Carmelle Plabasan – Elizabeth Seton School

The Vicious Cycle of Misinformation: Literacy and How It’s a Weapon in The Modern World

Carmelle Plabasan — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 05:29:08 +0000

Princess Donah Paragamac

Author

Trisha Mae Rojales

Layout Artist

June 30, 2023
1:29 pm

The Vicious Cycle of Misinformation: Literacy and How It’s a Weapon in The Modern World

The morning sun peers through the cracks in one’s windows. You are then torn between wanting to wake up or sinking deeper into your bed. Before you know it, you’re grabbing hold of your phone. These gadgets are the first and last thing we see upon the multitude of days in our lives. Specks of the blues and whites of the screen flash on one’s face as the phone’s interface materializes on the screen.

Since it’s our only convenient source of information, whatever it is that we see, no matter how wild or impossible the headline may sound, we absorb it without question. Thus, we are likely to fall victim to the vicious act of misinformation, falling straight into a calculated routine.��

This leads us to the fact that literacy is often discredited and treated as unimportant and irrelevant when, on the blatant contrary, literacy is everywhere, even from the very beginning—drawing back to 2285 BCE. It has always been and will never stop being a powerful medium of knowledge. Sometimes, people are even subjected to forceful silence because knowing something is infinitely more dangerous.

So, no matter how much some people roll their eyes at the sheer mention of anything related to literature, put off by the complicated nature it holds, no one can deny its power. A power that can easily be turned into a weapon made to harm if it falls into the wrong hands.

Literature’s grasp and influence on people’s judgments have significantly strengthened throughout the years through the birth of writers and readers in each era. It has gone unrecognized, unnoticed, or simply ignored, but, this hold and effect have grown ever more so now with the modernization of literature branching out more and more.��

Having digital accounts of news and journalism isn’t significantly a first. But, what is a new feature of digital media is that it has become our only source of news due to its convenience in usage. As of January 2022, the number of social media users in our country has risen to 76.01 million, contributing to the 4.70 billion users worldwide, with 227 million new users coming online within the past year. Now, imagine what it’ll be like adding the other countries’ users into the equation—that’ll mean more than half of the population have joined and presumably ended up relying on social media for entertainment, communication, and, of course, news.��

Nowadays, anyone can write about anything, thus making it easy to spread fallacies and misinformation. The more ridiculous, the better. It creates a never-ending cycle, interconnected just like clockwork; one simple article gets the attention of the mass majority because of its absurdity,�� spreads, gains more attention, and people will believe it to be true.��

Misinformation works for a number of reasons.��

We tend to agree with what makes sense to us, with ideas that already fit our narrative and worldview. When we already agree with something, it’s not difficult to accept information as fact. We also veer away from verifying the information, given how easier it is to passively scroll than to verify facts. We don’t realize how vulnerable we can become.��

Something is believed because, to some extent, there’s some truth to it, and people often use that to their advantage, to align the narrative in their favor. Well-regarded people deemed “important” can go off on tangents and deviations to distract and redirect their audience’s attention from the lies they spout out. They start off with something unbelievable and false, then go on and support it with truthful statements that’ll make you think you’re a fool for questioning the legitimacy of it in the first place. This is disinformation. This is deception. These are intended lies.

Similar to bulls, we ��’t see the red flags once they’re waving right in front of us. Spectators and critics alike view you as a source of amusement for your vulnerability.��

With that in mind, since media is an ever-growing presence in all of our lives and isn’t going away anytime soon, it is important to be vigilant and careful in the consumption of these varied forms and sources of information and entertainment. Let’s be conscious of where our attention goes; it’s a resource we so easily give away.

Even with all that, keep in mind that information is fundamental. It contains the language we use to speak to each other and make things happen. Without journalism and news, the world would be ignorant. Without books and scripts, we’d lack entertainment. Without language itself, it would be unfathomable how the world would continue to run and improve.

There are two sides to the same coin, and the same can be said with this situation. There’s someone to fool and someone to be fooled. As aforementioned, there isn’t anything wrong with information. It’s practically fundamental to get anywhere in the world. What’s wrong is when a person misuses the purpose and availability of communication—when it seeks to deceive and not to inform.

Lies allow us to create a convenient, albeit alternate truth, but it comes at the expense of trust. Trust is a vital component of relationships, as it is with both the writer and their audience. So, really, is it worth risking the trust of another in exchange for convenience?

As the digital age makes all information—no matter their authenticity and veracity—available, may we never forget that while information is accessible, truth is much harder to find. May we always find it within ourselves to actively seek out and find truth.

��

Sources/References:

Mark, J. (2009, September 02). Literature. World History Encyclopedia. .

de Guzman, J. (2023, March 20). Social Media Statistics in the Philippines [Updated 2023]. Meltwater. .��

Chaffey, D. (2023, January 30). Global social media statistics research summary 2023. Smart insights. .��

Newman, N. (2022, June 15). Overview and key findings of the 2022 Digital News Report. Reuters Institute. .��

Student Spotlight: Inside Setonians’ Mind

Carmelle Plabasan — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 03:01:09 +0000

Sasha Bayaras

Author and Layout Artist

June 15, 2023
11:01 am

Student Spotlight: Inside Setonians' Minds

Do you ever look at someone and wonder, “what is going on inside their head?”

It’s 11:52 am, 8 minutes before lunch time. The faces stuck in tiny boxes stare blankly into the camera, their expression tired, much like yours. You start to give into your temptation to press the leave meeting button. Maybe just this once. Class is about to end anyway, and–��

Okay class, time for the closing prayer.

