Tomorrow’s the day!!!

As what I posted on my past text post,  I created a checklist that I should accomplish before the start of Sophomore Year. And here I those!!!

• Post all the major outputs I made last term here on Tumblr
• Fix and segregate the files I have in hand and on my baby
• Watch the movies, The Lucky One and Every Breath You Take
• Find new stuff that I’ll post on my Vision Board

Ohyeahhh! I was able to accomplish all those four! Hihihi!

So, awhile ago, I prepared the things I need for tomorrow - my notebook, etc.! Hihihi!

The 1st Term of my Sophomore Year will start tomorrow! I’m just so excited! First, I’m a CAM student now. Second, I’ll now take my majors. Third, I have two orgs where I will be able to develop my skills more. Fourth, I’m excited to meet my old and new friends! Lastly, I don’t know why, I’m just so excited!!!

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars…

TREDTWO. INTFILM. MASSCOM. WIKAKUL. INTPRIN. INTBROD.

I’m so ready!!!

I’ll own you!

I’m ready to bring out my game face!

Lord God, thank You for the wonderful and awesome Frosh year You gave me. May You continue to bless and guide me as I venture to another year filled with harder challenges and trials where I will be able to bring out the best and worst in me. Lord God, thank You so much. I offer all of my triumphs and defeats for You, my God. To God Be All The Glory. Lord God, also bless and guide my loved ones - my family, my friends, my countrymen. Thank You so much for everything. I love You so much. Amen.

Hello Sophomore Year! Hello Fourth Term! I’m ready to rock and to roll! \m/

KEEP CALM AND BELIEVE YOU CAN

INTFILO: Spiritual Pedagogy Reflection Paper

Here’s one of the four reflection papers I submitted for my INTFILO (Introduction to Philosophy) Course. For this reflection paper, I got 4.0 for this paper! Yeah, bragging rights! Hihihi! So, here’s my paper!

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A school prepares and trains its students to become highly competitive and thoroughly ready to face a bigger world. A school offers holistic education which simultaneously  works on the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of the students that seeks to have a balance among the four components. It is a complete and whole  package which forms the human being.

I am lucky to have the opportunity to graduate both Primary and Secondary Education in a private sectarian school, a school owned by a religious organization, which molded me to become the person who am I today. Since I graduated in a private sectarian school, it has different activities which helped the students to become closer with the Almighty through the Morning Prayers, Daily Reflections, First Friday Masses, and the yearly Recollection and Retreat. But what about the students who study in a public and private non-sectarian schools where there are no religious activities prepared for them… through the spiritual pedagogy, all of the students, whether a student is from a public or private school, will have the chance to have a personal relationship with the Almighty.

According to the paper, there are three important elements that a spiritual pedagogy must have. First is the promotion of authentic values. I remember back when I was in Grade School, our class, together with our class adviser, prepared a skit regarding the value of self-reliance which we presented during the morning ceremony. Prior to the day of our presentation, we talked and discussed what is the value about and how can we transmit the message of our value in a way that will catch their attention. This implies that through the creative skits prepared and presented by the students and the teacher allowed other students to visualize and envisage the value presented to them which they could apply for the rest of their lives. On the other hand, when I was in High School, consistently, a value for the month was presented by the Campus Ministry Coordinator during the first Monday of the month wherein he told the connection of the value for the month to the core values and teachings of our school and the indications that every administrator, teacher and student must do in order for us to follow the footsteps of the founder of our school. We also have a promise board wherein we, students, can write the simplest things we would like to do in order for us to live the value for the month. We were also told that even though the value of the month is already done, we should keep on doing what was told for the betterment of ourselves. Through these skits and values for the month, it greatly helped the students, as well as the administrators, teachers, and employees, to understand the values presented to them and I am really hoping that all schools will have these kinds of activities like the value presentation through the skits and the monthly value for the month, whether in a public or private school.

