Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Some dreams never come true

Jane is a public high school standout. She marched her way to success no less by graduating as the class valedictorian of their batch. And now, she is very much exited to go to college and finish a degree.

This enthusiasm widely grew as an array of scholarship offers from different colleges and universities is marching their way into her hands. And all she needs to do is to sit freely, relax and choose among the variety of goods she can walk away for free.

However, still she is in doubt. She ponders on a choice whether or not to continue her studies. For big problem is about to become very evident.

Though she may have been a recipient of innumerable awards and recognitions in her grade school and high school days but still she cannot erase the truth that her family is poor.

Her father is a trisikad drayber and her mother is a labandera. Even if both of her parents are earning, she fears that it might not be enough to send her to college. It might not even be enough in financing their daily needs.

She has to make a decision. Will she go for the scholarship and set aside her family's financial limitation? Or will she choose n easy way out by skipping college and finding a job? At the end, it is likely to be expected she will have to go for the right choice.

For obvious reasons, Jane is mentally handicapped by a reality she cannot escape from. They are poor and education is getting highly commercialized.

This is a familiar story of students who took an early knockout from their hopes of becoming a college graduate. Though it sounds easy to say but certainly it was not easy for Jane to say "I quit" to school even if she greatly wanted it.

Her parents are earning only P200 a day. Even if it seems big enough to support her, she has to share it with her four other siblings who also go to school.

Indeed, education is most likely equal to money. It is the highest grossing business at far. Or how else would we dub a situation where a student have to pay a huge amount of money and study for four years just to earn a piece of paper known to us as "diploma"? Is it fair?

We think it's not. Though it's right to say that earning a diploma is not a guarantee that we have learned everything we need but it is a requirement no less.

A college degree is our passport for a white-collar job. And whether we like it or not, companies and institutions prefer a college graduate rather than a high school standout.

This could be the pity fate waiting for Jane. Her dreams of becoming a teacher someday might be sidelined for good. It may sound contradicting to what we always preach that poverty is not a hindrance to success but what other choice we may have if it's financial deprivation that puts us into jail box.

What can we do if we have to pay a minimum amount of P1000 (one thousand pesos) just to enroll? What can we do if school projects and contributions force us to pay in full? What can we do if during exams where a standing "No Permit, No Exam" policy requires us to pay in a deadline? What else can we do if we have no money?

Yes, we may have the intellect capacity to compete in big schools and universities but still cannot deny the truth that education has become a stern commodity. WE may have the dreams and the will but what is the worth of it if our pockets are empty and crying no less.

Unless if it rains money: Hope will never come free to a hopeless heart.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Riding the Metal Horse


A cold and cloudy morning welcomed me as I quench my hunger by smelling the newly cooked delicious Pork Adobo. Combining my hair was the last thing I did in our messy living room while watching the morning talk show.

The loud horns were the first thing I heard while waiting for a jeep together with other busy - looking passengers carrying their luggage and briefcases. Smoke was everywhere and people covered their nose.

It was nine in the morning when I took a glance on the watch of a little girl ready for school standing beside me. After a few minutes, red AC jeep with a metal horse placed in the hood stopped in front of us and loaded as much as passengers as it can.

I sat at the far end of the left side at the back near the driver's seat. It was almost full when it started to move. There were five students sitting near the entrance, an old lady in a nursing suit in front of the students, a guy with his big black pack bag in front of me, and some little kids busy checking their bags were sitting next to me. Many paid their fare by passing it from one person to another before the driver.

I looked at the busy street where traffic was heavy. Private cars, public jeepneys, big buses, some motorcycles were building up until the road was crowded.

Not far from where I was a wet market. Some people were shouting, "Palit na mo, barato lang". Some were choosing the fresh vegetables spread on a big sack where people passed by. Beside these busy sellers and buyers were sleeping street children in a connected dirty cartons coverd by tattered and crumpled newspapers. They slept as if they weer apart from the world.

The jeep continued to move. We passed a tall building where people entered and went out, wearing their professional and office attires. They were pleasant to the eyes largely different from the street children that I saw in the market.