FINALLY! Just 2 more minutes and you’re free. After this, you’ll eat. At home. Maybe finish up some requirements and switch to Valorant. Lie in bed for a couple hours watching TikTok before going to sleep. Wake up the next morning and it’s the same thing, at the same time, in the same place.��

Ugh, this is agonizing, you think to yourself. Do other people feel this way? Surely it isn’t just… you… right?��

After a long 2 years of this monotonous routine, we finally break into something new. No more tiny boxes on the screen. These are real people, with their real faces, and their real voices. The murmurs when you get to choose your groupings, the laughter at the canteen, seeing friends hugging each other–you get to experience all of it again.��

This is so nostalgic, you think to yourself. Do other people feel this way? Surely it isn’t just you, right?

To answer your question, I began the task of discovering the clockwork of the Setonian mind by interviewing a handful of learners ranging from junior to senior high school.��

To start, I inquired what rating out of 10 they would give the new setup. The highest rating was 9, the lowest was 7. Despite their varying backgrounds, their experiences adjusting to the re-implementation of in-person classes were similar. A downside most expressed was the fatigue from the sudden change of routine. “I can’t comprehend how hard it was before the pandemic,” explained Lindsay Serrano, an interviewee from Grade 9. “We went to school every Monday to Friday for 7 to 9 hours. Now, it only lasts 6 hours and in-person classes aren’t every day, but it’s still tiring.” The interviewees also described the new schedule with classroom-based learning as fun and exciting because of the activities and interactions with fellow students compared to the lack thereof when learning completely remotely.��

Face-to-face and online learning definitely have their differences, but by combining them, we can accentuate our abilities more, much like a spark. Rieseann Gauuan compares this spark to those in fireworks. “It somehow reminds me of how we could be inspired,” she says, “not only by online media but also by physical means through our classmates, friends, and teachers to bring out our inner passions through a boom of ideas, a spark.”

Through social cues, a simple “wow” encouraging words from classmates when reciting can go a long way in motivating us to share ideas. These in particular were not prevalent during virtual classes, making oral recitation intimidating. Now, we have more opportunities to be luminous under the spotlight, especially during House activities. Before meeting in person, talking to seniors and joining competitions during House period was daunting. Most have their cameras off and microphones muted during Zoom meetings, which hinders us from forming connections with other batches. However, through face-to-face meetings with fellow House members, we can feel the determined and competitive spirit to win and shine as one.

It’s as if we were rebirthed with confidence, no longer brought down by the fear of failing– striving more for excellence, not perfection. We should not be afraid to show ourselves. As we do so, we grow as celestial beings, developing into something supremely good. Having self-assurance makes us believe that we have everything in our power to reach our full potential, therefore attaining divinity. In Seton South’s 25th year, we begin anew not only for ourselves but for the school and its student bodies. This year’s Supreme Student Council’s chancellor, Trisha Rojales, excitedly shares with me that the events planned are student-oriented, so as to help Setonians experience a memorable school year. This is especially game-changing for students like Matt Prodigo, who are taking their first steps into high school life, ecstatic for social interaction.��

Amidst the change within and around us, there are things we must keep close to us in order to thrive. Six interviewees, six items–here are the essentials they consider must-haves during hybrid classes.

Mask. Matt recounts a time when his classmate’s mask broke and he gave his extra to them. Safety is an integral aspect of our learning experience–though the pandemic is slowing down, it is still crucial to implement precautions to avoid any and all types of sickness.��

Pen. During physical learning, we only have our brains to absorb information. “A pen is a recording device similar to our phones or computers,” Rieseann remarked. “It helps to process the lesson through an information map, not only in our minds or through the given slides, but also to look back upon with detail.”

Water. We lacked exercise during HVLP classes as we were in front of the screen all day, even after class hours. Based on Lindsay Serrano’s experience, people are prone to developing a hoarse voice after socializing with friends and reciting in class. Now that we are on campus and active, we should have water to stay hydrated and energized.

Laptop. Having this is convenient as it is flexible. Apps like Notion help in keeping Dannelyn Obille’s life in order. Notes and to-do lists amidst senior high applications, business simulations, and house activities. There isn’t a week where she isn’t productive, so she must have an item that can keep up with her.

Yellow pad. Lara Cabarles describes the pressuring feeling of writing neatly on a notebook. To combat this, writing on a yellow-pad paper could help. “Less formal siya sa notebook, so you can just scribble,” she says. It lays the foundation of your ideas and is great to have for solving problems or creating drafts. Essentially, yellow-pad papers bring the focus to formulating thoughts instead of the tidiness of notes.��

Kindness. Trisha Rojales reminds us that aside from being intelligent, it is crucial to bring a good outlook towards life and towards peers and teachers. “Personally, I’m such a mental health forward advocate,” she says, “Gusto ko sana, in school, we all stay kind to each other, we’re all open to meeting different and new people.”

The insights and adventures of Setonians are relatable but also captivating, showcasing the diversity and richness of our community. We are a tapestry of unique individuals, each with our own life experiences and stories, yet despite this, we are all interconnected. Our minds possess a similar complexity just as sophisticated as the intricate inner workings of clockworks—beautiful, intricate, and fascinating to observe. However, unlike clockworks, our minds have the incredible capacity to adapt, grow, and transform. Let us embrace this flexibility and create a culture that fosters open expression of ideas and opinions, allowing each individual to flourish and thrive as we journey through life together.