Second is the education of emotions. Ecstatic, delighted, pleased, exhausted, upset, and lost are some of the emotions that a person feels which depends on the intensity of their feelings. As what I stated earlier, the emotional aspect is a part of the holistic education which helps to maintain a balance among the four aspects. The emotional intelligence quotient of a student is important for the students for we, people, are emotional beings who feel different emotions every single day. It is as important as the intelligence quotient of a student for both are needed, as well as the two other aspects, to be successful in life. Just like in the case of a student with great intellect, who has the highest CGPA in his batch; but he does not know how to control his emotions and feelings, his intellect is somehow useless. There should be a balance between the two aspects. At some point, that student needs the help and comfort of other people who will help him grow as an individual

And lastly is the sense of social awareness and responsibility among the students. As what was stated in the paper, spiritual pedagogy helps the students to become socially aware with the things happening around them which will trigger the students’ responsibility in being the change they want to see.

These three things will be made possible by the teachers, professors and educators who mold the students to become the persons of tomorrow. They will be their second parents, their guide, and their mentor. Being a teacher, professor, or an educator is an exceptional profession for they manage to handle their students all at the same time; unlike  other professionals who can only attend one client at a time. According to my teacher, seeing their past student as a successful person is one of the greatest gifts their profession can give them. They teach minds; they touch hearts; and they transform lives…. with the help of the Almighty, they can make it happen.

TREDONE Church Involvement: Journey of Learning

One of the major requirements of TREDONE was to render 10 hours of service in your Parish/Church for you to pass this course. I rendered my service in a St. Pancratius Parish, the Parish where our Chapel belongs. Here are the things that I learned and realized throughout those 5 weeks of service!

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Church involvement is not new for me. Back when I was in 4th year high school, Church Involvement is a part of the Civic Welfare Training Program of our school. Prior to the day I started my Church Involvement, I went to our Parish to ask for their permission if I could render 10 hours of Church Involvement and luckily our Parish accepts students who will serve the Church. I was assigned to be a Clinic Volunteer for the first week. The Clinic Head briefed me on what should I do like what to write on the patients’ information sheet, on how would I get their weight, height, temperature, and the history of their condition and the like. The Clinic head informed me about the different activities and programs the clinic is giving their parishioners every week like every 3rd Sunday of the month there is a Dental Mission. When I went to the medicines’ storage area, there were very few medicines on the closet. The clinic head told me that the government is not consistent in providing medicines and medical supplies for their clinic. I think they should not solely base the supplies of the medicines on the government, but they, too, should also do their part and understand that their clinic is only one of the thousands of clinics our country have. Good thing, a person with a good heart donated medicines to the clinic that somehow gave life to the storage area. With the patients I handled, most of them were children who have colds and cough. This made me realize how health is important for us and the need of our countrymen the access to free and quality healthcare. For the second up to the fourth week, I was tasked to be in the Educational Assistance Program of the Parish that allowed me to share the knowledge and skills I have with the kids. The second week was special to me because I was assigned to teach an old woman that despite her age she wanted to learn the basics of mathematics, reading and writing. Before I started teaching her, she told me the back-story why she would like to study. The reason is that she, together with her business partner, had a growing business but, sadly, her business partner deceived her. She already knew how to count and how to read a letter but she’s having a hard time reading words. I taught her how to read the words but still, with the limited time, I was not able to teach her that much. I salute her for her desire to know the basics of school things despite of age. I agree with the cliché saying, “If there’s a will, there’s a way” which greatly depicts the pursuance of the old woman to learn. No barriers will be a hindrance if one strongly believes in the power and capabilities one has. On the next few weeks, just what I did in our home-based tutorial in our NSTP - CWTS, I taught the kids who are on the Primary and Secondary Education. When they attend the Educational Assistance Program, they are given P100 for Grade School students while P150 for the High School Students. The money given to them is, really, a big help for the student and their family but sadly some of them are not attending the Educational Assistance Program every Sunday. Most of them are having a hard time understanding Math. For example they saw a big number in the equation, they will immediately say “Ang hirap naman nito, Kuya.” On my part, as much as I want to give them easy problems and equations, I want them to realize that they really need to go through that part in order for them to learn, for them to realize that they should experience hardships in order for the to gain the success they are aiming for, which I hope they learned from me.

PERSEF1: Advocacy Poster and Reflective Paper

So our PERSEF1 (Personal Effectiveness Program 1) course, Advocacy Poster and Reflective Paper were our two major outputs. The Advocacy poster was by group while reflective paper was by individual. I was the one who did the layout for our advocacy poster! Sorry, didn’t have enough creative juices at that time. Here’s the poster:

Hanngang Kailan Pilipinas? Kilos na tungo sa bayang malusog at masagana!

