Little Miss Philippines
The Miss Universe pageant has just concluded this year and the winner of the 2020 Miss Universe is Miss Mexico, Andrea Meza. Our country's bet Miss Philippines Rabiya Mateo finished as part of the Top 21 Finalist.
It's the 11th consecutive year that the Philippines is part of the finalist. This started with Venus Raj as she placed Miss Universe 4th Runner-up 2010, followed by Shamcey Supsup who won Miss Universe 3rd Runner-up. The next year was Janine Tugonon who placed 1st Runner-up in 2012 who is deserving to win the title that time, you can watch her performance on YT. Next up was Ariella Arida who placed 3rd Runner-up in 2013.
After consecutive times that the Philippines place in the top 5, the next year, 2014, MJ Lastimosa finished as a top 10 finalist. The year that came after is the most dramatic Miss Universe that I've witnessed as Pia Wurtzbach was announced as 1st Runner-up at first, only to find out that Steve Harvey made a mistake in his pronouncement. The Philippines through Pia Wurtzbach bagged its fourth Miss Universe crown after Margie Moran in 1973. It was so exciting, so exhilarating win for the Philippines!
The year after, Miss Universe 2016 helped in the Philippines. Maxine Medina placed in Top 6 in the pageant. Next was Rachel Peters who was part of the Top 10 during the Miss Universe 2017 pageant.
Then comes 2018, it was Catriona Gray who represented the Philippines in Thailand. For me, she was by far the most confident and most prepared Miss Philippines representative who is well-remembered through her slow-mo twirl, lava walk, and lava gown.
Miss Universe representatives of the Philippines from 2010 to 2019
In 2019, Gazini Ganados represented the country and finished as part of the Top 20. In the just concluded Miss Universe, Rabiya Mateo also had the same fate as she finished as part of the Top 21. For me, Rabiya though is deserving to have been part of the next part of semi-finalists or even part of the top 5 or this year's winner if not for the difference in the format of Miss Universe this year. But still, placing in the semi-finals is something to be proud of.
The Philippines is truly a pageant-loving country. When I was younger, about 4 or 5 years old, I actually wanted to join Little Miss Philippines, a pageant/talent search for young girls which started in the year 1984. This is a segment of Eat Bulaga!, a very popular noon-time variety show in the Philippines.
Little Ms. Philippines became a stepping stone to enter showbiz by launching the careers of some of the country's most successful female stars. Some of them are Aiza Seguerra (4th runner up in 1987), Jessa Zaragoza under her real-name Richelle Ann Palmario Mallari became the titleholder in 1987, Francine Prieto also joined, she won in the daily round but didn't continue (1988). In 1989, Kathleen Go Quieng (co-star of Aiza Seguerra in Eh Kasi Bata) and Diana Zubiri under her real name Rosemarie Joy Garcia became a grand-finalist.
In 1990, Camille Prats, Lady Lee, and Maybelyn deal Cruz joined and became grand-finalists. Other notable personalities are Patricia Ann Roque (1992), Pauleen Luna and Melissa "Mumay" Santiago (1995), Julie Ann San Jose (1998), Dindin Llanera (1999), Kim Domingo (2000), Sanya Lopez (2001), Kathryn Bernardo (2002).
Other personalities are Sam Bumatay (2003), Celine Lim (2003), and Ella Cruz (2003/2005). The year after, Issa Pressman and Bianca Umali joined too (2004). In 2012, Ryzza Mae Dizon bagged the title of Little Miss Philippines.
It was a long list of personalities - some won, some didn't, but still had their career sparked up in Little Miss Philippines.
I, too, wanted to have the same fate (or so I think when I was younger). One of the major sponsors of the segment was Enervon C with the tagline "I love Enervon C, Masarap kasi." When I was young, I thought that whenever my MamaLola buys Enervon C vitamins for me, I will be able to join the Little Miss Philippines contest. Now, I realized that the pack of Enervon C was used as proof of purchase in a raffle draw of the same segment. Its TVC was misleading to my young, innocent mind. You can watch the TCV below.
https://youtu.be/ONOw0T01Uig
It's just so fun to reminisce that at a very young age, I dreamt of becoming Little Miss Philippines. Now, I know this dream is nowhere in sight, but I am glad that my pageant-loving spirit is still there, supporting the very ones who are representing our country in the pageant stage around the world.
Ako po si Raysel P. mula sa Bayan ng Bautista, Pangasinan na nagsasabing "Ang batang mabait, pinagpapala ng langit. Ang batang makulit, pinapalo sa pwet." I thank you. Bow.
*Thanks for reading!!!*
P.U.S.H.
During my elementary graduation, we had a guest speaker. I actually forgot who he was. He's maybe someone with a high credential, he might be an alumnus of my school. Until now, I still don't know who he was. I am trying to remember his message, but I think my young mind has totally forgotten it.
I remember the date was April 2, 2000. I was wearing my gala uniform, and my head is tied back up high. My mother and father were there as well as my siblings. My parents are separated by the way when I was just 2 years old. Seeing them there actually made me feel I am important and that they are proud of me.
The last personal article that I wrote was about my MamaLola who died in June of 1999, she never witnessed me graduate as a Valedictorian. She may not be with me physically, but I know she's there in spirit. Oh, I also remember something! She was given a posthumous award in serving the school in the Parents-Teachers Association. My mother received the award for her.
Okay, I thought I am forgetting a lot of things that had happened during that night, maybe not a lot, but only the speech given to us by the guest of honor and speaker. As I look back, I really can't remember anything that he had said. One thing that I remember though was what another guest had mentioned when she gave an inspirational message. If I remember correctly, she is the Assistant Division's Superintendent during the time. She was asked to say a few words which resonated with me until today.
When she started speaking, I was really all ears. There was never a dull moment. It's as if you want to listen to everything that she is saying. Full of wisdom, sense, simplicity, and elegance.
She mentioned the meaning of the acronym P.U.S.H.
**Pray Until Something Happens**
This sentence is made up of simple words but the meaning of the sentence is ever-expanding.
I think at a very young age, her sharing of this sentence has resonated with me. It has taught me that prayer should be an important part of one's daily life, that prayer is necessary, that prayer is powerful, that prayer gives us no harm. It should be practiced, and it should be heart-felt.
**Prayer is evidence of your FAITH.**
A prayer is a form of vertical communication with God. Praying can be in many forms. I am not sure how you pray, but all I know is that whichever way you pray, as long as your heart is sincere and as long as your faith is truly believing in the One whom you are praying to, then, there's no position or form or whatsoever that is needed to say your prayer.
I can say that prayer is evidence of one's faith because you pray and converse to Someone you do not see, or hear, or feel literally. It takes a lot of convincing to skeptics to say that when you pray, a Higher Being is listening and also speaking to you. Praying is an act of communion with the One up above. It is a way of saying what you've been through the day, of uttering a simple relief that you are safe and sound, sometimes even pouring your heart's desires with tears flowing from your eyes.
**FAITH CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS.**
When you pray, you are expressing your faith. Sometimes you are unsure if Someone is out there listening to you and your cries. You may be unsure if that Someone will give you what you ask for.
But that is exactly what faith is - seeing what is unseen, and believing what is not there. Faith is completely trusting something or someone. Faith is a strong belief that Someone is there for you, to love, guide, care and protect you from all the evil that surrounds you.
