It's Something Not Worth Influencing Me

We people used to write our messages with ink and paper, enduring every single step that our message must take in order to show our thoughts to the person we're writing to. Messages were important, and each word was deemed precious, for the path it must tread is long and arduous. Now that messages travel much faster and are easier to send, just how valuable still are the words in our messages?

Texting has never really been much of an influence to me, if it even disturbs me, at all, when it comes to my English speaking or writing ability. I do text too (though not too often) but I still love reading, and reading gives a lot of help in understanding and building one's proficiency in the language. I also have my non-stopping, English-speaking friends to aid me.

So, usually, even in texting or in a simple conversation, I can say what I need or want to say because texting never influenced me. If texting were ten people pushing, then I am a boulder weighing a ton.

Semestral Break - Does it even make a difference?

(Okay, please mind not the song reference at the title.)


A 10-day semestral break is not bad at all, for a guy like me.
And a guy like me likes to do a lot of things.
I played basketball and improved my jumping and shooting ability, learned two songs in a span of less than an hour, mastered them in days, read, wrote, did homework and also an awful lot of household chores. 

So, you see, the semestral break was a good week of improving for me in many ways. I used it to the fullest according to my desires and needs. It made a difference.

Perspective II: Love

I am an unstable element, therefore I require another.
And that woman that I would love wholeheartedly is surely someone who would hold me with tenderness, with patience that love demands, one who would speak when words are needed, and who would share the silence with me when they are not. Simply, someone who would love me truthfully forever.

I have tripped in love, not one but many times. But my, oh why trip, and not fall? For having 'tripped' means having been displaced knowingly, and having 'fallen' means having been delved into a pool of immeasurable happiness, at every instance of a glance. But after all the tripping and skipping, have I finally fallen? The answer, I may not know anon, but soon then, I shall find my own.

What is love then?

Love is every butterfly in the stomach,
Every fluttering feeling,
Each tryst of eyes.

It is eternally delightful,
Even in sorrow and hardship;
Truthful, faithful, and enduring;
The spring after the winter,
And the illumination of one's then dark world.

Love is when cold hands,
Are warmed by true love.
All your moments together,
Become rockets to the moon.

Higher and better than,
Cloud nine and every other thing;
Love is when your eyes and hers,
Locked in the briefest moment,
Become enchantingly ravishing,
While jealous eyes follow.

The one I felt,
When tickles become something,
Your giggles become my heroin,
And when I knew that
There's someone out there for me,
and that someone's a Raspberry.
Love.

I Guess You Can Call Me Lucky - Teacher's Day

A decade of studying (and counting) might give you a question: what do I look for in a teacher? Do I want a teacher who is smart? wise? wise and smart? friendly? understanding? Of course! And I would want a teacher with all those qualities. Well, I could have won in a lottery. I could have gotten P500 load in a text that was sent accidentally. I could have had heterochromia iridum. But what I have never thought of is I could be this lucky. I have a teacher with all those things: her name is Louella Malimban, our "Ma'am Lucky".

I have been studying for quite a long time now in CNSHS, and I've had great teachers before, but I might never compare them to my current teacher in Analytic Geometry. A beautiful, smart, and a wise teacher, she was the one who convinced me that there will always be a teacher like Morrie for anyone. She never lets anyone not learn her lessons (and if anyone, after numerous times, still not understand a lesson, then it is not her problem anymore). She's very dedicated in her work, and she always knows what to answer to her students She never lets anyone not learn her lessons. She's always nice to everyone, understanding and very open-minded that it inspires me extremely to be like her. She's the perfect role model, that merely knowing her will inspire you to be like her. She can also be on the same wavelength as us students, and understand us in our troubles and everything. She gives the best advice according to the situation. I guess anyone will be satisfied with a teacher with those qualities, but that's just the cake and the icing, and here's the cherry on top: she's beautiful. See? It's so nice and fun to study when you have a teacher like her.