On the other hand, here’s my reflective paper! You’ll also get to know more of myself through this paper!

A school prepares and trains its students to become highly competitive and thoroughly ready to face a bigger world. I am lucky to have the opportunity to graduate both Primary and Secondary Education in a private sectarian school, a school owned by a religious organization, which helped me, together with my family, peer groups, and media, to mold the person who am I today. I remember back when I was in Grade School, Good Morals and Right Conduct (GMRC) class was a part of the curricula of our school. For six years, this class taught me to do this and no to do that, what is right and what is wrong. On the other hand, when I was in High School, I had Homeroom and Guidance Sessions. It tackled on the personal and emotional areas of our life. Now that I am in college, De La Salle University offers their students the course, Personal Effectiveness Foundation (PERSEF), which tackles about the different things that will be beneficial for us, Lasallians, while we are still in the four walls DLSU and when we leave the premises of this institution.

            A thread is a long, thin, strand of cotton, nylon, or other fibers used in sewing or weaving. I will compare myself to a thread. In college, I know the competition to stand out is really hard. Just like a thread, in order to start sewing or weaving, I am focused to pass through that eye of a needle in order for me to achieve my goals in life.  I can never achieve something, if I will not experience hardships or trials. I must exert effort, extra effort, to pass through that eye of a needle for me to reach and achieve my goals. When I already pass through that eye of a needle, I will be able to continue what I did and serve my purpose, which is to create beautiful and useful outputs like clothes and textile arts and crafts. The thread can’t be made into those outputs without the needle. In this sense, I will also not achieve my goals without the help other people, the people who are always there to give their support whenever I experience triumphs or hardships. Whenever my Mom cooks morcon, I always notice that she always uses a thread to secure the fillings inside the beef. She boiled the morcon until the beef and its sauce is ready. Despite the temperature experienced by the thread, it is still there with the beef. To compare myself to the thread, despite the “pressure” and the “heat” of college life, I know I can survive because of the purpose I have which is to hold on to that “dream” which is to be successful in life.

There is nothing permanent except change. Nothing in this world is permanent except change. The only constant is change. Change alone is unchanging. Whatever variant translations it may have, change is inevitable. Suddenly our interests change, our body, our moods, our feelings, our fate, we graduated high school, we go to college and all that, it is really amazing how fast it is. As we grow up, we realize that change is truly inevitable.

January 3, 2011, an epic day I will never ever forget; it was the day DLSU released the results for the Freshman Admissions Test. I am so privileged that they accepted me in the school dreamt by many; although I was only accepted in my second choice which is AB Philippine Studies Major in Filipino in Mass Media. I really want to get accepted in my first choice which is AB Communication Arts. Even though I was still uncertain about that course, I still chose to continue molding my future in DLSU. Every third term, DLSU allowed the froshies to apply to shift internally or externally. So, I applied to shift internally to AB Communication Arts and fortunately, I got accepted in my dream course. Just like a thread which sometimes get disjointed to the needle, I still tried my best to get into my dream course despite the things that blocked my way to achieve my goal.  I know it’ll be hard for me to adjust to my new course, the unfamiliar environment, the new faces and the more challenging courses but I know I can make it because of the passion, dedication, and commitment I have with this course. Since I got accepted in my dream course, even though I’m not yet a member, I took the chance to apply as an officer in the professional organization of Communication Arts, Team Communication and luckily, I got accepted. From being a Philippine Studies major, I am now a Communication Arts major. From the person who does not have an organization, I am now a part of the Promotions Team of Team Communication. Changes happen, for better or for worse, we just have to accept the fact that it exists.

PERSEF1 greatly helped me in the circumstances I have today. Since I am a frosh, this course helped me to blend more with college life. During one of our sessions, the Law of Attraction was introduced to me. This Law of Attraction greatly helped me to believe in myself more, to be more optimistic in life. I even created customized wallpaper for my phone which has “Keep Calm and Believe You Can” in it that every time I see my phone I am reminded that I can do everything, achieve anything, by believing in myself. I also created a vision board containing the things I want to have, to experience, when I am already at the right age.  In the days where we need to study for this, compose an essay for that, shoot and edit         a video for this, and all that, with the help of the Almighty and by believing that I can do all of those, I can sustain all the stresses, pressures, and hassles college life are giving me. As a Servant Leader of Team Communication for Lasallians and the Filipinos, I will be able to use the leadership virtues and styles this course taught me that will be applied when we implement the projects we are planning next academic year and also in the years to come. This will allow me to step out of my comfort zones and be more confident with heads up high bringing the lessons and virtues this course taught me.

