16. Posts that I've commented on

1. Holgado's 13th post

2. Coronel's 14th post

3. Nares' 15th  post

4. Umayao's 15th post

5. Alfafara's 14th post

6. Fonacier's 3rd post

7. Cruz' 9th post

8. Jimenez Marc's 14th post

9. Laureta's 13th post

10. Jimenez Jeeno's 9th post

11. Llantos' 7th post

12. Cerrada's 9th post

13. De Leon's 11th post

14.  Rivera's 2nd post

15. Lavandero's 15th post

15. Hunger in Sudan.

Are you familiar with this picture?
The Title of this picture is The Little Girl and The Vulture. I bet you didn't knew that this was a little girl not boy. I also thought that she was a boy because she has no long hair. This picture was taken by  a South African photojournalist, Kevin Carter, while on assignment to Sudan. He took his own life a couple of month later due to depression

“The parents of the children were busy taking food from the plane, so they had left their children only briefly while they collected the food. This was the situation for the girl in the photo taken by Carter. A vulture landed behind the girl. To get the two in focus, Carter approached the scene very slowly so as not to scare the vulture away and took a photo from approximately 10 meters. He took a few more photos before chasing the bird away.”

The first thing that popped out in my mind when I saw the picture of the little girl and the vulture was basically waiting for the little girl to die from hunger because vultures prefer dead meat because they can eat rotten flesh without getting ill and they have acids in their stomach that can destroy any organism that a rotten flesh has.

Where was this photo taken? It’s in Sudan, an Arab country in Nile valley of North Africa. In Sudan, 2.2 million were still facing either crisis or emergency level of food insecurity.

About the photographer: He had a good shot that made the people be aware on what’s happening in other countries all over the world. Unfortunately, the photographer of this picture committed suicide because of the criticism that being thrown to him because he didn’t do anything after he took the shot. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning on July 27, 1994 at the age of 33.  If I was in the photographer’s situation, I’d take the shot and ward off the vulture away from the little girl and give the little girl some food what I have in my bag.

Some Filipinos are also having the same situation today what the little girl had that is why I feel very lucky in my situation right now that I eat at least 3 times a day, I sleep in a comfortable place and I can have everything that I need. 

reference: http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/vulture-little-girl/

14. 17 years of existence and my father is not always around

     It was never easy growing up in this kind of situation because my father is not always around. As a boy growing up, having your father around is important because you need a father figure. My mom was the real MVP, she stood in for my father who was assigned in Mindanao. I do not know how she does it, but she was able to guide us her three children while also looking after her parents.  Have you ever experienced not having your father around during special occasions?  Most especially on your birthday? What would you feel?

          I’m used to this kind situation. I remember when I was a kid I used to cry a lot because my father was not present on my most special day, my birthday. It really broke my heart because I am a “daddy’s boy.”  We can only have our father to celebrate with either on Christmas or New Year, but not on both days. Their duty is to serve the country and this is 24/7 so each soldier has to wait for their “break” so they can go home to their families. That was always the situation in my elementary days. Whenever he goes home, I would literally jump for joy. The saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, is something I can relate to.This is the price of all the assistance or benefits from being a military family – you have your father always on the field to keep the country safe and secured from danger.Growing up I have slowly accepted our situation. I began to appreciate the little things in life. Seeing your father drinking his coffee and reading a newspaper already puts my mind at ease and soothes my heart.  From all these dramas, I am already thankful and blessed to have a father. I may not see him often but it is nice to know that he is out there. Unlike other kids like me who don’t even know their father.

    In conclusion, living in a military family have their pros and cons. The benefits may give an outsider a view that we are living a rosy life. However, the military values that we have to live and not having your father around all the time will make you think twice.  My father is not the only soldier in the family, me and my siblings can also be considered as soldiers. Similar to him, we are fighting a war within ourselves every day.We are always afraid and nervous about what may happen to him on the field. To me, if something happen to him this will definitely leave my heart with a wound that is deeper than a gunshot wound.