In all of my morning and first classes since my first year in CNSHS, I have never been more awake in discussions than in Analytic Geometry. I always loved discussions in AGeom. Even though it's a college-level subject being taught to us at third year high school, it's surprisingly understandable with Ma'am Lucky's way of teaching. Even under absurdly daunting circumstances, she gets the job done. Easily, the best teacher for me. 

Ma'am Lucky, in the happenstance that you are reading this, please know that I love you and your teaching, and you deserve the praises I gave. Thank you for always being the best for us hotheaded, quick-to-judge, pessimistic students. Thank you for everything. I will always remember you, and you will always have a place in my heart forever.

Fair and Foul; Foul and Fair.

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair."

My, my, what a very complicated quote by the three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth. This quote is the central theme of the darkest story of all of William Shakespeare's plays. 
After having perused this for quite some time, I discovered that this is really easy to comprehend. This quote, at first glance, may look confusing, or rather will look confusing. Very understandable. And to make it simple, this quote of the three witches is simply that it pertains to the mismatch between reality and appearance. 

Such thing can also be said of an actor's job: he is to make himself seem like who he isn't, but who he's supposed to be for a particular play. He is not what he seems like, he is what he is, and it cannot be based on what he wants the people think of him, because it is just a facade of what he needs to be (otherwise he would be penniless). Minding not the seemingly fail humor, the meaning I very much want to express should be well expressed right now.

Now if we look back at the play, we would now see why the witches said the line about their prophecy about Macbeth. Fair is foul. What seems to be fair around other people is foul to them, because they "know", and vice versa. The play shows that the witches know the truth, and what others see is just the tip of the iceberg, much like when Macbeth won the battle against the Irish and the rebels.

So I guess I've said it all.
Fair day, I have won. Foul day, for the rain.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Where's The Hype?

Hey readers, I'm back yet again, with another voice (or tone I guess? XD) to discover (with my own powers) what exactly is the climax of Will Shakespeare's romantic comedy play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

A Midsummer Night's Dream isn't exactly the type of romantic play which will induce tears after reading it, but rather the play which will make you say that after all the ruckus, love still makes things alright. Let's all choose to believe that, even though we all know (or at least us readers) magic was involved in the characters' happy ending. Now that the play has been described, let's move on to finding out the climax of this play.

Climax is said to be defined as the point in a story which is the most intense or exciting. Now let's see. Hmm. Intense.
If we look back in the story, there's a part where magic does most of its wonders on our characters, and it's when Robin Goodfellow (let's call him Puck for now) was ordered to put love juice on certain people. But misfortune, oh misfortune. Puck put the love juice on the wrong guy, causing trouble for our group (Helena, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia). Things are getting out of hand with them, and to add to the fuss, Nick Bottom's head was turned into that of a donkey, and Titania, with the love juice's effect, fell in love with him! Oh my, isn't that part exciting? More and more exciting events have happened consequently. And isn't that what we're looking for? Yes, and now the answer has been found.

Perspective: Fly Away

The easiest way to forgive is to forget.

Normally, people will stop and remember something when they hear that. Well, most people, I guess. The sentence in itself brings a wave of flushing memories to those who has been done wrong or hurt; the hardships overcome, the pain that has gone. 

I couldn't put my feelings in this matter with my usual way, so I'll write my perspective as a prose.

It's cold. 
Like everything at the moment.
Everything has stopped. The fall of the bitterly cold snow. The whistling of the wind. The rustling of the leaves.
The racing of my heart.
It just stopped.
Everything stopped, when I heard
"I don't love you anymore. Please, let me go."
and the most painful, "Don't ever hope anymore."
The world I've come to know has suddenly become mysterious to me. I am a stranger now, passive.
I was a leaf, helplessly moved by the rushing rivers of time.
I began to question if happy endings did exist.
I began to wonder if ever the skies were to turn blue again, if the birds will still sing our song, and if the mountains will continue to move for us.
But they never did.
Time passed, days just flowed through me unrelentingly.
And when the last of my once-burning hope faded away, I saw the light.
The light out of the cave.
I followed, reluctantly at first.
But then I carried on. I was like an extremely thirsty man rushing for water. Then, I returned to life.
I met someone else.
And when I met her, I've come to forget all the pains of the past. The sharp pangs of guilt when I've done something wrong. The sadness I feel whenever I feel insufficient.
I accepted what has happened to me as a lesson.
When I couldn't accept, I flew away from woe and to the light.
I painted her wings and set her free, as I did with myself.
And in that, I learned.
Forgetting never actually meant not remembering, but leaving and finding another flame for your candle.
The pains of the past will never mean anything to the bliss of the present, if you would just fly.