I really like the verse Matthew 17:20 because it talks about how faith can move mountains. What? Is that even possible?
Yes, it can. And when I say YES with full confidence - that's faith.
I want to relate FAITH to the meaning of PUSH. You pray until something happens because you put your full trust in the Lord that whatever is your heart's desire, as long as it does not take other people's rights and happiness, and as long as it glorifies Him, then, it will happen.
They say that God answers prayers in 3 different ways:
Yes.
No.
Wait.
"Pray until something happens" is the process of applying your faith and patience until the answer from Him is given to you. Sometimes, the answer is a YES right away, there are times the answer is NO. When this happens, does this mean that you keep on PUSHing if you already know that the answer to your prayer is a No? Remember that not everything that we WANT will be granted, but everything that we NEED will surely be given. As stated in His promise in Matthew 6:27-28:
So, why do we worry, why do we freak out? God knows what we need. He surely knows what's best for us.
Now, if you are praying and it seems like there is no answer, maybe the answer is WAIT. He might be fulfilling this prayer of yours, but not. at the moment. Maybe He is teaching you to be more patient. Maybe He is telling you that something must change within you.
Whatever is the answers to your prayer - whether a YES, NO, or WAIT... just PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens, and you will never ever regret it. :)
Invest now or regret later
Why do you need to invest as early as possible? There are two main reasons why investing is a good opportunity to grow your money.
The first reason is INFLATION. In Economics, this term is defined as "a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. This means that every year, the value of goods/products is increasing. To illustrate further, in the average inflation rate of 2.7% from 2012 to 2020, the value of your PhP100.00 in the year 2012, is only at around Php81.00 in 2020.
As of April 2021, the inflation rate of the prices of goods/products in the Philippines is recorded at 4.5%. This figure was steady from March 2021 and is actually double the 2.2% inflation in April 2020. The Philippine government's target range is only about 2%-4%.
So, what does this mean?
Even if you are good at handling your money, you're thrifty and contented, when you decide to put this money in your savings account, your money is still losing its value. The only way to beat inflation is actually to **INVEST**. One's goal is to grow your money faster than inflation.
This leads me to my second reason. When you start early, this allows you to take advantage of the power of **COMPOUNDING RETURNS**. To explain this simply, let's look at the compounding interest of your retirement fund.
If you want to retire at the age of 60 with PhP5 Million assuming that there are 5% returns year on year. When you start investing at the age of 20, then you only need to save around PhP3450 monthly within 40 years to have a total investment of PhP1.7 Million. Now, let's compare it if you invest at the age of 40, you will need to save P12,600 monthly in a period of 20 years for a total of the invested amount at Php3 Million.
As shown below in my little summary, starting at an early age means that the amount that you need to set aside monthly is lower than the amount when you are older. Not only that, the total cumulative amount is much lower when you start young.
20 years old - Php3450 monthly - PhP1.7 million in 40 years
40 years old - P12,600 monthly - PhP3 million in 2o years
So, investing early is a win-win for an individual.
But why is it that in the Philippines less than 1% of the population is investing in UITF, mutual funds, stocks and bonds? There are two top reasons why Filipino adults don't invests. The first reason is the **perception of high cost** - most of us think that you need to have a big amount of a capital to start investing, and the second most common reason is the **lack of awareness** - not knowing how and where to invest.
Just recently, I've come across the GInvest platform in GCash. This platform aims to address the abovementioned two reasons why Filipino adults are not investing. In GInvest, you can start investing for as low as PhP50 (WOW!) using your GCash app in your smartphone.
**What is GInvest?**
GInvest is the investment feature of GCash app. This feature allows the users to invest in various investment funds such as those that are itemized below:
GCash partnered with ATRAM and Seedbox Technologies to offer unit investment trust funds or UITF. Instead of us individually investing on stocks, bonds, and others, these are professionally handled by fund managers. These fund managers will be handling the research, placement, and monitoring of the funds.
**How do I invest via GInvest?**
If you are 18 years old and above, with 1 valid ID, you can get fully verified in GCash. Once you're fully verified, you can now go to the GInvest feature in the app and register for an account.
It's easy to register, just indicate your email address, ask the risk assessment questionnaire (Don't worry, there's no right or wrong answer.), and fill out other information required in registration.
Once registered, you can click on "View Investment Products" to choose from the funds available. You will also be able to see the "Risk Appetite" based on the questionnaires that you've answered before this. Remember that you have to be critical to the type of investment that will best suit your financial needs.
**What funds are on GInvest?**
There are 5 different funds to choose from. There are 3 local funds and 2 global funds. You will see the Risk Rating under each type of fund. You can check if it's aligned to your Risk appetite if you click the "View Details" as it will show you the details such as investment information, fund description, minimum initial investment, minimum additional investment, and the return rate in the past 1 year.
The minimum initial investment in the local funds such as the ATRAM Peso Money Market Fund, ATRAM Total Return Peso Bond Fund, and the ATRAM Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund is just PhP50. The minimum investment amount for global funds is PhP1000, which is actually relatively affordable especially if you are a working professional.
**How to Invest?**
After careful consideration of the type of investment that you would like to invest on, you can now click the "Buy" option. Please take note that the effective price (navpu) when you subscribe already includes the management and other fees. You just need to wait 2-4 business days for processing of your order.
Once it's processed, you can easily monitor the market value of your investment via the GInvest feature of your GCash app. For me, one of the best features of the GInvest is the "Set Reminder" where you can choose how often you want to be reminded to invest, and the amount of investment. You can choose either of the following: Every middle and end of the month, every end of the month, or every end of the quarter. An SMS alert will help you remember to invest regularly.
**Pros and Cons of Investing**
I know that the term invest/investing/investment is still a little bit intimidating. But, when you invest using GInvest, its interface is actually user-friendly and not intimidating especially for beginners. It seems like you're just shopping (add to cart) products from Shopee or Lazada.
Another good thing about GInvest is that it has a variety of funds to choose from, and there's a fund for each risk appetite. It doesn't require you to become a high risk taker or aggresive to invest, as it's the common impression. There are certain funds that are good for moderately aggressive investors, and even to the conservative ones in terms of the Risk Appetite.
To give you an idea of how much will the return of your investment will be, here's an example. If you are 20 years old and you set aside an investment of Php1000 monthly and you get to grow it by 5% per year, the total amount that you would have to set aside from 20-60 years old is PhP480,000, but it can increase up to PhP1.5 Million since there's a compounding returns in the investment. So, if you think that PhP1000 is small, imagine that it will grow over time due to the compounding returns. However, please take note that returns of UITF are not guaranteed since these are investments, and they are not insured by the PDIC unlike deposit accounts.
Here are some things that I think should be improved by GInvest that you can consider first before trying.
The processing time of orders take 2-4 banking days and the processing of sell orders take 3-7 banking days. So, if there's an urgent need for you to withdraw the money, it will not instantly be credited to your GCash.
There's a limit/cap to the amount that you can invest. This is based on your GCash wallet's limits. To know this, you can go to your GCash profile, click "View Benefits".
One of the investment funds which is the Money Market Fund because there digital banks that offer guaranteed higher returns like the GSave which is also in GCash.
Management fee is slightly higher for Philippines Smart Equity Index Fund at 1.5% as compared to other UITF offerings. However, here you can start investing at PhP50, whereas in other UITFs, the minimum required amount is at least PhP10,000.