13. Military Family.

      Some people would say living in a military family is difficult. It is somewhat true. In one hand, there are military values that you should embrace because you are the reflection of your military parents.      On the other hand, there are benefits that only military personnel and their families can avail of. These benefits are wide-ranging – we have medical, recreation, and Army housing.     Let us go first with the military values that others may find difficult or what makes living in a military family, difficult. First is about discipline.   At home, we were always asked to fix our bed after we wake up in the morning and refusal to conform would be World War III against our mother.    Our mother is also a military personnel. It was part of her training to fix her bed because failure to do so she will receive a demerit from her higher officer. Fixing one’s bed may seem unnecessary but it surely reflects how disciplined you are.    Waking up 10 o’clock in the morning is considered late in our house. As they say  “Early to bed, Early to rise” in my case, I say “Late in bed, still early to rise”  My parents are early risers. They always wake up at 4:30 in the morning even if they sleep late. According to them, they have become used to it because it was part of their training. Each of us has a duty roster or a list of duties that we must do every day after we fix our bed. For example, my duty is to throw the garbage, wash the dishes and follow orders from my kuya and ate.    To sum up these are some of the military values being taught to us military dependents—sense of discipline, sense of responsibility/duty and sense of conformity. Let us now proceed to the benefits of living in a military family. Like what I have said earlier, the benefits are wide-ranging because we have housing, healthcare, sports and fitness programs, educational programs, and recreation programs. In the recreation program we have a park, basketball courts, grandstand, firing range, and bike trail, just to name a few. When my parents are not busy with work, we often go to the Army grandstand to jog and do sprints. We consider this activity as a form of family bonding.   In sports and fitness program the army wellness center offers sports clinic every summer for military dependents. They offer sports such as: Basketball, Volleyball, Football, Boxing, Tennis, Badminton, Swimming, Muay Thai, Arnis, Taekwondo and Karate. I chose Basketball and Boxing. Before I started participating in the annual basketball summer clinic in our camp, I already have a background about the sport because my father was a passionate basketball player.  For self-defense purposes, I chose Boxing. Learning this sport was not easy, which you can already see with its sharp difference with Basketball – the pounding of the muscles, the stretching out of lungs.     Another assistance we get is healthcare. Under the healthcare program is free medical and dental service. To me, this is one of the most important because even we take vitamins or supplements we can get sick for some reasons and we know this is very expensive in private hospitals.  Talking about education, the Army have sought partnership with a number of private organizations. These organizations offers scholarship to military dependents. One example, is the Asia Pacific College.   The most important assistance for me is housing because this is one of the basic needs. In our case, our family is already blessed to have been granted a housing because the competition is very high.  

12. Smokin'

Why do people smoke even though it has a side effect? Is it really addicting?
I have friends who are chain smokers, even though they smoke I still don't get influenced by them. I tried once, but for me its not really addicting.

There are Teenage and Adult smokers, they have same addiction but they have different reasons.

Three of the main reasons that young people smoke are to look mature, to be like their friends, and to experiment. Since teens see older people all around them smoking, especially their parents and relatives, they smoke to act older. If their friends or peers smoke, they may feel pressured into doing the same to be accepted. The last reason is the excitement of experimenting with something that is forbidden. In Massachusetts it is against the law for anyone under 18 years old to smoke. Usually parents do not allow their under age teens to smoke. Therefore, smoking becomes very attractive. It is exciting to get cigarettes and sneak away to smoke without being caught.

Adults smoke for other reasons. They may have a lot of stress and pressures because of economic and personal problems. They may be unemployed or working but not making enough money to take care of themselves and their families. They may be homeless, or they may be dealing with alcohol or cocaine/heroin addictions. Some may be in bad marriages or relationships in which there is physical and/or verbal abuse. All these people may smoke to feel relaxed or to give them energy while going through a hard time.