Live and let live. Live and let go. Everything in the world will just revolve around accepting. Remember for always.

Be Intelligent, Be Fit?

As I sat in a wooden chair in a certain room, I was given a task that shall utilize my not-so-great writing skills:

to compare and contrast an athletically-inclined person and an academically-inclined person, and choose between them if ever the chance to change comes.

Wow, I think my other skills (thinking and the likes) won't work as effectively as before with this kind of task, especially with the choice-making.

Okay, let's cut to the chase.

To start the comparison, we have a definite for both persons, that being their inclination is to only one aspect. The athletically-inclined person, as implied by the adjective, is basically a brawny person. Physically fit. The academically-inclined person, on the other hand, is a brainy person. 

The brawny person is most likely a very physically active person, which is a useful trait to have in situations requiring physical strength. They are also most likely to have a strong immune system, great amount of stamina, and would probably live longer than a brainy person. However, the brawny person may have drawbacks when it comes to mental ability. The brainy person, conversely, comes back with mostly mental abilities. They are most likely to have a great memory, critical thinking ability, and great logic. Likewise, they may have drawbacks but this time it's in terms of physical ability.

Now, who would I choose? Let's remember now that each person is only inclined to a certain aspect, not entirely locked to one. I'd choose to be the brawny person if ever the time comes, because I'll first have to consider my survival as an individual. The learning can come later. Now, why not be a brainy person and be like "becoming healthy can come later"? Firstly, it's because my number one priority is survival. It's anyone's priority. To look at another point of view, brawny people can learn as anyone can learn, but brainy people can rarely be of the same physique as a brawny person. 

It's quite vexing to think of, but it's my final opinion. I say final because I did lots of thinking here because both is almost in the same rank with one another. I just chose being brawny because I choose life first. Another reason is brainy people are usually serious because they can think of life very thoroughly, and people with serious outlooks on life usually are very sad people. I choose not to become sad again if ever I repeat my life and choose between these two types of persons. 

Brawny or brainy?

My judgment has been brought down. What's yours?

Hear, Cries and Prayer for Them

Please, hear, hear, hearken mine words I intend to spare,
These words I'll try to write in the form of a prayer,
To the victims of such tragic calamity
I shall pray for you with all my sincerity.

To start, I give the highest praises to the Lord,
Who, in all His Greatness, created the whole world.
Hosanna, hosanna, Glory to Your Great Name!
By Your Mercy, all of us sinners are reclaimed!

Lord, I know I have been a terrible sinner,
But please consider my prayer for the better,
Of all the people who had been plagued to suffer,
So, I confess to You my sins and ask mercy.

Although I don't like to think this but I can't help,
But Lord, I claim that You already forgave me,
Before I have even uttered a word to thee.
In good faith I believe You'll hearken mine praying.

Thank You Lord, for all the blessings I have now,
The lessons, the life, the tests, all that I plow,
To reap the fruits borne of all that I've done.
All I wish is that the hurt once again find fun.

Human Confidence and Stupidity: All in One Vexing Letter

ORIGINAL VERSION

(To whoever gets to understand this letter, CONGRATULATIONS!)

The following is a letter found at a certain bar in Manila and has been preserved in its original, unedited form. Enjoy reading and you may try direct translation in Tagalog. Pls. read with feelings…

October 1996,

To Marije,

I am not surprise or wander why Dennis leave you why? What reason can you think but you're very fat body. I thought before that Dennis only use me to his toy but sooner and later I'm realize that he really can't not beared or stomached to be with you anymore because at first, Dennis say he could not stand you're habit of making pakialam all his walks (lakad) and always calling to their house what he go home or this or that.

