In the Middle-of-the-Road (Blog 4.4)

                People say that high school life is the best part of every body’s life. They say that once you step in college, you will never ever forget your best memories in high school. Those first love, heart break, best friends, teachers, enemies and even the people surrounding you. Well maybe that’s true.

                After three years of studying, I’m half-way out the door in our school. Yes, half since I need to study three more years in high school because K-12 curriculum says so. But the question is, ”Why do I need to continue studying in our school?”

                This question is really hard to answer, seriously. But as I was longing for the answers, I realized so many things. First of all, I need to continue this challenge because I started this. I was the one who chose to be here in this school. Second, this school already imparted a lot of things in me as an individual. This school made me realize that I can do the things which I thought impossible for me to do. This school made me feel that I have a second family.

                I’m accepting the fact that studying isn’t easy. As a student of Cavite National Science High School, life hasn’t been easy to me. But I cannot deny to myself that I found my happiness there. I found friends who are truly great and very reliable in everything. I met some cool teachers who are like just our “barkada” also. I like how most of them teach like we’re just hanging out. And I also cannot deny that without them, I don’t think that the knowledge inside my head wouldn’t be the same.

                But the fact that our batch is the first one to experience the K-12 curriculum, I don’t think so that this curriculum really helped me in shaping me as an individual. Maybe the lessons I can get from the experiences that I am experiencing inside the school are the real effective way on how I can find myself but not really in academic way. Honestly speaking, I do prefer the curriculum before. Well maybe, K-12 can help the youths but not in our batch. We sometimes feel that people are just using us to know if the lessons/modules that they are giving are effective tool for the student to learn. And another thing is, every school year, we are receiving modules when it is already in last quarter. It is too hard for us to produce our own copy since we do have some problems financially. Three years has passed, same thing has just happened.

                I’m still hoping for big changes. 

The Fallen Heroes (Blog 4.3)

“January 30 2015, marks the day the whole Philippines mourned for The Fallen 44.”

            As a Filipino citizen of this beloved country, I also want to give my greatest salute to the “Fallen 44”. They served as a great heroes and leaders of this nation.

            They died not just because of the incident but because of their bravery in attempting to arrest the Malaysian terrorist   Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan” and Filipino militant Abdul Basit Usman in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. I do believe that this death is real worth it for the country in giving peace.

            As I was searching about the other’s story of this, I found this tumblr post...

“Right now I am dead. My body is riddled with bullets. My heart was punctured, my brain obliterated, and my soul is now wandering and wondering.
My blood is all over the marshes of Mamasapano, and slowly trickling down into the hands of those who betrayed me.
I am now lifeless. My family is now fatherless and brotherless, and this government has one less personnel to worry about.
I am dead, not because I want to, but because I have to. I am dead, not for my sake but for the sake of peace, and for the sake of everyone in this country.
I am dead because I followed an order. Just like that. As what was said in a movie about soldiers, I follow orders, or people die. In my case, I was the one who ended up dead.
I am dead because an armed struggle cannot be resolved. I am dead because there are dangers lurking in our midst, and I have to be used to shield everyone else against that danger.
I am dead because my leaders say I have to be dead, in order for their greed and ambition to remain alive. I have to die mercilessly and senselessly, because somebody up in our chain of command must live irresponsibly and shamelessly.
Am I the only one who died? Perhaps not. Even truth, decency, nobility and the sense of responsibility also died with me. These values are now dead as well, their importance punctured, their worth obliterated, and their meaning now wandering and wondering.
I am dead, and I am now silenced forever. But when you look into my remains, know that I am screaming, that I am shouting, that I am clamoring for the truth to come out!
I can no longer speak. But my death is more than enough message. Maybe I did not die in vain. Maybe with my demise, my countrymen will rise. I hope my death becomes a springboard for action. I hope not to become just a statistic, not just a body count, not just collateral damage, and not just a casualty of war.
I hope my death would make a difference.
I hope my death would bring change.
With my departure, I hope my fellowmen will become aware, and will be awaken from their stupor of indifference and discord.
Because now that I am dead, it is up to you to keep my cause alive.”

(Source: http://ohmeshed.tumblr.com/post/109634479006/right-now-i-am-dead-my-body-is-riddled-with)

And with this post, I realized that I must not waste their lives for nothing. Maybe something in me can make others inspired by their story and let the change in this world begin.

Again, I salute you, FALLEN 44!