♥♥♥♥♥ FOR CHRISTMAS!!

According to Calvin Coolidge, "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy is to have the real spirit of Christmas". I agree with Coolidge. Now, may I ask you, what's the real essence of Christmas for you?

Christmas is not just celebrated by parties, programs, decorating houses and establishments and the like. But in deeper thought, Christmas is a moment for forgiving, sharing and of course loving. For me, the real essence of Christmas is LOVE. Why love? It's love because without love, things you do won't have good intentions. With love, everything is possible. You give and share, because you love that person; you forgive because you don't want to feel uneasy with anyone and that's beacuse you want peace. And your affection for everybody bring peace and unity. You care and understand someone, because you love that person. That's the real essence of Christmas. It's not about the expensive gifts you give or the branded clothes you wear nor the glamorous decorations you have at your houses but instead, it's about the goodwill of someone for everyone.

Everyone is entitled with a gift during Christmas. Though it may not be the material ones, but the good traits of people are more appreciated when shown to others. We are all part of a community, and as a part of the community where I belong, the best gifts I can give them are prayers and some of my spare time. A prayer that wishes for their good health; a prayer that God may help them in all their endeavors in life and a prayer that God may help us maintain the peace and unity in our community. I would also like to share some of my spare time with them so that I can help them in any way that I can through my 'lil ways.

Christmas is truly one of the most important celebrations every year. It may be celebrated in many ways but let us all remember that the real essence of Christmas is forgiveness, charity and love. So, we must give love everyday not only during Christmas time.

"Pagpapatibay ng Pagkataong Pilipino: Tugon Sa Hamon ng Panahon"

Each nationality has its own identity. And the Filipino race is known for its good Filipino values.

We, Filipinos are known as hospitable, strong and resilient individuals. Filipinos are like bamboos. Bamboos are strong. When it sways, it follows the direction of the wind but it does not break. Like bamboos, Filipinos are strong. They can face any problem that comes along their way. They find solutions to remedy their problems. We also know how to stand after we're doomed. We're not letting any dilemma to ruin our lives, 'cause we believe that God never gives us problems that He knows we cant solve. Dilemmas are dilemmas that must be faced by the individuals involved and they should also find solutions for these in order to make their lives peaceful and joyous. On the other hand, Filipinos also have negative attitudes. But then, these attitudes are not being strengthened. We are trying to avoid practicing these negative Filipino attitudes.

Life is indeed full of ups and downs. God gives us dilemmas not to confer us burden but to challenge us in our lives. We, Filipinos must practice these good Filipino values to strengthen us as we go on with our journey..!

. . . . . . . . . . . DILEMMAS!

It seems that yesterday was just the first day of this school year, but now second grading is already through. This only proves that time really flies very fast. In this span of time, I already discovered a lot of things about Internet in our subject TLE.

<,>," --I just usually encounter this symbols while I am texting and using the computer. But because we already tackled about the Hypertext Mark-Up Language (HTML) and Tags, I'm already knowledgeable about this topic. This symbols are used in creating tags that are utilized in various purposes. I've learned about different tags and their proper usage.

Dilemmas are part of our life as a student. Students' life would be boring without this stuffs. Thus this quarter, I encountered several problems. Sometimes, we don’t have our TLE class because of the different activities. And just like the previous quarter, "time" is still one of my dilemmas. There are things I needed to do and submit but unfortunately, sometimes I can't make it on or before the scheduled time of submission.

For every dilemma, there is an appropriate solution. For the lessons we missed during the times we don’t have class, we made sure that we could cope up in our next meeting. And for my problem on time, I just managed my time very well and I just did fruitful things during our vacant periods.

Moving on, I will still continue to do my best in my studies and I won't let my bad deeds bring me down. I'll learn from my mistakes so that I won't commit the same error again. Thus, this will mold me to become a better and productive individual.

BECAUSE of HER. . . . .

Without them, professional people would be impossible. I'm referring to our teachers. They are our second parents in school. They make sure that we're at ease during our stay in school and that nothing bothers us. They teach us things that we don't know and they also broaden our knowledge about something. They guide us through the right path. Because of this, we should acknowledge them for all the things they've shared and done for us.

I was a turtle inside my shell, until I met her. . . . . The one I'm talking about is our adviser when we were still in our freshmen year (I-Armstrong). She is Mrs. Monabelle Sanchez Ablog, a great woman with a pleasing personality! She was my first second mother when I entered Ilocos Sur National High School. She was just like the other teachers I had before, but there's something unusual about her. She's not that strict, in fact, she protects us like what a real mother does to her children. She is indeed a very nice teacher because she discusses the lessons clearly and she makes sure that it's understood by us. She's definitely NOT a boring teacher. She's energetic, witty and of course, a beautiful woman inside and out.

She inspired me, she encouraged and she cared for me. One time, when I was still a freshman, she talked to me and she told me that I will be included with the Top 3 students of the other class for the school year 2007-2008, so that I'll be challenged to bring out my potentials. I was also adviced by her not to be too shy in class and to be more participative, as well. Through her advices and encouragements, I was motivated to do better in my studies. And because of this, I consider her as my heroine, 'cause if not because of her, I would still be a shy turtle hiding in my own shell until now.