And then he say he get ashame to me either in school or in his family and then asking you to exercise you're very very, very fat body. But you hate it. Thought you're the most preetiest girls he knows about. What do you think you are "BeautifulGirl" of Jose Marie Chan?

Even you are beautiful face (to your think) you do not have the right to called me whatsoever or else difference name one time or the other for the real purposed to insults my personality because I'm never call you names either in the fronts of Dennis or in the backs of Dennis, but if you start already to calling me different name, I don't have any other choice but to call you other different name to. Like you are a, PIG, FAT, OBESSED, OVERWIGHT, AND UGLY SHAPE girl. Shame to you're body that is to a BUDING.

You can't not blame Dennis for exchanging you to me because I am the more sexier that you when you look to us in the mirror. I'm repeat again that you are like Ike Lozada when she is a girl.

Love,

The sexiest Girl of D.M.
P.S.
You say that I'm the bad breathe but who is Dennis want to kissed. Me or you? And the final is me. There you go.

EDITED VERSION

October 1996

To Marije,


I am not surprised or wondering why Dennis left you. You know why? Because you're very fat. I thought before that Dennis only used me like a toy but sooner or later I realized that he can't really bear or stomach to be with you anymore because to begin with, Dennis said that he couldn't stand your habit of snooping in his business and always calling his house whenever.


And he said he's ashamed of you whether at school or in his family and that he's asking to exercise your very, very fat body. But you hate it. Though you're the prettiest girl he has ever known, do you think you are the "Beautiful Girl" of Jose Marie Chan?


Even if you have a beautiful face (at least that's what you think) you do not have the right to call me in any different name or the real one to insult my personality because I never called you names either in front or at the back of Dennis, but if you start calling me different names, I don't have any other choice but to call you in a different name too. Like, you are a pig, you're fat, obsessed, overweight, and an ugly-shaped girl. Shame to your body that is like a building.


You can't blame Dennis for replacing you with me because I am sexier than you when you compare ourselves in the mirror. I'll repeat that again: you're like a female version of Ike Lozada.
Love,The Sexiest Girl of D.M.
P.S.You say that I have a bad breath but who does Dennis want to kiss, you or me? The answer is me.

Priceless reaction:

Okay, with words now. This is a great piece of evidence of today's human stupidity, with a little of confidence. This letter utterly destroyed what's little of left of my already drained patience to human stupidity. It took me several cups of coffee, milk, and hundreds of minutes of calming songs to just finish this. And I must say, I am extremely glad that I have completed putting these incomprehensible thoughts of the sender into the right words. I just want to thank my friends for the help, because without them, I will be an aimless wanderer and a mental patient by the next paragraph I read. I used context clues here to the fullest and what I learned from a recent topic in English class to put this thing into words to the best I can all the while trying to maintain the original thought here. 
And there you have it! Appreciate my efforts, please.

The Gift

We have lots of homework, projects, and things to study again today, as usual. I sit down and keep my things after going home from school, pick up my phone, plug it into the speakers; turn the speakers and press "King For a Day - Pierce the Veil" in my song list. The first slow, steady, and treacherous beats are heard throughout the house, and suddenly the speakers burst with screams and a series of extremely fast alternate palm muting. I am put in a feverish trance.

Music has always been an inextricably vital part of my life. That sense came to me at a time that even I have trouble in remembering well. I have come to like music even more as I grew up, mainly because of my eldest sister and her knowledge of the music I like today: the music that deviates from the mainstream. Even if I can't remember the first time I liked music, I will always remember the time I first liked the music that my sister liked.

It was the prime era of Secondhand Serenade, FM Static and the likes. Their music was a semi-viral thing, only next to the usual pop that flourished back then.