Was it worth the read?: Percy Jackson and the Olympians ‘The Lightning Thief’

Carmelle Plabasan — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 03:00:55 +0000

Althea Venice Aboga

Author

Janna Danielle San Juan

Layout Artist

June 15, 2023
11:00 am

Was it worth the read?: Percy Jackson and the Olympians 'The Lightning Thief'

‘Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.’

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: “The Lightning Thief,” a Y/A fantasy novel written by well-renowned author Rick Riordan, is a jam-packed story of adventure told in the voice of Percy Jackson, the main character, who the series is respectively named after. Originally published in June of 2005, the book was generally very well-received in the reading community, even earning ‘The Hampshire Book Award’ two years after it was released. It follows the story of how this troubled 12-year-old boy discovers that he is in fact half god and is almost immediately chased by monsters of all kinds after being wrongfully accused of stealing the Olympian god Zeus’ lightning bolt.

However, adventure aside, I believe that this book aimed to tackle more than just modern interpretations of popular Greek mythos. One of the very first things that we come to learn about the main protagonist of this novel is that he has ADHD and dyslexia, both learning disorders that make it difficult for a person to really focus on certain topics or read certain texts. This is not by mistake as Rick Riordan had purposely intended to give Percy these traits as a tribute to his son, who like Percy, was also diagnosed with these same disorders. These disorders were extremely important to the novel as they not only contributed to his impulsive personality, but they also served as a plot device that helped the story move forward, as the series of events in this novel would never have happened had it not been for the fact that he was neurodivergent. This is better seen during the tidbits that he shares about his school-life and the several schools he’d been expelled from over the years, both caused by his disorders and the dangers that comes with being half god.��

I would also like to note that it’s heavily mentioned in the narrative that every demigod in camp half blood has these two disorders, which I found did a really good job in helping de-stigmatize the people who had them and helped convey the struggles they go through in a much wider scope, especially since it was written in the first person.��

That being said, the narrative of the novel could easily be interpreted as a story of�� self-discovery and self-acceptance more than just a typical run-of-the-mill adventure book.��

The novel starts with a young Percy Jackson explaining the series of events that had happened during his class field trip. How he had pushed the bully in his class Nancy Bobofit, how he had vaporized his teacher who turned out to be a Greek monster, and how after his pre-algebra teacher had gone missing, it seemed as if she had never existed at all. Nothing seemed to have been making sense to him, and this only gets worse when he eventually returns home after getting expelled from his boarding school. After a family trip with his mother involving a raging minotaur, he eventually ends up in Camp Half-Blood, a year-round camp for the half mortal children of Greek gods and goddesses. There, he finds out the true identity of his father, and he barely learns to come to terms with his own identity. To add insult to injury, he also finds out that he was accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt despite never having seen him. In a desperate attempt to save his mother, clear his name, and stop a potential war, he sets out on an important quest with his best friend, Grover Underwood, and headstrong strategist, Annabeth Chase.��

When I decided to read this book, I had one of many questions in mind. Was the book good because it was genuinely well-written and immersive or was it only enjoyable because of the nostalgia and familiarity that it represented? I’m pleased to report that ultimately, it was the former. Usually when it comes to book series and all sorts of narrative media in general, we often only continue to consume content from it because we associate positive things about the media in question. Take for example some outdated anime or perhaps certain movies that upon rewatching, weren’t as fulfilling or satisfying as you remembered that they were. Despite only initially wanting to read the novel because I’d watched the movie, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the book was infinitely better than its film counterpart, that it provided a more complex and riveting story overall.��

Unlike in the movie where Percy was already sixteen years old, I was shocked to find that he actually started out as a middle schooler in the book. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the author was able to encapsulate the life and the personality of a twelve year old and do it so timelessly that none of the dialogue seemed forced or unnatural even almost two decades later. Notably, Riordan’s usage of captivating and gear turning titles for each chapter also encouraged me to continue and finish reading the book in its entirety, which as someone who leans more on the visual spectrum when it comes to art, greatly impacted how I now interact with long winded book chapters.��

Circling back to the story of self acceptance that I wholeheartedly agree this novel could be categorized as, the novel depicts Percy’s struggles with himself and his family life in a very genuine light, capturing it in a way that is easily understandable for young readers, yet is handled and dealt with much care. By the end of the book, Percy learns to accept himself and his situation and even use it as an advantage, finding solace in the friends and community that he previously avoided and tried to ignore. Even though with the hurt and confusion that came with having ADHD, an absent father, and all of the other obstacles along the way, he was able to hone this frustration and use it to essentially make a hero of himself, of course with the help of his friends, his beloved mother, and his new ‘found family.’ I personally think that a lot of people could learn a lot from the twelve year old narrator and his daring adventures.��

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: “The Lightning Thief” was definitely worth the read, and is suitable for all ages and audiences. The novel definitely had a very adventurous plot, hilarious narration, and a heartfelt message that properly conveyed how difference is strength. As this book review comes to an end, I leave you fellow readers with nothing but my humble opinions and a quote from the book itself.��

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” – Percy Jackson

No matter what you choose to do today, whether or not you decide to read this book, always remember to live your life and live it for yourself. Don’t let your struggles and hardships define who you are, and always keep moving forward.��

Happy reading!��

ESS-South Welcomes Its New Principal

Carmelle Plabasan — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 03:00:33 +0000

Cenah Claraisse Paragoso

Author

Julia Dominique Peñalba

Layout Artist

June 15, 2023
11:00 am

ESS-South Welcomes its New Principal

Dr. Roland Niño Agoncillo, also known as “Doc Onin,” assumed the role of principal at Elizabeth Seton School-South (ESS-South) for the Academic Year 2022–2023. As we turn a new chapter, I am filled with anticipation for the future goals of the school. Who better to ask about the plans for the future than our new principal?