NEW AND IMPROVED SCIENCE WORLD. . .

In our generation right now, can you survive without the use and aid of machines and other gadgets? How would life be without the developed inventions of men? Surely, it would really be harder compared to life with these stuffs.

Diversity: for me, it means different or the changes and developments that occured as time pass by. There are already many changes that took place in the whole world which is caused by the improvement of technology. Nowadays, it is really evident that the technology we have is better compared to what they had many years ago.

We are using lots of machines right now which were developed years ago. These things were developed to help people in their tasks. These machines make their works easier and faster. Some of these inventions years ago were not really much developed and efficient. And as time pass by, people tried to improved these for everyone's own good. Like our food, years ago, they don't cook what they take in, instead they just eat it as it is (raw). And now, almost all things that we take in are cooked. Some are also processed, which are products of our improved technology. The machines we have right now are usually based from the old structures of the machines they have invented million of years ago.

These inventions are really of great help to us, thus, we must use them properly! And our new knowledge about diffferent things can also aid us to improve and develop more stuffs for a more productive world.

Proud To Be!!

Every August in each year, we are celebrating "Buwan ng Wika" here in our country. Every year, we have different themes for the celebration. For this year's celebration, the theme is, "Wikang Filipino: Mula Baler hanggang sa buong bansa". In this theme, it emphasizes the origin of the national language of our country, Philippines.

Manuel Quezon declared Filipino language as the national language of our country. So, he was known, "Ama ng Wikang Pambansa"( the Father of our National Language). He was born in Baler, Quezon, that's why, many Filipinos believed that our national language originated from this place.

We are in the Philippines and we are Filipinos, so, it's a MUST that we should NOT forget to use the Filipino language in communicating with others, and we should also value it as we value ourselves! Although there are already many races that mixed and influenced our Filipino race, we should not forget and disregard our own national language.

I am proud that I was born to belong in the Filipino race! I will never belittle myself as a Filipino citizen!

Now, I know!

Being a Senior High School student is not really easy. It's more difficult compared with the other year levels that I've gone through. It's also fun, though most of the time, it's really tiring and I'm also being pressured. Some topics discussed to us were really new to me. Like in our subject TLE, our teacher introduced to us concepts about Internet and she also gave us more information about it.

As what I've said, being a 4th year student is not easy at all. There are many problems that may arise during the journey. And during this first quarter, I've already encountered some of those. For me, boredom is really my main enemy. We can't really avoid feeling this especially if we don't like the lessons or topics discussed to us. Next is time. Why? It's because there are many things to be accomplished, yet there's no enough time to do all of this things. Another problem for me is solving, because mathematics is my waterloo. I'm not also much into memorization, so I find memorizing some what difficult.

Well, facing those challenges and problems was not really easy but with the aid of my friends by my side, I find it easier to understand the things I thought I would never understand at all. Boredom is but a normal feeling to us students, yet we must find interest in those boring topics so that we can still follow in the discussions.

Moving on, I will still continue my good attitudes towards my studies. I will strive harder to attain my goals. And I'll do my best in everything I'll do!

"A Campaign for Wellness!"

Speaking is one of the most important ways in communicating with others. And communicating with them is a way of expressing ourselves, and our thoughts and opinions as well.

Here in our country, there are many dialects that we are using. Mainly, we use our native dialects and the Filipino language as well. In the other hand, we already forgot our international language, the English language. And in our school, we're trying our best to communicate using the English and Filipino languages.

We must use this languages properly and correctly, so that we'll not be misunderstood by other people. We should also practice using these languages in a very kind way, so that we'll not be accused of being rude.

I, personally support this campaign fo the reasons that, through this, we can practice speaking this languages, and so that we'll be speaking this fluently and correctly. Speaking the English language can also make us globally competitive and professional individuals.

Nutrition Month Celebration

"Health is wealth". We often hear this saying in our daily lives. We can't do the things we want to do if we're not feeling well or if we're sick. In connection with this celebration, the Step Club of our school sponsored some activities like Poster Making Contest, Food Fest, Nutri Quiz, Nutri Jingle and Cook Fest, to add color in the said celebration.

We can maintain our good health status in different ways. We should eat balance diet which includes nutritious foods. Nutritious foods are things that contain nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and the like. Vegetables and fruits are also good sources of vitamins minerals and fibers, so we must eat those stuffs to keep our body fit. We should also drink plenty of fluids especially water because it is essential in the different metabolic processes in our body and it also helps in cleansing our bloodstream. We should also have enough rest and sleep. Taking vitamins is also necessary to give us additional nourishment. Proper hygiene is also essential to keep us healthy. There are lesser possibilities that we'll get sick or we'll be infected by pathogens when we are well-hygiened. People easily catch viruses, germs or bacterias that cause diseases when they're not properly hygiened and also if they're not equipped with proper nutrition. Many people get sick when they lack nutrients and also when they're not clean. But we should also be aware of what we're taking in because some of the contents of these when taken in much is dangerous to our health and can also cause illnesses.

Proper nutrition is important to prevent the occurrence of lifestyle diseases.