So, what do you think? Do you want to try investing in the simplest possible way? Try GInvest now, or regret later. :)
I'm a GrandMa's Girl
I graduated from elementary as a Valedictorian of our class. I graduated from a small, non-sectarian private school in my hometown in the year 2000. I remember that the year before my graduation, my grandma died of ovarian cancer. She was not able to witness this momentous part of my life growing up. She was not there physically, but I know she's there in spirit.
Before I tell you why my title is written as such, I would like to share with you a brief background before I come to the night of my elementary graduation.
Okay, I am the eldest of two siblings from both my parents. I have a younger brother, he was the one who introduced me to this platform (hello bro!). Our parents got separated when I was 2 years old. So, I was raised by my grandparents, I call them MamaLola and PapaLolo (Mama means mother, Lola means Grandma; Papa means father, and Lolo means Grandpa). Both my brother and I stayed with our grandparents. We were not able to be with our Mama (mother) because she already has another family. Our Papa (father) also has another family. The setup was we only get a chance to be with our Papa when he would fetch us at home and bring us to his house in another town.
I was raised thinking that I am rich, not very rich, but our lifestyle is better as compared to other family's lifestyle. I am not sure if we are considered spoiled by our grandparents, but I think we really are.
Living in the province, we often go to Manila and visit the mall, shop, and watch movies, but the very reason why we're there is that our grandfather is having his weekly dialysis session. During that time, it was not clear to me yet the gravity of his condition. They did not inform us that his kidney is already failing, maybe I guess because we were too young to understand.
When our grandpa died when I was in the third grade, I knew something will change. He died because of kidney failure. When he died, my grandma, me, and my brother continued to live a simpler life. After my Grandpa died, we didn't own any car, but we continued living in our ancestral house - the house where my mother spent her childhood.
Fast forward to the year 1999, my MamaLola was diagnosed with an illness that I didn't know yet. My Mama stayed with us during this time because my MamaLola needs assistance. I forgot the date, but I think it was the summer of 1999 when we had to go to Manila for my MamaLola's operation. After some weeks, they said that her operation was successful so, we went home where she can spend time for her recovery.
It was the afternoon of June 29, 1999, when I felt a terrible headache in school. I was fetched right after school because they said my MamaLola needs to go back to the hospital. I bid goodbye to her, thinking that this was just a simple procedure.
June 30, 1999. At 3:oo in the morning, my Mama and an Aunt woke us up. Oh well, I thought, well, MamaLola is already home. I will be able to hug her tight again. I didn't realize right away that there was a piece of bad news. It was only when my Aunt asked my Mama what would my MamaLola wear, and my Mama said she should wear her white dress. Then, it dawned on me, MamaLola can't talk anymore, because she was already taken by our Creator.
I silently cried in disbelief. I will no longer be able to hug her and tell her how my day went. She will not be able to witness any of my graduation ceremonies.
Every year from the first recognition ceremony that I can remember, my MamaLola is always the one who would go up the stage with me to pin my ribbons and place my medals for the curricular and co-curricular awards that I receive every year. But during my graduation, instead of my MamaLola, my Mama, Papa, and two other Lolas (sisters of my MamaLola) were the ones who went up the stage to give one award after another.
**My Graduation Day**
It was April 2, 2000. I was wearing our school's gala uniform for my graduation. I was nervous, but I was happy and grateful for the awards that were bestowed upon me. I was thinking what if MamaLola is here, maybe she would be so proud of my achievements.
In my valedictory speech, I remember that I gave honor to my MamaLola who was always there for me every step of the way, right from the very beginning of my school journey - at 3 years old. I remember her sacrifices by making me a reviewer especially when I have my exams, for her unending support especially when I have to join different contests in either academic or journalistic ones in different parts of our province, region, and country.
It was my MamaLola who taught me to be excellent in everything that I do. I hope that right now, wherever she may be, she is smiling down seeing me and my brother achieve our ambitions, making a living, standing on our own feet.
I miss and love you, MamaLola. You are a gem. You are a treasure that I will always remember, and will always be kept inside my heart.
<3
The Tale of Bad Reviews
Since I started online English teaching, I had a couple of favorites from my students and from those random students who would visit my profile. The company said they are helping newly qualified teachers by boosting their booking slots to gain regular students within a time frame. It's only temporary though, so, it is the teacher's job to become more bookable.
One of the ways to gain attention from potential students is to get "favorited" by many students and to have a higher satisfaction rate which means more good evaluations and no bad evaluations and complaints.
When I started last May 10, I got one bad evaluation from a student who seems to be disinterested. Anyway, these are what the student said to me in the bad evaluation:
Facial expressions not engaging
Not energetic enough
Lack of effective interaction
No/ not effective error-correction
Noisy background
Well, thankfully, there's an appeal button where teachers can accept or refuse the complaints filed to him/her. I refused all these things because when I had my demo, the evaluator said I really have engaging energy, and I am always wearing my sweetest smile. In my almost 10 years of classroom teaching, never did I get any complaints on how uninterested I am during class because my ultimate goal when I'm having a class is for my students to understand the lesson, and have FUN. It was just discouraging for me to have these types of bad evaluations when in the 25 minutes that I am in the online class, I did my very best to be an excellent teacher. I build rapport with my students not only by just asking their names but also making little conversations about them, as much as possible. I see to it that I am present, not only in terms of attendance, but I am present in the moment - listening to them, conversing with them, building a relationship with them. The appeal that I made by the way is still processing.
Anyway, I am writing this out of frustration because, in my second week, I got another bad evaluation from a student last night. Actually, I was already expecting to get bad feedback, not because I did bad (of course not!), but because this student was a Mission student. A mission student means that he/she has many dislikes, and is prone to make bad evaluations to his/her teachers. So, if a new teacher gets a student with a mission, he/she must do everything to turn the tables. Unfortunately, I was not able to turn the tables last night. I have to be honest, I almost lost my temper and patience, but I still keep going and made the lessons as fun and interesting as possible. These are what the student ticked in the bad evaluation form:
Facial expressions not engaging (Really?)
Not energetic enough (Oh noes.)
Not patient enough (Maybe.)
Lack of effective interaction (WOW!!?)
Finished all the slides too fast (Okay, maybe a bit, but no, really.)
Teacher spoke too fast (I know about grade language, I gauge my student's level of English.)
Word of choice too difficult (She understood me during the class.)
Other people/objects present in the background (My background is a wall. The company said we can temporarily make a student-friendly background. Is it not student friendly?)
One of the problems I've encountered last night is when the student wrote on the screen "No." Okay, I kept my cool. It was fine, I can just shake it off. Another red flag was when the student sent me a message in the chatbox, she said "I don't like you." In response, I told her "Teacher likes you, Student." We continued. Another red flag was when I was teaching her a part of our lesson which is to make sentences starting with the phrase "I/He/She/They musn't....". She refused saying mustn't, instead she used "can't". I tried several times to tell her to use "mustn't" instead of "can't" because the context of the lesson is about rules, and rules must be obeyed.
Still, she refused.
So, we continued. I am not sure if my frustration was shown through my facial expression, but I still keep my cool. I know it is difficult to have a student who thinks that they know a lot of things already, and they treat teachers like (pardon me for a lack of better term) slaves. They treat teachers as a nobody, someone who is being paid for their service only. But being a teacher isn't just a job, it's a commitment, it's a vocation, it's making action on your passion.
