Sunday, October 30, 2011

It All Starts Here

One thing for sure, if I received the payment of my project, I'd surely buy anything that I wanted (or otherwise, I'd save it). IDK but the fact that I'm already earning makes me feel proud. Now I can travel all I want, buy my own grocery items and a whole lot more. Can't hardly wait!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Tres Is Equal to Uno

Since grade school until the very last day of my high school life, I've always been an achiever. Like any other 'traditional' achievers, we always believe that grades measure one's intelligence. I'd do almost everything that would just make my grades high. I have never experience failure, until I entered college.

Life in the university was really difficult. Meeting new friends wasn't really that hard but meeting the demands and high standards of my professors was really excruciatingly hard. If there's one particular moment of my life that I would change, I'd definitely go back to the time when I made a promise to myself that my lowest grade should be 2.00. I'd probably tell my old self to straighten up your thoughts and be more open-minded!

In the first three semesters of my university life, I would always set high goals in all of my subjects - to have a grade of 1.00. I always did my best, really. I even made a sacrifice of not downloading and watching the latest episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural or The Big Bang Theory. I even tried not to watch the local news because I would always think that it's just a waste of time. Wrong move, dude. Even at weekends, I'm always stuck with loads of readings to review, books to read, problem sets to solve and laboratory reports to submit. What a bitter life you have, dude. Eventually I grew exhausted and became lazy weeks before the most dreaded week of the university - the finals week aka hell week. Sometimes I do not exert extra effort prior the finals week most especially if I already knew that I passed a certain subject. Basta matapos na ang lahat, matikman ko na ang inaasam kong freedom, which is the semestral break. Soon after, regrets would start to fill my subconscious mind. A lot of "what if" thoughts would invade my mind. What if I scored higher in my finals? My grade should have been 1.25 instead of 1.75. What if I got 100 in my first long exam? My GWA should have been 1.39000 instead of 1.46000.

In the end, I became dissatisfied and frustrated.  Thus I changed my mentality... and I didn't regret it.

I just realized that what really matters the most is the experience and not just that mere numerical value. I just remembered when my BIO 140 (Evolutionary Biology) professor gave the results of our first long exam. Almost everyone in the class failed the exam, including me. I got a very low 25/100 for that particular exam. I just laughed about my result but deep inside, to tell you the truth, I was hurt. Imagine burning my eyebrows every night for two weeks for this exam and I only got that score. So for the subsequent exams, we exerted extra effort because at that point we already figured that our best was NOT good enough, well based from the standards of our professor. In the end, I got a grade 3.0. Pasang awa, yes, but I knew that I worked hard for it and I felt this genuine euphoria after I received my class card.

It doesn't mean that a student is already intelligent if he gets the highest grade or a student is dumb and indolent if he gets a grade of three, four or five. Every grade has different stories to tell. No, not excuses but real stories on how they suffered and made a lot of sacrifices.

Although I still try my best but I learned to become contented with all the results and outcome of my work. More so, I had a happier disposition in life. Although grades do play an important role in the life of students, they should realize that life shouldn't just revolve with these numerical values. Indeed, there's MORE TO LIFE than grades!

In the end, grades will never dictate of who you are. It should not steal your real identity.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Reunion of Saved Babies

Every first week of October, we celebrate the National Newborn Screening week (Presidential Proclamation 540, signed January 2004). And as a volunteer of VYLH (Volunteer Youth Leaders for Health), I did some volunteer works at the hospital, telling people (especially the pregnant moms) to screen their babies 24-72 hrs after birth in order to detect genetic disorders and treat them before it's too late. 

Several volunteers across the country have their own perks and activities during the National Newborn Screening Week. From the simplest act of distributing pink brochures and giving free lectures about the campaign to the grandiose Pink Day Campaign initiated by Joan Barredo of Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Some of my co-volunteers, like Chessa Chan and her friends even ventured to the far-flung barangays and health centers of Iligan City to relay the pertinent information about the importance of New Born Screening.

The Pink Campaign led by Joan Barredo of Ateneo de Zamboanga City

NBS Campaign at Iligan City led by Chessa Chan


It was such a fulfilling activity, knowing that we have actually saved lives.

I have been an active volunteer of VYLH for more than a year already and I can say that I have a learned A LOT from it.

In line with the NBS Week, the New Born Screening Center Mindanao together with the volunteers of Region 11 conducted its first Reunion of Saved Babies activity held at Abreeza Ayala Mall, Davao City.


Saturday, October 01, 2011

I Couldn't Ask For More

Ever since, I lot of people have been asking (or shall I say bugging me) on why I am still not romantically link to someone even if I'm already on the right age.

Well, I ask the same question too. Why?

I don't know, but I feel that I am already blessed. I am lucky that I belong to a loving family who supports my endeavors. I am lucky that I have a great set of friends. I am lucky that I am skillful to a lot of things. I believe that everything has given to me and I couldn't ask for more.

Maybe that's the reason why I am still single. No big deal, doesn't really matter. I am not in a hurry to look for my compatible mate. I am just... I am just...

waiting for a beautiful girl, basta kamukha ni Anne Curtis or ni Kim-Tae Hee.