Pandemic Ka Lang, I am Filipino

Filipino's Resiliency was being challenged repeatedly by disasters over the years. Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes, Typhoons, and now the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. These disasters managed to leave scars on us, especially the Covid-19.

This pandemic reaped the lives of many people, causing the government to impose a nationwide lockdown, and businesses were forced to stop their operations. It caused people to lose their job and suffered from hunger and poverty. The black fog thickened as all of these happening, but we, the youths, must not be blinded by this fog.

Aside from studying at home, we can help humanity to survive during this unwanted time. As we are living in a modern era, we can use social media to raise the awareness of the masses on Covid-19. We must not only advocate them but also practice the rules on how to prevent the further outbreak of this pandemic. These protocols are the following: stay at home, use a mask when we go outside, wash our hands, observe social distancing as well as avoid touching our eyes, nose, and mouth. Moreover, by doing those so, we can help the front liners to reduce their loads.

Disasters will always come and go, hitting us by chance. However, we must not become a pessimistic person. We must find happiness and hope behind these unfortunate accidents. After all, there is no advantage if we think that bad things will happen to us at any moment.

Covid-19 gave us a chance to showcase how resilient we are. And the outbreak of the virus, as well as the previous typhoons that our countrymen endured, managed to awaken the sleeping "Bayanihan" spirit within us. We initiated to help those people in need, regardless of their class, religion, and location. After all, even a small help matters. We become their speakers as their voices were not loud enough. And we give them hope to survive; for me, that is a massive help for those who genuinely need it. Despite being wounded by a pandemic and different disasters, we still stand, fight, and support those who truly need help—all of these unified us, suggesting that the blood of Filipinos are still flowing in our bodies.

Reference:

https://www.labmanager.com/lab-health-and-safety/covid-19-a-history-of-coronavirus-22021

Reflection

This is the last quarter of this class year. I just got realised that among the quizzes that I took, I only got a handful of score close to the highest possible score and the rest are on the average score or below. I'm afraid that my average will decrease but I am trying my best to at least maintain my last average, if not to increase it.

My Dream My Future

From childhood, I always dream to be a doctor. Since in my mind, I thought that the doctor are the most trusted person when it comes to health and I want to be that person. For me, health is one of the sacred thing that we need to protect. I am also raise with values. I values the lives of people. And helping other people when they are in need is a must for me especially if lives is at risk. So because of my dream, when I step to the college, I will study medicine and this will become my future

High School Day

Every year, we are waiting the Ilocos Sur National High School Day. It is usually starts in the first week of March but this year, beacuse of the presence of NCoV, it is postponed. It is two-day celebration. And this year marks its 118th High School Day celebration.

During this celebration, there are parade of costumes. Starting from grade 7 to grade 12, they showcased their costumes and props around the city of Vigan. And the highlights of this celebration is the field demonstration of the students.

Pride of Ilocos Sur

Ilocos Sur is a beautiful province located in the northern part of Luzon. It is a province rich in culture that represents the ancient Spanish and Filipino heritage. To show and share their treasure to the whole world, the locals conceived a festival that highlights these cultural tradition and it is called “Kannawidan Festival”

It is a celebration that last from the last week of January up to the first week of February. Included the course of events is the commemoration of the foundation day of the province. The local government of Ilocos Sur thought that this festival to encourage the younger generation to learn the indigenous songs and dances of the province.

Change: Initiated

Another year has passed, and a new calendar is already displayed. It is also the time to change my personality for the better. I’ve said in my previous blog post that the society will see the birth of the new me. But to achieve it, I need to, first, temper my confidence. All of us must know that that in order for us to achieve something, we must have strong confidence. As long as we have confidence on ourselves, we can do what we want to do without being affected by the negative thoughts of other people. But this is just the first step to create the new me. And this is the change that I initiated by myself. 

Welcoming the New Me

It is still the first month of the year, yet a lot of disasters already happened like the Australian bushfire, the war between Iran and the USA that nearly ends to WW3, Taal Volcano Phreatic explosion, Coronavirus, and other disasters that happened all around the world like earthquakes. It is still the first month yet all of these already happened that caused me to be frightened out and make me wonder if the following month will become more chaotic.