I checked my phone and it was almost ten. The jeep was almost empty that I haven't noticed. After a while, I step out of the jeep and walked to the school. Riding the metal horse was great.

Silent Protest

In our country today, knowing the fact that it is democratic ran by a president chosen and elected by the nation, typical sceneries of rallies and protests are portrayed in some common areas. Girls, boys, children and adults join the protest. Protest that shouts and begs for equal treatment of the policies established by ranked individuals in the society.

An ordinary person like me, living in this drastic yet innocent world, has a silent protest within me. Activists are always present in the streets because they always see the wrong, dirty side of the world. They don't see the bright and wonderful side of it. They always contradict the decisions of the leaders instead of supporting it. They always raise their big, small, heavy, and light placards. They always shout, raising their voices to the highest pitch. They make noise barrages, hunger strikes and throw pillboxes. Above all, they are the voice of the people. But can we still consider then as good citizens of the country, good followers and abiders of the law?

Maybe some, such leaders of the activists, but majority of them are yes considered active, active in doing immoralities, and unethical behaviors. They criticize the government of not doing its best to reduce and prevent poverty, but did they do something about it? They always reproduce, and when time comes that they can't support their families anymore, they blame the government. That's what they always do and can only do.

Sometimes I feel that everything is a joke. The government is doing its best to develop the country but people don't see it. They make agreements with other countries that would help us comfortable in any means but people see it as if the government is selling the nation.

The people want the President to be impeached, but do they ever consider that the President has done good for the country, and do they ever think that what if the present president will be impeached and the next person in line could not lessen the problems in the country, will they impeach him and will do the same?

I guess the basic problem that I see now is that there is no unity among Filipinos, they don't support the leader in his or her decisions. These are just my opinions, and democracy will still prevail.

The Importance of English Language

The Filipino people used to be the top ranking nationals who could speak and use the English language fluently.

However, English proficiency of the Filipinos nowadays has waned, stripping away the pride that was once theirs. Just how important is the English language these days, it would be suffice to say it is needed in order for an individual to compete in the global market.

With the increase in demand for nurses, caregivers, teachers and call center agents abroad, a good English proficiency is needed to be a part of the workforce in demand abroad. The proper use of the English language is not only important in the job aspect but also as an integral part of self-actualization.

Having a good knowledge about the English language as well as having sufficient knowledge about the world is something an individual has the right to be proud of.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Addiction

Summer that year was a tragedy.
Tears of regret rolled down hid face.
He was given another chance
where nobody could stop him doing vice.

He said that he would change
yet he regarded his promise
for just a couple of times
a broken vow-an evidence of subservience
to the deadly bondage of sin.

His friends tried to change him,
but no one could fathom his whim.
He ramained selfish and aggrieved.
Yet he never knew that his friends grieved
for his self-catadysmic acts.

Now, he's better but no one could tell,
his internal struggle remains unsettled.
The cure for his malady is on him.
The malady, if not cured, will remqin for him
forever.

Sorrows Were Sweet

The soundless scream of my inner,
tried to awaken a doubtful winner;
I should prove to them nothing,
'cause this world never had been listening.

I want to talk
but they reside into noi sy sidewalk
I want to sing,
but in their ears live sting

I want to die,
but my shoelaces were not yet tied
And I want to quit,
but I realized that sorrows were sweet.

Loved

You are the one who put
me together;
whose comforting hands
are everywhere...
Keeping in touch
when ever I need the most;
Never will leave me everytime
I shout "I'm lost"...
When troubles come and
hurts strike me;
You're always there
to protect me...
My lover is mine
and I am His;
I will give to Him
my full service...
For Him I am the rose of Sharon
a lily of the valleys;
To him I offer my praise...
You rescue me from my
deepest hurt;
and you put a rainbow inside
my heart...
indeed your love
never fails;
You proved it when your hands
were striked with nails...

Melancholy

So peaceful and yet
so disturbing

a lonely candle
amidst the diabolic darkness

All alone; no one but myself!

