Danreb

[danreeeb]

How social media has helped families, social workers, and the government in discerning information during calamities.

People use social media to create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual groups and networks. Social media is critical for communicating with individuals all around the world. During disasters, it aided families, social workers, and the government in determining information. Every family may readily contact with their relatives in various regions, especially those who live outside the country, thanks to social media. It can be a tool for social workers to teach people information during disasters. Our government, in particular, can use social media to spread or disseminate information.

It goes without saying that social networking is extremely beneficial. Do you recall Super Typhoon Yolanda, which wreaked havoc on Tacloban, Samar, and Leyte? We can inform other countries that we are suffering from hunger and the devastation of infrastructures brought on by Yolanda by using social media. Social networking is a modern-day gift that can be a huge assistance if used correctly. Natural catastrophes have become more common in recent years, and their frequency is likely to continue to rise in the coming years. The result of a natural danger is a natural disaster (e.g., flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake, heatwave or landslide).

It results in monetary, environmental, and human losses. Natural disasters strike unexpectedly, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of people. The resulting loss is determined by the affected population's vulnerability to the hazard, also known as resilience. If these disasters continue, the world will be in grave peril. The notion that disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability encapsulates this understanding. Thus, in locations where there is no susceptibility, such as uninhabited lands, a natural hazard will not result in a natural disaster. As a result, the label "natural" has been contested because the events are neither risks or disasters without human involvement.

People seeking to contact relatives and friends in the disaster zone, as well as information on food, housing, and transportation, have increased communication as a result of natural catastrophes. By allowing people to share information and ask for help, social media has played a crucial role in distributing information about these disasters. Social media is also becoming increasingly important in post-crisis recovery efforts, when infrastructure must be restored and stress management is essential.

Hence, social media cannot and should not replace current disaster management communication tactics or infrastructure, but they can be utilized to supplement current systems if carefully handled.

[danreeeb]

Blue

“Blue”

When my father asked me what color should he wear during his baptism day, I immediately said the aforementioned color since it is my favorite one and I wanted my father to wear this long sleeved dark blue polo because it was also the same clothing he wore during his first day listening to the doctrines in the Church of Christ. 

I was the happiest that day because finally, my parents, especially my father, who has been my idol since I was born due to his natural wit, intelligence, and personality will finally be with me inside the true religion - the Church of Christ.  No words can explain how I felt on the 7th of April, 2018. I was the happiest and I cannot contain my excitement. 

My papa was a very hardworking father. Words usually fail between the both of us, but I believe that actions speak louder than any words coming from our mouths. We are not vocal towards our sentiments and feelings, but I know deep inside that we deeply and unconditionally love each other. 

My father has been there with me during my darkest and lowest points in life and I could not be any more thankful for his presence alone. However, I felt slightly disconnected from him recently because I am way too focused on my studies and my church duties. On the other hand, I also think he drifted apart from me because he was also busy with his work and career. To top all of that, my oldest sibling just gave birth and he is helping with taking care of my niece. 

I have been thinking about my relationship with my father to be rekindled in the near future. In the four corners of my room, I am lying still. Looking outside of my window while rain is pouring hard and droplets are running down the window sill. I can’t wait to finally have a small chit chat with my papa. 

Suddenly, a notification from my phone popped in. It was a call. I was hoping it was my father asking me out for lunch. 

It was Ralf - my best friend. 

“How are you, brother?”

I simply answered…

“Blue” Danreb H. Sismundo 11-HUMSS-2 photo captured by Danreb Sismundo

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Life Beyond Life: The Ideology of Evolution and Change

Since then, the ideology of evolution and change is a constant issue people are talking about whether it is a good thing or it is not. According to Harari in the third chapter of his book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind entitled The Unification of Humankind, there are three main influences of the evolution of the world economy to the development of societies and culture. They are the evolution of currency, emergence of imperialism, and the rise of religion. In this chapter, Harari discussed that in the post-agricultural revolution period, the human societies became larger, more complex, and the order became clearer than ever. He talked about the history of currency from the barter trade to the instigation of making coins and paper currency. Harari contended that the evolution of currency was based on revolutionized and modernized trade. The emergence of imperialism was also considered as an influence to the development of societies and culture because for Harari, the American imperialism roots from the desire to subjugate other societies and install new world order to the desires of powerful nations like the United States of America. In this chapter, the emergence of imperialism necessitated the colonization of African and conquest of some historically strong empires like Ottoman. Lastly, the concept of religion was discussed in this chapter. According to Harari, religion serves to remind mankind of the morals, laws, rules, and regulations deep-seated in religion. In conclusion, Harari implies that the society has organized its cultures to become successful. He significantly informs the readers that it took the coming together of cultures and people to create the success or wealth that the world boasts of today. 