There was I, sitting in front of the computer after my sister used it, and saw a YouTube video unfinished. The title said "Like We Used To - A Rocket to the Moon with lyrics". I played it again, and guess what--I was instantly hooked. I was a hopeless romantic back then, and I was held captive in its lyrics and really catchy melody. I discovered a few other songs of the band, and I held fast to them until I went to study in the prestigious Cavite National Science High School, where I did not know I was bound to know a lot more than just rockets to the moon.

I came to study in the institution and it was around the first month of school when my classmates and I talked about music, and I shared my familiarity of the band and to my surprise, a few people knew of them. Imagine my face! I was filled with delight and excitement. And then by some time shortly thereafter, my sister had a whole new set of bands to listen to: Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, All Time Low, and a lot more. I was yet again easily captivated by their songs. I also discovered this duo on YouTube called ThePianoGuys. They are masters of each of their instruments, the piano and the cello, and up to this day, they continue to inspire people to love music by doing awesome covers of modern and classical music, most frequently a mash of both, to further entice people nowadays. This time around, I was more deeply wound into the realm of music.

It is the greatest thing I always had, listening to music. In the short time frame of a song, I can either have tons of fun or joy listening to it, or I can ponder on things that a certain song strongly suggests that we learn or know. Lessons vary from each song and band/artist, and those bands that I know today teach a lot of lessons or profound things in life, be it love or other struggles in life. I feel the songs I listen to very well, to the point where tears flood my eyes whenever I hear a sad song or a song that makes me remember the beauty of life and all creations, especially if wonderful lyrics are accompanied by beautiful melodies. I am deeply in love with music, that I started to study how to play or create my own music through the guitar when I was around seven years old, and the piano consequently in a time I have trouble yet again in remembering.

Music has taught me things I needed to learn in life, and has given me the opportunity to experience life in a better way, Whenever I am sad, lonely, or even doubtful, I will just click a song in my phone and play it, even without ear phones or even if it's really quiet, and I will think about the thing that's been bothering me. I can also play or create my own music whenever possible. And if I can't do those, I will just play the music I want to hear inside my head, its melody and lyrics perfectly intact because of my great memory of music. In times of victory or overflowing joy, I will play the best song I know and bathe in all its grandeur.

Music, in short, is a gift and the gift.

Blogging As Informal Theme Writing: Good or Bad?

A simple question and a simple answer: it is the best course of action for the best style of writing (at least for me).

Why so? Blogging allows students to create informal theme writing in such a vast and seemingly infinite medium. The creativity will be there, the personal feelings will be there, plus the date of submission is really lenient. I feel the need to not expound on this, really! Personally, I like the method. It unleashes almost all of my inner personality, which I really like. Also, when reading blogs, the atmosphere is really different. On paper, you'll feel really different because it feels forced and only for compliance but in blogs, it's freedom.

Liberal, potential-unleashing, and very effective. That's what blogging is, as an informal theme writing, for me.

Hamlet's Inescapable Question

Perhaps the most quoted line yet in all Shakespeare’s plays, and the most mind boggling question in life: to be, or not to be. The line, by nature, opens up life’s most important questions. It can almost exist in any situation. Thus, its importance as a vital question in our own soliloquies is blatantly unquestionable. I find it lamentable that most people nowadays (including myself) rarely make the time to question their decisions; most decide hastily with little to no thought where their choice may lead, others, rely on other people’s opinions. Now how does it [the question] connect to being a student in CNSHS? The answer will become clearer as it is discussed.

The line in itself exists as an infinite, formless shot to life: infinite, because of its undeniably ubiquitous nature, able to be present in any time; and formless, because of its compatibility to virtually any situation. Because of its formlessness, this line fits perfectly in a situation I am in, which is studying in Cavite National Science High School.