But did you know that smoking can reduce weight? because, Smokers, on the average, weigh seven pounds less than non-smokers. Smoking reduces a person's appetite. It lessens his/her sense of taste and smell. This could be why ex-smokers gain weight after quitting cigarettes. Food tastes and smells so much better.

I don't know why some people who saw someone who is smoking they think he/she has a bad personality, it is totally disagree with that. Its because they just love smoking and it gives them pleasure that makes them feel good.

reference: http://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit3/1why_people_smoke.html

11. My Favorite Place

            Every time I go to my favorite place, I always feel very relaxed where I can rest peacefully. Entering to my favorite place when you look to the left you will see a white big cabinet and beside of it, there is a black shoe rack. Looking to right side, you will see the reason why this is my favorite place because it’s very soft and cozy that you will feel that you’re like lying down in the clouds and will make you daydream even if you’re not yet asleep, basically, it’s my white king sized bed. Looking back to the left side, at the corner part of it, my computer is located with my wallet, car keys and cellphone. In short, my valuables. On the other side, the corner right side of my favorite place is simply my used clothes that is ready for laundry. When you look above, you will only see a lightbulb but when you turn off the light, you will see a “glow in the dark” stars and when you look below, it’s the floor, designed like the floor of a basketball that has a free throw line and a 3 point line. If you still can’t visualize my favorite place, Simply, It’s my bedroom.

              Why bedroom? I'm not that kind of person who will travel out of town to go for the place where I can relax, because I'm not a travel type of guy. I just want things to be simple just like my favorite place. Unlike other people, they have to travel and spend money to relax themselves and escape from their problems. Going to my favorite place doesn't need any money to blow or effort to exert just to be there, I just have to lie down to my bed and I will feel already relaxed. Also, I can go to my favorite place anytime I want, unlike travelling out of town that eats a lot of time just to arrived there and you can't go there anytime you want unless you have free time and extra money to spend.

               Looking for your favorite doesn't need to be luxurious, it can be simple because the important thing is that you can relax and be at peace for a short period of time to empty your mind from all the problems you had in your daily life.

10. HAPPINESS

I'm a person who looks like that has no problem at all. Even though that I have problems, I chose to be happy. Because for me, Happiness is a choice. So What is Happiness?

I read this Essay of Definition about Happiness in this site: http://www.scholaradvisor.com/essay-examples/definition-essay-happiness/

Definition Essay: Happiness

Happiness. It is not measurable, profitable, nor tradable. Yet, above all else in the world, it is what people seek. They want to have happiness, and want to know they have a lot of it. But happiness, like air or water, is a hard thing to grasp in one’s hand. It is intangible. So how does one know if they have it? Is it just a feeling? And if someone does not feel happy, how can they go about achieving that feeling?

Happiness is not measured by material wealth. A new car or television, a waterskiing boat or a three-level house does not equate to joyful feelings. They are status symbols, surely, and ones that make others assume a person is happy, but they do not guarantee a happy life. The clichéd phrase, “money can’t buy happiness,” is heard often… because it is true. People who have wealth can be unhappy, just as the poor can be living on cloud nine. Possessions can be gained and lost, and with that comes fear. And fear rarely leads to happiness.

So if it isn’t ‘stuff’ that achieves happiness, then what can? Well, goals can. People need to have a sense of purpose. It is no coincidence that Peanuts creator Charles Schultz died a week after ending his famous comic strip. Without a purpose, he was lost. But people that have a sense of purpose in their life often have a feeling of satisfaction about them. They sense they were put on this planet for a reason. To each person, this purpose can be different. Maybe they were meant to teach. Maybe they were meant to mother. Maybe they were meant to learn. And goals can be small things, like taking an extra moment each day to breathe. But having progress in life, a feeling of forward motion, can make people feel happy.

