Bus Tickets

I am not going to make you guess where will you see such a scene because obviously it is the inside of a bus.
The photo above was taken as the bus began to move out of the terminal.
My hand jerked so my phone's camera was tilted to the right.
You can see Manong Konduktor punching holes into tickets.
At this point you might be wondering why would I take such a photo?

As Manong Konduktor (I apologize I did not get his name) distributed tickets, I looked into my wallet for my fare and found more bus tickets.
Provincial bus tickets are longer than city bus tickets.
The former had to be punched with holes to indicate the bus number, date, price of fair, kilometer of departure and destination.
My tickets were folded in a certain way that will make me a borderline OC.
Anyway I always keep my tickets just in case there will be an inspection.
It just so happened that I never got to dispose them after the trip.
So now I find myself with a collection of bus tickets which will soon find its way to the trash receptacle when I arrive home.

Two tickets tell a story of when I got on the bus with my sister after waiting for an hour.
Four tickets recall of a time when my brother, my brother's girlfriend, my sister and I strategically positioned ourselves in order to reserve seats so the four of us will be accommodated.
One particular ticket stayed with me through the ten long hours of being stuck on the bus at the express way when it rained cats and dogs because of the typhoon.

As I took the ticket from Manong Konduktor, I wondered what story this ticket will tell.
Nothing special, perhaps.
Just another journey on my way back to Metro Manila.

My Annual Project

Once again I am done with my annual project - decorating the family Christmas tree.
It is not much, I know, but it somewhat sets the mood for the upcoming holiday season which does not follow that decors and other superficial things are the reasons for this yearly celebration.
If fake trees, plastic wreaths and artificial snow create a wrong perception of "the most wonderful time of the year" then I for one would be against them.

My mother has been asking for the nth time since the start of the month on when will I be decorating the tree (and the rest of the house so my project is actually a package deal) which I always answered "next week" so I was long overdue in putting aside my project.
Well the long wait is finally over because once again I have successfully set and decorated our tree and our home.

Usually I have a theme every year but this year is a year to be frugal so I just combined all our previous decors and came up with a "recycled" Christmas tree which earned compliments so I think I did a good job.
I took photos of the tree with my camera phone which obviously did not give justice to my effort.
Kidding.
Too bad I do not have a better camera.

Now that I am done with my project, I am going to focus on the more important aspect of the upcoming season - the real reason why we are celebrating.

My Fear of Poetry

Last week as I struggled in starting a poem in Literature class, I found out why I shy away from poetry when I could basically write about anything when it comes to prose.

Back in high school I never liked poetry even when I had to memorize a lot of pieces like "O Captain, My Captain", Annabel Lee, sonnets of Shakespeare and a lot more.
Then when it came to composing poetry, I was very weak in rhyming words.
Free verse or free writing was okay but the use of rhyming words was a standard to follow.

It came to me that it was a shame on my part being awarded as the Best in English in our batch when poetry was my Achilles' heel; and it still is.
It dawned on me that it mattered not that only a few could match my skills in grammar and prose.
Back then it was very useful especially in answering essay-type of exams and only a few brave souls dared converse with me out of fear of being corrected but now as I pondered on it, it was not enough.
It seemed I was weighed on a scale and then was found wanting.
It was not enough. It is not enough.

I asked myself, "Why was I weak in poetry?
Was there something that I did not get?
Something that I did not understand about poetry?"
Then I remembered something.
I am not sure if I heard or read it, it just popped into my head.
Understanding.
To understand is to be vulnerable.

I had my answer.
I was weak in poetry because I never dared try to be weak - to be vulnerable.
To be able to write poetry, I needed to search for my deepest emotions and express them.
Poetry is a work of the mind but more importantly, it is a work of the heart.
It is the work of the spirit.
Little or none of those technical stuff in grammar.

Last Wednesday, our professor instructed us to critique the work of one another.
So we read the poem of a classmate that was assigned to us then we said our two cents worth to improve the piece.
While most of my classmates nearly dissipated from their seats when their poem was read, I paid close attention when my classmate read mine.
It was short, given only twenty minutes and then the fact that I struggled at first but it was okay.
It felt that someone else wrote it.
But it was mine. I wrote it.
Now I no longer fear poetry.
This could be the start of something new for me.
Thank God there is poetry.