I will always remember this line, in De La Salle University, The Future Begins Here… yes, it starts here but it doesn’t assure you that it is here. It depends on our hands if we will make it or not. It is not about letting the “Law of Attraction” do its job, but I, too, should do my part in creating my future. I can do this with the help and guidance of the Almighty God and the people around me who motivate me to bring out the best in myself.

NTROPSY Autobiographical Essay: School

For our final output, my NTROPSY (Introduction to Psychology) professor tasked us to create a 15-paragraph autobiographical essay from the three topics she gave us. I chose school. I don’t know why most of my outputs for this term was all about school! Please have time to read this, you’ll surely know more of me! Here it is!

*By the way, this essay contains grammatical errors. I wasn’t able to save the final file because I proofread it in a computer shop near our school and I was in a hurry back then.

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The people and activities in school.

A school prepares and trains its students to become highly competitive and thoroughly ready to face a bigger world. More than just preparing its students to deal with challenges independently, a school molds and crafts its students to drive through any barriers with excitement, decorum and integrity. A school offers holistic education which simultaneously works on the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of the students that seeks to have a balance among the four components. I am privileged to have the opportunity to graduate both Primary and Secondary Education in a private sectarian school, a school owned by a religious organization, which gave me the chance to encounter and interact with the teachers, the course activities and the peer groups that helped me mold the person who am I today.

The Educators. The teachers, professors and educators mold the students to become the persons of tomorrow. They are considered our second parents, our guide, our mentor, and our friend whenever we are in school. Back then, I used to say this line “I will not ace our Mathematics subject because I hate Math and Math hates me too!” Because of this, I seek help to my Algebra teacher; she helped me to overcome my fear with numbers, and now with letters. My teacher slowly taught me that I should not over think whenever I see these kinds of equations (21x2 - 35x2) / 7x. Since I asked for my teacher’s assistance regarding the subject matter, this instance allowed me to seek help to my teachers, not only in academic subjects but also in life, whenever I do not understand a lesson, I need to clarify something or I need advice regarding a particular matter. I underwent different ventures and struggles that motivated me to become the person who am I today. Back when I was in Grade School, I became close to my teachers. During our breaks, I, together with my other classmates, ate with our adviser which allowed us to become closer to each other, and share laughter and stories together. They have an exceptional profession for they manage to handle their students all at the same time; unlike other professionals who can only attend one client at a time. According to my teacher, seeing their past student as a successful person is one of the greatest gifts their profession can give them. They teach minds; they touch hearts; and they transform lives…. with the help of the Almighty, they can make it happen.

The course activities. Make a reflection, reaction, and research paper for this, make a presentation for this, make an advocacy poster for that, shoot a documentary video for this, edit a short film for that, study for a long, very long exam for this, prepare a speech for that. Those are some of the course activities and requirements that a student from the College of Liberal Arts always does. Those above-mentioned course activities and requirements serve as training for our future jobs. What makes us stand out from other students is that we, Lasallians, can produce a quality work in a short span of time since DLSU has trimestral system. I look into this in a positive psychology perspective wherein optimism is the key in order for me to survive the struggles, hardships, and hassles each course is giving me.  During the 2^nd Term of this academic year, for me, was the most stressful term I ever had during my entire stay in DLSU. For our finals, we need to present three different videos in three different courses in one day and I need to pass the final draft of my research paper for my ENGLRES class the next day. All the stresses and hassles I experienced during that term, finding a video editor for our videos, shooting videos, going to Pasig River to shoot and interview people, making references, non-ending revision for my research paper and all that, were all worth it because of the help and support my peer groups gave me.

