THE RETREAT

On a Friday night, my parents kept bugging me on what I should bring to our class’ retreat the next day. I did not have the excitement of a teenager to eagerly prepare for the coming day. I was busy complying the 26 articles for the Blog project to be uploaded on a Wednesday. Catching a glimpse of the clock, it read 11:30 pm, and still I am awake. My eyes are so painful already and I want to sleep but there are so many things to worry about. I am a graduating student in high school and in a given short time I want to finish all the requirements the teachers are demanding for the clearance. I felt like screaming out all my frustrations. I am all stressed out. Should I still attend the retreat or should I utilize the time for working on my requirements? I did not know what to do. My parents still bugged me on packing this and that for the retreat. I guess that was it. I guess I should join the retreat to take the time off because lately I have been so busy doing this and that. I guess I should stop awhile and think of myself. Okay, I will join the retreat.

The next day I arrived at school at around 8 am with my mother who came along to help me carry my things. My classmates had already arrived bringing with them their things. A little while later, my mom went home and we were told to move to the classroom of IV- Tan. There we were told to answer a questionnaire on predicting outcomes of events that could possibly happen to teenagers like us. Afterwards, we were told to share our answers to our other classmates. Then, we had a briefing on what people do on a retreat.

The next thing we did was the part that I enjoyed best. It was called “Positive Stroking” I think. We were divided into two groups. The first group were told to form a circle and sit and close their eyes. The second group of students were told to whisper positive things about the person they are whispering to. While listening to people whisper all the positive things about me, I felt like crying, I was indeed very happy. It felt like my self- esteem boosted up so high. Then we loaded the jeepney and rode all the way to Banawa, Labangon where a major part of the retreat was to be conducted.

We arrived at around 2 pm. The place was marvellous! It felt like we were in Baguio. We were told to speak softly for it was a place where nuns and priests stay and pray. Then, we were showed to our rooms and relax for awhile. Afterwards, a series of lectures were made and the Adoration followed. The next part was that when we were told to form a circle and each were given candles for them to light and give to another who may have hurt him or to ask forgiveness for a sin he caused. It was a tearjerker. My classmates, most of them, cried out all the hurts and at last the wounds inflicted to the hearts were healed. It was already 11 pm when we went back to our rooms to sleep.

That night, I could not sleep. I wonder why, maybe because I was not used to sleeping on that place. There are times when I sleep but would only last for utmost ten minutes and I was back, awake again. It was like a routine that kept on going until 3 am in the morning. I then rose from the sleeping mat. I noticed that my three roommates were already awake too. I asked them if they had some sleep, their reply was that they have not sleep the whole night until now. To utilize the time, we took our bath and went outside at around 4 am to ask our teacher on what to do or prepare for breakfast. She said that we should go to the kitchen and boil water for everyone, and so we did it.

The kitchen was situated beside the rooms of the boys. I noticed they had their lights out until this 4 am. No one was up. Then, I noticed a boy step outside; it was a friend of mine. He asked us on whether we took our bath already and we replied yes and he said he’d take a bath too. We made our way to the kitchen and boiled water afterwards, many were soon up and began walking around. After a while, breakfast was served.

We had a bible sharing after and then a holy mass to officially end our retreat. It was a nice experience, I really learned a lot from it. I learned that we should not take or do anything with fast for it only makes us lose our intended point of direction which is success.

“In life’s race you run fast to finish first and get to success in a short time, but the more faster you run, the more you get lost.”##

THE LOOK

The first time I read this poem was when I went to the IV- Tan room for my elective class. It was written clearly on the board. It was a really short poem. As I read it, I began to know and feel the essence of such.

The persona of the poem was a girl who was at one time kissed on the cheek by a man and at an other time kissed on the lips by another man but the kisses didn’t burn her heart nor did it make her fall, but the look a man gave her, even though he did not kiss, was so lingering that it haunts her night and day.