Being a Regional Science High School almost automatically means high standards in everything, be it the subjects taught or the expectations in every project to be passed. Being a student here means everything is expected to be top-notch. Pressure is everywhere; but even so, it all boils down to the response of the student. Anyone who wishes to not be pressured at all would not be pressured, but will ultimately cross a forked-road: one, leading to excellence, the other, leading to failure, where negligence is prominent. The type of people who walk the former path, are considered here as great (or colloquially, monsters), who are generally carefree but still people of excellence. Secondly, the type of people who walk the latter path, are those people who just do not care at all. There are no forethoughts, there are no regrets; these people are usually those who get jolted out of this institution.

As a student here, I oftentimes encounter moments where I catch myself drifting away from reality, my mind racing and pausing wildly, usually after an incessant surge of disappointments: failure to meet certain expectations, forgotten homework that is usually done in a rush, and reproach. And in these moments, I usually find myself in an imaginary soliloquy. Would I just give into the emotions? Would I not do anything? Or would I learn the lesson, and keep the past in the books?

Would I be, or would I not be, the person I always wanted to be?

Perish, or persist? Dream, or live the dream? Die, or live? Die, or die trying?

To be or not to be:

That is the question.

Learning Alongside Experiencing

First, I start off this short, simple poem
In a tune just like being at home
Where love and ideas freely roam
In a place, fluffy and soft like foam.

Verbals, gone away with summer wind,
Brought back, by a teacher determined
To help us students to learn the past,
And ultimately make all we studied last.

We had the great Shakespeare shake us next,
He twisted our plain minds through his text!
The story of lovers, with ill fates,
Their sad love shook heaven's very gates.

We were told, and we acted it out,
It? It means the text I talked about.
How did we do? We failed mis'rably,
But our teacher consoled us considerably.

Next up, we had tenses and a poem.
About all things that has beauty and form.
We needn't worry, it's just the norm.
To know all the verbs' typical form.

Bright with anticipation and life,
The English class is just always right,
Their seats, no dark holes nor sleepy nights,
That fill these students with strange delight.

Fin.

The Most Important Invention Yet? Cellphones.

It has got to be the cell phone. 

The lightning flashes. It strikes, then falls back to the heavens as fast as it had come. The fastest thing before, and may always be. Calculations of scientists came up with an astounding record of the speed of light, clocking at about 300,000 meters per second. It is regarded widely as the fastest speed any present thing can travel. And man, throughout the years of his learning, decided to take advantage of this speed.

Cell phones are gadgets of varying sizes, with all the same function: communication. Even with all the add-on's that people nowadays put to cell phones, it all comes down to communication. 

During these days, cell phones are almost a necessity for everyone, for seamless and fast communication; before, it was all paper and pen, and from pigeon's to boats and mailmen. To think about it, all people had before were sticks and stones, then with the discovery of electricity, light bulbs and the likes. How can even information be sent through electricity? It was the question, and it is now the answer. People had to wait before, just to get an important answer. They do no more now than clicking and pressing, and then message is sent before you even get to blink.

I may not know it now or ever, but the process or the mechanics behind the information relay on electrical signals will always amaze me. I chose this key gadget of today, for the main reason that they simply paved the way for improvements and addition of other media of information, that it struck me how it works, and that it is the pioneer gadget that will always make people remember; that us humans, even enclosed within seemingly impervious boundaries, should or even ought to think out of the box.

Romeo and Juliet: A Tragic Play by William Shakespeare

Ah, Romeo and Juliet. The most famous love story in antiquity, and until now. The tragic story of two lovers, thwarted by a malign star, doomed to be born in feuding families, and to perish in love's unfair decision. 

In my perspective, I believe the play showed human emotions to a considerably fair degree, love's affliction of woes to the lovers, and unshakable faith. Though portrayed well, the flow of some scenes were abruptly halted, shifted on a polar side: largely comedy, then to a very tragic tone. Virginity and women are taken lightly, in contrast to today. Although, when nearing conclusion, a finer way was used for the readers/audience. Romeo's arrival at the tomb, was very crucial, and thus made the spectators sit at the edge of their seats. What if Romeo had come earlier? What if the truth was laid to Romeo without any hindrances? Would their very young, tragic love be saved at the last moments of the play? If it were me, I would still think their love would not survive, as love, defined throughout the time of learning, is woeful when bred of a young age. In one way or another, Shakespeare knows, their love must end in a tragic way, though he portrayed it as a love 'til death.

