"No Decisions in Life?"

When I was a young girl, about six years old, I dreamed of becoming a princess and a mermaid. I don’t know what’s gotten into me that time that I always daydreamed for that. Maybe because I am influenced by the things surrounding me. I have lots of fairytale books, Disneyland movies, and Barbie dolls. These things were always with me day and night when I was at this age.
But this ambition changed when I was nine years old. I felt that I want to be a teacher someday. I love teaching kids what I have learned from my teachers. Maybe I valued my teachers much at that time. I acted like I am the assistant to the teacher because she let me teach those who have difficulty in reading and those who have very poor grades. I love this job that I waste my free time just to teach my classmates how to read and how to solve Math problems.
This ambition continues until I became a Upian. My ambitions were far more great and exciting. I always dreamed of touring different countries in the whole world. My first visit would be in Jerusalem. I like to go to that place because that is the place of Jesus Christ, our Lord. There are also many biblical events happened in that place. I also want to go to Paris and shop fashionable clothes and garments that are comfortable to wear at. Another place would be in Canada. It is where my grandmother and other relatives residing recently. I missed them so much that I want to go there. Because of this dream, I have thought that it would be better if I will be a stewardess or a pilot.
It is so funny that I am so dependent with my wild dreams regarding with my future job. I once dreamed of becoming an agent, surgeon, army, architect, paleontologist, astronaut, and even scientist. Whatever is the most exciting and adventurous job, I then decide to go for it without noticing that I have several fears. I have fears in heights, blood, and risky adventures.
I am such a happy-go-lucky person. I do things that would only satisfy me. I hate making decisions in life. I avoid situations that require such strength and thinking.

But I don’t want to be like this. I want to change for the betterment of my life. I am so childish but I want to be mature. I really don’t know myself.
It is hard to unravel what I really want with my life. I am such a dependent person that let other people depend my decision. Deciding what course I will take is important to me since I am graduating. I am afraid of such responsibility obtains from deciding such matter like this. I just asked God for a sign regarding this. I always prayed for it.

"Tuition Fee Increase"

Tuition fee increase is the only solution of the UP System to somehow attain the demands caused by inflation. Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices, as measured against some baseline of purchasing power. It is caused by the interaction of the supply of money with output and interest rates. Cost-push inflation or supply-shock inflation is a type of inflation caused by large increases in the cost of important goods or services where no suitable alternative is available. A situation that has been often cited of this was the oil crisis of the 1970s, which some economists see as a major cause of the inflation experienced in the Western world in that decade. It is argued that this inflation resulted from increases in the cost of petroleum imposed by the member states of OPEC. Since petroleum is so important to industrialized economies, a large increase in its price can lead to the increase in the price of most products, raising the inflation rate.

With the increase of prices and goods, the school cannot afford to buy some equipments that are needed for the laboratory and other purposes. The school also can’t hire computer experts or experts of other fields because there is no enough money to pay them. As you notice, some of the wrecked buildings of the school have not been repaired. The school cannot afford to buy up-to-dates equipments used in different areas of the school. This is because of inflation.
I believe that the school is suffering from these problems because they are dependent with the budget given by the government. The budget is not enough to sustain or to improve the facilities of the school. The budget for education is low compared to other departments.
With that, I agree with the tuition fee increase. This is the only solution that the UP System has. There is no use of asking additional money from the government because they will not listen anyways. I mean, it is not bad to air out such discrepancies of the government but as what I have observed, they just ignore the people.
Amount of tuition fee increase will be according to the income of the parents of the students. The amount of increase is divided into brackets. Each bracket has corresponding amount of increase in the tuition fee. The bigger is the amount of your parent’s income, the higher is the amount of increase in the tuition fee.
Upians are gravely affected by this since this is a drastic change in the UP System. It is so hard for our batch, especially those who will take up college in UP since we are the first one to experience such change. Nevertheless, I still agree with the increase in tuition fee for I believe that this is the best solution with the financial problems faced by the UP System. Compare to other schools, UP has still less amount of tuition fee and yet offers high quality of education.
We should abide with the law. We chose this school, so we should cooperate with it. The increase will be for our own good. We are benefited from it. Buildings will be improved and up-to-date equipments will be bought for the progress of our studies and also to our schools.

"The Problem With Men and Women Is That..."

