No need for pressure; it’s a guilty pleasure; Gone is the sore because we’ve done it before; We’re expert already so no need to practice to be steady; Don’t worry honey, if this is a job we’ll make lots of money; We will be dreaming, dancing, singing, and swimming, In the pool of suffering and happiness, we’ll be limitless; Our think tank is empty; refill our bottles that are plenty; But before that, let’s stop somewhere and chat; I know it will be our fault, but we can heal the wound with salt; Whatever, it’s going to be worth it forever; We are too young to get old but too old to be told; I’ll say our love for idleness will stay.

Labels: idle, idle thoughts, poem, thoughts

I told myself a lot of times that I will never set foot inside a gym. It was because first, I don’t want my exercise to be mostly done with machines, second, I am a little bit scared of what the machines will do if I do not use it right, third, I don’t like the thought of sharing equipment, and lastly, I don’t want to be in a place where there are a lot of people, noise, and sweat whenever I want a peace of mind while exercising.

So this Wednesday morning, I forced myself to go to the gym. At first, I was doubting because there might be a lot of people but then I shrugged the shyness off. When I was about to change, I thought of making a little research on the equipment that I will be using which was the treadmill so I turned my laptop on and did my researching. It was controllable at first but then I made a mistake by logging in to my Facebook. Seriously, for a minute or so, the magic of internet got me under-spell and I almost didn’t go to the gym if I had not force myself to log off. So I dressed up and went to the gym immediately before I started having second thoughts. When I got there, I started panicking for I seriously don’t know how to use the treadmill (so much for researching). I fiddled around (but not too obvious for I don’t want the man running beside me thinking like I’m lost or something) until I finally got the machine working. Happiness! :) So I stepped in, synchronized my steps with the moving belt, and let myself listen to Katy Perry (Teenage Dream is actually a good song to jog to).

It took me a lot of courage to go to the gym and once I got inside, my perspective about the place changed. The gym is actually a good place to exercise (minus the sweat around you) if you want to have a peaceful exercise or you don’t feel like going outside. Plus, it’s also great when you live in a condominium or in a place where there’s no park nearby. So take up all the courage you have and try to visit the gym at least once or twice a week (and if you’re thinking of visiting only, please, use even just one equipment and you won’t regret it). Oh! And I got to tell you, doing a selfie in the gym is probably not a great idea unless if you’re so proud of your achievement like me. ;-)

Labels: achievement, gym, happiness

My professor in Classical Literature asked us the question when we were talking about a minor soldier who left his wife, whom he recently married, for war. A lot of soldiers lost what could have been their happiness when they left for a war that lasted for twenty years. Twenty years they sacrificed blood and sweat for honor. Twenty years they could have spent back home with their wife and children. Yet they went on with the war for the sake of their family’s safety (but this purpose became mainstream and forgotten once they enter the battlefield and hubris clouded their vision) but mostly, for honor. I understand that it is part of their culture to attain for honor because it is the best choice to be remembered to their future generation. It is true that honor will immortalized them because they know they won’t live forever but they know that their memories on earth will live forever. But what they don’t know, only which they will realize in the end, is the worth of it. In the book, soldiers came from places thousand miles farther than Troy. These soldiers left their family and the life that could have given them happiness. They left everything and lost everything from death. Did they gain honor? Yes they did but they died from pursuing it. Honor is costlier than it sounds because they paid their lives for that. Homer portrayed honor as worthy yet tragic. If you ask me, it’s the road to honor that matters most. Its how you got there that will make people remember you. If you do good things, people will remember you. If you do bad things, people will still remember you. So to gain something, it is your responsibility on how you will pursue it and the worth of it will depend on how you did it.

Labels: advice, happiness, honor, Iliad, immortality, life, literature, loss, school, tragedy

Freedom of expression doesn't always mean that you can say what you want, wear what you want, and do what you want. Freedom of expression is saying what people NEED to hear and see so as to promote individual growth, peaceful communication, and advancement of knowledge.

Labels: advice, freedom, quote, speech, thoughts

In my North American Studies class, our professor asked us students to make a reflection paper about the relevance of freedom of speech to the virtual world. I would like to share you my reflection paper for you to be aware of what is freedom in the virtual world.

