unedited form. Enjoy reading and you may try direct translation in Tagalog, Pls. read with feelings……

October 1996,

To Marije

I am not wondering about why Dennis left you. Why? What reason can you think of except your fat body? Before, I thought that Dennis was only using me as his toy but later on, I realized that he can’t bear to be with you anymore. This is because Dennis couldn’t stand your habit of meddling with his social life and your habit of calling his house to ask what time he will come home.

Dennis said that he is ashamed of you in both his school and his family. He also asked you to exercise your fat body but you didn’t want to. Do you think that you’re the prettiest girl he knows? Who do you think you are, the “Beautiful Girl” of Jose Mari Chan?

Even if you think that you have the most beautiful face, you don’t have the right to call me in a different name for the purpose of insulting me because I never called you in a different name in front of Dennis or behind Dennis’ back. But if you start calling me in a different name, I don’t have any other choice but to call you names such as PIG, FAT, OBESE, OVERWEIGHT, and A GIRL WITH AN UGLY SHAPE. Shame on your body that looks like a building.

You can’t blame Dennis for replacing you with me because I am sexier than you when you look at us in a mirror. Again, you are like Lozada when she is a girl.

Love,

The sexiest Girl of D.M.

P.S.

You say that I have bad breathe but who does Dennis want to kiss, you or me? The answer is me. There you go. 

IT'S MORE FUN IN BLOGGING!

               As we all know, a blog is defined as a discussion site that is published on the World Wide Web and contains discrete entries or posts that are displayed in chronological order. People use these blog to express their thoughts and their feelings. To be honest, I didn't know how to use a blog before and I didn't even know what a blog is. I never tried to make one because I didn't like the thought of posting my insights on the internet but I never would've thought that this will all change after coming to Cavite National Science High School.

              Ever since I came to Cavite National Science High School, we were always required to write various topics in our informal theme notebooks such as school celebrations, field trips and many more. We can write them in a form of an essay, a poem, or even a drawing. But when I became a third year student, I was really shocked because we didn't have an informal theme notebook. This was when I found out that third years use blogs as their informal themes. I was really nervous about it at first but after reading a few blogs of previous third year students, I thought that blogging can actually be fun and interesting.

              When I started making my blog, my impression about blogging totally changed. It was actually fun and it helped me improve my computer skills. I was able to express my feelings and insights in an interesting way and it provided me with an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking skills and to employ language and writing principles that demonstrate comprehension. 

               For me, I prefer blogs more than informal theme notebooks because unlike informal theme notebooks, I can add designs and pictures in my blog. It also helps me express myself more and it is suitable for children of my age. Another reason is because more people will be able to read my compositions and they will be able to engage with me by commenting on my blog posts. By sharing my insights on a topic, I can inspire others to make a change in their life or look at a problem from another perspective.

TRANSITION POINT OF MY LIFE

Everyone has gone through different experiences in their lives. These experiences could be the incidents that happened in someone else’s life or in our own. Some people learned lessons from them and some people changed their lives. Like them, I also went through an experience that served as a transition point of my life and has shaped me to who I am today.

Ever since I was a child, I have always been dependent on my parents. I wasn't able to do hardly anything on my own because I didn't have any trust and confidence in my abilities. I was also afraid to fail and commit mistakes but these all changed when I took the entrance exam in Cavite National Science High School.

I never thought that it would be a critical turning point of my life. I was a first year student that time and I was so excited about meeting new teachers and friends.  But after a brief moment of happiness, I was immediately put to the test. We were given a lot of homeworks, projects, and the subjects we encountered were hard. It was a culture shock for me because in elementary school, we were treated like children but here, we were treated like adults. It was really difficult for me to adjust and it almost made me cry but I didn't give up. I took all of these experiences positively and I told myself that I would do my best to accomplish all the given tasks.

This way of thinking made me determined to improve in my studies. Little by little, I became independent and I was able to make decisions for myself.  I gained trust and confidence in my abilities and I also learned how to manage my time in various situations. I realized that I shouldn't be afraid of committing mistakes because success is only achieved when one learns from his or her mistakes.

