Required Entry #9: Love Poems

Oneness is the desire of all lovers, the finding of a soulmate. Shakespeare starts out by explaining that love does not change when it finds a change in circumstances. He goes on to say that when love encounters sufferings, it bears the suffering and comes out alive, it will always survive it. What makes it so beautiful is that it describes love as something everlasting. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 truly is a pure joy to read. It makes one wonder that love can definitely makes one blind. Given the circumstances, one knows for a fact that he may be in love with the wrong person, yet his love towards his beloved is as strong as stone and is immeasurable. When one is in love, no matter how difficult and unhealthy the relationship is becoming, one will be forever kind and patient to his partner with his every effort to rebuild the relationship; A relationship that is built with a strong foundation of true love. Just as the Bible states, “Love is kind. Love is patient. Love never ends.”

This poem could be interpreted as the persona's undying love for her beloved who begins to count the ways in which she loves him. By counting the number of ways, the persona is trying to show that the love in her heart for her soul mate is present in all her walks of life. It is a way of expressing the beautiful fact that everything in and around her leads her to that love. But as I can see it, there is something spiritual going on that is the heart of the poem. It is expressing love for God. Browning concludes the sonnet with “if God choose, / I shall but love thee better after death.” I sense a deep longing in this line, a longing to become united with God. It is one of my favorite love poems because for me, being united with the Divine is the most perfect moment which anyone could aspire.

Facts About An Extrovert

Being an extrovert, I would just like to share some facts about us that everyone should know, especially with all these stereotypes about extroverts, which seem to be extremely popular now a days. A lot of introverts often complain that they feel misunderstood by their extrovert friends, yet the reverse is also true, since a lot of people think that extroverts are really shallow, that they are awful listeners or that all they think of is partying. Well, this couldn’t be more false because while introverts like to embrace solitude, extroverts like to go out and meet new people, we like to mingle at all the parties we are invited to because we get our energy from being around others. 

First, extroverts are not shallow. A lot of people think that extroverts are shallow but this is just not true, we just process information in a very different way. Even though we like to meet new people and we talk a lot, that doesn’t mean that we are not interested in deeper topics of conversation or that we don’t care about important issues. Actually, by listening and talking to more people, we will have more information on a certain topic and we will be able to have a better idea about it. Second, extroverts are not naturally happier than introverts. Even though there is evidence that extroversion is associated with a more upbeat, exuberant, high-energy affect, it doesn’t mean that extroverts are happier than introverts because most introverts are happy in a different way. For example, introverts may enjoy staying alone on a Friday night and reading a good book. Introverts get easily over-stimulated, so they feel the need to recharge more often. That doesn’t make them sad or less happy than extroverts, they are simply happy in different ways. Lastly, not all extroverts enjoy public speaking. Even though we talk a lot and we like to meet new people, it doesn’t mean that we enjoy public speaking because talking in front of a room filled with people you don’t know can be pretty scary, even for an extrovert like me. Even though we have a faster pace and cadence in our voice and even if we can express ourselves more easily in a social situation, we still need to do a lot of work in order to become amazing public speakers.

There are a lot of differences among people since we all are extremely complex individuals, and just like Susan Cain said, “Your introversion or extroversion will interact with your other personality traits, personal history and the culture you grew up in.” 

APEC 2015

 

What will the Philippines gain for hosting the APEC 2015? As leaders from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies gather in Manila for the second time after 19 years they will visit an economy that is about 3 times larger and to be hosted by a leader now seeking to spread the region’s prosperity to microentrepreneurs and poor farmers. The Philippines will be the world's biggest stage for one week. APEC summit is a good networking event. Under this year's APEC theme "Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World", the Philippines, along with 20 other member economies, has been pushing for inclusive growth and empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises among others. In the weeks leading up to the high-profile economic leaders' meeting on November 18 to 19, the Philippines has initiated to make the region bike-friendly, scale up disaster preparedness, and help micro, small and medium enterprises secure links to global value chain. On the other hand, The cost of the APEC Summit is huge, and Filipino people will bear the brunt of it. The Philippine government has allotted 10 billion pesos for the summit. Importantly, though, many workers in Manila who get paid by the day will be hard hit by two days of national holidays forcing them not to work, especially those who live hand to mouth, as is the case for many daily-wage workers who don’t get paid on holidays. In addition, poor and homeless people are being detained in the name of “cleaning up” Manila for APEC. As the Philippines aims to put its best foot forward and show off its developmental gains to visiting APEC leaders, Manila’s poor and homeless people have been rounded up and taken out of sight and out of mind ahead of the summit.