Based on the current events, I speculated that the end might show up at any time but it cannot stop me from doing what I wanted to do. It does not only not make me feel discouraged but also make me cherish my life more and do what I desire. Last year, I always restricted myself from doing some extremes yet this year, I want to be free. Physically free, emotionally free, and spiritually free. If during the previous years, I always entertain other people’s negative thoughts about me, but this year I will not. This year, I am planning to remove the restriction that I have put on myself. And this year, the world will meet the new me. The new Jayson that is no longer a weak and shy nobody but a strong-willed person that can stand independently.

Viva Vigan!

Vigan City Fiesta is held every January 25. It is celebrated during the feast day of the conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle. The fiesta usually last for several days. It includes within the period the celebration of the anniversary of the cityhood of the Vigan which is commemorated every January 27.

Biguenos from all over the country and even abroad return to Vigan, as it is the custom of Filipinos to return to their hometown to celebrate their fiesta with their family and friends.

Participants from the neighboring provinces in northern region are also sent to compete in various games and activities because it is a national event participated in by other local public heads and national officials aside from Vigan.

Within the Vigan City Fiesta days, the Longganisa Festival is also celebrated. The city has longganisa-theme parade and at one time attempted to set a record for having the longganisa ever made.

Development And Unity Through Yin-Yang Relationship of Man And Woman

Law of the Jungle – a law that is unwritten yet we subconsciously follow. For example, when we encounter someone who is inferior to us, the arrogance within us shows up. Some might even bully that person. But when we meet someone who is on the same level as ourselves, there is something that pushes us to befriend that person or compete with that person to see who is better. And in the eyes of those ancient people, the female is inferior to the male. Since time immemorial, women suffered from the effect of gender inequality. They were abused and hurt by men simply just because they are female. Those people believe that men are better than women since they can accomplish some works that cannot do by women like building houses, lifting heavy objects and farming. They also thought that women should just stay at home, take care of their children and can only use to increase the population of the community.

But everything can change in an instant since nothing is eternal. During the late 19th century, a spark had appeared when women fought against gender inequality, which sought to allow women to vote and hold elected office. And this battle against gender inequality still continues up to the present days considering that women still subjected to violence and inequality. We all noticed that women are primarily victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, so we can conclude that equality still not achieve. Only when this violence ceases to exist, we can accomplish our desired equality.

Gender equality does not only beneficial for women, but we can also benefit from it. By achieving gender equality, we are getting closer to our greatest desire which is peace. This is only one of the primarily effect of it, by obtaining this equality, we can further develop the economy of our country. It might also elevate the status of those needy people seeing that the female members of the family can now work. 

In order for us to achieve this equality, we must hold each other's hands and break the barrier that prevents us from achieving what we desire. We must also crumble our mindset about women as weak, inferior beings. Women are strong and they can stand at the same level as men. 

Only those who against this parity are weak. They do not want to lose their sense of supremacy over women. They are afraid that they can no longer control those people who’re they thought are inferior to them. They might forget that in the eyes of God, all of us are equal. Since all of us are equal in His eyes, what right do they have to deem women as inferior to men? Do they think that they are more powerful than Him?

Walking towards success requires both men and women to support each other. Men cannot walk towards that destination if they do not have the strength and support from women, likewise for women. Within the strength of a man, there is the fragility and within the fragility of a woman, there is the strength. It shows that both genders complement each other just like Yin-Yang. One cannot survive without each other and must have the same level of standing as the other to forge a perfect path towards development and unity.

Reference:
https://www.esllibrary.com/courses/72/lessons/1944
https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/is-singapore-doing-enough-for-gender-parity
https://gec.ey.gov.tw/en/

Environmental Awareness

Our Planet, Earth, is rapidly walking towards its destruction due to our negligence. The environment is rapidly changing, not changing for better but for worse. And all of these changes are caused by us. The forest that has a lot of trees before, it is now bald. The river that was clear is now dirty and full of plastics and wastes. Supposedly, our role is being the protector of nature but what we are doing is to destroy it.

Nowadays, the effect of Climate change on us is very alarming. Temperature is soaring at a high speed, which affects the yield of the crops and also causes some health problems, like heatstroke and dehydration. The melting of glaciers can cause small islands to sink. These effects are very threatening.

One of the major issues that we are currently facing is air pollution. Using a car can lead to air pollution. Not only cause by using a car but also burning fossil fuel that is used in making electricity and fuels. But even though we are already experiencing it, we can reduce the effect of it by using a bicycle or walk if the distance that we want to travel is short. Avoid burning leaves and other rubbish like plastics since it will release carbon dioxide and other elements into the atmosphere which can increase air pollution.

