What UP Students are NOT...

I bet you think you know what UP students are but do you know what UP students are NOT?

There have been many assumption of what UP students are but most reflect negatively on us and are not true.

UP peopel often stereotyped for the way they speak, act, dress and think. Most of the time, they think of us as unfriendly, snobs, etc.

Often times, amongst ourselves we talk about what is prominent on us a UPians. Now let us veer on the other side: the part that we UPians are not.

Above everything, we do not just conform to rules. For us, there are a lot of alternative approach to all matters. important to UPians so confinning us to norms is like chaining us to a past.

We are not narrow-minded. One of the traits we have is that we open to any discussion, option and opinion. We may be idealistic to the point that we get hard-headed, but it only symbolizees that we are among the few people who are very understanding.

UP students are not everything you expected them to be. We also walk the death march to graduation. We commit mistakes like any NORMAL human being would. We may be the cream of the crop becuase we got into this university but we are certainly not the best nor are we perfect. We simply do what we are capable of doing and try bring out the best of our abilities. That's like any ordinary students.

UP students are not proud of nothing. they are because they know that it's a great honor to be in this learning institute. They are certain that they are taught by the best instructors in the country.

UP students are not pretentious of who or what they are. They show or express the real them for it is tiresome to hide behind a mask. That makes UPians comfortable.

Up students are not selfish, instead, they are very much generous. They share what resource they have. They share whatever knowledge they have.

UP students are not book-freaks! They enjoy their own lives in their own ways. They also unlike like any other human being do.

UP students are simply the best people to be with. Love us the way we are and enjoy with us.

Reaction to "Love is a Fallacy"

The story was qiute weird because the girld likes guys having racoon coats. In the side of the narrator, he was also weird because instead of telling the girl directly about his feelings for her, he did twist and turn. He gave her a test about logic and identifying false statements. Giving her a lesson inside a restaurant for five nights. Five nights of conversing with each other with the same topic made the story ironic. Polly was really having a child-like mind because when the narrator expressed his feelings, she thought it was all a fallacy.

The whole story was ironic. The characters were having a very undescribable part in the story. But inspite these, it was really nice; telling about all the false ideas of this world which the people themselves had used. Max Schulman did a very fantastic story, as I say because all his words were thought twice before used. They were brilliant. If it would be made to a movie, people would really be restless thinking what would be the continuation of such literary work left without an end.

This short story of his was made in order for people to see their mistakes in their ideas used in every day lives. But we all know that love can never lie; it is often true. As they say, the heart has a mind of its own.

Don't let earthly things deceive you!

"Love is a Fallacy" Summary

The narrator talked with Petey, his roommate, in the university dormitory. Petey was having a crush with this particular girl named Polly Espy. He asked Petey if he was in love with Polly but Petey just said that he wasn't in love with her but he thinks that she is a keen kid. Since Petey liked a raccoon coat, and the narrator has this raccoon coat which he can still get after the weekends because it is still in his house.The Stutz Bearcoat of the narrators father is ready to be given to him he just go with the deal. And the deal is let Petey allow the narrator to have a date with Polly. Since Petey liked the raccoon coat, he just went with the deal.

Now the narrator had his first date with Polly the next evening. He wanted to find out just how much work he had to do to get her mind up to the standard required. Her reaction after they will leave the restaurant, theater and after she bade goodnight.

They again went to another date the next night. When they were already in the restaurant, the narrator open a topic about logic and fallacies. The fallacy of Dicto Simpliciter, Hasty Generalization, Eula Becker, Contradicctory Premisses, Ad Misericordian,Hypothesis Contrary and the Poisoning the Well.Polly didn't not quite understand the fallacies. But the only thing that she got from the test was the Poisoning the Well.

Five nights of conversing with Polly but for the narrator, it was worth it. He made a logician out of her and taught her to think. Not knowing, was in a date with him,a serious date, not only for conversing and chatting. In short, the narrator was in love with Polly.But because of what he taught her, she thinks that everything he says is a fallacy. Polly would not go steady with the narrator but instead with Petey Bellows. All the reason is that Petey has a raccoon coat.