The Peer groups. Peer groups or cliques or barkada, whatever you call it, are important to the social constructs of students (Orlandi, 2005). The jocks, the posh, the preppies, the musicians, the computer geeks and all that are some the peer groups which various studies have shown to affect not only emotional stability, but also academic performance. Peer groups will form on the basis of many different factors including “appearance, athletic ability, academic achievement, social or economic status, talent, ability to attract the opposite sex, or seeming sophistication,” (Espejo, 2002). School life would not be as fun, amusing and enjoyable without the presence of the authentic school barkada. For me, friends are like M&M’s, each one has their own color, some are alike, but each one is unique and special. Not all your so-called friends are really your friends. I have a set of friends which is consisted by different personalities, funny, brainy, chill, posh, addicted to computer games, and such, by which would somehow complete the puzzle I’m completing. I do not care if you’re like this or like that, if you’re popular or not, if you’re brainy or funny; as long as you accept who I was, who I am, and who will I be, as long as you care. Back when I was in High School, I had two peer groups whom I can share my ups and downs with, share endless stories with them and share the corny jokes I have. Whenever one of us needs help or what, we always give a helping hand to our friend in need, how small or big his problems are. What also keeps this particular group of friends always successful with their academics is that they serve as resources for one another, revealing ways to improve (Blanton, Buunk, Gibbons & Kuyper, 1999). I remember, our friend was hospitalized due to dengue fever, since our quarter exam was already approaching, when she was discharged in the hospital, not only we gave her the necessary things she needed but also we spent a day to teach her the lessons and skill-building activities she missed. Even though we are now taking different paths and endeavors, one thing is for sure, we will always be there whenever our friend needs help in life, academics, or even in love life.

My teachers, course activities, and peer groups greatly help me to become a better person. I seek help to my teachers whenever I do not understand the lesson or if I need to clarify something. The course activities, given by the teachers, give me struggles, hardships and hassles yet, at the same time, those activities allow me to develop and to nurture my strengths, skills, and talents for my future job.  Belonging to a peer group enables one to get support, help, and companionship which is needed to grow as an individual. Those three were under the umbrella of the school, the place that started it all.

The school where you experience difficulties, successes and its role in your future.

A school like De La Salle University offers holistic education which simultaneously works on the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of the students that seeks to have a balance among the four components. It gives the students the opportunity to bring out the best they can possibly be. Maslow (1943) referred to this as the “self-actualization” wherein “…It is the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.” For the physical aspect, a school has physical education courses or subjects that aims the students to be physically fit. For the psychological aspect, a school offers counseling programs and personality tests that allow to the students to get to know themselves more. For the spiritual aspect, a private sectarian school has different activities that help the students to become closer with the Almighty through the Morning Prayers, Daily Reflections, First Friday Masses, and the yearly Recollections and Retreats. Just like in any other things on earth, a student experiences difficulties and successes and he also acknowledges the role school plays in molding the person he wanted to be.

The Difficulties. We, Filipinos, are known for our incomparable faith and relationship to God. Sta Maria, Reyes, Mansukhani & Garo-Santiago (2009) stated that the spirituality, according to the participants, pertains to the faith and relationship they have with God. January, February, and March are the months the colleges and universities in the Philippines usually release the results of the admission exams and entrance tests.  I made so much preparations for those examinations, my parents enrolled me in a review center and they also bought another reviewer for me to be ready with those entrance examinations. I applied in University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, and University of Santo Tomas. Prior to the day of my examination, I attended Mass and fervently prayed to my God that whatever He has planned for me, I will accept it with all my heart, giving Him all the trust and faith I have.  For me, DLSU had the hardest entrance exam and they were also the first university that released the results. January 3, 2011, an epic day I will never ever forget; it was the day DLSU released the results of the College Admissions Test. I am so privileged that they accepted me in the school dreamt by many; although I was only accepted in my second choice which is AB Philippine Studies Major in Filipino in Mass Media. On the other hand, when University of Santo Tomas released the results, I was redirected to the course that I do not like. For University of the Philippines, I did not make it to reach the quota of the course I want. I regarded this instance not in a pessimistic point of view, but on the other side of the coin, optimism and happiness, as on the Positive Psychology perspective. Since I gave my faith and trust to my God, I know He put me in De La Salle University for a reason, for me to grow, for me to be better.  I did not concentrate on the thing why I did not pass those universities; I focused on being happy with what God gave me and what I achieved.