Having a new campus head, I wondered what prompted him to join the ESS community and what his ideal educational institution looks like. According to Doc Onin, he describes his ideal educational institution as one where “stakeholders share a common vision and mission.” This is crucial because this is where the school’s foundational steps towards its goals are placed upon. He emphasizes that these goals set forth the values and pedagogical standards that each member of the school community must live by. This is what made him join the ESS community. “The school has a clear Vision and Mission from which the Setonian Pedagogical Framework was based,” said Doc Onin. The ESS core values are faith, love, and selfless service, and he clearly saw students, teachers, and staff practice these values. He stated that as educational partners, whether you are a student, a teacher or staff, an alumnus, or parent, we are all called to selfless service. “This is what moved me to be part of the ESS community, I was given the opportunity to respond to that call and share in the mission of putting others first and rather than self,” stated the principal.

The role of a principal entails great responsibility. As the head of the school, there are many things to attend to since everything will be on your shoulders. Of course, there are still various sections within the faculty that can assist with these duties. Knowing how stressed we get as students with massive workloads of assignments, exams, events, and performance tasks; I wonder how a principal, who has three times the workload, handles them. We asked Doc Onin for the ways on how he deals with these responsibilities and what advice he has for us students on how to handle them effectively. “To handle responsibilities for me is to be always ‘purpose-driven.’ Why am I here in school? For what purpose am I here?” he explained. He also stated that this is the basic tip he can give to students. “To be able to handle responsibilities, know your purpose. The rest of the answer will be up to you as you reflect and discover in life the true meaning of the word ‘malasakit’ [for] a purpose-driven life,” he added. He also mentioned that “any position whether big or small entails a responsibility.” This means that regardless of where we are or what role we play in society, we all have a responsibility to uphold in this community.

Faculty and staff collaborate in school to create a positive learning environment. Every day, teachers, guards, school bus drivers, janitors, and others work hard to ensure that we can be safe and feel comfortable while learning on school grounds. But what steps do we take to be able to recognize their individual contributions? What does the principal do in order to recognize these hardworking individuals? Simple gestures of kindness and gratitude are the steps Doc Onin takes towards recognizing the work done by various members of the ESS community. This means giving simple remarks, such as “good job,” “very good,” and “thank you for all your hard work,” is a very important gesture to him when it comes to showing appreciation. His goal is to make this a habit in order to inspire more people to aspire rather than to be recognized. For him it is important “not just to be acknowledged as an individual but as a community that makes a difference to our learners.” And so, he always reminds us to “always be grateful for one another.”

The last question that I asked Doc Onin was about the future plans he has for the school that he would like to share. He assured that the future plans for the school will pave a bright future ahead. He mentioned that under the leadership of our School President Dr. Roberto T. Borromeo, they have already set the direction for the next five years with the assistant principals and subject area coordinators, together with all the directors and service units. “…it is now a concerted effort of all anchored on the strategic directions set towards the achievement of our goals written in the strategic plan of the school. This for me is the essence of what we do in school, to share the future with everyone by undergoing a process of seeing first where we are right now and be contributory to what we envision ourselves to be as an educational institution and go beyond boundaries for educational excellence,” he explained.

It is evident how much our principal cares and helps our school continue to grow and thrive. However, in order for us to achieve a positive school community, each of us must complete our tasks. We students also have responsibilities, whether it be through respecting our teachers and school staff, turning in assignments on time, or practicing CLAYGO (Clean As You Go). As Setonians, we are responsible for upholding our vision-mission and core values of faith, love, and selfless service. As Doc Onin said, “Whether you are a student, a teacher or staff, an [alumnus] or a parent, we are all called to selfless service.”

25 Years of a Lifetime: A Principal’s Perspective

Carmelle Plabasan — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 02:59:39 +0000

Juliana Colleen Consorio

Author

Sasha Bayaras

Layout Artist

June 15, 2023
10:59 am

25 Years of a Lifetime: A Principal's Perspective

“The greatest rewards come only from the greatest commitment.” – Arlene Blum

A school is an atelier that never fails to churn out framed masterpieces out of people; as long as it is in the hands of dedicated artists, the colors will never fail to land at every square inch of each blank slate in its rightful place. There’s a significant pair of hands that greatly contributed to the school of Elizabeth Seton School-South (ESS-South), and it belongs to none other than Ms. Pilarcita “Larcy” M. Geluz, the very first principal of the South campus. After graduating from high school with drawing and crafts making in mind, her artistry instead shone through coloring the lives of each individual she encountered—from learners to fellow faculty and staff. Ms. Larcy is there to share the campus’ unforgettable milestones through anecdotes of genuine passion for education and administration.