Before we tackle with this problem, let us first define the male and the female. Female is pertaining to the sex that brings forth young or produces ova while the male is pertaining to the sex that begets young and produces sperm cells. This is how the Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary defines. The definition of both sexes clearly reveals their opposition. As you notice, they produce different type of cells that when combined together will bring forth young. What I mean here is that the contrast is beneficial for it gives a new life.

But if we study the differences between these sexes, even their finest detail, we can find several problems from them. These are not just differences in terms of physical aspect, but also in their mental and moral aspects.
What I would tackle here are problems towards men and women regarding their moral aspects.

We first tackle the problems girls that girls will always encounter with men. It is easy to observe problems with men but it is hard to understand them. You have to read their thoughts and actions before concluding what they are really up to. So, if I were asked to state the problems regarding men, I would prefer to my own perspective and experiences that I have encountered regarding this issue.

The problems I have with men were mostly their attitudes towards situations. First, I don’t understand why they have to promise if they can’t fulfill it. Is it for the sake of fun? I mean, to promise is a delicate thing to do since it can destroy our dignity. If we break our promises, we unconsciously lowered down our pride and dignity. People will not trust us anymore. We better not make promises to avoid losing other people’s trust on us.

Another problem I have with guys is that they require attitude that is hard to understand things. It took several arguments and talks just to let them understand what girls really mean. Guys are also fond of making fun with girls. I don’t understand why most men do that with girls. Maybe they feel that they are superior over girls.

Lastly, I also don’t understand why most men are vain. They look at the mirror fixing their selves like most girls do.

Now so much for the guy part. Let’s go with the girl part.

As what I have notice, most girls are narcistic or vain. They always go to the mirror, fix their selves as though they are ugly all the time. They always want to be appreciated and to be recognized with what they have and what they contributed. It’s hard to handle this kind of attitude.

Another thing is that girls have weak emotions. They cry even in less pain that they felt. They are easily carried away with their emotions with regard to the situation. That’s why boys have a hard time consoling and understanding girls.

Girls are also the most jealous creature. I don’t know if that’s a fact, but that’s how I see girls.
But girls and boys are who they are. Actually, we are what we are. These are just common problems that we have encountered and heard from other people. In spite of these problems, these two opposite sexes find greater assurance with each other. They enjoy being with each other.

We may encounter problems in meeting other people but that is one way of learning. We should not find problems with them. Instead, we should find good learning from them. We should enjoy each other’s company. Life is better when we find no problem with each other.

"My Breath-Taking Experience"

I have lots of exciting experiences this week . Yesterday, we had our outing held in Hadsan Beach. It was so fun because we were so many and there were lots of activities involved with it. I like the games because they were challenging for me. Some of them involved water and it so hard to play in the water because of the current. We were so blessed because the weather is fine. We were playing catch in the water. I even practiced swimming in there. Although I know how to swim, they taught me how to swim correctly. We even have a Beach Volleyball and I am one of the players. At first, I played nicely but then in later part, I did not hit the ball as expected. But at least, I enjoyed a lot.
I was enjoying much in the water when a tragedy happened. I rode in a boat together with the other youths. We enjoyed rowing within a specified area only. We were not allowed to go far so we were on the shallow part only. We kept on making fun with each other that we did not notice that it was deep already. We then decided to return to our group. We dealt that the one who will swim last would be the “it”. And so, we jumped over and started swimming toward the shore when a youth was drowning. We thought it was only a joke. We did not know that he doesn’t know how to swim. And the hardest part for me is that I was the one who is nearest to him. And so, I helped him swim out of the water. But he struggled so much that he grabbed my arms and neck. He almost tears my shirt. He was drowning me. I felt so weak and started losing my grip. Both of us now were drowning. Thank God our friend helped him out away from me. That eased me and started swimming toward the shore. I drank a lot of seawater. I told him that if you do not know how to swim, you should not join us in going to the deep sea. It was my mistake also because I helped him when I know that I am helpless in saving conscious people from drowning.
The tragedy was over when something happened to me. I had cramps! It was so painful that I cannot bear it. They brought me to the cottage and applied first aid on me. It took ten minutes before I was relieved. I rested for several minutes only. I ate peanuts and junk foods while talking to other people. I felt that I am so sleepy and so, I rested again. The time had finally come for us to leave the place. That was a great and exhausting experience for me. Though tiring and breath-taking, I still enjoyed much. And as usual, we rode in the car, still talking with each other. We were so sleepy but we forced ourselves not to be “knocked-out”, meaning, forcing ourselves not to sleep. We arrived at our house at six in the evening. But I did not rest. Instead, I watched Princess Hours. After that, I took a bath and then went to sleep. That is the end of my day.