Because of that bad evaluation, my satisfaction rate from 100% decreased to 75%, for just ONE bad evaluation, my chances of getting more students would likely decline. I just hoped that they would consider my appeal and agree to refuse what the student commented about me.
Btw, she said in her comment that I look like a *nuiko* (I don't know what this means), she doesn't like me, she will never make another appointment with me again. My intuition was correct when she said she only booked me because her favorite teacher was too tired.
As I've mentioned, I am doing everything that I can to be present at the moment. I've also already invested in printing and buying some materials needed for my classes which are way too far from what I've received as a salary in my first week of teaching. But well, I guess, you can't really please everybody - even if you're friendly, accommodating, and good at what you do. I am not saying that I'm already an expert in teaching, especially in teaching younger kids, but I really try my best to make an effort.
So, if you're a teacher like me who easily gets frustrated by having bad evaluations, I just want to encourage you that you are doing a great job. Yesterday, I had 5 classes, out of the 5, only 1 made a bad evaluation. So, carry on, tomorrow, it will pass. We will all become better and better each day.
Hang in there, Teach!
Love and Acceptance
There are times that you would look at your ugly self and feel so empty, worthless, unimportant, unnoticed.
I think I am the kind of person who would willingly give everything for the one that I love, and mind you, that willingness is without any regret! I believe that you give because you have a lot to give and because you think that's how love works... but along the way, you would also realize that you're still human and you need to be acknowledged, just because.
There are times when you prioritize the ones you love, to the point that you forget about yourself because you're thinking, well, probably, someday it will be your turn... but that someday seems to be so far away from reality. You think that it's okay, you're okay because you give love, care, concern, time, and affection without expecting anything in return.
*When was it not okay to love unconditionally?*
On the wide spectrum of love, there are certain realities that tell us all that we are humans, and being a human means loving as a human.
Being human means you NEED to be loved. This kind of love is in the form of affection where you wish that somebody special out there would check on you, take care of you, and love you - the same way that you would check on them, take care of them, and love them. The love that you so willingly want to give to someone who is deserving of it, or sometimes, you so willingly give to someone who is not very much deserving at all. You think, maybe you're just expecting too much from them. But where do you get those expectations? You get those from observations. You see how they give care for other people close to their hearts. Yes, they show this love to you also, but you still feel like you're the least priority. Why do you still do this? It's because -
Being human means you are VULNERABLE. Love is not just happiness at all times, part of love is the feeling of hurt and pain. Choosing to love the unlovable, (sometimes) choosing to be silenced, (sometimes) willingly taking the blame. (I am not justifying, but I put sometimes because it takes two to tango, compromise should be present between the two parties.). You become vulnerable and you choose to become one for the sake of the relationship. You can show him/her that you are afraid, that sometimes, you are hurt, that there are times that you feel lonely, yet you remain headstrong.
Being human means you are HEADSTRONG. You fight for your place in somebody's life. Sometimes, you fight for that person, you sacrifice, you take the pain out of them and help them face the challenge with you, headstrong, steadfast. You fight their fight because it's both yours to fight. You fight because you're part of his/her life or the priority list that you think he/she is keeping. (Devil's Advocate: But there are also some times when you'd sit by yourself and cry and laugh and tell yourself, at least I am part of the priority list... or are you?)
Being human means differences in LOVE LANGUAGES. Sometimes you think that the intensity of how you love is different than your partner's. Sometimes you feel like why do you need to do certain things when clearly the other party's not doing it. But did you try to look at how your partner communicates his/her love towards you? Maybe your expression is different than his/hers. Find it out, communicate, and compromise.
Love is truly magical. It can make you or break you. It's up to you to choose if this person is worth the make or the break. I would like to quote a line from Sam in the movie, Perks of being a wallflower:
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
Do you deserve something better?
How did I become a Teacher?
"Make your passion your profession." - 3 Idiots
I graduated in the year 2009 with a 4-year degree at a University in Los Banos, Laguna (Shout out to Elbi peeps here!). The course was only for 4 years, but I graduated in my fifth year due to thesis problems (I can write another story for that sometime). Anyway, during my "fifth" year, I didn't take any more subjects, only units for my thesis completion. As the eldest of the family, I did not ask for an allowance from my father during this period, because I was too shy. So what I did was to make ends meet by offering English tutorial lessons to some Korean students in the Philippines. As I remember, I was receiving at most PhP1250 per week. I am just not sure how long one tutorial session is with Bbon, my student. This may be a little amount, but to me, during that time, it was enough to sustain my university life. It was enough to buy food, pay jeepney fare, pay computer shop rental fees, and others. I did this for more than 6 months (Summer and 1st Sem). When the pressure of graduating is becoming more evident, I decided to apply as a Student Assistant in my major's department in College. There, I do some clerical/office jobs, even assisting some of our professors in their field classes. During that time, I was paid PhP30 per hour, with a maximum of 100 hours per month.
Anyway, after 3 additional units (1 unit for summer, 1 unit for 1st semester, and 1 unit for 2nd semester), I was able to finish my thesis manuscript, and become part of the graduating class of 2009. Yes, I did it! I graduated from the university.
Before graduation, I volunteered at a new non-government organization based in Japan. I attended a 2-day event at SMX-Mall of Asia. Because of this, these people from the organization invited me to become a pioneer employee of their counterpart non-government organization here in the Philippines. I gladly took this job offer and started working for them literally 5 days after graduation. My work is job description was somewhat not related to my college degree, but I still took the job. I was receiving PhP12,000 per month. I worked as a coordinator of the projects to different communities. I stayed for two years in that job, because (1) I have nowhere to go; and (2) The workload is intermittent. I am busy one week, then, no activity in the next two weeks. Being in this job though made me realize that there's still room for improvement for me. I went back and reflected on what do I really want to do?
I realized, I really wanted was to teach.
December of 2010, I was literally ironing the wedding gown of my aunt when I told her that I wanted to try teaching as a profession. Lo and behold, she said I should submit a letter of intent and CV to her work's school principal. So, I submitted my application letter and CV in February of 2011.
I was actively looking for a job within the vicinity of Los Banos, Laguna, and in March of 2011, I got a call from a government institution where I applied as a researcher. I passed the panel interview and was invited for a technical interview, which I think I've failed. I was scared that at that time, 2 years had already passed since I "used" my knowledge and skills in scientific field research.
So, I just continued with my job, until the first week of April came. I got a call from the school where I applied as a teacher. It was funny because I completely forgot that I sent my application letter 2 months prior. They invited me for an interview on April 7.
I went there not knowing where the location of the school is, or how to get there. With the help of some of my friends and relatives, they instructed me on what to ride, where to go, etc. During the interview, the principal asked me right away...
"So, what brought you here?"
I didn't plan to tell that I took the chance to apply because my aunt told me so. But, in the spirit of honesty, I started telling him the story of how I was ironing my aunt's wedding dress, blah blah blah... - the very reason why I was there.
Another thing that I remembered from the interview is when he asked me my thoughts on using our native language which is Filipino to teach Science as a subject - and I was asked to answer in Filipino. It was stressful. The last question was about my symbol. If I am to be an object, what would symbolize me and why.