As a human being, we face various types of situations in life and learn different lessons from them and grow. All of these situations are experiences for us and it is our job to take as much benefit from every experience as we can. Every occasion, no matter how insignificant it may appear, provides us with an opportunity to discover something new and change ourselves for the better.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE.....

          “To be, or not to be" is an opening phrase in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and is probably the most famous line from all literary pieces. This line was spoken by Hamlet on his entry to Act 3 Scene 1, where he questions the meaning of life and whether or not it is meaningful to stay alive when life contains so many obstacles and hardships.

           Just like Hamlet, I also asked myself about life and death. Is it meaningless or is it worthwhile? What if I choose death because I am dissatisfied of my life and the problems it brings? Is death really an undiscovered country from which no traveller returns? All these questions came into my mind when I was 7 years old. I was a grade 1 student at that time and I was always admitted to the hospital because of tonsillitis, an inflammation of the tonsils that is caused by viral or bacterial infection. Initially,we didn't pay much attention to it because we thought it was just simple infection that can be treated by antibiotics. But as time went by, it became worse from once or twice a year, which is the normal episode of having that illness, to once or twice every quarter.

           I experienced having a lot of sore throat, difficulty of swallowing, fever, and chills. It was a very difficult situation for me because every now and then , I was admitted to the hospital, disrupting my normal life at school. Our pediatrician warned us that having this frequent swelling of the tonsils may lead complications to my heart and makes me a candidate for tonsillectomy, a procedure that surgically removes the tonsils. It was a long discussion between my parents because there is no assurance that my life will not be in danger if I undergo the operation. But since the illness got worse and my parents didn't want me to have a heart complication, they decided to gamble.

           I was under a lot of pain and I had a lot of problems in coping up with my schoolwork. This is the time that I asked myself: "What did I do to deserve this? Is life really this harsh? What should I do to go through with this?". My mind was filled with fear and doubts and I even thought that I should just die that time to end all my suffering but my parents told me to be brave and persevere. They told me that I can win this fight and that they will be there to support me. Their words gave me the courage to move forward and fight.

          On the day of the operation, I was really nervous. I didn't know what I should do. My mother stayed with me inside the operating room until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I wasn't able to speak and my parents told me that not being able to speak is normal. They also told me that the operation was a success. I felt so relieved and happy that my suffering has ended.

          After this experience, I realized that life is full of moments of joy, pleasure, success and comfort punctuated by misery, defeat, failures and problems. We shouldn't waste our lives just because there are many obstacles in front of us. Instead, we should face them with courage because these adversities make us strong.Thus, enjoy life but also be prepared to bear the pricks of pain because it is not just a beautiful bed of roses; thorns are also a part of it.    

IN SUCH A SHORT TIME

In such a short time I learned a lot
From all the lessons my teacher had brought
I also had a lot of fun
From all the activities that we had done

Verbals function differently

As a Gerund, it ends in I-N-G

Preceded by to, Infinitive

As Participle, used as adjective

Oh Idiomatic Expressions,

Their meanings are full of confusion!

I need to leave no stone unturned

To understand all the idioms I learned

Sweet Romeo and Juliet

Hid their love from Capulet

Their story finished so unwell,
They killed themselves and sadness fell.

LITTLE PIECES OF KNOWLEDGE

       
             Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be explained in various ways. In my case, I gathered different images related to ICT and made them into a collage. The figure I created is two people shaking their hands while coming out of the laptops. I made this figure because I believe that ICT helps us the greatest in the fields of communication and education through the use of technology. Even though two people are thousand miles apart, they can still talk to each other by using the internet and also because of the internet, students like me will be able to gain new knowledge and improve my skills in computer technology.

           The role of ICT in the education sector plays an important role in the process of empowering technology into  educational activities. It also helps us finish our work faster, promotes equal opportunities to obtain education and information, promotes the use of technology, and helps us communicate with others easily.   

           Because of ICT, I believe that our young generation will get more and more information and knowledge by browsing in the internet and they will greatly improve in the fields of communication and technology.