Environmental Awareness Month educates us on what really is happening in our world. It continuously reminds us that the world is hastily deteriorating. This, we must love and cherish what God has given to us, nature. We are the protector, not the destroyer of it. So we must play our role correctly. We must protect, improve, sustain, and pass the Earth to our future children perfectly.

Children: The Future of the Society

In the eyes of the community, children are just children. It means that children should follow what other people want them to do. Everything that they do must be according to their parent’s plan. They thought that children are just a robot which you can order around. But they have emotion and brain too. They should not just order them around and pressure them to do something.

Children's Month Celebration teaches us that children have a right. They must be seen as an individual part of the community, not just a puppet. The goals of this celebration is that Children must have a better quality and improved way of life. They should be well-nourished, have healthy lives and are active learners with good quality education. They must be safe and free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and actively participating in decision-making processes affecting their lives according to their evolving capacities.

We must not dictate the children. Older people are just a guide for children. Because if they are forced to do something that they don’t want, there is a possibility that they will not excel, and might become a burden in the society. Let them choose what they want and guide them to become what they wanted. Please take note the line, “Kabataan and pag-asa ng bayan.” Children are the future of society. They will continue what past people not completed and they further improve it. So, guide them to become good and highly capable of doing something useful so that will become a pillar of the society.

Enhancing The Core Values Through Strong Family Relationship

We all know that family is the smallest or basic unit of society. But everything starts here. We all learned the fundamentals within the family, not in the school nor somewhere else. This is the place where we learned the existence of God and how to become faithful to Him. Being an environmentalist, patriotic, and humane is some other things that our family taught us.

This year’s Values Month Celebration's theme, “Pamilyang Pilipino Patatagin: Susi sa Paghubog ng Kabataang Makadiyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan, at Makabansa” encourage us to strengthen the bond that we have with our family. Not only we can strengthen the bond that shred among the family, but by enhancing the thickness of our bond, the values that we learned will further be enhanced.

The family may be the basic unit of society but it is the most important among the other type of society. Thus, we must prevent it from getting destroy and must boost the relationship that we have with our family.

Language: Skeleton Of The World

Every improvement starts with the language. We all know one of the Bible's stories, Tower of Babel, where Noah's descendants tried to build a giant tower that would reach to heaven. But God interrupted the project, however, by causing the builders to begin speaking different languages. From this, we can tell that the language shared by one community is very crucial for developing.

But nowadays, a lot of native languages around the world are slowly vanishing. And this alarms the attention of UNESCO. This is why this year’s theme, “Indigenous Language Matter For Sustainable Development, Peace Building, and Reconciliation.” is launched.

This year’s theme is very important since it tries to polish our mastery over our own language. Please take note that language is not only needed for communication, it is also part of our culture. The language that we are using to speak right now is what we inherited from our ancestors. And what our ancestors want for us to do is to also pass this language to our future children, our successors.

Through the use of literature, Dr. Jose Rizal fought with the Spaniards. And this time, we can use this language that we are using to make friends with lots of people, making peace with our past enemy, and for developing our community. We can also use the language to connects to other people just like how our skeleton connects our body. Everything is possible through the use of language. Just don't lose it or else you will regret.

Contemplation

Second Grading is almost up. This week is stressful since we need to pass all of our requirements in very subject. Even though it's hard, we still passed that obstacles.

During this quarter, there are some things that I've learned. Aside from the lessons that we tackle in every subjects, I've learned that cooperation is needed, especially when doing group projects. Because during our making of thematic project, everyone have given a role to fulfill, and that makes our making of thematic project easier. Also, during this quarter, I noticed that time management is our problem. This week is the passing of requirements time. And we are rushing thing up.

Teacher: The Architect of the World

Being a teacher is not all about imparting knowledge to their students, but also guide them to their own success. What they are doing is not easy. They woke up early in the morning. Come to school to teach the students. Go home at sunset. After going home, they might not necessarily spend their time on their family or rest, sometimes they still continue their work at home.

Being the architect of the world is not easy. They did not just share knowledge but also to improve values in life. They discipline us and teach us how to respect other people. They sacrifice a lot for us students, especially their time and effort.

They did not just only play the role of the teacher, but also a parent, a friend, a guide, an instructor and a builder. Playing one role is already hard, what's more, if it's not just one role but more? In every students' success, it is worth noting the teacher's important role in success. All they want is to see their students become successful. And as a student, it warms my heart. Thank you, teachers, for everything.