That poem clearly reminds me of a song entitled “The Way You Look at Me” sung by Christian Bautista with the lyrics:

“No one ever saw me like you do
All the things that I could add up to
I never knew just what a smile was worth
But your eyes say everything without a single word

Coz there’s something in the way you look at me
It’s as if my heart knows you’re the missing piece
You make me believe that there is nothing in this world I can be
I never know what you see
But there’s something in the way you look at me”

How one person stares at another without even uttering words nor making actions really makes an impact. I do not know, but somehow when someone stares or looks at me, it speaks louder than words, as if what the eyes are saying are so deep to be explained by the mouth, so deep. The eyes are the windows of the soul and the look on someone’s eyes clearly tells what a person feels and thinks. It reveals the person’s innermost thought.

Some girls find it so hard to detect whether or not a guy in her class likes her, they ask they friends to ask the guy to reveal whether he likes her, but as most of us know, boys are secretive and telling their secrets especially the name of their crushes would be really hard to do. I have a tip to the girls out there, you will know whether or not a guy has a crush on you by the way he looks at you, the looks of somewhat so meaningful and lingering, the same goes out to the boys. I think it is a good strategy of boys to look lovingly or at the girl they like in the eye when they talk or just pass each other by.

One does not need to kiss or hug to show he loves that person, a simple look in the eyes says the words you most needed and waited for to say.##

LONELINESS

One time, when it was time for our English subject our teacher distributed to each of us a copy of three poems. The two were about love and what it does to a person. The third poem caught my attention, at first I had second thought if such really was a poem, and then our teacher said it was a poem. And I think you should see and read it for yourself, here is a copy of the poem:

l(a

le
af
fa
ll


s)
one
l

iness

I thought so, you do not understand the poem. That is okay, neither did I the first time I read it. I think that what the author means to say is that loneliness is the feeling a person experiences when he is in solitude, a state of social isolation. I think I can relate to the poem for I, myself, am a loner. The letter “l” in the poem stands for two things. First it stands for one and second, for I. These two things which that letter stands for all points out to one feeling which is loneliness. When the poem is formed like this, a phrase is formed:

l(a leaf falls)oneliness

When a person is lonely, he may feel forsaken and abandoned. Although, being lonely is not bad at all. Each one of us is unique; other people tend to enjoy the company of their own selves while others do not. It all depends on the person. The persona in the poem is feeling loneliness and not one comes to keep him company. Without others or without someone to talk to, he feels like he is a leaf gently falling to the ground. He feels the tree grew tired of holding him in too long and keeping him company with the other leaves, and with this he has grown frail and weak and so he falls like as what is happening to him now, not physically although, but is felt within his heart and it hurts thinking of which.

Being lonely is not at all easy. It is a very sad situation wherein you feel no one is there to sit beside you and listen to what your heart is telling.

There are times when I want to be left alone by myself thinking, I could go through the hurts I feel inside and eventually it will subside, but the more I am left alone, the more the cut deepens and the more difficult it is to heal.

Sometimes, you just need to tell a friend your thoughts and feelings, besides that is what friends should do, to comfort and help you in times of sorrow and hurt. This is where you feel you are valued by your friends if they never leave your side when you are in great pain and never leaves you alone to cry by yourself. A friend who never leaves you alone and never makes you feel your lonely.##

FAIRYTALES

Timeless tales of princes and princesses, fire- breathing dragons, castles, magical spells and all the things one could think and imagine, all of these come to life once I read a book on fairytales.

A long time has passed since I was like those little kids I see, reading books on fairytales and marvelling at the story of beautiful princesses and handsome prince charmings. How I wished I had been a part of those fairytales I read and be a princess and meet the prince charming of my life, but hey, it is a fictional world, how do I expect myself to be one? Like, hello, its 2007, I’m 16 and I still think of those dumb thoughts. Are these thoughts dumb? Or is it just that I tend to break away from reality due to the fact that in this real world we live in, there are no happy endings and there are no such thing as my life’s story would end in a “happy ever after”. But honestly, would the stories we have in the real life end happy?

I remember a text message a friend sent to me days ago, it said:

“The winning horse doesn’t know why it runs a race. It runs
because of the whip and pain. Life is a race; if you are in pain
then clearly, GOD wants you to win.”

It struck me. We control our lives, it lies within us unto which road we should take and once we have taken these roads, there we have hard times getting through thorny bushes and at last we reach a castle where a happy ending awaits us. Sounds familiar? If you are a fairytale reader, you should have guessed of which story I got these “thorny bushes and castle” line, yes, from The Sleeping Beauty. As far as I could remember, the prince encountered all disasters, misfortune and all and even defeated the wicked witch, just to rescue the sleeping princess and surely, he surpassed these and lived happily with the princess. Sweet, isn’t it?