Starting from that one warm Friday afternoon in the year 1997, Ms. Larcy was there to witness it all. President Emeritus Dr. Josefina V. Suarez invited her to go to the Zoning Department of Imus Municipal Hall in applying for the fencing permit of ESS-South’s building. She recounts that this year was truly significant as it was the first stepping stone to fulfilling Dr. Suarez and Mrs. Alido’s dream of establishing another reputable learning institution farther south to ESS’ main campus in Las Piñas. It truly came into fruition by August with the groundbreaking done at Anabu II-D, Imus Cavite in celebration of the 22nd Foundation year of ESS-Las Piñas. Prestigious people in the community were present at the event, namely Congressman Ayong S. Maliksi, Mayor Homer T. Saquilayan, Monsignor Josefino P. Ramirez, and Department of Education (DepEd) Supervisor for Private Schools Dr. Emelita T. Macha.��

A number of 300 pioneer learners filled the school by 1998. Ms. Larcy recalls that parents from Imus and the neighboring towns of Bacoor, Kawit, Silang, Dasmariñas, Noveleta, Tanza, and even as far as Tagaytay, enrolled their children at ESS-South. During the same year, the first encounter with the parents of the learners, as well as the stakeholders, was done at the Orchard Golf & Country Club on May 24. This was dubbed as the “Parents’ Orientation Meeting.” The former principal observed that this initial event already projected the institution’s slogan plastered over the walls Setonians encounter every day: “Palpak, Pwede Na, Pulido. Pulido Lang ang Pwede Rito.” This was displayed by the faculty and staff handling minor problems on books and uniform distribution and questions about usual first day blues. Despite being the first of its kind for the campus, it was a memorable event for her, exemplifying the “collaborative effort of the management, faculty and staff in developing ESS-South an appropriate model of quality output, empowerment, intervention and leadership.”��

As a Catholic school, August 22, 1999 is a date to remember since the institutional religious activities such as regular masses, retreats, recollections, First Communion, and Confirmation were kickstarted by the First Eucharistic Celebration held at the Catherine Seton Square, the school’s quadrangle, and led by Monsignor Josefino V. Ramirez of the Archdiocese of Manila. In the same year�� on November 15, ESS-South was able to gain its first government recognition through DepEd’s granted permit to operate its Pre-Elementary Course. Having been recognized, the academic team enhanced ESS-South’s already formidable reputation for excellence, and this was seen with the campus’ list of government recognitions: Grade I-VI Elementary Course (2000), Complete Secondary Course (2004), and Provisional Permit to Operate SHS (2015). The former principal mentions alongside these accomplishments that starting a branch school was never an easy feat due to the innate fear of the unknown: “Only those who were willing to take risks, worked hard and plodded on despite the odds eventually became successful.” Even renowned pioneers such as Ms. Larcy have been overwhelmed by the tasks the management assigned her with—she shares this sentiment, but immediately follows it with recognizing both the efforts of the new teachers and teachers from the main campus’ shared vision of commitment to high academic standards and the culture of excellence as they challenge the minds and hearts of learners as they participate in the educational programs the school had to offer.

The campus environment is not only home to countless memories, but also to the character of ESS-South with its wide uncluttered campus which Ms. Larcy describes as “disciplined, orderly, and innovative, with a strong aura of conduciveness and tranquility.” This is proven by the adoption of the campus as the venue of the Ms. Earth Presentation on November 16, 2006 as done by Honorable Mayor of Imus Emmanuel L. Maliksi in coordination with Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) and Imus Tourism Office. Both the ESS-South community and the Imuseños enjoyed this activity, concluding it with an environmental symposium and a tree planting activity. Ms. Larcy shares that up to this day, Ilano Boulevard, the road fronting the school, is lined up with narra and mahogany trees that are reminiscent of the significant Ms. Earth Visit several years ago.

In strengthening the spiritual development of ESS-South, a two-storey chapel was erected within the campus and blessed by significant Imuseños in the spiritual world—Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle and Monsignor Josefino Ramirez—on February 15, 2008. Ms. Larcy rightfully calls the management’s gesture as a gift for the school children and the Imus community.

The institution started preparing for PAASCU Accreditation by 2010 in order to prove its caliber in education and stand its ground among other official learning institutions. Ms. Larcy witnessed as the 2012 Preliminary Visit by PAASCU yielded positive results, granting the institution a Level I Accredited Status by 2013. With excellence in mind, the management, faculty and staff, parents, and learners were at full force, working hand in hand to take actions based on the recommendations of the parish, local government, DepEd, local business enterprises, adopted communities, and the Family Council (FC). She mentions that, “we can achieve cooperative goals when day-to-day organizational norms encourage us to share information, listen to each other’s ideas, exchange resources and respond to each other’s requests through positive interdependence.” By 2017, Level II Accreditation was achieved, and each process became more tedious due to the next level becoming more difficult to attain. The former principal recounts the several meetings scheduled, research papers done, and frequent visits to the adopted communities. Due to its clean track record from the previous PAASCU visits, ESS-South applied for Level III Accreditation that did not require a visitation. The school was granted its Level III Recognition in May 2020.�� This was an overwhelming success as the ESS-South stands as the first Level III Accredited Integrated Basic Education Program in Cavite as a testament to its quality Catholic education.��

Within the same year of 2012, Ms. Larcy recalls how the school’s Vision-Mission was energized through the start of the Vision-Mission Week. The school’s mission statement clearly defines the excellence of the institution, while the vision projects the optimistic view of the future in which the world can become better if people work together in pursuit of meaningful change. This pushes Setonians to develop as authentic Christians, responsible Filipino citizens and life-long learners in constant pursuit of excellence. This has since become an annual event celebrated in conjunction with the Feast Day of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton every January, led by the Catholic Christian Formation department—Sisters with teachers—organizing activities such as altar-making contests and rosary making for students to develop their spirituality and school pride.