Thoughts in Verse

Last week we were asked to memorize a poem to be presented in class this morning.
We could choose from

• The Road not Taken by Robert Frost
• Sonnet XLIII by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• Invictus by William Ernest Henley
• A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Being weak and lazy in memorization, I chose Invictus because it only has four stanzas.
Pathetic I know.
Then as I internalized on the poem, on its message, I felt empowered by its words.
I spent hours reciting and getting the emotions that comes with every line.
I pictured myself presenting it in class.
Over and over.

And so this morning, I faced the class, I took a deep breath and recited this inspiring poem.

Invictus
by William Ernest Henley (1849 – 1903)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Being the first to present in front proved to be an advantage for me because I was able to deliver well and set the pace for the rest of the class.
I even amazed myself for exceeding my own expectations.
Taking time to comprehend the meaning of the poem and practice my delivery proved helpful to me.

After reciting poems, we were asked to write a poem for twenty minutes to unleash the creativity within us.
After channeling emotions brought about my various experiences, I was able to wrote this poem.
I even forgot to have a title for it but our professor said it was okay.

Yesterday you said you are leaving
Now I am sad, I am hurting
What to do I do not know
Beg you to stay or let you go

I did listen, I did try to understand
I even offered you my helping hand
Then you told me you should be on your own
And now here I am, all alone

For me things are still blurred
I kept on repeating the words you uttered
I wanted to shout, I wanted to cry
Now I am throwing our dreams to the sky

I am now reading poems written by the great Tupac Shakur.
Again I need to memorize one out of these eleven choices.
I am now beginning to like poetry.

The Line-up for this Semester

I have five subjects this semester.
Three units per subject, a total of fifteen units.
My subjects are as follows:

1. Life and Works of Rizal (Monday and Wednesday) 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
2. Literature 2 (Monday and Wednesday) 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
3. General Principles of Health Care (Tuesday and Thursday) 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
4. Social Dimensions of Education (Wednesday) 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
5. Science, Technology and Society (Friday) 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Life and Works of Rizal
In this subject I am to study the life, works and writings of a genius, writer, scientist and national hero of the Philippines who is Jose Rizal.
My classmate and I had to buy our book at Recto, a place known for cheap, new or second-hand books.
We found our bargain book for a hundred pesos.
Our subject which is conducted so early in the morning will surely wake me up from my deep slumber.
Being a weakling in History, I have a feeling that I will spend more time and effort in this course.

Literature 2
We will be focusing on poetry in this class which would awaken the inner Shakespeare in me even though I do not really like poetry.
Our first assignment is to memorize and present in class a choice among four literary pieces.
My choice will depend on the number of lines and the needed emotions in presenting the piece.
My criteria will be: the shorter the better and the less emotional the better.

General Principles of Health Care
I am very interested in this subject.
It is not because my classmates where taking Pharmacy; I just find it very informative and practical.
We are to study the different domains of health and the stages of development of human beings.
Two weeks from now, my group mate and I will be reporting on our assigned topic: CHILDREN.
Nice.

Social Dimensions of Education
A lot of reading in this course for it covers social theories, social systems and other aspects of society.
I may need help from Sociology majors.
This subject will be useful when I take the Licensure Examination for Teachers.

Science, Technology and Society
Being a Science major, I was made for this subject!
That would be all for this one.

Hopefully this will be my last semester. So good luck to me!

See You Soon!

It has been awhile.
Nearly two weeks ago I spent an afternoon with my high school friends.
One of them, Crisa came home from Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates for a two-week vacation.
Since she will be going back to UAE after her short break, we opted to see each other.
From the original ten+ members of the group, we found ourselves down to five.
Indeed, a lot has changed since the carefree and happy high school days.

I am very glad that these friends of mine still take time to stay in touch with me.
Surely, they made friends with other people during their stay in college and now at their workplace but they never fail to stay connected.
We may have found different paths to traverse but they make sure that our paths still cross and so the friendship is maintained.