In answering this, I remembered the time that I was invited as a guest in a school's elementary graduation (for my previous work), where I awarded the Academic Excellence Award to their top 5 achievers. After giving a little speech, I witnessed them sing their graduation song entitled "Pass it on" while each student lights a candle and passing on the light to another student, and to another, and to another. I told the principal that my symbol is a candle, this little thing, small as it may be, can become a source of light to a lot of people, and that little fire, little light that is within me can be shared with others, and in turn, be shared to others more. (Pang-beauty queen ba ang sagot ko? Hehe)
He was impressed and after a few minutes, I was in a holding room with other applicants. I was so afraid during that time. It's was only my second time to be interviewed formally.
So, the principal called me and told me that I passed the interview and that I am to do a demo teaching the next day. The principal told me that he will send me my assigned topic and learning plan template on the night before my demo teaching.
Wait, WHAT?!!
WHAT IS DEMO TEACHING?
I have no idea, or I do, but I don't know what to do!
Thankfully, one of my college friends is a teacher in a school in Quezon City, and she invited me to stay in their apartment. She lent me her laptop, gave me some advice, and allowed me to work on my demo teaching. I was just staring at the learning plan template, not knowing what to write.
The clock is ticking.
It's 3:00 AM. I was able to think of activities under each part of the learning plan, but I was quite not sure. I said to myself, I need to rest. The morning of my demo teaching, my college friend and her housemates asked me if I was able to finish my learning plan, I showed my work to them and they helped me to improve what I've written down. I vividly remember someone advising me to not forget to lead the prayer or ask someone to pray because I am applying as a teacher in a Catholic school.
So, I finalized my learning plan, went to a printing shop, prepared to go back to school for my demo teaching. Woah, I was there on time. I waited for a few moments in the holding area, and then, I started to "perform".
After about 20 minutes, I was asked to wait in the holding area. As an overthinker, I looked back to the whole process of my demo teaching, what I did and did not do, what I forgot to do. I almost forgot the game that I prepared as a motivational activity. HAHAHA.
And so I doubted if I passed the demo teaching. But on second thought, the principal had me waiting.
I waited for a few minutes and then, the principal called me and discussed with me the good points of my demo teaching and those that I can still improve on. I was right, the game that I almost forgot is the "sayang" moment according to the principal. But, he saw the potential in me, he saw something in me. So, he congratulated me and for the first time, I felt I've achieved something - something that I've really fought for, worked hard for, something totally new to me, something that I had to learn, something that I really wanted to do.
I first watched 3 Idiots in 2009. This movie, I can say, has resonated with the passion of teaching in me. It's true that for you to become successful, you should love what you do. So, here I am, fulfilling the 3 Idiots quotation "Make your passion your profession."
<3
P.S. The avatar was made by my partner as part of my requirements in one of the subjects during my Master's study.
My First English Online Tutorial Lesson(s)
Last time, I was able to share with you my journey in applying as a home-based English tutor to kids and adults alike from a different country. The process was really fast as yesterday, I was already booked to teach my first class.
During the onboarding session, the trainer told us that we have to open at least 15 slots during peak hours. In the company, the peak hours are from 18:00-20:30 during weekdays and from 9:00-20:30 on the weekends.
My launching date was last Friday, May 7, 2021. During the onboarding session, we were required to open the required 15 peak hour slots (3 peak hours slots per day for 5 days, in no particular order). Since it's my first time, and I was not very confident enough, I opted to open my slots from May 10-14. So, I opened 3 slots per day. I was not really expecting any bookings before as far as I know, the slots opened by newly qualified teachers are not fully booked because our profiles are not yet very promising to students due to lack of experience and lack of ratings from previous students (since we don't have students yet). But lo and behold, on May 9, three students have booked my classes, one for each day: 19:30 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Okay, I said to myself. I have to prepare for each class one at a time.
So, last Monday, I went to National Book Store to buy some materials that I will be needing for my 19:30 class. I went to the mall and bought these materials, then went home at around 13:30 to eat lunch. And then, at around 14:00, another student booked my 18:00 class. Mind you, I panicked.
Thankfully, I am able to preview the materials for our lesson for the day. I prepared some other teaching/learning aids that I can use for the booked class like letter cuttings, popsicle sticks, meta cards with the target words, etc. I am not so very artsy, my partner is not with me to help me, so, I have to depend on myself to be able to ace this job.
I finished preparing my materials at around 16:00, so I decided to take a shower and actually prepare for my class at 18:00. At around 17:00, I panicked because there seems to be a missing icon on my homepage. This icon is needed to be clicked 30 minutes before my actual teaching session, for me not to be marked absent. Thankfully, I asked my aunt (who is also an online English teacher), that the icon "start" would only appear 30 minutes before the start of my very first class.
I was able to breathe. But then again, time is ticking. Its' already 17:45.
It's showtime! I have to perform - become lively, energetic, enthusiastic, and fun! My first student was a cute little male kid who's Level 2 in English. Our lesson is reading a fairy tale focusing on phonics, particularly that of the pr- and pl- sounds. We read the story and pronounced certain words like the following: prince, princess, plums, place, etc. Wow! He could actually understand what I am saying/asking, and he was able to pronounce most of the words correctly! I asked him questions, and he was able to answer. Good thing, he was able to comprehend most of the things that we've learned. Btw, he is wearing a cute bow tie, and his mom was beside him all the time.
Anyways, my next class was 19:30, this next student is a cute girl with the same level of English as my first student. She was also able to read and pronounce the words/sentences correctly. I just to remind her of some minor lapses in her grammar. She was also enthusiastic and she always givens an answer to my questions. It was really fun. However, we almost hit the timer. We ended 25 minutes and 54 seconds. Whew!
My last class at 21:00 was with a very cute boy with Level 0 English. When I saw his background, I was a bit worried if we will be able to understand each other. But, well, he was exceptional. He was active and participative. Although there were instructions that were not very clear to him, he still pursued and persevered. Even though he is considered to be a Level 0 English speaker, he was able to impress me with his wit, energy, and enthusiasm to learn.
I hope the coming days will be better. I have 3 more bookings on Tuesday and another 3 on Wed, there are 2 on Friday, and 1 on Saturday.
It's true that being in this job is exhausting, the pay is not very promising (unless you open a lot of slots and these slots will be booked). I honestly am not sure why I need to do this. Maybe I am preparing for the rainy days, maybe I am preparing for a flood that might come my way. One thing is for sure, as long as I am helping these kids, and they are also helping me (in a way), I will continue.
I will continue to survive.
Who is Assange?
I came across Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Reading about him and his case made me become curious about what happened to him. Here's what I know so far.
Wikileaks was established by Julian Assange in 2006 to analyze and publish censored and restricted datasets from governments and other organizations with materials relating to war, spying, and corruption, all coming from anonymous sources. According to the website wikileaks.org, WikiLeaks is a multi-national media organization and associated library (Wikileaks, n.d.).
Their logo is in a shape of an hourglass with a globe that looks like it is leaking from top to bottom. If you ask me for my opinion or interpretation of the logo, I can say that its logo speaks about how classified information is needed to be publicized at the soonest possible time for people to become more aware of what is truly happening in the world.
Julian Assange is an Australian national who founded Wikileaks. During his early life, he was able to hack a number of security systems like that of NASA and the Pentagon. He used his hacking name "Mendax" during those times. He was actually charged with 31 counts of cybercrime in 1991, where he pleaded guilty to most, however, he was sentenced to only paying a small fine as the judge ruled that these actions of his are only a result of curiosity and inquisitiveness of the youth. He then pursued a degree in Physics at the University of Melbourne, but later on, withdrew before earning a degree. He worked as a computer security consultant afterward.