Boracay: The Adventure Continues

White sand, nice beaches, a paradise is no other than Boracay Island. A place of great adventures. A place to swim, to surf, to party, to relax and many other more. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Boracay Island is a great place for just lazing around. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

Since Boracay Island is part of Panay, we went there, too. Remember that we just came from Ajuy, Iloilo then went back to Iloilo City to head for this paradise. In Iloilo City, we went shopping for the needed things going to Boracay Island. We took had the land trip going to Aklan. While on the road, we can't help but keep tract of the places we passed by. Zigzag roads and roads along a cliff were so scary. After few hours of travel, we finally reached Aklan.

Aklan is also a nice place. It is the place where we shall take our ride before we finally arrived Boracay Island. The ride going to Boracay Island from Caticlan is very much short. It would just take about less than twenty minutes.

Finally! Boracay Island is where I'm stepping! The sand was so fine. I just love it. We were staying in our neighbor's resort. Cottages, hotels, souvenir shops, bars and restaurants all around. It was already dusk when we arrived there. We didn't waste any time. We hurriedly changed and headed for the beach! Weeeeh! Swimming! The water was cold. Definitely refreshing!! We swam until we got tired.

Everyday, we went swimming. If we're not on the beach, we're just playing inside the resort. At night, we go barhopping! Disco dancing and meeting new friends. While having fun, a lot of personalities were there. They were enjoying just like us.

While in Boracay, our neighbor celebrated her birthday. My brother had an asthma attack. He was so piteous as he wasn't able to go with us have fun at night. He was left at the resort with the house help.

After several weeks of staying in Boracay Island having so much fun, the time has finally come. We had to leave for Iloilo City.

While in Iloilo City, our aunt brought us to places we'd love just like seafood restaurants.

Owhhhh... Too bad. We had to leave for Cebu. Boracay adventure was indeed worth reminiscing!

Iloilo City: The Adventure Starts

Have you already eaten La Paz Batchoy? You probably have eaten La Paz Batchoy but do you know the place here in the Visayas that it is known for its great La Paz Batchoy?? It's the place where Dinagyan festival is held. It's no other than Iloilo City.
It was a great experience going there with my brother Valentin. We went there with our neighbour as our precious mom's prize to us. It was a fun experience but that it has made us miss our home. Home is definitely the best place to be. You can just be yourself. You're very much comfortable when you're home. Agree??
It was our first time to go there. While on the boat going there, we had a hard time falling asleep. With that, my brother and I decided to go strolling around. The wind was strong that messed up our hair. My brother was imagining of flying a kite because of the strong wind.
The trip was quite long. It was about twelve hours of travel. The sun was rising hot when we finally arrived in Iloilo City. Sweat was dripping down our face. It really made us crave for a cold bath.
Our first stop was the office of our neighbour in Iloilo City. We stayed there for about three days. Within those days, we were able to go around the city. I definitely loved the place though it was way different from Cebu.
Not long after, we headed for our neighbours' hometown, Ajuy, Iloilo. On the road, fields were on both sides. The tranquility of the place amazed me so much. As we arrived in their place, I was so shocked. Their place was near the cemetary. Not really beside the cemetary but it was just a few meters away. Being a coward when it comes to things that may relate to the dead, I really wanted to go back home. Back to Cebu where my family is there to protect me. That's how afraid I am of the dead. But I was left with no choice. My parents have already spent quite a huge amount. With that, I had to conquer my fear.
Despite the fact that their place was near a cemetary, I still enjoyed my stay. People were so sweet and caring. It somehow felt like being home. Since our neighbour has a farm, we decided to visit it. In their farm, we went fishing as they had a huge fishing pond.We even rode on a banca while fishing. We went horse backriding, swimming on their falls, climbing on tree houses and running all-over the farm. With all these things, do you know how much we struggled just to reach the place??
It was a rainy day. Since the roads were muddy, we had to get off the car and walk going to the farm. Before reaching the farm, we had to cross a river. While crossing the river, one of my friends tricked me that there's a snake in the river. Being a person afraid of creatures like those, I hurriedly ran leaving my slippers behind in the middle of the riiver. As the current was strong. no one was able to find it. I felt sad as that was one of the things my mom bought for me before leaving for Iloilo City. But I have to accept the fact that it's now gone. I had to walk bare-footed going to the farm. Yuck! Mud on my feet.
Days unnoticeably gone so fast. Our stay in Ajuy, Iloilo has come to an end. We had to pack our things as we were heading again for Iloilo City. That's where we'll buy the needed stuffs before leaving for Boracay.
Iloilo is a place that will always be part of the adventures I had in my lifetime.

