flashLitEs

Just a couple of kids trying to pass the semester. Enjoy reading!

[vanjee-blog1]

The Modern day Lasallians!

Students this generation is known to be more competitive and active in any activities inside and outside the school. They cope with different activities that enable them to grow well and to gain more knowledge from the environment and the people that surrounds them. Students were sent to school everyday in order for them to learn things that could help them in the nearer future and as well as throughout their journey in their lives. School was known to be as the holy place for educating the children.

An educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments fro the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. School is as jungle where they can go anywhere and can do things that they the students want to. But despites these positive looks of school, it is also one of the reasons why some of the students suffers depressions these days.  In a way that lessons could give them more stress. And because of these, some students weren’t able to survive these kind stress due to lack of confidence and interest, loses trust to self as well as to the Lord because they aren’t prepared to cope.

           Despite those negativities, there is a certain school where the students are moved by the spirit of St. John Baptist De La Salle who wish to be active agents of change against poverty, and injustices as they contribute to transform the lives of the young, especially to the poor, though education. Modern Day Lasallians are inclusive reality that brings together all groups of students in the modern days that acknowledge their different realities and needs. There are no certain qualifications if you want to be part of these modern day lasallians, as long as you are committed to be one of them. Some students, if not most, enroll here just for the sake of getting a degree from a popular university but enrolling in Lasalle means much more than just getting good grades or a diploma at the end of it all. It’s about coming out as a better version of yourself from the memorable experience that you gained throughout your journey in the hands of St. John Baptist De La Salle. Despite of having difficulties in every Lasallians faced in these generations, they still managed to start a change. A change that benefits not just for them, for the school, but for the people inside and outside the world.

Modern Day Lasallians before and now used to conduct an activity at different places of Misamis Occidental in partnership with the school, which is the La Salle University. Like in Tipan Elementary School, Ozamiz City. The life and situations there is very poor since it is far from the city, especially to the students in terms of school supplies and materials needed by the students in the school. People also there cannot easily supply their needs. That is why; Modern Day Lasallians always gave them blessings, like foods and materials in the school, school supplies of the students and many more. There are still lots of places where Modern Day Lasallians gave blessings. Through this, many of the people always wore the smiles on their faces. As well as the smiles of the Modern Day Lasallians.  Because for them, it is better to give, than to receive.

           Being a Lasallian is not just about getting good grades and diploma at the end, it’s about coming out of the experience as a better person. Although there were thousands of lasallians before, but these modern day students of St. John Baptist De La Salle also upholds the good morals and values of university and being a model to others. They have these good values and traits not just on campus but also in the outside world. Being part of the Modern Day Lasallians is more than just about getiing a diploma, it is about getiing the experience o lead in the future and exposure and prepare ourselves to be the future leaders.  And making the world a better place not just for ourselves but also for the people around us.

           Modern day Lasallians also developed the 3 core values. The values of Faith, Service and Communion. Faith is being committed to nurture a community of distinguished and morally upright scholars that harmonizes faith and life with contemporary knowledge in order to generate and propagate new knowledge for their development and transformations. And modern day lasallians also help to send the messages of God to their fellow students inside and outside the school. Service, being committed to being a resource for church and nation and to being socially responsible in building a just, peaceful, stable and progressive Filipino nation. Communion, being committed to builds a community of leaders, competent professionals, scholars, researchers, and entrepreneurs, who will participate actively in improving the quality of life in Philippine society within the perspective of Christian ideals and values.  

           Therefore, being part of these Modern Day Lasallians, you are about explore the world with full of happiness and you are about to prepare yourselves for what the unpredictable that your future holds. And to brace yourselves and be ready for whatever challenges it may present to you. Being a Modern Day Lasallians is making ourselves better human beings living in this world full of negativities. Both as a student inside the campus, and as citizens in the real world with the help of the 3 core values that they developed. The spirit of Faith, Zeal for the Integral Salvation of all and Communion in Mission. And lastly, Modern Day Lasallians do the right things for the betterment of the world we are living not just for their selves, for their loved ones and families, but for all those people who inhabit the world. Because for every Lasallians, “Today I start the change I want to see. Even if I’m not the light, I can be the spark. In faith, service and communion. Let us start the change we want to see. The change that begins in me.

Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!

[vanjee-blog1]

The Brave Gabriela

Maria Josefa Gabriela Casino de Silang also known as Gabriela Silang was a Filipina revolutionary leader best known as the first female leader of Filipino movement for independence from Spain. She was born on March 9, 1731 in barangay Caniogan, Santa, Ilocos Sur. She received a Christian upbringing from the town's parish priest,and attained elementary level education at the town’s convent school. After being separated from her parents early in her childhood, she was raised by a priest, who eventually arranged a marriage between her and the wealthy businessman. They married in 1751, and he died three years later. She was married to Don Tomas Millan a wealthy and known businessman in Ilocos. Shortly after their marriage, Millan died of old age. She married Diego Silang, a man of great intelligence, courage and determination who believed and fought towards the independence of the Filipino people. The two wed in 1757 and in 1762, she joined the revolt against the Spaniards alongside her husband Diego. His revolt was successful at first but was derailed by fellow locals, Pedro Becbec and Miguel Vicos, who sided with the Spaniards. Miguel Vicos, along with the hated and dreaded Spanish officials, orchestrated Diego’s assassination on May 28, 1763.

After Diego was assassinated, Gabriella vowed to avenge his death, and to continue the struggle. She was in great affliction, but had no time to lose. Gabriela fled to Tayum, Abra to seek refuge in the house of her paternal uncle, Nicolas Cariño. There, she appointed her first two generals, Miguel Flores and Tagabuen Infiel. The rebels lost hope after the death of their leader. None of the men stepped up to be the new face of the rebellion. So, Gabriela did something very heroic, and took her husband’s place as the leader of the rebellion. She greatly armed herself and informed the people that the struggle was far from over. She soon gained more followers. Gabriela began to assist people living in other cities. The people began to call her “Henerala” which meant woman general and were gratified that Diego’s fighting spirit was continued with Gabriela. Her popular image as the bolo-wielding la Generala on horseback stems from this period.

On September 10, 1763, Silang tried to besiege Vigan but the Spanish retaliated, forcing her into hiding. She retreated once more to Abra, where the Spanish later captured her. On September 20, 1763, Silang and her troops were executed by hanging in Vigan's central plaza. The groups’ goal was to ensure an independent Ilocos. She became one of his closest advisors, whenever the troops battle, Gabriela always went with them to give support and help with the battle, a major figure in her husband's collaboration with the British and the brief expulsion of Spanish officials from Vigan, Ilocos Sur during the British occupation of the Philippines. Together with Nicolas Cariño, Sebatian Andaya and Manuel Flores, there she regrouped her troops, and rallied the Tingguian community to fight. Gabriela’s troops of 2000 fighters attacked the Spanish in Vigan on September 10, 1763. With a larger number of the Spanish troops, the 6000 men strong Spanish garrison was ready, with amassing Spanish, Tagalog, and Kapampangan soldiers, and Ilocano collaborators recruited from other regions to ambush her and rout her forces. Many were killed. She escaped, alongside Cariño and seven others, but were caught on September 20, 1763. They were summarily hanged.

The order of Gabriela Silang is the sole third-class national decoration awarded by the Philippines, and whose membership is restricted to women. The orders and decorations conferred upon civilians and military personnel in the Republic of the Philippines, are listed by order of precedence. The first list is of civilian awards, which take precedence over and above military awards. The next list is of awards conferred upon the military or formerly military units. Philippine civilian orders and decorations are conferred by the President of the Philippines, in his or her capacity as head of state. In certain instances, the conferment of certain orders and decorations requires the concurrence of the Congress of the Philippines, or of certain advisory bodies.