So what did we do that afternoon?
The same things that we do whenever we meet - and so we ate, talked and took photos!
Meeting them revived a lot of memories in me.
It sure made me reminisce the times when the world just revolved around making projects for Science, writing scripts for a play in Values Education, memorizing dates in World History and finding derivatives in Calculus.
Of course these things would pale in comparison with the cherished moments spent with my friends and the rest of the class.

Meeting them also made me look forward to the days to come, years even.
We have come a long way to think that we really have just started.
Afternoon passed and evening came, again it was time to part ways.
I remembered how sad I was whenever we had to say farewell but that night I was happier than sad.
There was no reason to be so sad.
I guess deep inside I know we will always find our way back, and we will meet each other soon.
From left to right: JINKY, CRISA, ROMMEL and TJ

I saw Hillary Clinton...NOT!

I thought I will see Hillary Clinton last Friday at the University of Santo Tomas.

Unfortunately I was not allowed to enter the theater where the forum transpired.
All because of two things; first - my name was not included (although I thought it was included) in the list that was submitted the day before the forum, and second - I only had one ID with me which is my school ID.

Thursday afternoon: I received a group message from the Dean of Student Affairs informing the officers of colleges that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be at UST for the forum that will be attended by selected universities. Interested officers were supposed to reply so their names will be included in the list of attendees. Call time will be five in the morning the following day.
Still pondering if I will say "go" or "no", I asked the Vice President of the Student Council who is a good friend of mine if she will attend.

She replied, "I already told the Dean that you will go so expect your name to be in the list. Besides, I feel that only a few will be interested so please come."

Great. Just great. I am no fan of politics and I stay away from celebrities.
I have nothing against Mrs. Clinton, it is just who I am.

Halfheartedly I said "Okay, as the President of the Education Council I will go."
I know I should not do things halfheartedly but I thought it would be disappointing if no one from the college will attend. I could have asked a classmate to replace me but then it came to me that most of them were still in vacation mode so I convinced myself that I was on my own.

Friday morning: I woke up at three in the morning so I would be at school at five.
I arrived at around five-thirty. I was late but someone came later.
Fifteen minutes before six the bus left for the forum.

The trip did not take long for our school is near UST.
We alighted from the bus and assembled at the field where we were greeted by a lady accompanied by Thomasians.
She checked our names one by one in the list.
My name could not be found. So my name was not in the list that was passed to them.
She asked if I have two ID's with me so I could be permitted to enter.
I only had one with me.
The lady apologized that she had to be strict; I replied that it was not her fault but ours.
I guess I was not meant to personally see Hillary Clinton.

My friend, the VP of the Student Council decided to accompany me so it turned out that we were not able to see Hillary Clinton. We spent our time taking photos of the buses of the universities that attended the forum.
Pathetic, I know, but what were we supposed to do?
Besides, it is very rare that these buses could be found parked near one another.
It was unfortunate that my friend and I were not able to see and hear Hillary Clinton. I know she is a very smart woman and maybe if I was there at the forum, I would have asked a question or two.
I should always bring an extra ID.

I am the Voice

It happens every enrollment - students in our college experience problems with their schedules and areas of specialization subjects.
After voicing out our concerns the previous semester, I thought all will be well and good this second semester.
Unfortunately, problems were still encountered.
My fellow students and I were just being silent and patient but there are times when we reach our boiling points.

We are there.
We do understand that due to our small population, it will be impractical for the university to open subjects with only less than ten students in the class.
We do understand that times are hard.
We were patient.
We still are.

As the president of the college, I could not help but be concerned with my fellow students.
In a college where smart and active students are enrolled in, I could not just simply be silent about this.
I waited for things to change and I guess I still need to wait.
I know the people seated in high positions have the best intentions for their students.
I always say that we are very lucky to have very supportive deans.
They are approachable and open-minded.
They are willing to listen.

This week, again, I voiced out some concerns and recently I heard more so I need to speak again.

I never desired special treatment be given to us.
I am not saying that the current system does not work.
It does but it needs to be ironed out.

If the number of students is too small, then merge subjects if possible, even classes if possible.
If some of us must be absorbed in another class then so be it.
I just hope that each and every student will get the quality education that they deserve.

How can the future teachers treat their students well if they are not fairly treated now?

No special treatment needed, we just want what we deserve.
My duty is to be the voice of the student body.
This voice needs to be heard.
And so this week, I will speak again.