So people can be happy if they have something to strive for and something to laugh about. But is that it? Can people with goals and a sense of humor still be unhappy? Well, yes. After all, the final key to happiness is the decision to actually be happy. Human nature can see negative energy anywhere. People can fixate on problems instead of solutions. So at the end of the day, “happiness depends upon ourselves.” (Aristotle). As Lincoln said, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Being happy with who you are and what you have, is a decision that has to be consciously made. Goals can help lead to happiness. Finding laughter in life is important. But at the end of the day, a person needs to make a choice about happiness. They need to agree they want it, deserve it, and have it.

This essay really made me realize that there is plenty of things that can make you happy and not just material things will make you happy

9. Heneral Luna

Is it Juan Luna? or is it Antonio Luna?

Obviously it's Antonio Luna, who is known as one of the best military tacticians in the Philippines and he was also the founder of the Philippines's first military academy, which existed during the First Philippine Republic. He is also called the fiery-tempered but brilliant military strategist of Gen Aguinaldo. He was the brother of the famous painter Juan Luna.

Is he really a soldier since then? No. He studied Bachelor of Arts at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, studied pharmacy at the Univerity of Santo Tomas, but finished it in Barcelona, Spain. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine at the Central University of Madrid, and studied further in France and Belgium. The sad part of Antonio Luna's life after what he had done for the country, he was murdered at Aguinaldo’s orders, killed by the same officer whom Luna had disciplined for insubordination.

I really admire Antonio Luna's bravery, unusual style of fighting, and strict discipline ( strict and dictator-like ) because he didn't get intimidated even if the enemies are the Americans and he is keep on encouraging his army that they can defeat the Americans. I believe that they can defeat the Americans if Gen. Mascardo granted Antonio Luna's request to defeat the Americans and defend the country.

I would like to share to you the 13 Facts that prove Antonio Luna was an all-around BADASS.

1. He was a scientist.

2. He was a brilliant writer.

3. He was an expert marksman and martial artist.

4. He and Rizal almost had a duel.

5. He had a badass teacher in the art of war.

6. He wanted a pre-emptive strike on the Americans.

7. He helped establish the first military academy for Filipinos.

8. He had his own elite group of soldiers.

9. He created the Luna Line.

10. He planned to build a guerrilla fortress in the Mountain Province.

11. A bag of coins stopped a bullet from killing him.

12. He was frightening even in death.

13. Even the Americans admired him.

If you really want to know the story behind these 13 facts you can visit this link: http://www.filipiknow.net/facts-about-antonio-luna/

8. SOCSIT WEEK!

So basically I'm a freshman in APC who will experience the SOCSIT week for the first time, I really don't have any ideas on what's gonna happen, The only thing that I know is that there is a basketball league.

Tuesday was the Opening day of the SOCSIT week where all freshmen in IT will go to the parking area outside to have a parade around even its very hot :)) And the Mr. and Ms. SOCSIT candidates are being introduced.

The basketball games was the only event in SOCSIT week where I was preparing for. My classmates and teammates hasn't any ideas that I play basketball because of my nerdy physical appearance. Our first game was against the Black team, where I scored 32 points and we almost lose but still,me and my teammates never gave up that's why we won (50-49). It was a very tight and thrilling game. The next day, which is our second game where we battled the orange team and I scored only 20 points, We had a very good game, all of my teammates contributed in offense and in defense that's why our score against the orange team was 40-70 (we won). Our last game was against the defending champions which is the red team, I admitted that we'll gonna lose the game but I still gave my best until the very last second of the game. I admire the red teams pressuring defense that had us a difficult time in scoring and their star player (Paraiso) who is really good in offense and defense. Even though we only made the Semi-Finals round. Luckily, I was part of the Mythical Five! I still enjoyed it and wishing that I would win a championship in SOCSIT week and be part of the IT Team in college week before I graduate in APC.

30 SECONDS FAME OR SHAME. The event where I really feel embarrassed because it's a requirement to all freshmen students that's why I don't have a choice but to perform something with my group. We danced the Whip and Nae Nae even though I'm not good in dancing and I know that I dance like a robot.