Lastly, Ms. Larcy takes pride in the rebirth of the Entrepreneurship Program. Seton has been keen on contributing to the future pool of successful entrepreneurs who have active and direct contribution to the economic growth of the nation. The former principal set up the Entrepreneurship Program in 1992 with the encouragement of Dr. Suarez and current School President Dr. Roberto T. Borromeo. Learner-led stalls were put up for “NegoSeton,” patterned after the successful 90s show, “Negosiyete.” She says, “Learners had a grand time selling their wares, food packs, stuffed toys, and other handmade accessories.” By 2015, Entrepreneurship Technology was adopted in ESS-South with Dr. Rene Altura as the Head of the Program. Several innovations have shaped the program into a learner-led fine dining experience that displays the learners’ skills in preparing food alongside planning complementary themes and music.

With all those key events in mind, Ms. Larcy concluded that ESS-South’s uniqueness stems from the culture of its campus location, Imus, Cavite. Seton-South has embraced its unique culture honed by its very own internal community, along with the Imuseño community’s influence over the years. As a Catholic school, active participation of everyone in the Balay System and the House Program in religious and outreach activities coordinated with the parish and the diocese displayed solidarity and spirituality. Another ESS-South distinction is the�� implementation of the Kariton Klasrum, now renamed as Munting Tahanan, patterned after Efren Peñaflorida. As a Filipino school, the community also displays its value for culture and tradition in its participation in historical and cultural activities such as Parol-making Contest and Inter-School Choral Singing Competition during Paskuhan sa Imus. The school’s Entrepreneurship Program has also given learners the opportunity to develop their own version of the famous Imus longganisa, with learners winning major awards in the 5th Imus Longganisa Cookfest, as well as the Gastronomic Cookfest in Laguna. As a Center of Excellence in Basic Education, the school’s academic excellence and leadership is regarded by DepEd; one event to note is the Imus Municipal Government partnership in the Imus-Yeoncheon Student Exchange Program. “On top of these attributes, a ‘family culture’ emanates, nurtured by the mutual interest developed with the school’s stakeholders,” is emphasized by the former principal. The FC also shares the responsibility of creating an environment conducive for learning through their projects like the Medical and Dental Mission, Parenting Seminar, Dugong Buhay Blood-Letting Program and Gift-Giving activities. The former principal notes that “the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” The PAASCU Accrediting Team has also constantly commended the school’s collaborative nature with its community. Lastly, Ms. Larcy acknowledges the Setonian culture of consistent celebration of team accomplishments. “Consultation meetings are celebrated with lugaw and lumpiang prito or basag-ulo as commonly called in Imus, monthly meetings over cups of coffee and paborita, a local crispy biscuit in the area. These are opportunities to socialize, exchange information and solve problems informally,” she accounts for the community’s joy found in the simplicity of its acts.

��Throughout these decades, Ms. Larcy jests that she has served as officer-in-charge, substitute teacher, yaya, security guard, nurse, and part-time gardener rolled into one person. From the days of being dependent on a Nokia 5110 cell phone for measly communication, the former principal mentioned that despite her observation of the clannish nature of Imuseños as an administrator of ESS-South, constant dialogue was key in the enlightenment and importance of talking to one another. Her dedication can be seen in her graduate thesis cited as “Best Thesis” entitled “The Elizabeth Seton School Mission Statement: An Assessment.” It prompted her to continuously review, plan, and enhance the academic programs to ensure the incorporation of the mission statement in the programs and activities of Seton -South. And after 43 years of passion, hard work, and faithfulness to the mission of educating the youth, Ms. Larcy retired in 2020 with 20 years of selfless service for the South campus—proving herself to be an administrator and artist of a lifetime in Seton’s production of masterpieces of alumni.

The Truth About Lying

Carmelle Plabasan — Fri, 05 May 2023 02:49:58 +0000

Patricia Bansil

Author

Dannielyn Obille

Layout Artist

May 5, 2023
10:49 am

The Truth About Lying: How to stop only seeing value in yourself when you succeed

You are lying on your back in your bed, with a laptop heating up your stomach. It is 12:31 AM. You are writing a two-page essay about Sisyphus and the boulder he can never push over the hill–this deceitful king who outsmarted death and was punished by the torture of repeating a mundane task for all eternity, with no real gain. You need to do the revisions now, the deadline is that afternoon. You haven’t slept properly in what feels like forever. You’re on your second cup of coffee: don’t want to overdo it tonight.

So, you want to be an achiever?

You take a pause. You scroll through your social media. You come across alumni, your seniors, juniors, and peers. They all hold up their little certificates, their little medals. You type out congratulatory comments.

So, you want to be an achiever?

Their photos start to move, staring directly at you, as if they see you. This message was meant for you alone, and something inside you hears their whisper:

“So, you want to be an achiever?��

Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: we are all liars.”

Then, the liars hold up their little medals and certificates. They say their little speeches with proud smiles plastered on their faces, until the scenes stop moving, and they are once again two-dimensional and silent… only evidential support now. Only proof of what once was, as if to say, “look at me, I am who you were able to reach once, I am who you ought to be, I am the most of what you are.”

And you believe it because you think to yourself, “what else are we but collections of the things we’ve accomplished? What else makes up what we are but our goals? The things we’ve worked towards achieving, the things we are proud of reaching?”

In fact, there are worse things, shallow things, to base our value off of, like the way we look, the amount of followers we get, the amount of money we have–so isn’t it only right to base our value on something deeper? On our achievements?

It’s easy to convince yourself that your success equates to your value. After all, what we do plays a significant role in shaping our lives and who we are. However, when we start to believe we aren’t worthwhile when we don’t achieve the success we’ve been working towards, it can be soul-crushing to the point where any failure, no matter how small, can start to feel cataclysmic.

