FT Chronicle

Love. Time. Patience. There’s a park named Paradise set in the heart of the city. The sun is up after minutes of light rain. The flowers boast their colorful petals while the butterflies keep on circling around them. Yes, there are still butterflies that roam the busy streets and in the almost polluted air. Butterflies of modest colors…. Butterflies of elegance…

Then there’s an ant who watches distantly. He keeps on sighing and holding his breath upon seeing the picture he always want to view. He looks so keenly with eyes shining like the Polaris at night. The silence is too loud and the moment is still until a mosquito interrupted that solemn instant.

“Yo, wazzup?”

“Huh? Nothing.”, the only answer the ant gave. Then silence took place. He turn his head up again looking at the sky. The mosquito followed the ant’s eyes direction and found out the reason behind the ant’s current frame of mind. His eyes were set to a fine-looking butterfly, to be precise.

“Oh, I see. You like her?”

“Like? No… I love her… There’s more than that…”

“Oh, cmon. Tell it to her. Pursue that yearning!”

“I did. I already have. But it can’t be.”

“You don’t need to be a sucker for love! Get it? Sucker? Sucker? Hehe-“

The mosquito paused upon seeing the ant looks so serious. The ant sighed and nodded his head. Then, he looked up into the sky again, breathing so deep.

“Look! Take a look at her. Look at her wings. Look at how high she fly. Look at her colors. Ain’t she pretty? She’s great. But look at me, I’m just an ant. I don’t have colors, I don’t have wings. I’m just this, I have nothing to boast.”

“So, what are your plans?”

“Plans? I do not have any. I’m already contended on this way. I think it’s enough to see her smile every day, to hear her sweet voice. It’s just enough that I love her with all my heart. Do I need to do something? What? Will I court her? I don’t think so… it is just enough that I love her and I’m not expecting for anything from her.”

The mosquito put his hand to his head.

“But how will she fall for you if you don’t do something?”

“That is… the question which I don’t know the answer…”

ONE GENIE

Helpless I am,

Anticipating for every dreams

Juvenile is your beauty

Immaculate from the heavens

Without a glimpse of your face

Oh, I cannot live a day

Nothing more, I can say

You have the Oriental beauty

I cannot resist, I am your slave

Whenever I gaze at you

I feel an outburst of the utmost bliss

It’s enigmatic, I feel this way

It’s unusual; I’ve never been like this

Infatuated, am I strayed?

Am I in love? I  know it’s true

You are a flickering star

I’m just the moon watching you near

You are the mighty Sun

I’m just the sky overflowing by your radiance

We are worlds apart I think

How I wish that someday, somehow

Our roads will meet by luck

And I’ll be happy by your side

“FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, dapat cool na cool, mas cool pa sa tubig ng swimming pool…”

Yup, that’s from Parokya Ni Edgar’s First Day Funk. Nice advice, eh? But what if that very day will make you upset? When it is the day you give your best shot waking too early only and come rushing to the school only to find out there’s no professor to be seen. And you remember, your school does not even have a swimming pool.

It’s another funny thought that when we are in our usual school days, we wish for vacation to come early but when the long retreat came, oh how we wish school days will come rushing back. Whew! Time passes by so quickly, I hope you enjoyed your very own summer experience. Now we will engage ourselves to the same old (rigorous?) routine we are used to. It’s time to meet new professors, either an angel heaven sent or a wolf hiding in sheep cloth. I would like to share a Tom Bodett’s quote: “The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

-oh, and remember, one thing we learn from school. Chalk does not work in any whiteboard but ink markers do work in a blackboard

I remember what happened this summer when I and my classmates decided to write a letter recommending a professor to be our lecturer in a particular subject. However, one of the professors there happened to read my letter. He truly objected to it and rejected the letter even before the department head read it. He said that our preferred professor is not that great in teaching and thus, giving credit to the other professor who we do not like. He even said that he prefers that prof saying she is much better.

Well, he prove himself wrong.

It is not what they (the professors) see in each other matters most.

It is on the eyes of the students to whom the professor spend days with them.

Let us end with tweaking lexicon to make college life less serious.

It’s a compilation of dictionary jokes from the Net and SMS. I added some myself:

ALLOWANCE – force that motivates you to go to school

BALL PEN – device used to draw something on the desk

BONUS – the key to pass the exam

BOOK – used to cover when sleeping or texting while in classes

BREAK – most enjoying subject

CLINIC – home of the best actors and actresses

DESK – serves as the students’ freedom wall and also a great companion during examinations

ERASER – throwable weapon of an angry teacher

GROUP STUDY – alibi used by students to be with friends in a drinking session

HOMEWORK – disturbs you when you watch TV

HUNGER – condition produced by five minutes of continuous studying

I.D – alternative ruler to draw straight lines with

LATE – happens when the teacher arrives earlier than expected

NOTEBOOK – substitute to fight heat

PROFESSOR – it’s either an angel heaven sent or a wolf hiding in sheep cloth

REPORTING – part time job (sometimes, full time) you are not paid for

STUDYING – causes sleepiness faster than a sleeping pill

SUMMER CLASSES – a viable alternative to a summer job

TOMORROW – deadline

UNIFORM – where you wipe your wet hands after going to the comfort room

–a prayer of a student for his professor…

Lord, I wish that my professor this semester would instill in his mind what his profession really means. I wish he will never pretend to know more than he does instead for him to know what he is going to teach. I wish he will have a passion for the subject and the passion for his students. He will have a passion to teach.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

TO MY CLASSMATES, see you when I see you…

BLOG OUT!