If one day you cry and think that life is unfair, your always the one scolded and blamed at, but just think of yourself as Cinderella, beautiful and kind but never got the chance to show her true beauty. Be still and patient for one night when your mom tells you your grounded and cannot hang out with your friends, there is always someone you could talk to, and that is God. He is the one you could lean upon, you can say to Him what you feel and what you want to happen of the moment. But usually, you ask why God doesn’t answer back, be patient and learn to listen too and hear the soft voice from your heart.

Life is truly marvellous, like a fairytale. And I think now, I have come to realize that our lives are somewhat a story in a book, full of mystery, love, sorrow, happiness and hope. Life is what you make it as others would say, and I think so too. ##

THE PAIN OF LOVING

“Love until it hurts because true love hurts. So, love until hurts.”

I heard this line when we were currently attending the Adoration in our retreat. Sister Karin mentioned these words. Now, when I heard this, I was struck. True love hurts. It sure hurts.

Loving someone is like plunging into a deep blue sea. It can drown you and is difficult to fight back the waves and currents that come. It is very difficult to fight the feeling once it hit you. Once felt, love can change a person and his perceptions in life. I have heard stories of love wherein the man changed from being an irresponsible, lazy guy to a responsible man for the love of his life.

Things happen. I once asked a friend of mine why he chose this certain girl as girlfriend, I want to ask him what he found in her that could not be found with other girls, the reason why he loved her, his reply was, ”I do not know. Is there a need of reasons? There is just something in her, something in her that attracts me.” Sigh. Loving sets asides reasons.

All these can happen to you once you start loving but also in loving you get to experience a deeper pain which is more difficult to heal than physical wounds. The pain in loving is when you love this certain person but you just can’t say it. And it hurts not telling her what you feel and keeping it all to yourself. It hurts you seeing her smile and laugh so sweetly. The feeling seems to grow and grow each day and you feel you are going to collapse if one time you can’t catch a glimpse of her. And that what pains you. If one day, you get to tell her what you feel but sadly she has found her love. It hurts. Loving her so true for several months and now that you have found the chance to tell her what you feel, she has found someone else. It is so hard to recover from the pain; you feel you would not want to love again. But it is all a part of the game of love.

Another pain in loving is that when you are friends with this certain girl you really like, but one day you realize that you want more than friendship. You realize you love that person when the memory of her keeps you awake at night and dreamy at daytime. So, you tell her you love her but what hurts is that what she wants is just friendship and nothing more than that. You cry but even though because you love this person you continue to love her and wait for her. Several days pass and you finally gave up on her and continued living your life and found someone to love, someone to call as girlfriend. You are still classmates with the girl you loved before; you think your former love for her won’t revive with you having found a girlfriend. But, why does it hurt you when she talks to other guys or when she tries to be kind to you? It seems like you do not want her to be removed from the sight of your eyes. It is love, and it hurts.

Loving can either complete or break you to pieces. There is no harm in trying to tell the girl you love that you want her more than friends, but be sure to accept failures. If the girl you really love says yes to your proposal, jump for joy and be sure not to hurt her for true love happens once in a blue moon.

Love someone with all your heart even though you are not loved back in return, because in loving comes pain but do not forget , in also comes joy.##

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANIMATED SIMULATION AND BASIC GUI IN TEACHING PROJECTILE MOTION TO THIRD YEAR STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES HIGH

That is the title of the research paper which earned the first place in the Science Congress and Science Fair last February. It was a product of dedication and sweat by the researchers which made it through their utmost efforts and the support and help from their teachers and classmates.

The reason of why this research was allowed to pursue was due to the fact that it could greatly help the students who would soon be third year students of the University of the Philippines. The idea of this research was thought of by Nico Martin Eñego and made into realization by the help and efforts of his colleagues Daphne Arnado, Ella Beverly Sarmago and Paul Andrew Gutib.