Pressure on Me

Life is tough. It's tougher when you're in my situation. I'm the second child in a family of six children. Being considered as the more responsible and more matured child, a lot expect so much from me. They expect me to be a person who has the capacity to do everything. But I am just a human. I am not perfect nor chose to perfect. I have my faults. I am weak though I may seem strong. I am weak but I have the will to do things to the best I could. I don't want to appear weak to people as I would just be weaker.

At home, people expect me to know everything being the more intellectually capable. With this, they seem to make me independent as they believe that I am responsible enough to disern good things from bad things. Yes, I admit that I think I'm responsible enough to disern things but it does not mean that I don't need thier guidance. There were times that felt really bad. Reminiscing the past, I underwent so much trials. So much pain was there. I thought it to be unfair. Often times,my mother scolds me for things I did not do as it was my brother's fault. Being the elder sister, I was the one reprimanded. Ithought it to be fine. Unlike my brother, I am very much afraid of my parents. though I may disobey at times, I really feel do much guilt afterwards. When it comes to academic issues, my mom sits with me while I study. She's definitely strict. I used to stay up until twelve midnight and wake up at four in the morning just to get the lesson right. Whenever test results are released, it makes me have butterflies in the stomach as I know for a fact that my parents will be evry much disappointed when I have more than three mistakes in that particular examination. There was even a time when I hid my test results in one of our cabinets. When my parents found them, owhhh my, I got y dressing down. When it comes to my relationship with my siblings, as most parents say, "Just understand. You're the older one." Being an elder sister, I have always tried to understand but as a human, you can never really avoid misunderstandings which lead to arguments. But once we get along, it would really be something to treasure.

There were people who tried to pull me down but with these things that I have gone thru, I was motivated to persevere and stay firm. I know that battles will just be over as long as you gather the courage to face these. Obstacles are placed to mold you or to bring out the best in you, not to disourage you from living your life here on Earth.

P.S. To my parents, thank you for being there for me. Thank you for the time and effort. I may not be a perfect daughter but I hope you know that I'm trying my best in everything I do for your happiness. I'm sorry for taking things as something unfair. Now I know that what you have done to me before, like your being strict, has motivated me to become a more responsible and understanding me.

Game Over!

"If it's really going to be us, then it will be us! Love will find its way."

It was about a year ago when I admired this certain guy. Let us call him "Tempered." He seemed to be the guy who has a hidden beauty. It was not until we became Sophomores when his beauty was noticed. For me, I did not admire him just for his physical appearance but also because I thought he was God-fearing, intelligent, nice and almost every trait that most guys in our batch did not seem to possess.

"Tempered' became somehow close to me. We talked about whatever things we can think of. He was fun to talk with. His eyes were simply expressive. Things between the two of us went on so smoothly.

One night of November, it was our Athletes' Night. I was so much busy preparing the food for the band members that were going to perform. I was already so much exhausted. When I checked my phone, there was a text message. As I opened it, it contained the lyrics of a song that "Tempered" sang during our Intramural Games. But when I asked who the owner of that number was, disappointedly, it wasn't the guy I thought. He introduced himself as a Nursing student of Cebu Doctors' University. I was quite doubtful of the identity he told me. Since my aunt works in that learning institution, I planned to let her verify it. Days passed by, I still continued exchanging text messages with that unknown person in order to know more things.

I was a Monday. Classes resumed. As I was talking about that unknown number, "Tempered' suddenly butted in. He told us that that certain number also sent him a message. My doubt seemed to grow that the owner of that number is just someone around who knows us.

One day, the owner of that unknown number was finally identified with a friend's help. And yes, he was no other than "Tempered." Even if I knew the owner, I did not stop to exchange messages with him. In our exchange of text messages, my admiration towards him grew. My hidden admiration was starting to get into people's knowledge.

Christmas party came. At this point, a lot knew about my admiration for "Tempered," It was somehow humiliating. Several people were discreetly teasing us. It was on the eighth day of December when he admitted that he admired me. I didn't take it too seriously as I know the situation. He has a girl. I found it impossible or weird as I know where I stand in the society. A lot of people around are way way prettier than I am. On the ninth day of December, I finally told him about my admiration for him. I felt really stupid for telling him but I just took the risk of saying it. I think it was also during this day that he 'courted' me. I felt guilty as I know that they are still on. I don't want to ruin a relationship. My conscience wouldn't be able to take it. With this, I felt bad towards hi because if he was really serious of what he said, he would not think of entering another relationship without ending the other as this would hurt a lot f people. After such, I started to become rude towards him.