I’m going to break my tradition everytime the classes start. Usually, I devote an article about the life of the daily student but now I would like to dedicate this brief piece of writing to the one all students look forward to- the TEACHER.

Are you the one we’re looking for?

Are you the one the youth needs; you satiate the hunger of the students to learn and quench their thirst for answers. Do you teach someone else with gentleness, discernment, and selflessness? Do you offer your experience and hard-won knowledge, so that you can help others to avoid mistakes that you’ve committed, to achieve results that you’ve been able to achieve, and to improve beyond what you’ve been able to accomplish?

Do you not read from books verbatim while giving lectures? Do you make sure your students express themselves in their own unique ways? Do you preserve the loving for learning long?

Lastly, do you appreciate their accomplishments rather than emphasizing their shortcomings?

If yes, congratulations! I wish you stay the way you are.

**

To my fellow students, this is the list we must incorporate to our daily school life.

• Good time management in everything we do.
• Do not procrastinate.
• Read. Read. Read
• Do not allow ourselves to be drowned by stress and school work.
• It is always helpful to have a good source of motivation.
• Learn from our own mistakes, work harder, and aim high for the next one!
• Find the passion to learn. Have the passion to discern.

***

I would like to share a striking line from Mark Twain – “I never allowed my schooling to interfere with my education.”

Let this new semester be significant to you rather to spend it dull and meaningless. Find answers to life. Seek for a better purpose

As what J.R.R. Tolkien has said through his novel, the Lord of the rings, “Not all who wanders are lost.”

TO MY CLASSMATES, see you when I see you…

BLOG OUT!

UNCHAINED FREEDOM

One hundred twelve years have marked your Independence

Your years, your splendor, your grace shone eminent

Let the whole nation rejoice and embrace your Prominence

Let the people weep for joy or pray so silent

Your flag of blue, red and white waves proud in the blue sky

As your stars and Sun shine throughout the islands

Like a noble eagle, thirsty of flight, you fly so high

As your hymn plays throughout the air; hear the March bands

You can barely recall from the scrolls of History

How men from the other lands maltreated your people

You long for the freedom as you tell us a story

Served as the symbol to be seen on the flagpole

Monstrosity of waves incinerate the dictators

By our zealous heroes who died for our nation

Their gallant efforts against the heathenish oppressors

Is the solid base of our emancipation

Behold! Purged from fear, the Filipino multitude cheers!

Mabuhay! Kalayaan ng ating bansa!

Like what our Katipuneros cried and broke into tears,

Viva la independencia Filipina!

in commemoration of June 12, 1898

Philippine Independence Day

You make me smile without any reason and it feels like I can be through any season. Aching to see you smile, to hear you laugh, I can see true happiness at last. But whenever I see those tears, it makes me break down and cry. Just hold me near and feel my heart beat. This unconditional love is what keeps my heart beating. My days are so complete because of you. Just keep on doing what you do while I try to keep my sanity. I’ll never get enough that’s why I always have to have you here. I am waiting for that perfect timing to say to you I love you. But it seems my heart has its own plans and cannot wait for any longer.

But what can I promise you to give if promises are meant to be broken? What can I offer you to live if the life I have is all that’s been forsaken? I can give you bouquets of roses but we know that flowers will only wither. I can write a myriad of poems and sing a flock of songs but words are just empty and cold.

I know loving someone can bring you harm but I know it’s my purpose to make you feel so loved. I may not be the man you’ve always dreamed of neither be the greatest writer of love letters. Here I am, a simple guy who’s in love with you.

INSECURITIES. Either it will build you up or tear you down. Me? Yes, I have my insecurities – a lot of them actually, if only I think about them often. For instance, I am insecure about my physical appearance. I lack high stature; I’m short of it literally. I am skinny without any “yummy” muscles to display. My face is full of bad acne. I have poor eyesight that makes me look at myself far from being good looking. And the list goes on and on.

But frankly, I don’t care much if I don’t possess perfect physical features. It’s just I am already into grasping the idea of being contended. But, of course, I never stop believing that I can be better in a healthy way.

Wanting to be better is natural and human, and in fact, can actually be good. The danger comes when you go out of the boundaries. Defying gravity will only result to a grave impact when you hit the ground. Each one of us wants to become better in various aspects of our lives. All of us have our own insecurities.

But, hey, we can look at such things from an optimistic point of view. Let us not allow our insecurities to drag us down or make us feel bad about ourselves. Let us look at them as challenges as we continue to travel on our chosen path.

Most of us will always have insecurities but we can manage them better if we look at them in a positive light. The next time you think of improving something, don’t look at it as a way of getting compliments instead make a better reason for doing so. However, if you cannot change some things, change how you look at those things and you will enjoy life better.

You are not any greater when people praise you or any worse when they criticize you. Don’t live by the standards of this world or by the expectations of other people. Who you are is how God sees you, nothing more, and nothing less.

Well, anyone can be beautiful… but what does being beautiful really mean?