In a nutshell, the play was good. Not bad, and pretty good. The thoughts were expressed beautifully in metaphors, views on profound things were comically told, but the flow was bad (at least for me). I am always amused by the characters' conversations.

If ever the lovers' fate were to be in my whim, I would conclude it the other way around, whereas instead of people dying, I'd show the audience the harsh reality that people face nowadays. The unexpected turns of the real world, the awkwardness of situations, and the inevitability of sudden ends. Here goes everything:

Paris enters Juliet's tomb in secrecy with his page just outside, waiting by the passages to the tomb. 
He grieves for Juliet's supposed death, and then hears his page's warning. 
Paris hides in the dark.
Romeo goes inside the tomb and grieves for Juliet as well.
Paris reveals himself after a few moments, and they encounter.
"Why do you grieve for someone who doesn't deserve you? I am puzzled. Since when have you thought that you love my Juliet?"
Romeo, bested by grief, is drowned in nostalgia.
"Before I have met her, I have always thought that I would not ever love again. That is, until I was struck by Cupid's arrow by seeing Juliet. I have never thought once that I'd be in love again. Even having just seen her once, I have known, she is my true love; she gave me hope in life."
"Why does your love weigh more than mine for her? I know I love her much, but she does not see me. Why am I bested by someone of evil blood? I demand to know!"
Paris and Romeo fights.
Romeo, still struck by grief, is wounded and helpless.
"Why are you weak? Is your love as such?"
"Nay. I just want to join my love in death."
Paris is moved by Romeo's words.
"Why do you wish as much as your own death as well? Do you not wish to live for her?"
"I can never truly live without her. I am as much as dead right now."
"Ah! I cannot bear this!"
In the midst of their conversation, Juliet awakes. Each one of them in the tomb is taken aback.
It is Romeo who takes the first action in what seems like ages among them.
"My love! I thought you were dead! O, how much have I gone mad and despaired after learning you were dead!"
Juliet hugs Romeo back. She notices Paris.
"Romeo, bred from what is your wound? And why are you here, Paris? Did you battle?"
"Worry no more, Juliet. I wish not to kill Romeo any more, and more importantly, I wish your happiness. Once we get back to the city, I shall step back from our marriage. I will try to forget the pain I bear now and the pain I shall bear for always. But remember this well Juliet: I shall not stop loving you. I wish you the best, Romeo."
Romeo is surprised.
"What of you now, Paris?"
"I may go on a journey 'round here in Europe. I wish not to live here any more, though I might visit here at times."
Paris leaves, his eyes wet with tears.

After returning to the city, everyone is surprised of Juliet's living and walking body, with Romeo beside him, his clothes still stained with blood. Each house delighted. They took no more moment and took Romeo to the infirmary, where he was treated. Romeo enlightened each head of the house while Juliet sat beside him. They learnt of the truth, and each one was taken aback, including Juliet. Capulet and Montague both knew of their mistakes, and the consequences it had brought upon them. As such, they finally put an end to their seemingly endless conflict, and blessed their children's wedding. 
And Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after.

As for Paris, he left Verona without a notice.

Diem de Patres

"Diem de Patres" rougly means "Day of Fathers", from what I recall from my small vocabulary of Latin words. I merely combined them, having no knowledge of their grammar rules and such, but it shall do.

The day when fathers are honored by any means.

Most people celebrate it in a feast, others by simply going out with their father's.

Either way, it all remains the same.

Back then, Father's Day was meant to complement the already-existing Mother's Day, and ever since has become a regular event to be held annually. History states that other than to have a rapport with Mother's Day, the said day had allegedly sprouted from a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd.

Sonora had a father, a Civil War veteran, who single-handedly raised his six children in Spokane YMCA. After hearing about the success obtained by Anna Jarvis with the promotion of Mother's Day, she told her pastors that fathers should have a similar holiday. And as such, ways have been created just for it to be official, some roads were destroyed in criticism but in the end, the holiday was pushed.