Christmas vacation was over. Back to school again! At this point, I knew that he had a relationship with another girl even before ending his past relationship. I really felt disappointed. I should have not admired him. Things went on differently. I barely talked to him and oftentimes, I would avoid him. These things are better than the days that followed. I did not talk to him, not even a single word came out of my mouth. This went on for three weeks.

I can't take it an longer. I can't suppress things. With that, I talked to him. I frankly talked to him. I gathered all my guts just to clear things up.

When I thought things were clear, I talked to my friends about what took place. They told me that they are confused of what the truth really is. The told me that he was making contradicting statements. Yes, I admit. I myself noticed that. Again, I tried to talk to him. This time, he told me that things are over.

There's no problem with me if it's over. Now, I have realized that he's not the person I expect and thought him to be. I was WRONG! He's not worth it! Game over!

Sorry may be a meaningful word. It's easy to say sorry and it's easy to say that it's all right. But you can never take away the pain you have caused. It will always be a part of a person's memories.

P.S. To that certain person, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for the time we have spent together. I know that you are still somehow immature. I hope you know that I have tried my very best to fix things and that to let our friendship remain but I also hope you know that I have my limitations as I am just a human. I grew tired of the situation. I hope you'd learn to decide on your own and that you'd learn to take a stand.

The March of Death

About 7600 Filipinos and Americans walked the Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. They walked without food nor water. They suffered the cruelty of the Japanese soldiers. Walking many miles in several days. They didn't know what fate awaited them at the end of the march. They could be executed, tortured or if fortunate enough, they'd be set free. Many died even before reaching their destination. If they try to escape, they would be killed immediately using a sword or a gun. What a brutal death they had! While they were walking, some were wounded that made them have a hard time walking. That march was between life and death but some have helped others. They carried the severely injured people even if they themselves were also injured. I am quite certain that they missed the peaceful life they had before the Japanese came. Their families were left uncertain of how they will be able to cope up with life for the fact that a family member is suffering through the hot days of April.
All I feel is that they are piteous. If only I was in their shoes, I would suffer the same things they went through. In the verse Isaiah 40:31 it says, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." This explains that everyone who looks up to God will have new hope to walk through the journey of life and its challenges. In the poem of Bienvenido N. Santos "The March of Death," there is a line that goes like this : "March, my brother, march! The springs are clear beyond the road, there is rest at the foot of the hill." For me, this means that there is an end in all the sufferings that you are in. There is rest after all the hardships you have gone through. A rest is forever and that is in God's arm for when we lay ourselves upon Him and accept Him as our personal Savior, He will give us eternal life where there is no more problem. Your life may be gloomy but with God, it will shine like the sun. The wound you have in your heart will be healed.
Every time I fall, I just look up to God and He pulls me up. The March of Death is just like us, some fall and can no longer stand up for they do not look up to God.But if you persevere and strive to finish the trials of life, God will lead you to the way everlasting. We may be blessed now that we weren't able to suffer like the people who marched to their death but we should give importance to them. They suffered more than they should. So, remember the day they marched to their sad fate.

Resisting Temptation

We are all sinners and all of us are bound to hell. We are tempted by Satan to do wrong if we also allow him to take over us. If we jut let him take over our life, we can say that we are not worthy to be called God's children for we have let Satan take over us. All the nice things like cellular phone, iPod and many others tempt us to commit a sin. With cellular phone, we tend not to study, instead, we always hold it and send text messages. Our parents have invested a lot in us but we seem to ignore their hardship in sending us to school. We usually disobey them when they want us to something. With iPod, we don't listen to others. We tend to place the volume high so that we can't hear them because we are quite certain that we will just be asked to do this and that. There are a lot of temptations that we may face like going with the wrong set of friends, going to the mall frequently and skipping classes, stealing, cheating and even hurting others by using hurtful words.

As a sinner, I also sin but I know that we can resist temptation with God's grace. I f we just resist that temptation of Satan, he will surely run away from us. I was once tempted by the nice things in this world that I am now. I was tempted with the television and internet. I affected my studies. My grades decreased which caused the disappointment of my parents.