Reference:

https://nypost.com/2019/09/03/new-nyc-teachers-given-book-with-essay-titled-dear-white-teacher/amp/

Intramurals

Physical activities is very beneficial for our body. It is very important for us. We can avoid feeling fatigue, even though we work all day and still have sufficient energy to use, if we are physically healthy. And being physically healthy is important for every student, since it is needed to prevent from catching diseases.

Sports can refrain us from using drugs, cigarettes and other vices. It also teaches us the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, which can result to a better community. Recently, ISNHS conducted their Intramurals on September 12-14, 2019. The sports activities have competed from Grade 7-12.

The sports that are played by the athletes are volleyball, basketball, badminton, chess, and others. Intramural activities emphasize group spirit and the enjoyment of sports in a less competitive context. And those sports improve the discipline of the students.

But not only the athletes that are involved in these intramurals but also non-athletes and teachers. The fun bike was open for every biker in the school and was done in the early morning of Saturday. And after that, Zumba come.

During 12 and 13, every clubs in the school open some booths like Chem Lock, Marriage Booth, Message Booth, and others. And during this event, the excitement and joy of the students could be seen at their faces.

Reference: https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/sports-and-recreation/sports-associations

Science Month Celebration

In the modern era, science is essential to everyone. What we are using today such as our gadgets and televisions are the application of science. It makes our lives more comfortable and easy.

The aims of science is to know and understand the truth. All of us want to know the truth. Hence, people encourage the student to improve their science knowledge.

At school, during the month of September, we are celebrating the Science Month. And at this month, there is a lot of activities that the clubs, Science and Yes-O, did prepare.

Sci quiz is one of the activity that they prepare. This activity test our knowledge in science. The Exhibit that the science teachers made displays the different field of science, such as, biology, physics, earth science and chemistry. The Sci-trix which the students perform also shows many concepts in science.

And the most exciting activity that they prepared is the search for Ginoo at Binibining Kalikasan. This contest is not all about beauty and fame but also the brain and their guts to be an advocator of an environmental friendly school.

Reference:
https://medium.com/machine-learning-world/best-popular-science-youtube-channels-767a73add30a

Positive Environment

If we ask some students on what they thought about school, they might say it is hell, the place of suffering and pressure, or where the bullying happens. You might notice that the thoughts of the students about school is negative. In fact, it is true. In school, we have a lot of requirements to be submitted, resulting for us to accumulate pressure and having a low grades. 

The DepEd also notice this problem, thus, the DepEd Region I adapted a new strategy. They implemented the Happy School Movement to make the learning process more fun and less stressful. The regional launch of HSM is held at the Vigan Convention Center in this city on May 20, 2019.

It aims to make a happy, enjoyable and positive school environment. By sharing the fun about going to school, it is possible to reduce the cases of suicide and bullying, which is presently alarming. 

Happy and positive environment is very beneficial for every student. It can help them on their study. The students will learn more in the academic field as it incorporates new teaching techniques, interactive activities, and learn effectively. It is useful to provide positive attitudes for students and to help them reduce their stresses. Therefore, it will tells that schools are not just for learning, rather, as a place where anyone can enjoy and be happy through learning.

Reference:
https://depeddagupan.com/div-memo-no-201-s-2019-happy-schools-division-launching/

Unity

Vigan City is the only heritage city that is located in the Philippines. The beauty of this heritage city was witnessed by a lot of people when it was proclaimed by the UNESCO as a 7 Wonder Cities of the World. This city is unique since it represents a unique fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning. It is also an exceptionally intact and well-preserved example of a European trading town in East and Southeast Asia.

Here in Vigan, we celebrates the World Heritage Cities Solidarity Day on the 8th of September annually. This week-long festivities aim to strengthen the pride of Bigueño history and to make the present generation feel proud to our cultures and traditions. 

During the celebration, there are a lot of activities, such as singing competition, photography, zarzuela Ilocana, dallot, kinnantaran, cultural quiz, sabayang pagbigkas, daniw, storytelling, writing on the history of Vigan as told by senior residents, painting, and folk dancing. This activities shows the culture and traditions of our ancestors in their generation. It also aims to promote our culture and to unite the Ilokano people. Since, just like what they said, unity is the key to make our community better and healthy. 

Reference:
https://pia.gov.ph/features/articles/1026839.amp