When we equate achievement with success, and then equate success with happiness, we create a cycle of constant striving that can leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled. The goalpost will always move farther and farther away from you the closer you get to it. The boulder that Sisyphus pushes up the hill will always fall back down.

There is no correct answer. They will tell you that “all you need is work-life balance”, but that isn’t quite true. You can have great work-life balance and still feel valueless when you don’t succeed. There is no formula for unlearning the disdain you feel when you fail to reach your goals, but it is good to remember two things:

One, Meditate on what you ��’t offer.

You will want to believe that who ‘you’ are, your inherent value, is in what you can offer, prove, and achieve. After all, isn’t that what the world has been telling you from the start? But strip all that away, and who are you? Are you happy with this ‘you’? Do not ask this question to the liars, most will not know what to say. But the few who do will tell you that the key is to see value in yourself unconditionally, in the same way you would see value in somebody you love.

Two, They didn’t get there alone.

You will want to prove yourself worthy, that you are purely self-made in your success. You will see your past achievements and convince yourself that these are evidence that you can take it on your own. But the liars’ self-made pedestals of success are built from the support of others, the liars’ most powerful speeches are stitched-together words that had tumbled past the lips of people in their lives, the shimmer in the liars’ gold medals are reflected in the eyes of the people they’ve loved.

But, here’s the hot-lipped truth of it all: success is as much a drug as anything else. You’ll start to crave it as much as a teenage boy craves to play video games on the day of an oral research defense. It’ll start to eat away at you like the thought of stalking the current girlfriend of an ex eats away at a teenage girl. One day, you’ll awake and you’ll realize: you only feel valuable when you succeed.

So you’ll start to work towards it, and you will succeed, eventually. You will reach your goals and be proud of yourself. You will stand on that stage and linger. You will bask in the applause. You will love how they love you. You will see how you inspire them, how they compare themselves to you, how you make them envious. It will make you feel powerful, and you will convince yourself that you can replicate this, that this can be achieved again, only bigger, and bolder, and farther than you have ever taken it before… so you begin to work towards it once more.

And so, once again, the boulder runs down the hill. Sisyphus runs after it; eager to push it back, farther up the top.

The liars will all tell you that it’s worth it, and to an extent, perhaps it is, but don’t take my word for it.

I might be lying.

An Obscured Body, and The Hate of Being Perceived

Carmelle Plabasan — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 00:25:13 +0000

Jillian Ramirez

Author

Dannielyn Obille

Layout Artist

April 20, 2023
8:25 am

An Obscured Body, and The Hate of Being Perceived

Impressionism was an art movement that superseded Romantic art, beginning somewhere during the 1860s and lasting until about 1886, which aimed to reject the flamboyant portraits and dramatically posed figures of its preceding era. In lieu of this, the Impressionist period distinguishes itself with art pieces appended with brisk and pronounced brushstrokes, rendered with placid, unblended coloring techniques that produce elusive images that attempt to capture a muted recollection of a reality in natural light, as if seized and stored in a single film of memory—a glimpse.

As we retrace our steps on paths we haven’t walked in almost two years in our return to normalcy, some of us have an almost galling desire to be perceived like an impressionist painting, to be rewritten into the picture we’ve been omitted from, not as its muse, but as an obscured body faded into the background, to have them regard the space that you occupy rather than to be perceived.

The pandemic period altered the way people experience the outside world. It meant stepping away from the canvas until the crisis had finished its diabolical artistic revisions on our world. Uniformed in masks, it made half-faced creatures of us, some solitary individuals keeping to themselves a raging stress and unease behind wary eyes, while centered within an invisible six-meter radius circle. Inside our homes, the circumstances permitted us to simply exist in our own spaces, unnoticed, with an excessive amount of time to ourselves. Most of us shelter away at the lulling strongholds of ceilingless media content, seeing others broadcast how they make the most of their time productively—making Dalgona coffees, baking croissants, or learning how to crochet.��

This, and even more so with fast-paced aesthetic trends that, in one trend or another, we’ve endeavored as an attempt to improve our appearance—dyeing our hair, doing unrealistic 7-day ab training programs, mewing—failed at, and perhaps felt bad about, until we exacerbate the situation as we start seeing more of ourselves and the tugging potential of what we could be day by day.

People have ensconced themselves inside mirror rooms; each turn is the same countenance you saw yesterday and the day before that, but at each glance we let our eyes trail further into parts of ourselves no one bothered to care for back then. Studies have shown that Zoom and other video chat tools used over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic have increased people’s judgment over their physical features. It was shown that a number of cosmetic surgeries were linked to this aggrandized self-criticism, induced by a form of body dysmorphia similar to BDD (body dysmorphic disorder).

An image appears on the rectangular video screen captured by a webcam. It doesn’t matter if it’s an inaccurate representation of you; you don’t care that cameras frequently warp facial features due to a variety of technical factors. All that you see is a depiction that seemingly screams at you; you’re at your wits’ end, telling yourself you’re distorted. You realize soon enough that people see you inverted, not as you do in the mirror. Suddenly, you notice your left eye is bigger than your right, your ears are too big for your head, and you see a candid picture of yourself—nakedly raw, unposed, “Oh my God,” you tell yourself, “this is how people experience me.”

With overt self-awareness, we’re magnified and nitpicked at by a harrowing consciousness, heightened by the erratic whims of a digitally accessed society that ceaselessly seeks to contain and reconstruct a blueprint of perfection to clone.