When I get angry, I usually get tempted to throw fragile things or I don't tend to talk for quite a long period of time. I knew I was doing the wrong thing. I feel bad when God doesn't seem to answer my prayers. Satan pulls me away from God and brings me to sin. In Mark 14:38, it says "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak." I just explains that everywhere we go, temptation will always be present. In I Corinthians 10:13, it says "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." It says that when we are tempted, God will make ways for us to be away from the temptation of Satan. So we should watch and pray so we will be wise enough to resist the temptation.

We ought to resist temptation that we may be worthy of God's plan for us. That we may not be ashamed to claim that we are His children. All of us may fall into temptation but all the bad persuasions of Satan we can resist if we want to. Beware of the consequences that you may be facing.

Be Responsible

The word responsible is defined as being a primary cause or agent of some event or action; capable of being credited for something, or of being held liable for something.
Are you responsible in holding a task given to you? Can you finish it? Aren't you going to complain? We, being ordinary people tend to be irresponsible. Even to ourselves, we tend to be irresponsible. Tenth of November last year, Pastor Bernardo tackled his talk on responsibility or being responsible. In his sermon, he pointed out that it is not only in our time that being irresponsible happened. It also happened in the time of King Saul, Adam and Eve and also in the time of the disciple Judah. He encouraged us to be responsible in everything we do.

Today, in our lives, we can compare ourselves to the three names I have mentioned. In the time of Adam and Eve, they were also irresponsible because when God asked why they ate the forbidden fruit, they somehow felt ashamed to face God because of what they have done.Adam told God that it was Eve's fault but then the blame was passed to Eve, she then passed it to the serpent. Aren't they responsible for their mistakes? With their answers, it just proved that they are not responsible enough to take the blame of what they have done. We are like them. We don't take the responsibility of the mistake we have committed. Isn't that irresponsibility? What more if the judgment day comes?

We are people capable of committing mistakes. We are not perfect. But we should also be careful of all the things we do. Being responsible is a very hard task. We can't right away be responsible. We need a lot of time and energy to be responsible. But when you have succeeded in being responsible, you won't regret what you will accomplish. It would make you feel even better towards yourself. It would also make you joyful of what change took place in you.

Remember that we can be responsible if we are only willing to let responsibility take over us. Don't let the demon and its minion take over your life. Let God be the first and foremost, be the king of your life. Remember that being irresponsible will lead you to immaturity. It won't do you any good.

I only hope that we can be responsible enough of our lives that it may go to the right path of life. It may help us discern right from good. Nothing will get lost if we are just going to be responsible. So, pray that you may be responsible and pleasing to God.

I am a Student

What is to be a student? Is it by just going to school from Monday to Friday then go back home after school? Is that what you think what a student is? Now I tell you that you are wrong. Being a student is not just by listening to the teacher’s discussion, you learn from others, from yourself, and most of all from your own experience from having your fellowship with your classmates. Nothing can defeat the experience from being a student. Lots of hardship and lots of happy days but usually hardships cover us. Pressure also comes to us every time we have our quizzes and periodical exams.

As students, we do some routines everyday in our lives, from the sun rise until mid dusk. We need to wake up early morning to take a bath then dress up ourselves then eat and brush our teeth then go to school. When we reach to school we need to prepare our books and notebooks and some more things we need for our class. When the bell rings, we need to go out of our classroom to have our flag ceremony. After we go back to our room and there we start the class. We want something different in our academic subjects. We want it fun not boring because for me, we learn more if we have fun and not be bored. We want the subjects extraordinary but not to much.

We all know that being a student is fun but needs a lot of effort to give out. Especially in our studies we need to spend more time in studying than watching the television, going to the net and chat, texting and other useless things. I should also tell the truth that I used to watch the television and do useless things rather than studying but now since I found out that it is better to study than to do all these things that can’t benefit us.

In classrooms, we students taunt others and have fun together. Some of my classmates are expert on that. They tease some of my classmates and sometimes me. I don’t know why they do that but sometimes it is fun. If it already exceeds the limit and they deprive dignity I will really get mad and not talk to them. But I know it is part of the life of a student.

During the last three months of school, we usually have many projects to do and that is the time we need to make a lot of remedy to our grades which are less from the past grading period. This is where we are really pressured especially we are in the secondary level because it requires a lot just to pass the level and not be retained. But when we pass, it makes our heart lighter and we now become relax and we can have a relaxing summer vacation.