When we talk with one another, we say words we want the others to hear but most of the time we hide words that needs to be heard. Why is that? I think it is because we are afraid of what the others might think of our say. We are scared that their criticisms might violate our freedom of speech and so we escape reality to enter the virtual world and pour our minds’ content there because we know that in the virtual world, we are free and unstoppable.

As Thomas Jefferson (1776) stated in his Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. We have rights naturally given to us by God and with these rights; it is men’s duty to use them wisely. If they are not happy with what is happening around them then it is their own rights to voice out their opinion. In relation to the virtual world, we are free to say what we have in mind because persuasion is not as difficult as it could be in person because all we need are meaningful and powerful words; no need to confront the people who go against our opinions. Another reason is that there are users in the internet who have the same opinion as ours and so we are not alone. Lastly, there is no physical discrimination because in the internet we are all equal.

In order to understand the advance world today, we have to be vocal of our thoughts. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941) in his speech to the members of the Congress gave us one point on pursuing our goal and that is freedom of speech. He did not exactly state it but I know that what he meant by it is we have to speak up to satisfy ourselves and that is one of internet’s goals. In the Constitution of the United States (Bill of Rights, Amendment 1), freedom to speak up is highly recommended because it promotes the development of the person. We understand the world better even if we are just sitting in front of the computer; we get to experience the world in just one click and our knowledge advances too because of the internet. That is why freedom of speech is very relevant to the virtual world. It allows us to know information or ideas that we cannot reach within our grasp.

Despite the pros of being liberated in the virtual world, there will always be a con. There is nothing wrong with freedom of speech in the virtual world but what made it look wrong is the abusive use of the word freedom. We are very liberated that we forget the limitations. We want people to hear our opinion but we do not think if it is said in a right way or time. All we care is our voices to be heard. We do not care if the content is explicitly dangerous or agonizing as long as we show our opinion to the world. The reason why Twitter has a 140 characters limitation is to remind us that it is okay to tell the world what is in our mind but we have to keep in mind that our status do not violate human dignity. Having limitations do not violate the law of freedom of speech; rather it protects freedom of speech from abuse.

The virtual world is a world of information and when I mean by information, these are ideas that will help us develop our growth as a human. Communication is important but we need to communicate with human beings to be human. Freedom of speech should not only be limited to the virtual world; in fact, the virtual world is merely just a short cut to the other side of the world. There is so much to learn if we turn our computers off and experience the world personally.

Labels: advice, Franklin D. Roosevelt, freedom, quote, school, story, Thomas Jefferson, thoughts

I would like to greet the most awesome person I've ever met a happy, happy birthday!!!

Happy 20th birthday, kiddo-oh wait, you're not a kid anymore. Wow! You're now in an adult age and one more year, you'll be in a legal age for the crazy Vegas life! Hahaha! So I have a few reminders, though, some of them are old-fashioned already but the older it is, the wiser it is. One reminder is that age is just a number. I don't know why I'm saying this but just in case you feel old already, remind yourself of this. *wink* Then second,enjoy life! Twenty is a nice age so let yourself free from doubts and do things that will enrich your life. Third, enjoy college! I won't explain further for the third reminder because it is always up to you on how you'll enjoy it. Fourth, always pray for guidance, strength, knowledge, happiness, safety, gratitude, and the list goes on. In short, pray for everything to God. And last but not the least (which I doubt will be the last because this might be a really long list of reminders.), believe in yourself. :)

So happy birthday again and have a nice day! Enjoy your special day!

--JAQ--

Labels: birthday, greetings, happy, quote, strength, thoughts, twenty

Students go to school every day to learn new things but what is the importance of grades to a student’s life? Grades should summarize a student’s academic achievement. Unfortunately, grades do not summarize but instead, it defines a student. If grades can define a student, then no student would ever want to a have bad record. Because of this, some students become obsessed with their grades; grades are not just a number but are a need. They think that if they work hard for it they can achieve perfection through grades. Who are these students who are obsessed over grades? They are the perfectionists who are trying to achieve perfection. They are the students who put pressure upon themselves and work under pressure because they want to be labeled as perfect. They think that grades are a way to have the perfect lifestyle.