His name and his organization became more known in 2010 when WikiLeaks posted several documents obtained from US Army Intelligence Analyst Bradley Manning. These documents were about the US Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the information that was posted was already made to the public, then US President Obama condemned this act as they consider the posting of classified information as a threat to US National security. In the same year, WikiLeaks published documents that were mostly dated from 2007-2010, with some documents that were dated as far back as 1966. These documents had a wide array of topics including behind-the-scenes US efforts to isolate Iran politically and economically - in response to fears of Iran's development of nuclear weapons. This publication was criticized and some American politicians pursued Assange as a terrorist.
One of the most disturbing videos that was released by WikiLeaks was the Collateral Murder which showed how some US soldiers fatally attack and shoot a total of 18 people in a helicopter in Iraq. Two named victims were journalists from Reuters in the name of Namir Noor-Eldeen and his assistant Saeed Chmagh. Other controversial information that was published by WikiLeaks was the Iraq War logs, which contain almost 400,000 US Army field reports from the Iraq War from 2004-2009. Apart from the ones mentioned above are the materials from Manning that were also published in WikiLeaks such as the Afghanistan War logs and the Guantanamo Bay files.
After the release of this classified information, the US authorities began to investigate WikiLeaks and Assange personally. They were prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917. Anyways, you can watch this video below of Assange's story in a nutshell.
https://youtu.be/DihY1mc64hA
What I can say right now is that Assange only becomes an informant to the public - the only problem is that the information that was made public seems to be like some people's dirty little secret. Is it but right for him to be punished for exposing something that is of value to the people around the world? Is it right that by doing this, his freedom has to be taken away, and his reputation be destroyed? Not only that, but also his psychological health is also going down.
Now, how is Assange's case affect us?
The question is will his prosecution establish a dangerous precedent to journalists and news outlets that do what Assange has also done - to receive and publish government "secrets" known as classified information that has been done by many journalists and news outlets for decades?
Hmm, what do you think?
My journey in my application as an Online English Tutor
I applied as a part-time home-based English teacher in a company just recently. Last year, I already became interested to apply but didn't push through because I have a full-time job as a teacher in a school, and due to the pandemic, there were changes that I needed to adapt to and learn to do. So, I forego my initial application which basically is just to sign up on their website.
Anyway, the school year has "somewhat" ended in where I work right now. We had our last class during the third week of April, and completion of requirements was already made. I was able to submit the grades and all the necessary requirements to move forward. I don't want any backlog as much as possible, so, I really ensured that I'd be able to submit all of these requirements on or before April 30.
Before I walk you through my application journey, I would like to share that I applied for a scholarship outside the Philippines last February. I passed the initial document screening and the second screening process which is the interview last March. The final result though would be released by June and the expected departure is in October. Now, here comes my dilemma - I need to tell our principal that I applied for a scholarship, and final results will be out in June and the expected departure is in October and I still need to have a job during that time of waiting, if I get to be accepted. The scholarship training will last for 1.5 years and I am encouraged to be back to the institution or my home country to be able to apply these learnings from the training and share it with my colleagues. Thankfully, our school allows their permanent employees to apply for a sabbatical leave and embark on a different journey for a maximum of two years.
The principal congratulated me and wished me high hopes in my scholarship application, but the decision on my request is yet to be discussed with the other administrators. By this time, I was hopeful that they'd allow me to stay until the time of my departure.
Then, I received an email last April 29 telling me that my request to stay until the day of my "supposed" departure is denied because, as I may quote:
"We owe it to our students that their learning continuity is not disrupted in the middle of the school year."
This, I completely understood. This school year for the school was challenging, and next school year, the school is facing another major hurdle as many of our students who will be in SHS are planning to transfer to the school of their choice in college. I have big hopes for our school, and I know that we prepare students well, but the names of these other schools are more "palatable" as they are more known and established. Also, they have more money and power. They have nothing to lose.
Anyway, if there is a *pa-consuelo,* it is, and I quote:
"It will also be unfair to the teacher who will take on your load since there may be comparisons. As we all know, you are an excellent teacher. 🙂 "
The principal gave me an ultimatum until May 31 to decide.
Well, thank you for appreciating my work as a teacher. But I need work. I need something to sustain me before I leave (if ever). I actually am going to do this to improve myself so I can also help the school and my colleagues improve. But, well, I really understood where they're coming from. It will be highly unlikely to find a teacher replacement in the middle of the school year.
So, that same day when I received the email from the principal, I logged in to my account as an applicant to this online tutoring platform. I was thinking, I can work part-time and save up. This is the *sigurista* in me speaking. If I get to be accepted as an online tutor, then, come June, and the final result's out, I will still have something to do, something to take care of my finances. So, I proceeded and scheduled my initial interview for May 3 at 1:00 PM.
The next day, I replied to the principal (CC to the rest of the administrators) that I appreciate their being honest with me, but I requested an extension to have my decision, as the final results of the scholarship training will be out in June. Thankfully, the principal gave me until the last day of June to decide.
That means, whatever is the result of my scholarship, I will still have work, whether it be in my original school or as an online English tutor.
Come April 30, I received a text message from the online English tutorial company that I will have a short assessment on that day. Within minutes, and without taking a bath yet, I was assessed with two other applicants. I passed the short assessment and was invited to undergo my technical check in the afternoon. After the tech check, I was endorsed to the pre-service orientation at 6pm. After which, each applicant is asked when is the best time for us to have our training. I chose May 3 in the afternoon because I thought we are only going to choose which time, only to find out that May 3 is the start of the training schedule, and I can attend whatever date there is starting May 3.
So, I read and answered all the self-accessed modules that are needed for the 7 hour training. I also was able to upload the requirements, such as ID photo for my profile, a government-issued ID, an NBI clearance or an NBI clearance application evidence, an audio recording of my voice reading an introduction to myself script, and a copy of my college diploma.
In the evening of Sunday, May 2, I received a message from the trainer telling us that the "training" itself is the self-accessed modules and the "training" that we will be undergoing the next day is a mock demo, where we will be graded pass or fail to proceed to the next step of the application process.
I was shocked.
I don't have any teaching aids with me and the material was just given that night, and I thought I have little time to prepare. I need to have a good and attractive backdrop, visual learning aids like pictures, rewards, etc.
Thankfully, I have the night to prepare and the morning to print out the materials. My partner helped me with the design of my backdrop (Thankfully, he is a Fine Arts major!). I watched some YouTube videos telling some tips and tricks in the mock demo. So, I was able to make my script and practice, even just for a little while.
Then came May 3, I went out to print the copies of my teaching aids. My partner helped me set up my workstation and the backdrop, cooked good food for me before the actual mock demo. The demo is scheduled at 12:30 PM but we have to be online 30 minutes before. So, I was already online at 12:00. She gave the link at around 12:20 PM, and then we were at the online conference. We were around 22 at the online conference call.
The trainer first gave us some instructions and tips on what to be mindful of when we do our mock demo. After a few minutes, she had us grouped in pairs, to practice with each other. I was paired with an applicant from Isabela. We practiced and gave each other some advice on how to improve. After 30 minutes, we gathered again and then the trainer told us that we will be put in another room and wait for our turn to be evaluated.