If we graduate our collegiate degree, we will never stop from being a student. We will learn from our mistakes and we will still learn more from other. Learn more from people who are more experience in life. They are more reliable to ask more about life. We will learn and learn more about life. We won’t stop learning.

We should not forget that at a very young age, we should be a student. We should learn about God. We need to know His Word. Jesus is our Teacher; He teaches what is right and wrong. He doesn’t want us to walk astray from Him. He wants us to stay with Him and learn about what is His purpose for our lives. He may take us now but it is nicer if we learn a lot from Him before we die and vanish in this world.

Jesus was a teacher of the twelve disciples. He taught them how to live a godly life. He taught them how to love and care for others, to be humble and to forgive. Now in this modern time, we have our Bibles so we can learn about God. We are blessed now compared to the olden times. We can have a full book of God’s Word without hiding it from the authority, we have our freedom to read it while in the olden times they need to hide it from the authority and if they would be discovered that they are reading the Bible, they will be stoned to death. Aren’t thankful enough that you can read and know God’s Word for you? This is a lifetime opportunity given to us. We also have the churches that teach us about God’s Word. For the young one they have their Sunday School that teaches them about Jesus in a fun way. In other places, they are so pitiful, if they want to have a fellowship with other they need to hide in some sort of a dungeon to have their fellowship.

This just concludes that we just do not learn from school but we learn from others, from our own experience and mistakes and most of all from the Bible. A big world waits for us and we should learn how to live with it. We can’t just stay with our parents. There is world to explore and know. Exams and test just don’t happen in school alone but in the actual life. Test of time and faith will come. It may not be now but someday will come to you. We need to listen to instructions and good suggestion to make our life better. Even thought it is tiring we need to try our best to do it and pass the test of life and learn from our mistakes. We are just like a building being built yet. We must have a strong foundation so we can grow in the right way. To live with a godly life and a life that will give pleasure to God, our Greatest Teacher and Master Molder. He will be our teacher until our last breath. Make Him your teacher this very moment. Let Him teach you the basic of life then advance to the purpose of your life. Ask Him to teach you everything that can please Him and ask help from Him if you still don’t learn from your mistakes. I am sure He will teach you if you are just willing to lend your ears to what He teaches you and be open-minded to what mistakes He will tell you and reflect on it. It will change you for the better. Remember that you are still a student even if you are old already and may everything that you learn and not become hoary.

Love is..

In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a talks about love and it says, “⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, all always hope, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails…” Love has its own characteristics that are nice to hear and to reflect on. It make us feel that no matter what we are and no matter what treasures or curse we bring someone still loves us. Nothing is impossible if we love with all our heart.

Love has a lot of translation like…je t’aime, te amo, ya tyibya I yublu, ani ohevet othka, wo ai ni, mahal kita, gihigugma ka nako, I love you...they are all the same. It may be in many languages but still have the same meaning, nothing will change. If we look deeper to the word it means so much. Loving is giving your heart fully to someone or something. It may be a family member, a friend, a pet, a teacher, a thing, and memories. Is it hard to love or not? It is just a simple thing to do, rather than working hard without some there that you work hard for. God has commanded us to love other. It may be awkward to say it in public but we should try. If we can’t tell it, we can just let them feel the love we give. Loving someone doesn’t make your dignity fluctuate but instead if gives you more joy within yourself.

With this present generation some people has made the meaning of love improper. Some people show their love in a bad way like sexual immorality or raping. The things and action in how they show their love is all a mistake. Nothing is wrong if we show love but it should be in a good way, in a right time. We may be tempted to show our love in a bad way but we should resist temptation because that love that we are showing doesn’t please God. It will displease Him the more and pleases Satan.

In my own experience, I’m so guilty to myself that I showed less love to my siblings and to my family members especially my parents but I know I love them so much. It received less love from me. If I can just turn back time, I would give all the love they deserve from me. I want to show my love to them not just by the words but by simple ways I can possibly do to show them.