[vanjee-blog1]

My Thoughts of Andres Bonifacio

Philippines, a place where people take pride of their own ethnicity, culture and nationality. A place where it is bountiful in natural resources with great historic features. It is also known as land of gold and rich with specimens, natural resources, assets, treasures and beautiful places itself. And this is one of the reasons why the country of the Philippines was chosen to be colonized. Such history of ours had gradually shape our system, our society and prior regimes.

Though us as Filipinos had this great flaw which is compromising specifically, we let ourselves be compromised with the deceptive manipulators that made us compromised. Colonizers from a well stablished or wealthy country of Spain, America and Japan wanted more for their own places. They tried to manipulate every citizen in the country. For these developed countries wanted to make the developing countries Philippines is one these to be manipulated and become puppets.  A peaceful life of Filipinos became a tragedy and brought burden on their living. From these colonizers, Filipinos experience a lot of suffering, abusive actions and discrimination. Stigma in the society is highly evident specially in the treatment of colonizers towards the country men.

Despite all the burdens and grief carried by the beloved nation, there are still the brave ones who would sacrifice their very well being just to fight and win for the noble nation of Philippines. Countrymen cried for independence for several years. For that time, revolutionary groups came out and fought for independence from the country's manipulators in their very own way either through writing speaking, bloody war and even smallest way to help their fellow countrymen. And one of the leaders who fought for the country was Andres Bonifacio y de Castro.

Moreover, Andres Bonifacio was the founder of the revolutionary group Kataastaasan Kagalang- galang na Katipunan ng mga anak ng Bayan who is also member of the revolutionary group for the country's independence. Bonifacio had courage to fight despite Rizal, his friend doesn’t want to fight in a bloody way but he still pursued his stand for there are no other ways to conquer the independence and its through unity of the countrymen.

Choosing Andres Bonifacio made me think a lot of why did I choose him as topic for this essay. Thinking about our history, Andres Bonifacio was the one who caught my attention because of his perseverance to fight for the country. There are three question that I would like to ask Andres Bonifacio. First is, why does Andres think that independence is important? This question is being throwed in a way of what independence are fighting for, it's just that they do not wanted to be claimed or there is something else they were trying to fight for. According to testimonies, Andres Bonifacio died because of this betrayal by our own countrymen. And because of that the troop of Andres become disable, to the point of their fighting hardly. So, the second question that I would like to ask him is how significant his contribution brought to the modern day. Because of his confidence of his own people, he opened the minds of the countrymen and let them have courage to not be enslaved. Lastly, I would ask him were his expectations met with Philippines current situation? Yes, the Philippines today meet the expected independence that Bonifacio always wanted. Knowing that there is progress happened in the country not just living independently but also with the different aspect for countries improvement.

As what the revolutionary group of Philippines fought who only wanted is freedom, it can be seen that all their efforts and what they fought for were achieved. It’s not easy to get independence that everyone was expecting. It takes a lot of works, courage and fighting spirit to gain the things that Filipinos do hope. The journey of Filipinos in the hands of colonizers was very hard to imagine. That they experience a lot of changes and downfalls. Now we gain what the Philippines deserve, and we still looking forward for more progressive and developed country. Loving our country makes us stronger and hard to be break. “What love can be purer and greater than love of country? What love? No other love, none.

[vanjee-blog1]

My Break-up Escapade

November 24, 2017

           I have never been nervous like this in my whole life. It’s like I’m going to give judgment to someone whether to die or not. My hands are cold and sweaty and I can’t wait for this to be over. A few blocks from here and I’ll arrive to my destination.

Deep breathe, Vanj. Inhale. Exhale. Phew. The tricycle stopped at an intersection. I paid the driver and started walking. This way to Dela Paz Resort. My pace slowed down as I read it. It feels so new being here even though I’ve been there a few times and this was once our dating place. Anyways, I continued walking. I also grabbed my earphones to add some beat. This is music but I call it distraction. Jeez. A few moments later, an array of cottages came into my line of sight. The smell of the sea permeated through my nose. A nostalgic feeling. (I once lived near the sea :D) The resort is quite. Not much of people since today is Friday. I walked past the cottages and … walked farther. At this moment, I don’t want to stop walking. I want to escape. Sadly, I can’t and delaying this would only worsen the situation. I started rehearsed my ‘speech’ for later over and over again. I made sure that it won’t put him to blame for whatever is happening to us. That this is about me. I –yeah.

