At Its Peak

               The story A Midsummer Night's Dream is truly one of the best comedy stories ever written in the history of mankind. Infused with magic, love's difficulty and dreams, the story started when Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, with a four-day festival of entertainment. Egeus, an Athenian nobleman, marches into Theseus’s court with his daughter, Hermia, and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius (who loves Hermia), but Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to comply. Egeus asks for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia’s head if she flouts her father’s will. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father’s wishes could result in her being sent to a convent or even executed. Nonetheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander’s aunt, some seven leagues distant from the city. They make their intentions known to Hermia’s friend Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius and still loves him even though he jilted her after meeting Hermia. Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned. At the appointed time, Demetrius stalks into the woods after his intended bride and her lover; Helena follows behind him. And the story goes on.

               But the question is, what is the real climax of the story? For me, the climax of the story happened on Act 2, Scene 2 after Hermia and Lysander sleep then Robin Goodfellow (Puck) enters thinking that Lysander was Demetrius since he was also wearing an Athenian clothes.
Here are the exact lines that Robin said upon seeing Lysander:

HERMIA and LYSANDER sleep. ROBIN enters.

ROBIN
I’ve been through the entire forest, but I haven’t found any Athenian man to use the flower on. (he sees LYSANDER and HERMIA) Wait a second, who’s this? He’s wearing Athenian clothes. This must be the guy who rejected the Athenian girl. And here’s the girl, sleeping soundly on the damp and dirty ground. Pretty girl! She shouldn’t lie near this rude and heartless man.(he puts flower juice on LYSANDER ’s eyelids) Jerk, I throw all the power of this magic charm on your eyes. When you wake up, let love keep you from going back to sleep. Wake up when I’m gone, because now I have to go to Oberon.

               Given the title A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it is no surprise that one of the main themes of the play is dreams, particularly as they relate to darkness and love. When morning comes, ending the magical night in the forest, the lovers begin to suspect that their experience in the woods was merely a dream. Theseus suggests as much to Hippolyta, who finds it strange that all the young lovers would have had the same dream. I personally enjoy the story because of the way that Shakespeare infused some lines with humors making laugh out loud. I also felt somewhat heart-broken when Lysander fell in-love with Helena because I really like Lysander's chemistry with Hermia.

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

              TO FORGIVE IS TO FORGET.  Bury the hatchet. Let bygones be bygones. Kiss and make up. We have so many ways of describing forgiveness—but so few strategies for actually achieving it.

               What is natural to "the flesh"  when we have been hurt or abused or insulted is to strike back, to plot revenge, or to simmer in bitterness. This is "only human". But God requires forgiveness, else He will NOT forgive us. If we are unwilling--or unable--to forgive, then there is no use asking God for what He has told us He will not give. For believers, dealing with the sin of unforgiveness is first priority. Forgiveness isn't easily given to a person. The inability to really forgive is often due to a false concept that "forgetting is forgiving". Forgetting is NOT forgiving. To be sure, if we forgive we will forget as a result. But the reverse is not true: forgetting is not forgiving--it is denial. For me, that person should show that he/she is really sorry for what they have done before I pardon them. If you easily forgive the sinner, they would think that it's okay for them to hurt you no matter how many times because you easily forgive them. That's what I always put to my mind when someone hurts me. Why denial? Because we can forget but we can't erase it completely from our memories cause it already had made a mark on our mind. We try to deny it when someone ask us about it.

               For instance, when you accidentally trip, you'll either have a scraped or bruised knee. You'll feel pain but it will only last for a few minutes. After some time, that bruise will fade and will leave no mark as if nothing happened. But if you get a knife and slash it in your arm, you'll feel intense pain that'l last until it heals. It does heal but it also leave a permanent scar with it. We should learn to choose our words carefully, as we can hurt, and mislead others. Words can't be taken back, once you give them away. Harsh words are like bullets: no matter what, they can still leave a painful injury. And sometimes, a sorry is not enough to heal the wounds you leave. The tongue is like a sharp knife, it kills without drawing blood.

A WUSSY GEEK OR A DUMB JOCK?

               ACADEMICS AND SPORTS. These two are most likely the quotidian things that's important to us, students. The stereo type of a dumb-jock might have some truth to it. A recent study by the NCAA in 2010 discovered that most division athletes spend more time on athletics than on their academic work. Although this is entirely true for college students, the reality is that it may be true for high school students as well. The fact that most athletes spend more time participating in sporting activities rather than focusing on their education may ultimately have a negative impact on their career.

               Although most student athletes never become professionals, they still spend excessive amounts of their time in sports rather than in academics. And I don't, for I still don't understand why you choose sports over academics. Okay I get it. You love playing sports and it's your passion and your tons better at it than in academics. So what? You only got better at it because you wanted to and you practiced long enough to be really good at it. If you can do all of that in sports, why can't you do it in studying? Nothing bad is going to happen right?

               If we teenagers talk about it, it all goes down to this "OMG! I freaking hate that subject and I barely understand anything!" or maybe " OMG! I just got a perfect score in our long test! I'm so happy!!!" Okay maybe not all teenagers say that especially the boys. Of course, we all know that they are more into sports than that of academics. But isn't that a bit unfair for the geeks? I mean I know that they're smart and all that stuff but they try to be at the top of their game when it comes to sports right? While those jocks who act all cool and stuff doesn't even give a f*ck about their grades (pardon me if I say some bad words). Nobody is born with such talents that instant. I believe that it gradually develops as we grow older. And for those people who are good with academics, I suggest you at least try to teach your classmates who are having difficulties. I may not be that smart but I'm not afraid to ask questions to either my teacher or my classmates as long as I know that if I ask this question, I will understand every subject well enough to have a good grade. Don't get me wrong. I do love sports especially those sports that requires your whole body to move. Why? Because not only I do sports for fun, but I also do it to keep my muscles strong and flexible.

               If I were to be born in this world again and be asked to choose whether to be a wussy geek or a dumb jock, I would most likely pick to be a wussy geek. Why? Because it's easier for a geek to be a sporty person than get a lazy and hard-headed jock to be an academically excellent person. But most importantly, we need not be these kind of persons because God has already planned our destiny. And we must be eager and patient to know what lies ahead of us.

ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL

This is my desire to honor you

Lord with all my heart I worship you

All I have within me, I give you praise

All that I adore is in you

Lord, I humbly come into your presence

And may you listen to my every prayer

For I have been bothered by the calamities

That has affected the lives of many people

I have been experiencing some sleepless nights

Knowing that things ain't right

It's in the papers and it's also on the TV

And I can hear people talking about it almost everywhere I go

Children are crying, some people don't have a home

But I know that you will do anything in your power

That may help these people affected by the typhoon

And may these experience help them become stronger

I pray for peace for all the people affected by the typhoon

May they find peace with the people they meet

And lead them not into engaging in fights

But to help each other to have a better life

May you comfort the children with your everlasting love

Lord, may you give them enough wisdom

For them to think through all their problems

And come up with a solution

Enlightenment for those people who have doubts

Doubts, in the government's help and their own capabilities

Help them to understand that everything happens for a reason

And that it can make them a better and a stronger individual

We need to make an effort to keep the unity of the spirit

How beautiful and pleasant it is

When brothers live together in unity

For the presence of God is the source of all blessings

God, I know that you know what is happening

For you are the Almighty and Everlasting God

So I ask you to please help our country

To rise back to its former glory

In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.