It was a very long time of waiting for me. I think we were evaluated at around 4:30 PM. I waited for I think almost 3 hours.
Thankfully, I passed the mock demo. All the passers were put in a separate room. I counted, we were 9 all in all. From 22, down to 9. The trainer gave us the schedule of our final demo with another evaluator. She was so helpful! She also gave us tips on what to do during the final demo. She also presented the professionalism webinar and discussed important matters regarding our application.
So, now, here I am, preparing for my final demo, where I either make it or break it.
Wish me well! Thank you!
Scammers are everywhere.
I am writing this to share with everyone my (almost) experience of a scam for many people to be more aware that there are scams such as the one below that uses the online shopping app, Shopee.
Today, I received a text message from Shopee saying that I’ve won a monthly prize and I have to call them by clicking the given link. At first, I thought that the message was from Shopee because it was found in my Shopee thread of messages.
When I clicked the link, it led me to the website stuffwinner. com and tells me to claim my prize (iPhone 12 Pro) by texting or calling their number and to follow the instructions that will be given.
I was skeptical, thus, with the advice of my partner, I looked at my Shopee app and check if there was a notification that I won a prize, etc. I usually go to the apps built in game corner where I gather coins and join raffles, so well, I thought to myself, I might have really won a brand new iPhone!
And then, there was NONE. My partner told me to ask the customer service to confirm if such a “raffle” is existing.
So, I went to open my app and chat with a customer service representative where I provided the screenshots and asked him to confirm if this is really from Shopee. As expected, he said that the website is not related to Shopee in any way. I told him that I also think so, thus I confirmed it via customer care. He said he will file a report about this. I asked him to file this report asap so no one gets to be victimized by this scam.
I am posting this experience for everyone to become more aware and vigilant. The scammers are everywhere, they will use everything for their own gain. They do not mind who their victims are . I also remember receiving a text message from a random number informing me that as a senior citizen, I am entitled to a particular benefit. First of all, I am not a senior citizen. Second of all, this made me realize that these scammers might have already victimized a lot of grandmothers and grandfathers who can easily fall for their scheme. I pity them, I pity the senior citizens. It really made me angry, so, I replied to the text message with a message telling them to stop victimizing the vulnerable senior citizens, because a day will come to them, asking them for payment of their evil actions.
Technology is good. It made our lives more convenient, communication became easier. But, when used for selfish, personal gains, with no remorse to anyone who might be affected by his/her actions, it becomes evil.
So, please be extra careful. Let's stay vigilant, and report these types of scams.
Sabi nga nila, wag agad-agad maniwala.
You want to write, but there are times that you just can't. I feel uninspired and tired. I need to get out of this feeling. Do you also feel the same?
Teachers working from home
I am currently employed in a private educational institution here in the Philippines. I will be celebrating my 10th year with them as a faculty this coming June 2021. Because of the pandemic, we shifted to an online distance learning (ODL) setup. We just finished the last few days of online classes for the school year last week and all I can say is that this school year was really very challenging not only to the students but also to us, teachers.
I realized that it was very difficult to not see my students and my colleagues face to face. It's been more than a year since our country was placed in a community quarantine. Now, the number of COVID-19 cases has already reached a million. Working from home has been a new norm. It was the first time, in years, that I was not able to really know my students in a deeper manner. Sometimes, I forget their names unlike before that I know them by their name and their section, and I know their mannerisms, their behavior, etc.
This year, it was difficult because we were pushed to make online learning modules, make synchronous and asynchronous classes. Create materials for students' use such as an audio-visual slide presentations with my voice being heard by the students when they open the material. It was also difficult to think of authentic and alternative assessments especially in my subject - Science. Traditionally, since Science is a highly conceptual subject, we give them pen-and-paper, objective kinds of tests to measure how much they learn. We also give them alternative types of assessment, but before it was just limited. This ODL setup, we give them performance tasks which cover a big bunch on the grading component. Surprisingly, there are a lot of outputs that were done excellently. I can attest that students nowadays are very creative given the various platforms at their expense.
This year, we only meet each section once a week. This means that the chunk of discussion and working time for the students is limited. I know that it was hard to adjust at first, as some students do not submit on time, but thankfully, most of us were able to adjust. It's just sad that some of the students still fail to submit their requirement even after several attempts of reminding them.
I am not sure why they can't deliver, it may be due to loss of internet connection, or because they feel anxious or sad, but whatever it was that they're feeling, I have learned to be extend my patience and understanding towards them, even if I get no response at all, or if they do, there's no subject line, nor greeting nor thank you's in their emails - talk about proper netiquette.
Maybe I am ranting. I am not sure. I just want to share my experience with yo uall to let you know that teachers are also crying for help. When we care for our students, who will take care of us? of our needs?
So, if you're a teacher, I would just like to encourage you that you matter, you are valuable, and that you keep on doing what you do - you learn, you educate yourself, but you make sure to rest for a while, take a deep breath, and then repeat.
COVID-19 Awareness
My boyfriend's nephew who is in kindergarten was tasked to make a video about COVID-19 Prevention Awareness Campaign.
From a vantage point, you will see how simple are the steps in preventing yourself from acquiring the virus. It is actually true, the very simple ways, when done properly can really make a difference.
Just recently, the Philippines marked its 1 Million COVID-19 cases. We are in community quarantines for over a year now. We actually have many types of community quarantine such as Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), General Community Quarantine (GCQ), Modified General Quarantine (MGCQ). All of these types of quarantine that I am not sure what the differences are anymore. If you want to know more about the difference, you can visit this website - https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/explainer-movement-areas-under-community-quarantine-coronavirus
One year in a pandemic has truly changed our way of living. I am working from home, needing a good and fast reliable internet connection. I can only go outside for necessary travel, which means in buying groceries, food, medicine in designated supermarkets and stores.
Delivery service is a booming business. Ordering online becomes a necessity more than a convenience. Having your food safely delivered at your doorstep is a new norm that I was already taking before, which becomes too normal now.
Our medical health workers are the very ones that need rest. Those who are working in a government hospital (if not all), are not given the salary and allowances tantamount to the work and risk that they take to be able to care for the sick. I really do hope that the government would be truly serving the people, not serving only their own interests.
Anyway, this should have been a sharing of preventive measures in contacting COVID-19, so, here it goes:
Wash your hands with soap and water regularly.
Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.
Eat healthy food like fruits and vegetables, especially those that are rich in vitamin C.
Wear the right face mask and face shield properly.
Do not go to crowded places. Maintain physical distancing.
If you can, get vaccinated.
These are simple tips but when done properly by everyone, then, we will be able to bounce back and start anew.
To the one reading this, I hope you and your family's safe and sound. Peace!
Wellness Break
I have a full-time job.
This week, they decided for us to have a full week of break for our wellness. I don't know but this pandemic really seemed to get hold of all of us. I work from home, and that's fine, yet there are times when technology fails me to do my job properly.
It's so frustrating.
You try, try even harder, yet, sometimes, you really can't take hold or control the situation. Yet, instead of sulking and not doing anything about it, you again take charge and think of what else can you do despite all the challenges that face you.
It's so frustrating.
Yet, you fight and go on. It's okay to pause for a while, take deep breaths, say a little prayer, talk to yourself that it will all be well sooner. Sometimes, you gotta break down a little to unload those that hurt you, those that make you feel worthless, insecure, frustrated, exhausted, burnt out....