The Successes. As what I said earlier, make a reflection, reaction, and research paper for this, make a presentation for this, make an advocacy poster for that, shoot a documentary video for this, edit a short film for that, study for a long, very long exam for this, prepare a speech for that, are some of the things that a student from the College of Liberal Arts always does. According to my SPEECOM (Oral Communication/ Advanced Speech Class) professor, one of the top phobias people have is glossophobia or speech anxiety which means fear of public speaking; I am a proud member of the glossophobic people. In my ENGLCOM (Basic Communication and Study Skills) course which I took during the 1^st term of this academic year, my first-ever activity was public speaking. Our professor tasked us to make a symbolism about “The Self You Are” and “The Self You Want To Be”. I was freaking out back then because of that instance. This third term, I took the course which focuses on public speaking, SPEECOM. I was really motivated to bring out the best in me, to take that phobia away, in order to pass and have a decent grade in this course, furthermore, it is for my future job which needs a lot of talking and speaking to different kinds of people everyday. SPEECOM has three major public speaking activities namely Impromptu Speech, Informative Speech and Panel Discussion. When I was making my informative speech, I used the elaboration and more importantly, organization skills to make my speech more clear to the audience. Prior to the day of my presentation, I rehearsed the things I will say, again and again, until I master my speech. The expectancy-value theory, a cognitive approach to motivation, stresses that the probability of occurrence of behavior depends upon individuals’ perception of the value of a goal as well as their expectation of reaching it (“Psychology: Cognitive perspective,” 2012). This theory greatly describe the way how I was motivated to bring out the best in my public speaking skills, how I developed my vision to leave my comfort zone.

The role of the school in a student’s future. The school plays a big role in crafting and molding a person’s future. The school teaches us how to be like this and not to be like that, how to do this and not the way to do that, this is right and that is wrong, and such. As we all know, a person who has a high school and/or college diploma will somehow have a brighter future; although there are some people were not able to graduate high school and/or college but managed to be successful in life. The school served as our training grounds for us to be better in our own respective fields. In my case, as a Communication Arts major, the school teaches the basic and the complex things needed for my future job which is to work in media-related companies as a director, writer, photographer, and the like. During our PERSEF1 (Personal Effectiveness) Class, our professor uttered this line “In De La Salle University, The Future Begins Here… yes, it begins here but it does not assure you that it is here.” It depends on our hands, our choices, our intelligence, our knowledge, our upbringing, and our luck, if we will make it or not. I cannot do this with the help of other people. I can do this with the help and guidance of the Almighty God and the people around me who motivate me to bring out the best in myself.

The school, the place that started it all, is the place where I, as a student, am able to bring out the worst and best in myself. The school allows me to experience difficulties, which I view in a positive psychology perspective, to motivate me to improve on that matter until my good becomes better. The school allows me to be motivated, through my flaws and difficulties, to bring out the best in me with the challenges academic life are giving me. The school allows me to recognize its role in helping me create, craft, and mold my future.

School for a better you.

The school that served as our second home, our playground, and our training ground helps us to fully develop our potentials to be the person we did not imagine we could possibly be.  First, it develops our social skills where we are able to meet and mingle with students from all walks of life who become our friends and peers. Second, it nurtures our personal skills where it can bring out the hidden talents and skills.  Lastly, by developing a person’s social and personal skill, that person will serve as an inspiration for other people to do good not only in school but also in life.

The Social Skills. The school is the place where I can develop my social skills. Since a person spent almost twelve years of one’s life in school, friendships that are found in school can provide a rich and meaningful context for youth to develop self-determination, leisure, academic and other valuable life skills (Carter, Swedeen & Kurkowski, 2008). Self-determination greatly helps a student in doing a better job in his studies. Back when I was in High School, I am determined to do better in school because most of my friends are in the honor roll, this instance greatly motivated me to do my best in every thing that I do. As an extrovert, doing your favorite past time can be more fun and enjoyable if you do it with your friends. Since we love to play volleyball during our breaks, this instance greatly allow me to both develop my social skills and to improve on it as well.  Support systems are extremely help the student to be more motivated and to do his best in school activities that lead to the improvement of one’s personal skills.