"Nice Joke"

After the service in our church, we, the Bradford Youth, decided to go to a beach to have fellowship with one another. It is supposed to be Galilean but all were baptized already. So, we had our fellowship instead. The said activity happened the same day together with the Sinulog Festival. Every one of us was so excited to go there. We are about 50 young people who will join the activity. It was nine in the morning where all the cars used for transporting, have been prepared. We were not bothered with the transportation problems caused by Sinulog Festival.
The car that I have ridden was the first one to leave the church. We are the first one to leave because we have to buy food, drinks and utensils for us all. It was so hard for us to pass the usual road along the way going to our venue because of Sinulog. So instead, we took another route that is much farther but is less traffic. We took the Gullas Street instead of Jones.
We spent much of our time talking and teasing each other. We were so noisy and irritating if other people would hear us. We shared our personal experiences with each other. Some even tell corny jokes that let us think what part of the statement we would laugh. We were so childish at that time. Or maybe, all the time. Every thing that we would see, we then talk about it and laugh at it. There are more senseless talks than serious ones.
We continued that activity until we received a text message from our other youth there in the Church. He said that they had not left yet because the driver of the Bradford jeepney can’t make it to the church because of traffic. Some were texting that they want to go home because it is so hard for them to commute. That alarmed us. All of us in the car were texting them to pursue despite the problem they encountered. We contacted other car that would fetch them instead. But they don’t want to join anymore. We kept on encouraging them but they were not moved by it.
We were so sad when we arrived in the Gaisano Mactan Mall, where we would buy food for our outing. The environment was changed because of the problem. Some got angry because they gave up easily just for that problem. Some were sad because their loved ones were not joining. But still, we pursued and went to Hadsan despite of the problem. We were so less compared before when the plan was disseminated.
We arrived in the Hadsan Beach at 12 noon. We were less than expected. We waited for other people riding on the second car. We kept on texting for the people who decided not to join anymore. We decided to eat first because we are all hungry because of the journey. Time passed when the second car had arrived. They received the same news from the people left in the church. Until, minutes passed, people who decided not to join arrived. We have been punked! That’s it. It’s not a good joke really. But at least, they arrived. We were now complete.

"A Walk To Remember"

The alarm clock rung at exactly five in the morning. It was Sabbath Day. I began my day thanking God for giving the opportunity to live again in this awesome world He created. I woke up this early because I know that commuting will be hard for there is a Sinulog Festival. I took a bath for about 30 minutes and ate my breakfast for only 5 minutes. My brother and I left our house at exactly six in the morning.
At first, we traveled smoothly like there is no celebration in the City. We arrived in the Hi-Way with less people but numerous jeepneys. We looked for a jeepney that would take us to Jones but there is none. The route going to Jones was closed because of the big celebration held that day. So, we rode in a jeep that would take us to Plaza Independencia instead.
There were lots of people out there. I can sense that we will have to walk from Sto. Niño to Urgelio since there was no sign of vehicles passing there. And so, we started walking. It was a big mistake for us in passing the road across the Sto. Niño Church. We didn’t know that a mass was held in there until we found ourselves stuck up in a crowd of people. I was so worried because I didn’t know where to pass in that crowded place. It’s been half an hour already that we’ve been searching for a path that would lead us away from that place.
I started to push myself forward, begging the people to let us pass. I felt that I am so disrespectful with regards to their religion. We kept on walking while they were praying. But we have to attend service in our church. We have to move fast so that we will not be late. Thank God we have reached the less crowded area. But there’s a problem! No one of us knows what part it is in Colon. We don’t know where to ride a jeepney that would take us to Urgelio.
At last! We have found a jeepney going to our church. I felt so relieved until the jeepney dropped us again on the E-mall because the road going to Urgelio was already closed. Again, we have to walk from E-mall to Urgelio. I am sweating over already until we found a jeepney that would take us to our church. I am relieved again and thankful to God with that.
We arrived at the church a half-hour late. But at least we arrived safely. God doesn’t allow such troubles to hinder us in worshipping Him. I learned so much from His word that day. Truly, He deserves to be worshipped. If you think that He was glorified with your doings, then continue it. As what I said before, He should be the one who will be glorified and not us. Let us worship and adore Him in everything that we do. God bless us always.