Miah Learns to Write

Last year, I had a bout with one of my friends causing me to distance myself from them because I thought that it would be the best way to deal with the problem. But all it brought me was misery and I felt great distress within me brought about by guilt and loneliness. Now, of course, all that friction is gone but I still had to go through the consequences of my actions as a way for me to learn my lesson. Before, whenever I encountered these problems, my immediate reaction was to ignore it for a while hoping that it would just vanish one day and that both parties have forgotten what happened and act as if nothing had happened. But I learned that this is the wrong attitude in dealing with situations where we intentionally or accidentally hurt the people we love and care about. I tried to find peace in my solitude and I had hoped that God would bring peace into my heart as He did countless times before as I spend time in prayer and in meditation of the Word but I had a constant

Have you ever felt that your life is just going around in circles and you simply do the same routine every single day without getting much fulfillment. Then, at the end of every day, you go into your room and wonder where your life is headed, only to fall back into the same cycle over again? Or perhaps, you may have acquired all the riches and fame that the world has to offer. You have achieved every dream that you set your eyes upon and yet the same thought pounds your head every night asking, "What now? What have I gained in life? What does my life really mean and where do these lead me to?" There was a time when I asked myself these questions and I had this persistent, pervading restlessness that no sleep could take away. There was a time when I simply wandered through the day, dumbly passing through the faces, not knowing where I was headed. My life then felt dull and boring and, to be frank, it felt lifeless. There was no excitement nor any fulfillment that I

I enjoy learning about literature in my English class because my professor tells us random facts about those stories and pieces of text that I took for granted when I was a child. I simply accepted these stories the way that they are told, never wondering what they mean or how they are related to me or to life, culture, and society in any way. But when our professor started talking, our perspectives change and the way we look at literature is never the same. Our current topic is the short story so our professor asked us what our concept of a short story is and whether we have encountered any before. Comparing poetry and short story, she gave us an analogy of where our knowledge or concept of these two literary forms, more or less, came from and she said that nursery rhymes and street rhymes are to poetry as myths, legends, and fairy tales are to the short story. So, she went on to talking about the fairy tales that we remember from our childhood and from there, she just gave

In one of my Social Science classes which revolves around Political and Social Philosophy, we dabbled on and on about what the best kind of life a man could live and how he goes about attaining that. So we discussed the concepts and ideas that Plato, Aristotle, and indirectly, Socrates, suggested, observed, and reflected upon. We looked at Plato's The Republic and we are currently tackling Aristotle's The Politics, both of which try to elucidate what are the necessities for an established, well-rooted society that would make way for the best kind of life. Plato suggested that philosophers must be kings since it is reason that governs the soul of these type of people. He stratified the society in such a way that the characteristic that rules within a person's soul is the basis on classifying the citizens of the society into three groups namely: the Rulers or Guardians, the Auxiliaries, and the Laboring Class. Aristotle, on the other hand, described certain politic

For me, 2013 was a great year of big revelations, life-changing decisions, and challenging struggles. Through it all, I am grateful because I know more about myself than I did before and I have been able to savor good moments with my friends and family. I learned more about Jesus, as a matter of fact, and I felt more alive when I decided to accept Him into my life as my personal Lord and Savior. Once and for all, I have been freed. I am free from my insecurities, I am free from my fears, I am free from the anxiety I felt from all the pressure coming from the world and now, more than ever I feel loved. Not that I wasn't loved before, but now I acknowledge that I am loved and I just feel so blessed and less burdened. 2013 was also the year when I entered college and I am slowly but surely accepting the fact that I will become more 'independent' in a sense that I will be taking more responsibility for myself and also for the people around me. But I know that I won

Have you ever encountered certain people who, despite their own problems and struggles in life, stay positive and joyful all the time? Every time you pass them by, they exude an aura of cheerfulness that pulls people's attention toward them. You can easily relate with them in conversation and you would immediately feel comfortable around them. I have met and made friends with people like this and I can tell you, it's going to be life-changing. Being surrounded with really joyful people and being able to experience insurmountable and irrepressible joy myself, I have observed that there are things we can do that would make us feel happy at any point of our lives and I would like to share them with you. 1.   Always Keep Yourself Healthy Whenever my friend Andrea skips breakfast, she becomes cranky and irritable. There were also times when I skipped lunch for a few hours just to get my appointments done but then I would come down with a headache and I would have to take

This Christmas, we decided to pay another visit to the Ayala Triangle to see the spectacle of the lights and to watch their lights show which will be presented every day until the last day of December and is scheduled to go on from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every 30 minutes. Though we didn't have a big celebration this year, I think that the greatest of joys can be found in the simplest of things. To me, I find joy in my family.

Only a few hours left before Christmas which gives me just enough time to send an email to Santa. Just kidding. But seriously, I do think that I have been a relatively nice boy this year so I'm quite hopeful. Quite frankly, I'm not really expecting any gifts for Christmas because even though this is the season of giving, we have to be practical especially in these times when the power rates are skyrocketing. All the same, just for fun, here are a few things I would like to get for Christmas: #1: Siblings Either a baby brother or a baby sister, preferably both at the same time. Yes, I would like to have fraternal twin siblings. It's not too late yet although the chances aren't on my favor but I would do anything to have two adorable siblings. I have no idea where this sudden longing to have siblings came from but I just feel that it's still possible and I really want to have someone to give me a reason to grow up. I want there to be laughter, smiles, an

Every year, our family tries something different to spice up our Christmas so last year we went to Luneta, and to Tagaytay the other year, and to the Ayala Triangle three years ago. Now, I just had a crazy yet exquisite and perhaps, a little extravagant, idea. If ever I were given an all-expenses paid trip to spend the holiday season at any place in the Philippines, here are the top five destinations that I dream of experiencing Christmas in and why. Hopefully, in the next few years, I would be able to convince my parents that we spend some time in these places post-Christmas. #1: Davao From Davao City by Battad The reason why Davao tops my list is because of its cultural diversity and richness of heritage. But more than that, my mother has been to Davao and she has told me a lot about it. Some of which are economic prosperity, the traditional Filipino hospitality, disciplined citizens who abide by the law, and magnificent views and sights in nature that would take my bre

One day left to cross out on your calendar and Christmas will come knocking at your door once more to bring good tidings and spread the love and joy in your life. Christmas has always been a special time of the year for me and my family because these are a few of the moments when everything will become relatively peaceful in the house. It's like every time Christmas comes, we try to hit the pause button just for a while and forget about all the problems that we have in our pockets. Now, every Christmas, our family tries to experience something new and to have some kind of adventure. Reminiscing about the past Christmases I have had, there were some that I really cherish and I want to share them here. #1: Christmas 2007 - Enchanted Kingdom The Christmas of 2007 is the most memorable to me because this was the first time in many years that my uncle and aunt came home from abroad to spend Christmas with us. I felt so excited and grateful that they came because their mer