Lessons from TV

Heyyy it's been a long time. Thought this blog needed a new post so here I am. I've been meaning to  post but I just don't know what to talk about. I'm really sorry for that.

Anyway, tonight I decided to post about two TV shows that I was able to watch today.

One was Pinoy Abroad in GMA News TV. I forgot what the title was. Rhea Santos went to China (I think it was a back episode). It showed some Chinese people who major in Philippine Studies in Beijing University. I was happy when I saw that they were learning the culture and the language of the Philippines. It made me smile when they spoke in straight Filipino and even sang "Bahay Kubo". :)

It's pleasing to know that people of foreign descent are interested and are learning about our culture. However, it is also sad that we, Filipinos, tend to overlook the beauty of the culture we have. It's true that we have to learn English, etcetera to keep up with the globalization. Still, this should be no excuse to forget our roots and not preserve them.

In my own experience, I did not really bother to be able to learn the Filipino language since I thought that if I happen to go to Manila or to converse with people who speak the language (I'm from Cebu and our language here is different), I'd only resort to speaking English. Having had my first Filipino class in college this semester, I realized that there are a lot of fascinating things about a language, the Filipino language to be specific. I realized that there are a lot of things I didn't know about it. I used to think that what I learned from elementary and high school were enough, but I thought wrong. The Filipino class I'm enrolled in made me feel more of a Filipino. It not only made me appreciate the language, but it also made me proud that I am part of a culture that is so colorful. :)

The next one is a documentary entitled Alkansya (piggy bank) by Kara David for i-Witness in GMA. The episode featured a boy named Anthony who was working as a diver just to be able to save up for new school supplies and uniform. However, the money he gets in a day is less than 50 pesos. He hardly gets to sleep because he is busy working and, at the same time, going to school. One of the things that left a mark on me was when Kara asked him what he wanted to be in the future. He answered that he wanted to finish studying and be a janitor so that he can work in Manila.
There is a law against forced child labor, but children like Anthony are forced to work so that they can send themselves to school. Others are already working so that they can help their parents earn a living to pay for their everyday necessities like food.
I felt pity for Anthony and at the same time regret for myself. I thought about what I did in the past, wasting time and effort, and my parents' money to send me to school. There are people who get an education to be able to work, but there are others who need to work to be able to get an education. We should not waste the opportunities and the blessings that are given to us. On that note, I shall close this post with a text message a friend sent me:

They say, "You can never realize the importance of a thing until it's gone." But I say, "It will never be gone unless you realize its importance."

Human love

This was a text message sent to me last week.


"I guess love does fade. That sometimes the heart gets tired of longing, of hoping. That sometimes, you just have to accept the fact that some things can never be, and that you should be contented with things as they are. Leaving is a choice. Staying is a choice. But you can never really ask someone to stay or to leave. It's a choice they have to make for themselves. Sometimes, no matter how much you beg for someone to stay or how hard you try to make someone leave, you really have no control over what they will choose."

• My recent breakup was something that somewhat unexpectedly made me really break down. I came to the point that I asked these questions: "What if I begged? What if I gave him the right reasons and explained really well? Would he change his mind and take me back?" I know. Retarded, right? Desperate even. Well, yes, I admit I was. But, thankfully, I didn't say these to him.  ~ ..you can never really ask someone to stay.. 

• Another input for this message is about unconditional love vs. human love. Loving without conditions, loving without waiting for anything in return - it is someone everyone would like to have. But, human as we are, we will always wish or probably even need for something to reciprocate the affection. It is said that only God is capable of unconditional love. That no matter how many times we sin or how grave our sins are, He will still accept us. We will always be pure and beautiful in His eyes. But even so, I'd like to believe that some people are capable of unconditional love. Only, most people would think it crazy. It is what they would call "being a martyr". And in the times today, the mentality is that no man or woman is worth it.

Be inspired.

Be grateful that you don't have everything you want.
That means...
You have the opportunity to be happier tomorrow than you are today. (:
___________
It's better to be cry than to be angry, because anger hurts others while tears flow silently through the soul and cleanses the heart. -Pope John Paul II

from Literature class

These are random thoughts expressed during my Literature class this morning.

Love entails sacrifice.

To love is to make a decision.
You fall in love by chance. You stay in love by choice.*

Love equals compassion.
Compassion is putting yourself in the perspective of the other person as to understand him.

Love is freedom.
It is not forceful nor begged.

Love based on feelings or emotions does not last long, because feelings are ever changing.

Love is always positive.
It rejoices in the happiness of the other person.

_________________________
* - my input (:

Breakups

Sometimes things just don't work out. Relationships fail, and breakups happen.

Nothing is permanent in this world except for change.


It's never easy. And it hurts. It hurts like hell.
And people, maybe even yourself, will tell you things such as: move on, forget him, he doesn't deserve you, you deserve someone better, and so on. Things that are easier said than done.
Sometimes, we want to "move on" so badly that we unconsciously dwell on the bad things, the negative feelings to the point that we start to hate our "ex".


Cry. Cry it all out.
There's no point in hiding it because sooner or later you will have to face the sad reality that you're no longer together.
Cry. And then sleep. By the next day, things will be better. Maybe not completely, but you will at least feel a bit lighter.

You don't have to hate. Of course you will be sad and/or mad about breaking up, but that doesn't mean you have to hate the person. Instead, be thankful. Be thankful that he came into your life and for that moment he was one, maybe most, of the reasons that the world seemed brighter. Think of the happiness he brought you and how you also did the same for him. Sure, it will take time before the two of you get adjusted to your new status as friends, but who says you can't be friends?

- - - - - - - - - -

Things happen. And sometimes, they're beyond our control. Accepting them is not easy but, life goes on.


I don't refer to it as moving on. I'd rather call it moving forward, because somehow that person that just left has become part of who you are.

HR vs. Engineering

Best thing I heard all day.

A student of mine was asking what my major in the university was. I told him it was Human Resource(s) Management and he said that it's very hard compared to engineering.
Now, having failed my higher Calculus and higher Stat, and having engineers as parents, I always thought Engineering was a tough cookie.
But, my student pointed out that HR was more challenging. He said,

"In Engineering, we always have the answers. In HR, you don't."

I realized he was right. In Engineering, they have formulas, equations, then solutions. In HR, on the other hand, you deal with people. And it is always a case-to-case basis with people.

Personally, I'm not saying that one is better than the other since I, myself, think I will not excel in Engineering because of its Maths. That is why I look up to Engineering graduates, just thinking that they are able to survive five years basically eating Math.

Still, I guess I will have to say that it depends on your field of interest, and/or what you do best. C:

Blog post.

Since I haven't been writing for a while, I scanned through the posts of the blogs I follow. Here's a post in a friend's blog. (:

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