It is not only to people we need to show love but we should give love to our Maker, our Friend, our Savior, and most of all our God Almighty. He is the One who gave us the feelings. He made us from His own image so we must love Him will all our heart, our mind, with all our strength, and will all your soul. Nothing compares to the love He has bestowed upon us. All these years He has provided all our needs, He has given us air to breath, and life to use to glorify His name. Aren’t you happy that even in your darkest moment and the worst moment in your life there is still a God who loves you? He loves you no matter you are. He measures you not by your wealth, not by your knowledge but with your love for Him and for others. When you will ask God how much He loves you. He will surely answer “...as high as the heavens are above the earth...” Won’t you be happy? We should thank Him because He died on the cross for us. We all know the verse in John 3:16 NIV and it says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, ^e that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Isn’t it wonderful that He loves us so much and He has left a promise for us to hold on? He has promise us that He will give us everlasting life. He has set many mansions for us to stay in heaven. This just concludes that our God really loves us and He now asks us to love others the same way He loved us, though we can’t die on the cross just like what Jesus did.

We are not perfect people but we can love others. It is not a difficult job to do but it is a fun work to work on in our last days here on earth. In any minute God will judge us and take us back and we may have no time to do His greatest commandment. The best time to love is this very moment. Go to the one who you gave less love and show him or her the real love he or she ought to have. We don’t know time it will fly as fast as it could. When you have showed your love to him or her, you may change a life in just a second.

“Give love for free and expect less in return from the one whom you gave love. He may feel that he worth in this world and know what is his purpose here on earth...to preach the love of God and most of all to show the love God has showed him...” may you reflect on this quote and do what it says. Nothing will get lost from you. All will stay the same to you but it may change other people’s life. God has provided you the foundation and it’s you time to share it to others. Go and love others as much as you can. Love them with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, all your soul, and with all your being. Love them as much as you love God and as much as you love yourself.

“Jesus loves you for who you are...”

Thank You for Everything

Are you thankful for everything you have now? Do you say "thank you" to the one who gives you something? Or maybe you don't say at all? Last November 17, 2006, Pastor Jun Lumagbas talked to us about being thankful. In his sermon, he pointed out that thanksgiving must be directed to God to recognize His name, recognize Him as God of all and to recognize His plan for our lives. Pastor Jun told us about how God saved Israel from Egypt. It is when God divided that Red Sea to let the Israelites pass through the sea and bring them to the promised land which is Canaan. When the Israelites had passed through, God let down the water on the Egyptians and drowned them. Egypt represents God's enemy and Pharaoh. The Israelites were so thankful to God for saving them from the cruelty of the Egyptians. Pastor Jun included that Exodus chapter fifteen was the first song. It was said there that God is our salvation, our song, our strength and our God.


Now, in our generation, we often forget to say "thank you." We get something without saying "thank you." Don't you think it's bad? Even, I, often forget to say those two words. If I would, I will have a hard time to utter it out. When I have a problem, I always get pissed off. I don't take it as a challenge to live life. I don't feel grateful for it. But now, I come to realize that problems are made for good. They are meant for something. I know that God sends us problems to test our faith in Him.


The time I lost a friend, I thought God has forsaken me. I didn't take it as a problem that will mold me into a better person. Months after that problem, that friend of mine taught me lesson. A lesson that will never depart from me. Now, I somehow taught him a lesson and that is to be humble. He doesn't want anyone to take his position of being a consistent first honor. He didn't know that he had already stepped on someone else. I just hope that he was thankful for what I did. I am also very grateful to teach him that.


We should be thankful to God, to our parents, to our friends, to our house help, to the drivers and many other more. First, we need to thank God because He gave us life. He has provided us with many things. In time of difficulty, He is always there to help us. He doesn't depart from us. He always stay with us. No matter how long we turn our backs on Him, He doesn't give-up on us. Second, to our parents because it is them who brought us to this world. They provide us our basic needs. We just can't explain how we love them. To our friends, "thank you" because they are always beside us in times of trouble. When we have problems, we don't hesitate to go near them because we are assured that they can help us though not totally get that burden off, at least, they make that burden not too heavy to put on our backs. They are always there when we are blue. To our house help and drivers, "thank you" because they help us do half of our job. Though they didn't finish a high degree of education, we still need to thank them. Thank them for preparing food for us, for driving us to school or elsewhere. Thank them for being around when our parents are not. They ensure our health and safety.


In Ephesians 5:20, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." tells us to give thanks to the Lord for everything. It is because everything comes from Him and only Him whether it is good or bad. No one deserves more thanks than God alone. So, remember to be thankful at all times whether good or bad comes to you.

Teaching...