The Personal Skills. The school is a venue where a student can improve one’s personal skills. It is a venue where one can bring out the hidden talents and skills one have. During the English Month of my Senior Year, one of the contests was to make a “Nightmare Before Christmas” play where I was appointed as the director of the play. Since I am more on the technical side, I was able to bring out the creative juices I had been keeping since the last play I directed back when I was still a freshman. This instance greatly allowed me be more responsible, resourceful, and open-minded. Since I was the director and the overall in-charge of our play, I motivated myself to become more responsible from the script to the blockings to the rehearsals to the props and everything, even for the simplest details. I was also motivated to become more resourceful for our class’ sake. For the finale of our play, I, together with my classmate, we created the dance steps for Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You which showed the unity, happiness, and friendship among us. Luckily and blessed, we won 3^rd Place. All of the hardships and stresses I encountered were all worth it for it paved way to the development of my hidden talents, skills, and creative juices and I served as a role model for other people.

Inspiration to other people. Being a good student in school will inspire other people to do good as well. Back when I was in High School, I was in the Honor roll every quarter and every Recognition Day; I annually went up the stage to receive my medal for being a Deportment Awardee. Since I find mathematics a hard subject, my classmate taught me techniques on how I can solve the equation correctly; since that friend of mine finds English a hard subject, I taught him techniques on how he can understand and deduce the meaning of the stories and novels. In this case, my friend and I have a mutual relationship wherein we help each other whenever we cannot understand a particular lesson in school. This allows all of us can inspire other people to do good in school, as well as in real life, despite the flaws one have. 

Academic life is a journey, a journey where all of us experienced this. The journey we are taking started from a sunny, straight, perfect road. As time passes by, that journey continues to go along, a journey where we meet the people who transform our lives – the educators and our peer groups who nurtures, cultivates, and develops our journey; a journey that allows us to experience the fun yet challenging activities that dares us to bring out our potentials. As the journey gets more complex, the journey experiences a stormy, uneven, imperfect road. This journey is still continued despite the difficulties that hindered us to continue with this journey. There may be difficulties, but there are also successes that give us a reason to keep going, our successes. These successes facilitates a more wondrous journey ahead for it allows us to realize its role when reach the end of this journey. As the journey gets longer, that journey enables us to develop our social and personal skills which will be useful when I divert to a broader, more comprehensive road. With all the difficulties and success I underwent, I will serve as a role model for other people to continue their journey.  This journey molds my personhood, for me to be better. This journey molds and crafts me to drive through any barriers with excitement, decorum and integrity. I am still a few more kilometers until I divert to a broader, more comprehensive road where I will be able to use the learning and experiences I learned throughout my journey.

References

Blanton, H., Buunk, B., Gibbons, F. & Kuyper, H. (1999). When Better-Than-Others Compare Upward: Choice of Comparison and Comparative Evaluation as Independent Predictors of Academic Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 420-430.

Carter, E. W., Swedeen, B., & Kurkowski, C. (2008). Friendship matters: Fostering social relationships in secondary schools. 9. Retrieved from https:// www.waisman.wisc.edu/naturalsupports/pdfs/TASH_Friendship_Matters_2008.

Espejo, R. “Introduction.” Teen Issues: America’s Youth. Retrieved November 20, 2005, from eNotes Web site: http://www.enotes.com/americas-youth-article/41233.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 50, 370-96.

Orlandi, L. (2005). Cliques - a vicious cycle in high school life. Retrieved October 19, 2005, from NewsTribune online Web site: http://www.csuchico.edu/~pkittle/102/stargirl/cliques.html.

Psychology: Cognitive perspective. (2012, April 9). Retrieved from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Cognitive-Perspective.topicArticleId-25438,articleId-25361.html

Sta. Maria, M. A., Reyes, M. L., Mansukhani, R., & Garo-Santiago, M. A. (2009). Expectations and resources in different contexts of development: Towards positive developmental outcomes among filipino youth. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 42(2), 157.

DLSU: NSTP-CTWS Term End Report: Nutrition Program of A70

So, for our NSTP-CWTS, our class, A70, had four major projects for our Partner Organization, we had, Home-Based Tutorial, Mini Library, Bagong Barrio Got Talent and our very own, Nutrition Program! Hihihi! Btw, I was the one who layout this magazine-style report. So, have a glace on what were the things our group did in Bagong Barrio!

We miss Baranggay 150, Bagong Barrio! Hihihi! :D