My heart is lamenting,

it's screaming in pain.

I'm close to being dead

Silent,

Lifeless...

So peaceful and yet so disturbing.

Under the Vehement Sky

I sat in solitude
calm as the dark blue sky,
while the crescent moon interlude
a sudden rush of emotion made me sigh.

All alone I wondered,
my shadow joining my night
wishing to see the silhouette of the man I adored
to share with me one eminent sight.

Cold wind blew which added to my longing
that he be with me as he held me close.
His arms giving me security and caring
a low hissing of words like a prose.

Once more I looked up and this time I smiled.
Waiting for one moment that together we lie,
]in my heart I feel he's been with me all the while.
For still we are under the same vehement sky.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

"Pregnant" Mannequin

Pregnancy-care personnel have traditionally trained with live patients. But now, says an Associated Press report, a "robot birth simulator," named Noelle, is "gaining popularity." The "pregnant" mannequin, complete with realistic pulse and cervix dilation, can be programmed to simulate a number of complications and to have relatively quick births or protracted labor. The "baby" that Noelle delivers might be a healthy pink color or a deadly blue to indicate oxygen deficiency. Why use a mannequin for training?"It's better to make a mistake on a $20,000 robot than a live patient," explains the report.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Young "Consumers"

According to La Sapienza University, in Rome, Italy, children as young as three years of age can distinguish different brands on the market, and by the age of eight, they become "consumers." TV commercials play a big part in their lives, turning them into little "dictators," who demand that their parents buy certain products, says La Repubblica. "The danger is," states the newspaper, that children "end up living in and believing in an unreal world, where whatever is offered (and bought) is a must."

Little Interest in Tropical Diseases

Most tropical diseases are neglected by medical research. Why? "The sad situation is that... the pharmaceutical industry isn't looking for [new treatments],"says Michael Ferguson, a molecular biologist at the University of Dundee, Scotland. There is no financial incentive for drug companies to do so, since they stand no chance of recovering their investment. These companies prefer to produce high earning drugs for such conditions as Alzheimer's disease, obesity, and impotence. In the meantime, says the magazine New Scientist, an estimated "1 million people worldwide die each year from malaria, while safe and effective treatments remain as elusive as ever."

Violence "Just to Pass the Time"

"Beatings and humiliation perpetrated by minors and recorded on video with their mobile phones is increasing," says the Philippine newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer. Some victims never recover after the severe beatings they receive. Why do youths commit these crimes? "They do not do it to steal or because of racism or because they belong to a gang. They do it--and this is the appalling novelty--just to pass the time," explains the magazine XL. "Sometimes they are drunk and sometimes not," says Vicente Garrido, a psychologist who specializes in criminology. "Yet, the common factor is a lack of remorse."

Friday, June 6, 2008

Vampirism

A stake through my heart
it tears my life apart.
How could you do this?
Whatever went amiss?

Though I never bit you
you made me feel blue,
and though you had a tasty neck
I looked at it, at a different aspect.

It's you should've been hypnotized.
Yet I was the one, who has been mesmerized
You are such a tramp

I had you by my side.
But I couldn't bite even if I tried.
Such desire makes me lose sanity.
It's a bitter experience
of vampires like me.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I Hope and Wait

I cannot count the days!
Ridiculed by my excitement
but God's will is what I should wait
I can't believe...But I must be abdicated.
Poly means many.
So I say I am polyproblematic
WAnting instant answers
by words of encouragement.

The scope of my understanding.
it covers...nothing...nothing!
I love to see comfort approaching
but unwilling to sacrifice what a living!

Who am I as myself?
Whoa! No one can differentiate herself!
Either from others or from a good model
be revealed in biblical level!

Has nothing to do or has nothing to boast for
at present, today, yesterday and tomorrow.
Blessed I am, I dream and I breathe.
I should feel the moment I'm right here at peace.

I hope and i wait..
Forget the wrong-thoughts that the devil is putting
in my head.
Battle cries are prepared by prayers,
correct me, Lord, 'cause I'm hurrying for an answer.