 I decided to stop coincidentally in front of a small cottage. Not like the first ones I have passed. I placed my bag—just a small bag for a student like me and went to the sea. Yes, I am fcking nervous. He could be here any moment from now and I am still not ready to do this. Oooof! I returned to the cottage and heaved a sigh. I took my phone and read. Wattpad is still lifer. I was so into the story that I didn’t realized that he is already here not until he nudged my shoulders. I was surprised and shocked and my tenseness intensified. Gosh. This is it.

I was about to say something but my heart fell when he smiled and said hi. He has no clue. Of course. Who would? This is like a date to him. For how many months that we’ve never seen each other and barely communicated, this is like a gift with big big ribbons to him. He talked about how his days have been; school stuff, family and such. Just like we used to. I just listened. Afraid to break this moment but I know I have to. He noticed my silence and from there, I know he knew that something is wrong. He just smiled at me and asked if what’s wrong. I kept quiet for seconds. He did too. I stared at him and said “Let’s stop this.” His brows furrowed when he heard this. And just like every boyfriend would do when they hear their girlfriend saying they are breaking up with them, he asked questions. Too many questions that would sum up to the question why.

I heard him asking it. I heard him asking if is it about his shortcomings and I heard him say I’m sorry sincerely. I heard him asking if there is any third party involved. I heard his explanations about why we never had communications for the past few months. I heard him say that he thought it was okay just like before. I heard him pleading to not end this. That we can still fix this. But I’ve decided. I am no longer in love with him and I already knew this since September. I just ignored it because I thought that my feelings will come back. Funny. Stupid. I know.

I saw as his tears fell down to his cheeks. What have I done to him? I suddenly realized if this had happened either September or October. Will he cry like this? Will everything be different? No. I think not. I think it is still the same. I still hurt him and I think this is the biggest mistake I ever did for my whole life. Delaying our breakup. I regretted for not making my decision earlier than November. I regretted for breaking up with him this late when our second anniversary is four days from now. I should’ve done this before. But man, I can’t do anything anymore other than this. He’s pleading to not do this and that he’ll make up for everything. But all I said is no. We can’t bring back everything. I can’t.

He’s on his knees with his head down. I said what I had practiced for days (though not the exact words) while I caressed his head. I stuttered. I want to cry but I did not. I want to appear strong. That crying means a hope for him. Fortunately, I held my tears back. We stayed like that for I don’t know how long. A moment later, he stood and faced me. I see determination in his eyes, like he’s ready for what is coming to him. “Do you still love me?” he asked. I then said no straight to his eyes. And another bucket of tears poured. That was his cue to leave. Muttered some thanks for being a part of his life.

I stayed in the cottage in a thinking of nothing. The sounds of waves clashing filled the silent ambiance.  I glanced at my watch and it’s telling me that it’s already 4 pm. Then I realized that it’s time to go home. I put back my earphones without noticing the smile on my lips.

 November 25, 2017

When I woke up in the morning, I feel different. This may sound crazy but I feel so delighted and at ease. And then realizations dawned before me. Breaking up with him lifted a lot of loads from my shoulders. It’s like I can breathe a lot easier than before. As I watched him walk away from me yesterday, I can almost hear his shattering heart but I stood my ground. This is what I want—an end to my guilt. I did this for the both of us. To free ourselves from the love we thought we still have. And now, we are free from each other and from the possible pain that might hurt us if this stayed longer. I saw this positively. The only reason I gave to him is that I don’t love him anymore. Is it too shallow? Or does breaking up needs many reasons other than this? If I say, I’m tired or I’m in love with someone else, maybe…I don’t know. But it’s true that my feelings for him are gone and I’m glad I’ve said it. Though, there will be aftermaths, to his side probably, but it will be for the better him. Finally, he could focus on his studies. No more worrying about his girlfriend that hasn’t been on contact for a long time, to save and prepare for a date and such. And I can no longer live another day full of remorse. No more uneasiness. Sometimes, letting go is the best thing to do though this time, I’m letting go of the guilty feeling I have been carrying for months and this is the best feeling I ever had. Letting go of something is letting ourselves grow. We learn to accept our flaws and become a better person we thought we never could be.