This research is all about determining on which of the two computer programs, specifically the Animated Simulation which contained animations and the Basic GUI ,without animations, is more effective in teaching the Basic physics’ concept of Projectile Motion to the Third Year students of the University of the Philippines High School in Cebu.

The researchers chose this study because as previous students of the said course, they have experienced the difficulty in understanding the projectile motion concept due to the fact that the plain discussion and writings in the blackboard proved to be ineffective in making the subject interesting and enjoyable to learn. And so, the researchers developed computer programs, the Animated Simulation and the Basic GUI, and expose the present third year students to this and know which one is more effective.

To know whether a said program is effective, the achievement in the scores of the pre-test and post-test and their attitude towards it are the bases.

The third year students were divided into two groups namely the Animated Simulation group and the Basic GUI group. The grouping was based on the grades of the students in their Chemistry and Biology subjects combined in the previous school year. Twenty- three students per group were evenly matched and paired. The researchers solved for the significance of the difference between these two groups and found out that it was insignificant; hence, the two groups were equivalent.

The research pre-test and post-test were conducted in the third year class rooms. The students were told to answer the problems before they were exposed and after they were exposed to their respected computer programs. Then, the Animated Simulation group were exposed to the Animated Simulation program and the Basic GUI group to the Basic GUI. After the exposure and the post-test, the attitude test was given to know whether they liked the programs or not.

The data were then gathered and interpreted. Results showed that there was a significant mean gain of achievement after being exposed to the programs and the students yielded positive outlook towards these computer programs.

After the conduct and the interpretation of results the researchers concluded that the two computer programs were effective, however the students’ mean gain were significantly higher after they were exposed to the Animated Simulation. So, the Animated Simulation was the more effective computer program.

The researchers recommend the use and the application of these programs in teaching projectile motion to the Basic Physics’ class for a more interactive learning environment.##

KYSD

“Sir, is it okay if the long test will be put off for tomorrow? Please. We haven’t got time to study.” Or “Madam, could you please move the deadline of the project from Monday to Wednesday?” All these, students, like me, say to teachers well, let us admit it, we say it most of the time. And if they these teachers don’t agree, some would say that they are so inconsiderate and so dependent on their status as teachers that they would just do what they wish to do to their students. Sigh. I used to think that being a teacher is an easy job, give tests so long and difficult that the students sweat to their feet and assign projects to be passed on the day after the project was given, making students cram, but now, I guess not.

Our school had a Know your School Day or what is more popularly known as KYSD several months ago. It was a two day event wherein, students get to be teachers and teach their classmates in a subject they can freely choose. Did I apply? Not a chance. I feel I don’t have the patience and the abilities a teacher possesses. Teachers are needed to be patient and learn to discipline their students without raising their voices. Well, I know of one teacher in our school, he was our Home Technology teacher, he spoke ever so softly in class even if the class was so noisy, we asked him why he always spoke so softly, and his reply was, ”I do not want to raise my voice, now, if people at the back do not hear me because they are constantly talking with each other, it is not my fault if they fail because they did not listen to me, if they persist to talk louder and ignore what I am saying in the front, I will just make my voice more soft” and surely, the whole room would be quiet once he speaks softly for you need to listen carefully. He was a great teacher because he taught us to listen. By now I know, you realize that being a teacher is not at all a holiday, once you are a teacher you have responsibilities to fulfil.

Now, my other classmates applied as student teachers for the said event, and surely, they were the ones who taught us the lessons for two whole days. It was a nice experience being taught by our classmates. We non-student teachers paid attention to them and respected them for we know in our hearts that being a teacher is not easy and it requires a lot of guts.

Nowadays, when parents ask their children what they want to be when they graduate high school and if the children’s reply would be to be a teacher, they would say,”Be a teacher?! Why become a teacher?! Teachers are paid so low and what would our neighbors say when they hear about this? They would say you took up teaching because you are dumb! Be a nurse instead.” Sad to say, the Philippines are in short of public school teachers. Being a teacher is not at all dumb, when you are a teacher it means you teach lessons to children, you pass knowledge and wisdom to the younger generation. It is a tiring job, but even though they are paid low, they still continue to teach for they care for the future of the children and they do not want them to go astray.

Let us value our teachers and honor them, for they have shaped our minds and fed us with the knowledge we hunger for. To all the teachers, I say thank you.##