The day of love or expectations?

 The day of love or expectations?

  First of all, Valentine's day started as a honorary day Saint Valentine, it was originally a feast linked to religion. But over the years it has been adapted by numerous cultures and has transformed into a celebration of love and romance. Just how much has this affected modern insight and beliefs?

  The idea of a day celebrated on romance seems like a good idea at first, the idea of getting special treatment and special gifts for one day would make anyone like the holiday. But why do we need the holiday in the first place? Aside from it's religious roots, it has no value in today. Why do we need a special day to celebrate love? When love is not something to be rushed or bombed, love is continuous, love should be constant. When we need a special day to affirm our love, just how true is your affection? Valentine's promotes love bombing and the need for a grand gesture to show true romance, Which is no way to love somebody.

  The day of hearts should not be the basis for love, love is a slow journey. It is a beautiful thing that should be valued as what it is, and not be put into one "special" day.

References:

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/valentines-day/

https://quotefancy.com/quote/2584899/Frank-Natale-Love-is-the-only-constant-the-only-reality-and-when-you-accept-and

My CBR experience

My CBR experience 

Our Community based research or CBR for short, was a new and thrilling activity for experience. We worked on it and completed it within a couple days, definitely a project that I won't soon forget. Without further ado, here are some of my highlights:

         My picture for our team profile: officially the first thing I contributed to our CBR project!

Interview: Us in the Brgy. hall to ask permission to collect and picture some of their data

Collecting and analyzing: After we were given permission, we took pictures of their documents

My contribution: A pic of my official profile, highlighting my work and background

 Research, research: After settling on our topic, we took to the internet to gather information

Ever so close

 Ever so close

Just like that, the 3rd quarter has come to a close, it went by so fast, that I barely felt that it's actually over. The 3rd quarter is the most unique one so far in my ICT10 journey, for the first time we were put in a group and we were forced to learn how to work as a group and cover each other. I have learned what comes with collaboration, that it's hard to learn how to rely on others while also covering for them, I've learned to understand other's situations and adapt on it for the benefit of the group. that it takes resilience and perseverance to work as a team, learning lessons that I will carry moving on.

By being put in a group, I adapted based on what's better for us, I did not do anything unnecessary if only I would benefit from it. I tried to look at our situation from a 3rd person perspective to avoid bias, and did my part quietly to not hinder our team.

Moving on, I will..

Bring these lessons coming forward, each mistake that I have made along the way brought me a lesson that I will carry and use in the future. This quarter has been a challenging one because of the tight schedule and the element of being in a group, but also rewarding for the fact that the lessons it taught were invaluable. Despite the stress and pressure, it feels liberating to feel ever so close to the end of my Grade 10 journey.

References:

Teamwork is fun :). Photo taken at: https://blogs.ubc.ca/senghyunlee11/2013/04/04/teamwork-is-fun/

Importance of Building Effective Collaboration In the Workplace. Photo taken at: https://zight.com/blog/effective-collaboration/

A culture that adapts is for all

 A culture that's accepting is for all

Chinese new year or the lunar new year is the new year equivalent in Chinese culture, its the turning of the page for all lunisolar calendars. So why do we also celebrate it? Many just disregard this day as a holiday for others and just accept the free day off, but why do we actually treat this day as a national holiday if its for the Chinese?

The answer is, we Filipinos are accepting, one of the traits that we can most stand proudly with is our hospitality. We treat everyone who comes or visits our land as one of our own, so naturally as the Chines population grew in the Philippines, we also treated them as a fellow Filipino. With that, we embraced them, not just as people but their culture. Thus, for respect to all Chinese-Filipino citizens we also accepted their culture as our own

In conclusion, the reason we treat the Lunar new year as one of our national holidays is due to our natural kindness and compassion as Filipinos. We accept everyone as our own, and that's a trait we should always be proud of and stand by.

references:

Xi’s Visit to the Philippines: Implications for China-Philippine Relations, Photo taken at: https://www.isdp.eu/publication/xis-visit-to-the-philippines/

[OPINION] Finding the middle ground with the Middle Kingdom. Photo taken at: https://www.rappler.com/voices/ispeak/235027-middle-ground-philippines-china/

5 things you may not know about the Chinese-Filipino community. Photo taken at: https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/arts/the-filipino-chinese-community

Preservation of the past

 Preservation of the past 

Through the centuries, Vigan City has gone through drastic changes, from a simple rural village in the province to a booming city mixing the rural lifestyle with modern aspects of life. Now a certified UNESCO city of the world, just how much has Vigan changed?

