If You Can Read This, Thank Your Teacher

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” 

― Aristotle

               When people talk about heroes, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Batman,
Superman, and the rest of the DC universe clan or maybe the Marvel's clan? I'm sure that many of you indeed are very familiar with these fictional characters. Ironically, we refer to these characters by calling them superheroes. Real heroes don't wear costumes and real heroes certainly aren't arrogant and most likely aren't from another planet. A hero can wear anything and they can be as simple as we are. To be a hero, you don't really need to have superpowers in order to help other people. We can be all heroes on our own way. But just like in television programs, superheroes are hard to find.

               Everyday, in every doors of each rooms we pass by, we see them teaching. Everyday, they give a better future on each kid sitting on the armchair, learning how beautiful life is. Every hour, we hear them talking, giving advices, on how to live and dream well. On how we should never give up and always believe in ourselves. They taught us to be a better person. They taught us the right direction, taught us what is right and what is wrong, gave us knowledge on what life is all about. Teachers play a very important role in the community as well as in our lives. Teachers are given the hard and important task to lead the younger generations for the future. They gave us their time, to learn and to develop emotionally, mentally and socially. Sometimes, when our parents are away, we can always run to their shoulders, and cry, ask for their ears to hear our voices. They molded us, through their loving and caring hands. Loved us like more than anything else. They helped us to be strong, strong like rocks and to stand up everytime we fall, and sometimes, when we stumble in our way to our dreams, they are there beside us, ready to lend their arms, to help us stand up and learn that life is not easy, not a fantasy instead a reality. Teachers are sort of wake up call, they make us realize that life is a game, sometimes you win and sometime you lose.

               Teachers are some of the most influential people around and given a very unique responsibility. They are here not only to teach us, but to care and love us. Because without their love and care, no one in this world would bother to teach us and no one among us will know how to develop healthily. Teachers are the backbone of our education system and without them our society would literally collapse. No one in this world would know how to read, to read others feelings towards us, how to write, to write the things we could not say and compute, to multiply the good things we did. Without them, we are nothing. Without them, we know nothing. Without them we will never be someone we aim to be. Because without them, our way to victory is dark and empty.

What Hatred has Halved

               In the great City of Athens, a man named Romeo is madly in love with Rosaline. But it seems that they are never meant to be together. Romeo's father, Oberon, sees him spending time alone in the woods. Oberon orders his servant, Puck, to give Romeo the magic potion made from a flower in the forest. Romeo fell asleep and Puck poured the magic potion to his eyelids. Oberon, wanting new love for Romeo, carries him to the ball aboard the ship. Romeo awakens and sees the lovely maiden, Juliet. Romeo fell in love faster than a lightning bolt. The two became really close to each other.

               While the people in the ball are enjoying their time, Oberon was found dead. The news spread quickly. Oberon was killed with a knife. The knife was given to Oberon's son. A wild tempest appeared out of nowhere. Everyone in the ball panicked. A thunderbolt struck the ship and the ship breaks in half. The passengers fell. When they regained consciousness, they discovered they were drifted to the shores of Athens. Romeo saw Oberon happy with his wife, Titana. Romeo got very confused because he saw with his own eyes the cold dead body of his father. He overhears the conversation of Oberon's men. They described Juliet as a whore. Angry, Romeo tells everyone about what he heard. Juliet was heartbroken. While walking, he encountered three witches who introduced themselves as Oberon's servants. They told Romeo the real story behind Oberon's death. Oberon has a twin brother. They were separated by a storm when they were still young. Oberon hated his twin brother because he thought he never searched for him. Oberon was killed by his twin brother, who happens to be king Hamlet's assasin, and his men. He was killed so he won't be able to stop the tempest. They also revealed the truth about Juliet. What Romeo heard was a lie. Romeo felt sorry for he truly loved Juliet. Guilty, Romeo apologizes to the Capulets. They told Romeo that Juliet died from a heart attack. The Capulets ordered Romeo to marry Juliet's cousin. Romeo accpeted it in guilt. On the day of the wedding, Oberon's men kidnapped Romeo. Seeing Oberon, He went berserk and broke free. He grabbed a guard's sword and raised it against Oberon. Romeo shouts "Impostor". Oberon draws his sword and they fought all out. It came to the point when Romeo was on his knees. Oberon throws Romeo's sword away. When Oberon was about to cut Romeo's head off Romeo grabbed the knife, the knife from his father's body, in his pocket and stabbed Oberon on the heart.

               Oberon's last words revealed that Titania was behind his father's death. After the dreadful incident the wedding resumed. Juliet's cousin revealed herself as Juliet. Titania lost her crown and was never to be seen again. Romeo and Juliet became the king and queen. They lived happily ever after.

Under the Covers

" Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Let’s fly away through the fog and filthy air. " - Three Witches, Macbeth

               This line is one of the famous lines in the play that Shakespeare has written, Macbeth. It's the story about a man named Macbeth who easily believes and does what other people tells him to do. He believes all the omens that the three witches gave him and did everything just to fulfill it. But what does this quote have in relation to the story?

                 On his entrance, Macbeth ironically echoes these words by saying, " So foul and fair a day I have not seen. " He is referring to the foul weather and the fair outcome of the battle. These both reinforce the influence that the witches have over the weather and Macbeth. All that is good, " fair " to others is evil, " foul " to them, and vice-versa. This applies to both the physical and the moral world; they revel in the "fog and filthy air," and in every sort of mischief and evil-doing from killing swine to entrapping human souls.

               So it boils down to "good is evil, evil is good.". The chant I believe, is the theme of the play Macbeth. I believe the entire play revolves around this chant. That may be the reason Shakespeare introduces this in the very beginning of the play. It simply means that whatever is fair to the common man is foul to the witches and to the people related to them. And whatever is foul to the common man is fair to them.

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.