 

Hosting this year's APEC Summit has advantages and disadvantages for the Philippines and its people. I just do hope that there will be a huge change in our economy after all the sacrifices the Filipinos have done to cooperate in this remarkable event.

 

 

Required Entry #8: Cinema Paradiso

"Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king's daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king? Well, finally, one day, he managed to meet her, and he told her that he could no longer live without her. The princess was so impressed by his strong feelings that she said to the soldier: "If you can wait 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony, then at the end of it, I shall be yours." Damn! The soldier immediately went there and waited one day. And two days. And ten. And then twenty. And every evening, the princess looked out of her window, but he never moved. During rain, during wind, during snow, he was always there. The bird shat on his head, and the bees stung him, but he didn't budge. After ninety nights, he had become all dried up, all white, and the tears streamed from his eyes. He couldn't hold them back. He no longer had the strength to sleep. All that time, the princess watched him. And on the 99th night, the soldier stood up, took his chair, and went away."

 

At first, I really thought that the soldier was such a fool to sacrifice for so long and yet, give up just before just before its about to end. But then at the later part of the movie, the conclusion is: In one more night, the princess would have been his. But she also could not possibly have kept her promise and it would be terrible. In that way, at least for 99 days, he was living under the illusion that she was there, waiting for him. I think that this is also connected to the reason behind the ending of the story where a montage of cinematic kisses was shown and Elena didn't have a proper closure from the life of the protagonist. It's perhaps the greatest montage of motion picture kisses ever assembled, and, as Salvatore watches it, tears come to his eyes. The deluge of concentrated ardor acts as a forceful reminder of the simple-yet-profound passion that has been absent from his life since he lost touch with his one true love, Elena. Truly, there's a weird pleasure on loving someone who doesn't love you back.

END WAR TODAY!

"No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions. No dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundation of the religions" -Hans Kung

 

My heart felt sadness and sorrow when I heard about what happened to Paris last Friday, November 13, 2015. The City of Love became a city filled with darkness, grief and anguish. I really don't understand why the ISIS had to do it to them but I know that it is rooted from the conflict in religion and this will not be the last time they would attack. What's more threatening is that France took revenge and has already declared war against them and it will surely cause more death for all the nations involved.  ISIS even released a new propaganda video praising  the Paris attacks and threatening to launch an attack on Washington and other countries involved in the international coalition bombing its militant strongholds in Syria and Iraq. This season should be the most wonderful time of the year. Not a season of war, violence and hostilities. Conflict causes death, poverty and diseases. Despite of all the issues our world is facing today, I still think that there are a lot of reasons we should be thankful and hopeful for. I know that God is with us and all these chaos will end soon. There is nothing more important than praying and being faithful to Him, especially this Christmas season.

Required Entry #7: Change Ahead

There is no permanent thing in this world, even our lives are temporary so it is very important to be open in everything that is ahead of us. Changes will ALWAYS happen. Sometimes, it even occurs in my life in the moments when I least expect it. That is why I learned to consider these changes as challenges in my life. If you approach a challenge with fear, you will most likely fail in overcoming it but if you consider it as an exciting challenge and you tackle everything that comes in your way with a sense of discovery, you are certain to win in the end even if you do some mistakes in the beginning. This is how I approach new things in my life. I never settle for the old stuff because I know that there is always a room for improvement in my life. Every changes is a new chapter in my life, an opportunity to gain knowledge and experiences, a chance to meet new people, discover new places and skills. If you want to make more of your life, you need to get into the habit of creating your own path. Change is the only constant. Change is a door for another opportunity. Life is too short not to deal with this new "adventures" without enjoying it.

Required Entry #6: Daydreaming

I don't usually daydream about stuffs but well, even those who are the most attached to reality find themselves in their own head sometimes. I have this daydream, the only one I could remember, wherein I'm performing in front of a crowd as a dancer. I'm already professional in my daydream, professional both as a performer and as a medical doctor. I have my own house and car in that daydream, of course a very successful young lady but I don't see my own family or the man of my life in it. As ironic as it may be, I think my daydream tells me how focused and driven I'm actually are in my goals in life. Maybe the reason why I don't see a the man for me in my daydreams is that I'm too afraid to fall in love because I know the feeling of getting hurt and it is just a distraction for me. It's probably all about a big promotion or a successful endeavor I've been working towards my life, I like to keep my eye on the prize and my priorities straight, even if I am imagining these realistic events in a fantasy world for comfort and satisfaction until they come true.