Back then, Vigan was a major trading hub for the Spanish, with its strategic location for trade, it became a melting pot of Ilocano, Spanish, and Chinese culture. Their system was simple, using horse-drawn carriages and infrastructure by the Spanish, with the locals mainly using local practices such as weaving and pottery to make a living. Today, it has reinvented itself as one of the major cities in the northern Philippines, making a name for itself by preserving their previous way of life and integrating it to modern times. A province village no more, now it is a booming city mainly relying on tourist-attractions.

Vigan has somehow found a way to commemorate the past while still looking to the future, it's rich history and culture has not been forgotten due to the effort by Vigan's leaders to not let it be lost to time and that's an honorable way of remembering those who came before and the perfect example on the preservation of the past.

References:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/329818372684874553/

https://bluprint-onemega.com/architecture/heritage/vigan-fernando-zialcita/

New year, same me?

 New year, same me?

For a lot of people the new year's turns a new chapter in life, that it's time to change and for new beginnings to bloom, hence, new years resolutions. I admit, I too was once ever so hopeful that maybe the new year will make changes easier but for this year I started to wonder if I really am content with a new year, same me.

Why? I worked so hard in 2024, I achieved everything I wanted to attain coming into that year and I finished my grade 9 feeling accomplished. But now, everything feels like a downgrade from last year, my overall performance seems to have regressed and I can't help but feel disappointed that I couldn't exceed or even match my previous accomplishments. Disappointment after disappointment, I slowly started to make an excuse for everything, that this year was my rest, but as time goes on, I started to see the hypocrisy in that.

I should never be complacent ever again, I should be grateful for my blessings while at the same time still striving to outdo myself. I will welcome 2025's challenges head on, and blame nothing else but myself when I stumble, I will never ever be content being someone who has proven nothing. I won't let myself be outdone by my previous years, I will always aim to improve, enhance, and refine myself.

Reference:

12 personal growth ideas. taken at:https://www.virtuesforlife.com/12-personal-growth-ideas/

Complacency found.. will you cure it? taken at:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/complacency-foundwill-you-cure-solomon-sisay

My homecoming

 Homecoming: My holiday experience 

Wow, it's been a long holiday, and yet, Somehow it feels like it's over in the blink of an eye. Feels like just yesterday I was partying the celebration of Christmas and New year and here I am now writing my first blog of the 3rd quarter. My holiday consisted my family and I going back home to Manila and Rizal to spend our holiday with our close friends and family after not seeing them for a whole year, as we live all the way in Vigan City more than 7 hours away from them. Yet, the bonds we've made with them never seemed to relinquish, despite not seeing them for a whole year, the second we met again and actually started to spend time with each other it felt like we never really left. It was a long 10 days of vacation that gave us plenty of memories that left me excited for our next trip back.

Childhood friends: They are so interesting, on the way over, I actually started to get nervous to meet them again, the thought that maybe the connection just wasn't there anymore, that we outgrew eachother and that our friendship was a thing of the past, it just always lingered on the back of my mind. Yet, when we met, all the memories, all the connections, all the bonding, that we have made all throughout my 13 years of living there all came rushing back, we were talking like we hadn't spent a whole year not talking to eachother and despite only spending 1 day with them, it felt like I was a child once again. Their goodbye's as we were leaving almost made me shed a tear, im not an emotional person, but their farewells hit deep as the realization starts to hit that these people made me, that they are friends for life. The saying really is true "No one has a friend like when they were a kid, they will spend their whole life trying to replace their childhood friends and yet, they never truly will" there is no doubt in my mind that I will truly miss them.

Of course, last but certainly not the least, the whole reason we spend the holidays, for our family: these are the people who will undoubtedly have our back when we need it the most, the people who we share blood with through thick and think they will always be there. The holidays is our chance to celebrate new beginnings while respecting our traditions with the ones who truly care about us.

Reference:

www.blogger.com