In our family, Ferdinand Peralta Lugtu is our governing body. The pillar of the house. The head of everything happening at home.
And so far, he had been a great teacher to the rest of our family.

With his seemingly boundless knowledge and wisdom, he can solve and give proper alternatives to problems that periodically arise, although at some cases he gives a rather humorous way to finish a problem.

He can have fun with us his children by effectively widening his likes to cover our own likes too. For instance, when he heard the bands we were listening to nowadays, he listens to them too, even putting their songs as his personal alarm tone. 


These things are just a generalization of what kind of a great father mine is, and probably will bore you if all the details were to be included. 

I almost forgot. He's the most handsome man (who I shall succeed at some other time) ever.
So in another summary, my father is:


easily, the greatest.

Happy Father's Day Dadi!
And also to all fathers out there, including my family's own, my grandfather and my uncles and my cousin!

An Excerpt from my Hero's Tale

Heroes. People that help. People that inspire.

In this vast world, such people are often in need. 

Well, the good thing is,

they're everywhere and

you can meet them right in your very house.

Heroes, as often characterized by a long age of dreaming, are people of superb qualities, standing out in the ordinary: they can be a fountain of wisdom and strength or a seed of hope in troubled times.
In my case, the man of all these things, is my father.

Ever since in my childhood, my father had been my model of greatness. One of the things that he has always had that amazes me until now, is his wide array of knowledge. 

He is my ultimate jack-of-all-trades man.

March 7, 1972, in a local hospital in Marinduque, my father came into existence by the name Ferdinand, a descendant of the Peralta and Lugtu clans, by my grandparents Alfredo and Maria Corazon. He grew up by the hands of the most time-trained people I have ever known, where he learned to become who he is now: a well-rounded person. He grew up learning to endure hard times, all the while tasting the fruits of their labor in their small, active farm. Even though his grades were incredibly high, he studied leisurely, and was well-known throughout his peers as a very smart and intelligent person, yet not having the privilege to be the valedictorian in their class. He also grew up being close to God, for their house was just a walk away from their church, and learned to sing and play music for Him. He grew up, absorbing all information and the fun in life, experienced difficulties and overcame them, and became a great person.

In short, he was amazingly molded throughout his childhood to his adulthood in being the best anyone can virtually be.


In almost all of our times together, I have asked him about a multitude of things, varying from the most senseless things to the utmost important ones, and almost every single one of them was answered. My boundless curiosity was always satiated. 

It was in him where I found the things I wanted to do.

Growing up, I have always been taught by him in various aspects of life, in academics, and in hobbies. He was the one who had taught me how to play basketball, play the guitar, play the piano, read, eat a lot, and learn a lot. He laid the foundations of my character today.
And in the times when he wasn't able to answer my questions, he'll tell me: "Now, now, you can always look for it. Just because I can't answer it, doesn't mean you should stop looking for your answer. Just read and read; you'll almost certainly find what you seek. Now for the other things, you'll just have to think the answer yourself." 

And in times when my hurdles are just too big for me, he trains my legs to just jump over them.

He doesn't teach me to escape my problems when they're too serious that it can change my life. He teaches me to how to overcome it. Although it may come only in simple hints, his words become more than enough to help me. He rarely helps me directly, and that's what I like about him. It means that he believes in me, and that he wants me to grow independent. If we weren't here bonded by blood, and by chance we met and he taught me, it'll be like having Albert Einstein, Paul McCartney, and Michael Jordan to teach me in just one person.

Heroes are known for a unique sense of capability to do things that may seem superior to others, and a great sense of responsibility. While perspective on heroes vary from person to person, I know the pattern goes for everyone: heroes are someone you look up with respect and value their existence. 
My heroes exceed what fingers can count, for there are many great people in the world that I respect.

But for me, there is only one man, who rose above in my life with great distinction, with mind brimming with knowledge and white-streaked hair as a relic of wisdom.

My father.