Remember the saying "It takes two to tango" this can apply to the teacher-student relationship. Teachers and students should consider themselves partners in the education process with the common goal--self perfection. Teachers to teach and student to learn.


My grandmother is a teacher. From her, I learned that teacher is an essential factor of learning. A good teacher must have the ability to create teaching strategies in order to stimulate or motivate the learning ability of the students. Teaching will be successful if the teacher knows the interest and understands the problem of the students. A teacher should respect the personality of the learner and appreciation of his or her contribution to the common task assigned. Teaching should be democratic.


The function of teaching is to provide the best stimuli so that the best learning may take place. Teaching is the stimulus and learning is the response or reaction. It can be said therefore that teaching and learning supplement and implement each other. Both are important.


The emphasis in all teaching should be upon the learning process and not upon the subject matter. If the teacher finds the need to change their instructional methods and style in order to adjust their students needs then so be it. He or she should not lead students to failure, but guide them to have a better understanding of the lesson. In turn, the student would obtain understanding of himself or herself as a person. In this, learning comes in.

I am Althea.

Just like ordinary kids, I play around.I had my nursery in OLGPCLC(Our Lady of Guadalupe Child Learning Center). Since I am the only one going to school at that time and having no one to play with, I did mischievous things like the time when I bit my teacher's ear. I was three years old back then while my classmates were ages five to six years old. The time when I bit my teacher's ear was when my yaya came to school to return a food container which belonged to my teacher. I felt like going home with my yaya when I saw her. I was running towards her when my teacher stopped me. I really struggled to go out of the room but she brought me back to my chair. While on my chair, I climbed up the table and it so happened that my teacher was very near me. She was on my reach. I slowly went near her and bit her ear thinking that she'd allow me to go home. My parents didn't know about what happened but when they brought me to school the next day, I barely got off the vehicle. I was so guilty of such action. My parents kept asking me why I was so different that day.It was just so unusual of me because they know how much I love going to school. They asked the teacher what the matter really was. There, she told them what I did to her. Upon learning what mischievous thing I did, I got a dressing down from them. From that day on, I didn't go back to that school, instead, I stayed in my room with all the activity books my mom bought for me. It was somehow a fun punishment. I was able to vandalize the walls of my room. Again, I got reprimanded but it was still fun. Drawing all around the walls of my room.

When I reached five years old, I attended school again. I was enrolled in Bethany Christian School. My parents had second thoughts of sending me to that school since it was quite expensive and they feared that might quit school again but eventually, I proved them wrong. I studied very well and had somehow impressive academic achievements. I was in that school from my kinder years until the last year of my elementary education. I had some good friends and I sometimes hang around with them.


I am Althea Gil J. Bana-ay. I'm a second year high school student of the University of the Philippines High School in Cebu. I was born on the seventeenth day of December in the year 1991 to Samuel and Esterlita Gabutan. Wondering why my last name is Bana-ay when my parents are Gabutan? It's simply because I'm an illegitimate child or shall I state it this way: I was born before my parents got married. I am the eldest of five children. But I have a half-sister older than I am. She's Apple Joy J. Bana-ay. She's now a Registered Nurse. I have three brothers namely Valentin, Paul Sammy and Paul Rommy. My dear younger sister is Tanya Jill. Valentin is in first year high school. Paul Sammy is in grade two. Paul Rommy is in kinder two. My dear Tanya Jill is in grade four. The four of them are studying in Bethany Christian School. My family and I lives in Gabutan Compound Buena Hills Guadalupe, Cebu City. My father is a landscaper while my mother is a housewife.


Every person has his or her own interests, hobbies or talents. As for me, I'm inclined to reading. I love swimming. I was only about five years old when I learned to swim. As I reached the age of eleven, I tried my best to learn badminton and fortunately, I did. I'm an adventurous person. I love travelling. So far, I've been to Negros, Iloilo, Boracay, Bohol and Davao. The places' wonderful scenic spots make my day so fine.T hey make me feel comforted.


Being in U.P. was not my choice. It was my parents' decision to put me to this school. During my first year, I really had a hard time with my Filipino subject because in my old school, our teacher would speak to us in English since Filipino subject wasn't really a big thing. In this university, I saw and knew things I didn't see and know. I also encountered challenges that I never knew it was possible to encounter. Now, I know that there is a big world for me to explore and life has a test for me to take and I am ready to risk all that I have just to surpass life's test.