“I want my report card brimming with A’s.” Generally, that is what every student want. But for the perfectionists, they do not only want high grades but need them. Why? It is because they desire success. People nowadays focus more on academic standard because grades are seen to “summarize” the students’ academic standard. If student A got a perfect score while student B failed then student A almost automatically is the smartest kid and student B is dumb. Grades can have judgmental effects on students. James D. Allen quoted Bailey & McTighe (1996), says that, “the primary purpose of secondary level grades and reports is to communicate student achievement.” But what happens is that it does not communicate student achievement, but characterizes a student instead. It may be a good thing but the bad thing is that it defines a student for an entire semester. Student B seems doomed to be the dumbest kid in class. The student’s reputation is affected because the grades defined the student. It should not; it should reflect mastery of content taught and reflect completion of tasks (McConnell 2012). As I stated from my previous example, grades automatically give titles to students and it can affect their self-esteem. Even more so for the perfectionists; it affects them mentally and physically. ‘I need my report card to be filled with lots of A’s.’ That is now the statement of every student to avoid humiliation by getting bad grades or to gain plus points from the people around them.

Perfectionists or what I call “the perfect students” have a very strong desire to achieve success. There is nothing wrong with being a perfectionist but what makes it wrong is that people take it too seriously. They become unrealistic and insecure. They become destructive and highly competitive. They do not notice that whenever they try to achieve a goal, they pay too much for it with effort and pride. They have clean and organized records and big goals. They impose exceptionally high standards upon themselves. Their goals are like a utopian dream; unrealistic and unachievable. The perfectionists may sound strong but they are actually the weakest. They have a lot of fear and they fear failure because it means that they do not have a chance to correct a mistake. For a perfectionist, it is all-or-nothing so they must avoid mistakes at all cost. Because of this all-or-nothing attitude, they have a higher risk of missing out opportunities. They always take the safe road to avoid failure. Another fear they have is the fear of disapproval. Perfectionists are scared of rejections in any form: jobs, people or love. They conceal their flaws in order to protect their precious dignity. In their view, their grades reflect them. When it comes to projects, they make sure that their work is clean and perfect because they know that cleanliness equates to perfection. They also act nice to their teachers and they always jump at the chance to do extra work to gain extra points. Peg Tyre (2010) once quoted in his article, A’s for Good Behavior, that the students “were not the ones gaining the most knowledge but the ones who had learned to do school.” In relation to the perfectionists, they tend to do work instead of school. This kind of habit can harm them physically, because they overwork themselves causing them illness, and mentally, because it can lead them to depression or worse mental illness.

The journey to the perfect road is like searching for Utopia, just like the perfectionist trying to achieve perfection. Perfectionists are abusing their health by either staying up late or skipping meals to finish work. Some become depressed whenever they make a tiny mistake. Worse is when some commit suicide when they cannot accept an F. Back in high school, I always had to pass all my subjects because I attended a school where my mother worked. I was under constant pressure. During my junior year, I slowly became grade obsessed. I did not only pass my subjects but joined a lot of extracurricular activities to gain extra points. I would stay up late to study or eat little to have more time to study. By the end of my high school, the effort I exerted was worth it because I graduated with honors; unfortunately, I ended up having health problems as a consequence. You see, perfectionists feel great whenever they receive high grades then later on they would ask for more high grades. Grades are the opium of perfect students because they feel happy and contented and also they become addicted to it.

Grades are nothing but numbers trying to define a student. Being a perfectionist is also something that should not be taken to a higher level. Having a perfectionist personality cannot be avoided but there are few things to consider. First of all, be realistic with your goals. Make them achievable and light in a sense that you do not have to shove yourself into things you cannot do. Another is accepting your weaknesses and limitations. And lastly, forget about the goal of becoming perfect because no one but God is perfection. It is okay to make mistakes because a person who never made a mistake has nothing new to try. When it comes to achieving goals, keep in mind that striving for excellence, instead of success, is much better.

Labels: advice, school, speech, story

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