It's so frustrating.
Yet, you stand up for what it's worth. You keep on living day by day.... you fight for another day.
Then, it'll be frustrating, no more....
Love in the time of COVID
I have been with the same person for almost 6 years now.
This is the first time in years that we are not together every day. It was convenient for us to be together because we meet each other at work during the weekdays, eat together, and spend the day after work together... We live away from each other, so we do not usually meet during the weekends, and for us, that's perfectly fine - to give each other a breather, and a time to miss each other.
But because of this pandemic, my life of routine has changed. I usually wake up at around 4:30 AM to get ready for work. I live the house at around 5:30 AM and arrive at my workplace at around 6:00 AM. After settling down, my boyfriend and I eat breakfast together until 7:00 AM. We talk a lot about the day that had passed and the day that is to be spent. Our work starts at 7:30 am and ends at 3:30 pm. In between, we eat lunch together, as time permits us to. We are happy. We are contented.
Then, this virus came and the rest was history.
We didn't expect that March 9, 2020, was the last time that we will physically see and be with each other. It was just an ordinary day, we spent it ordinarily, ate, laughed, and waved our goodbyes (for the day), expecting to see each other the next day... but lo and behold, our work was suspended the next day and the next, and then the next...
Since we are under quarantine (lockdown), and we are living away from each other, there was no means of transport and no way that we can meet each other, only in chats and video calls. It was different, at first I thought, this might be difficult for us.
A month had passed, and then two... I celebrated my birthday last May, in the province - the first time, in 15 years... This year, we are not together unlike the past 6 years. We relied so much on technology, but sometimes technology fails us.
I went back here in the city because I have to have a good and more stable internet connection and a workspace of my own. So, I did. Yet, we still can't meet. We were supposed to meet last June to get our stuff from work, but, changes in the schedule made it difficult.
I did not expect us to meet again, until last September 10!
He was able to hitch with a relative going to the city. We met at our workplace, spend our short time together, hugged and kissed each other (without malice), and just happy to have had spent that time together.
After 6 months and a day, I was able to spend the time with my dearest. It was a happy day, it was short, but it was nice. I was missed, I am missed, I am cared for, I am loved.
This is the reality, love in the time of COVID is difficult, but it is possible.
Facial Skin Care
I never really cared about how I look in front of people until I entered my 30's...
Living in the Philippines, it has been difficult to have a dark complexion. Filipinos would always like to have a lighter skin tone, and I can't blame them for it.
Growing up, I never really care about my complexion, especially in college when I entered a university in the province of Laguna, where no one ever really cared whether you took a bath, combed your hair, or brushed your teeth before a class. That's unhygienic though, I know.
Anyways, I was so dark during those times and I never really cared. When I graduated and had my first job, I was exposed to the islands of Polillo, Quezon where I still didn't care. I was always exposed to sunlight, to an atmosphere of humid air coming from the Pacific Ocean. I was darker than ever, and I still didn't care.
I am 32 now.
And now, I cared more about how I look like, not because I don't want to be dark anymore... Mind you, my complexion's still not fair, but it's not as dark as before. I've learned how to take care of my skin, not because I wanted to have a skin as white as snow, but because taking care of yourself is one of the responsibilities that you should decide for yourself.
I am not a medical doctor nor a dermatologist, but I would like to share what I have learned in taking care of my skin, especially my face. So, I'm gonna share my routine.
Day Skin Care Routine
Right after waking up, drink a glass of water. That's what I do to boost my energy and get ready for the day. Does it have an effect on my skin? Well, definitely, you should stay hydrated all the time. Beauty is not only on the shell, it should also come from within.
Cleanse using a gentle cleanser. I have tried using a lot of foaming cleansers, what works for me might not work for you. Right now, I'm using Olay White Radiance Foaming Cleanser. Cleanse your whole face as well as your neck. Don't forget your neck!
Toner is essential. Why? Because it's able to cleanse thoroughly those parts that are not cleansed by the foaming cleanser. I use Belo Intensive Whitening Micropeeling Toner. According to them, it has the power of kojic acid and tranexamic acid with micro-peeling technology that gently clears away dead skin without visible peeling and flaking.
Anti-oxidant serum. What does this do? I got my anti-oxidant in Shopee, its brand is Laikou. I got the Vitamin C serum which is a good anti-oxidant for whitening, firming, anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, anti-puffiness effect.
Eye Cream is optional, but it will help a lot in wrinkle formation around your eyes. I use Olay Eyes Ultimate, which fights off dark circles, wrinkles, and puffy eyes.
Moisturize... not! We're in the Philippines, and putting on moisturizer, as Dr. Belo said, is just a band-aid solution. If you put on moisturizer, you may feel lubrication and smoothness, however, the old skin remains sitting on top of your face, and it's not removed at all. So skip the moisturizing part. You'll be better off without it.
Apply sunscreen. I didn't know the importance of sunscreen until I learned about the harmful effects of UV radiation which are causing skin cells to age, and indirect damage to the skin's DNA. It is also related to wrinkles. Too much exposure to the sun can also cause sun burn.
Night Time Skin Care Routine
After having a full day, I usually start my night with facial cleansing using micellar water. In this case, I use Nivea Acne Clear Micellair Cleanser with 0% alcohol to remove the impurities brought about by makeup, etc.
Cleanse again with a gentle cleanser. I used the same cleanser which is Olay White Radiance Foaming Cleanser. Also, please cleanse your neck, don't forget the neck!
Try to exfoliate. It may seem not normal to exfoliate your skin every day, but I do and it helps remove my dead skin. I use Dove with micro-beads, I really don't know the other details because I got it from Japan and it has Japanese characters written all over it. I understood what Dr. Belo said to remove the dirt, impurities, and dead skin to grow new ones. Point taken, Dra. (Btw, she's not my derma, I don't have any. I just watched one vlog where she explained about skincare, etc.)
Apply toner. Same as above.
Try putting on boosters to your face. I apply Sakura Face Fluid Essence Moisturizing Skin Shining Cherry Blossom Hyaluronic Acid Serum Essence to help shrink my pores, it also acts as a tightening skin face solution.
To top it off, I usually use Olay Night Cream. But, I don't use it now. I haven't bought one yet coz it's pricy, you know.
So far, these products work for me for I can say that acne has not been occurring for a long time and that my pimple marks/dark spots are being "erased". My skin looks brighter, healthier, and glowing.
Always remember, you are beautiful... no matter what your complexion or your skin type is. But, let's be more responsible for taking care of you, you only have one body, one life, one chance to live it... live it to the fullest, live it with beauty and grace. :)
Thank you!
I think, therefore, I write.
Newbie!
When I was in Grade School, my teacher just picked me up from class and let me join a writing contest. I had no idea what this contest was but my teacher instructed me to write a "feature article".
I didn't even know what that is, he coached me and I was able to do it anyway.
The next day, we went to a different school to join the writing contest. It was a press conference in our school division.
After some orientation, then comes the contest proper.
Lo and behold!
I won.
And since that day, I was writing my way until high school. I wanted to become a journalist, but I was not able to pass the cut off for that major in college. Now, here I am trying my luck in writing. Before it was pushing the pen, but now, it's a different coz I write by pressing on the keys.
...and this makes me happy.
@rayselp