I disagree with Harari’s contentions. He claims that the universal religion, empires, and commerce brought the world together and that is why today the world is global. Partly, yes, I agree because personally, I believe that the thing that binds us all together is the “unknown.” The curiosity towards things and processes. There was an unknown process of compensation before, same as the entity we believe in, and the rules we follow. Unknown generates change. Thus, evolution. With this thinking, Harari and I are basically on the same page, but when he said that the coming together generated success and wealth the world boasts of today, I absolutely disagree because the coming together actually made the world worse than ever due to the more advanced thinking of people that one must always be ahead of others resulting to damage towards each other. In Adrian Leftwich’ Theorizing the State, it states that political processes in developing countries are moving towards the establishment of state institutions of rule that may provide more stability and effectiveness for economic development and greater participation for citizens in decision making processes, but this process is very difficult, slow, and uneven. For me, personally, the reason why the decision-making process is difficult, slow, and uneven is because of how our mind thinks so critically that we can’t even find contentment and satisfaction with things. We are having a hard time in settling decisions and agreeing with other people thinking that we are better than them. This ideology was seen during Antonio Luna’s death in 1899 in Cabanatuan. Allegedly, it was Emilio Aguinaldo who ordered his assassination and it was because of jealousy and he was threatened with how Antonio Luna’s mind works. Another evidence to support my argument is a quote from Ernest Hemingway from his novel, The Garden of Eden (1986), he said that happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing he knows. Because of the advancements in technology, an improvement to one’s thinking capabilities developed. Harari specifically mentioned this idea in the same book, the Scientific Revolution chapter. He said that the advancements in technologies made the people happy and content. I beg to disagree on this statement because it is arguable and debatable for everyone’s definition of happiness and contentment is subjective.  Danreb H. Sismundo 11-HUMSS-2 photo from Sipri

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The Life in Espana

First and foremost, let me clear this out: I never had a chance to go outside our dear country, especially not in Spain since it is very expensive. However, I went for a day to Espana Boulevard to see for myself the oldest university in the country - the University of Santo Tomas. University of Santo Tomas is the oldest university in Asia, founded in 1611, and is one of the world’s largest Roman Catholic universities based on enrollment.

University of Santo Tomas is my dream school and I have wanted to go there since then. Luckily, my brother studies there under the Legal Management program. He let me visit his university and toured me around. I was mesmerized by UST’s beauty. It was like I am in the era where Jose Rizal, our national hero, is still alive. Apart from the infrastructures, I was also amazed by the academic excellences the university has over the years. To top all of that, UST is one of the most consistent universities to perform well in UAAP.

Out of all the buildings and spots inside the 21.5 hectares of the said university, what I love the most up until now is the university’s arch of centuries. My brother said that there is a saying from Thomasians that you should only go inside the arch during your freshman year and should never go outside of it not until you graduate in your senior year. This is a belief most Thomasians believe in and my brother said that there is no harm in following it. 

If I ever had the chance to go back to the University of Santo Tomas, I will never hesitate and will definitely go back because I felt I had a connection with the university. Danreb H. Sismundo 11-HUMSS-2 photo from Rappler

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The Power of Art: Monotonic Into Chromatic Life  Everyday is the same day because every time I walk around the streets, I always see people doing things because they need it. I see people as robots because they are doing exactly the same things over and over again. I saw the birds flying without direction. I saw the ants on the ground just following the trail of their leaders. I always see these kinds of occurrences on a daily basis.  Art is a powerful tool. Art is what we need in our daily lives because it gives vibrance to our monotonic life. It comes in different sorts of medium - speech, poetry, talk, painting, and a lot more. Art is everywhere and art is definitely anything under the sun.  Through art, I always see people holding onto their dreams and aspirations in life. It’s like I can see their driving forces in life every time they walk past me. The birds were humming and chirping happily. I saw the purpose of the trail of ants I noticed awhile ago. They were preparing and working hard for a cataclysm about to arrive. Now, I see life with a chromatic point-of-view and that is all because of one of the most essential things in our life - Art.  The main impact of art in my life is I am able to express my emotions and feelings through it. Lately, I was feeling lonely and I thought no one would listen to me but I suddenly remembered my dad was very good at drawing things and I wanted to do the same as well. I tried but I admit that I’m not good at it. However, practice makes everything better and I know in time, I will be a good artist. I learned that everything you draw is a piece of art and everything you write is beautiful. Danreb H. Sismundo 11-HUMSS-2 photo captured by Danreb Sismundo