Anyways, I forgot how it feels to be single. Maybe, I’ll figure it out.

[vanjee-blog1]

Seafood Encounters

Sundays have always been my favorite part of the week. Whether its solemn or sunshiny, it still gives me that fresh Sunday vibe. My family has gotten the habit of going to the beach on Sundays and have meals by the shore. What makes it more interesting is that we get to eat freshly made seafoods and enjoy the beach at the same time.

My family and I have always loved the taste of seafoods. It’s like a break from all those oily meats and unhealthy foods and cooking over the week. It’s fresh raw taste gives such a wholesome feeling to your taste buds. Seafoods are a hit here in Mindanao. Since flee markets are famous in this area, these types of seafood stuffs can be easily bought in those markets or you can even get it by yourself, that is if your knowledgeable and skilled enough to do it. With Sundays reserved as a rest day for the family, along with fresh seafoods just around the corner, I say it would be a great day for some edible marine fish and shellfish.

We mostly settle for the famous “tuyom” and “swake” mix, this includes seaweeds, sea veggies. There’s a lot of sea plants which can be eaten by humans, but we would only settle for the common and to what is available in the area. That would be “guso” and “lato”. 

Both of these sea plants are commonly eaten by people in our area, since they are probably the safest to eat or they are what is easily accessed. “Guso” or Eucheuma looks like a tree branch only it is soft and green which gives a salty and a little bit of sour taste, that is perfect when mixed with sour vinegar alongside “lato” or Caulerpa lentillifera .

Looks like grapes, only it grows in the sea and it’s quite smaller in size than the grapes we usually sea. Like “guso” it is also green and soft and has that salty sour taste. It’s grapey fruit pops in the mouth when you eat giving you that tingly feeling every time you eat it. “Tuyom” and “swake” are types of edible sea urchins, obviously there are a lot of sea urchins in the sea but these two are the most common and the more accessible urchins in the area. 

“Tuyom” is a black urchin which has long pointy spikes that can be very painful when touched. It has this salty bland taste which is perfect when “swake” is mixed in. “Swake” looks quite like “tuyom”, only it has shorter spikes that makes it safer for you to pick up using bare hands. As for how it tastes, it has this sweet salty flavor that would go perfectly with just about anything.

Just in case you would want to try our family favorite; in making the mix, you’ll need to have the most basic spices which we like to call “lamas”. It would include freshly cut red onions, some onion leaves, tomato, salt, a bit of msg, and sour vinegar. After having the spices, you can then mix them together without a particular order as long as you have everything that is mentioned. Next up are the “guso” and “lato”, before putting it in the spice mix, you need to wash them properly with water and then just put it in the mix right after. Those were just the easy parts, now here comes the hard one. Both the “swake” and “tuyom” have the same way of preparation. First, you’ll need a basin of sea water, it is what you use to wash the “tuyom” after you open it to remove its insides. Second, you’ll need a knife to cut it open. A spoon and of course a bowl to put the edible parts. How to spot the edible parts? It’s easy, the moment you wash away the insides you’ll see something yellowish sticking on the sides of its shell. You can use the spoon to gather up everything. After that you can then add them to the mix.

Everything is set up, you can then enjoy your freshly made “tuyom” and “swake” mix with your friends and family. Trust me when I say they are the best on Sundays. So, what are you waiting for?  Go ahead and experience my kind of seafood encounters.