But it’s fine, right? There’s still time; you could still work on that “glow-up” everyone’s raving about and pressuring themselves for. For now, you bury yourself deep in your mask and hide behind a computer screen. You draw no attention to yourself—no Instagram posts for now, and definitely no back camera photos. A history of mingling with and being once part of that social network feels like a lifetime apart, as we now dread “the mortifying ordeal of being known.”

Of course, eventually, the tint dries, and we slowly re-emerge back into that worldly, plight-stricken landscape made barren by our absence. Anxiety builds as we fear that the stress and struggles that manifested in our bodies and changed them in all those years will no longer be a secret, will be noted of, and our burdens will be spoken into existence; we fear that our conflicts will finally be concretized when friends you haven’t seen in so long wait for you to pull down the shield—your mask—for a picture and there is no filter to blur the blemishes you tried so hard to hide.The museum is open again, and we’re thrust back into that portrait. It feels as if the visitors come to see you at once in all your unadulterated glory.

Although, for all the downs and miseries we may feel, being perceived is something inextricably bound to us social beings. The ol’ cliche is staunch in truth: no man is ever an island, even when we want to be. Being seen is a conduit to our validation and love, these are the rewards at the ends of our ruins that heal and empower us. We all ache, but we are never in its depths alone, others’ wounds just scar better. So, no matter how mortifying being known may seem, just remember that the next person probably feels the same way and is too pestered with their own fear of it to provoke your own.��

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable because it is this or we sit waiting for the moment where we’re all but brisk strokes on a canvas, an impression of a shape in the background, so obscure until we are nothing more but figments of a passerby’s imagination.

��

References:

Baah, N. (2021, June 7). The Pandemic Let Us Exist Without Being Perceived. Some Don’t Want That to End. ��

Dores, A. R. (2021). Exercise addiction, body dysmorphic disorder, and use of enhancement drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic confinement period: A transcultural study | European Psychiatry; 64(S1):S290-S291, 2021. | ProQuest Central. ��

Kreider, T. (2014, November 13). I Know What You Think of Me. Opinionator.

“Zoom Dysmorphia”: A New Diagnosis in the COVID-19 Pandemic (n.d.). LWW.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: The Defining Flick of Our Generation

Carmelle Plabasan — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 11:04:59 +0000

Juliana Colleen Consorio

Author

Yzzabel Paola Gache

Layout Artist

March 17, 2023
7:04 pm

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: The Defining Flick of Our Generation

When limited to an average of two hours of film to be shown on the big screen, just how achievable is it to encompass a worthwhile narrative within a cinematic production that will live on as a classic film, especially in this day and age where movies aplenty provide a spectrum of palettes that have already been repeatedly released and subsequently forgotten?

Well, leave it to the genius of directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as Daniels) to have made this possible with the hit indie motion picture of 2022—Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (EEAAO). Combining the popular themes and concepts of the multiverse found in hit film franchises like Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, as well as themes of generational trauma in families of color found in recent distinct animation films such as Disney’s Encanto and Pixar’s Turning Red, we are met with the genre potpourri of absurdist sci-fi action dark comedy-drama that surprisingly complimented each other well and became an instant hit amongst the youth.��

Divided into three main parts, the first part of the film is entitled “Part 1: Everything,” where main character, Evelyn Wang is a Chinese immigrant mother who co-owns a laundromat with her husband. She’s under a lot of stress caused by every single member of her family, tax audits, and the New Year Party she’s supposed to hold later during the day. Not until her stress intensified by sudden divorce papers and the equally sudden task of saving the lives in her universe, as well as the lives of everyone in the multiverse, she discovers all the alternate realities of their lives, and discovers the true menace of those realities: her queer and nihilistic daughter Joy Wang dubbed as Jobu Topaki in the Alphaverse. The start of “Part 2: Everywhere” is the aftermath of Evelyn discovering everything, and consequently appearing everywhere; being on par with Jobu due to the verse-hopping help by the Alphaverse counterpart of the flick’s warmhearted husband and father, Waymond Wang. Despite Jobu’s killing spree, she reveals that she doesn’t want to kill Evelyn and leads her to the “Everything Bagel” in order to have her nihilism be understood and accepted by her mother, causing the main protagonist to also lead a life of discord, doing anything without consequence since “life is meaningless.” This is immediately halted by Waymond’s never-ending patience with Evelyn and the significant realization that being kind is a necessary trait in survival and not just mere naivete. “Part 3: All at Once” is where everything is resolved: everything and everywhere still doesn’t matter, but that only means that they can do whatever they want and simply cherish what they have at the moment, leading Evelyn to finally have joy back in her life. What better way to end a film that can really speak for queer immigrant Asians than with a song sung by the staple artist for angst lovers, Japanese-born American singer-songwriter Mitski. “This Is A Life” is a simple and emotionally evoking piece that has the ability to make any Evelyn, Joy, or Waymond Wang seated at the theater cry due to the ending’s catharsis; that is, if they haven’t already done so in the emotional scenes leading up to the film’s conclusion.

The film quickly became critically acclaimed, garnering multiple statuettes, trophies and nominations from award shows such as Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Choice, British Academy Film Awards, and of course, the prestigious and recently concluded Oscars in which the film recently sweeped multiple awards such as the Best Picture award. Boasting a predominantly Asian cast, it also allowed its people and their stories to stand at the forefront of award shows. The star actress, Michelle Yeoh, has various well-known roles under her belt, such as Bond girl Wai-Lin in one of the James Bond installments, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Eleanor Sung-Young in box-office hit Crazy Rich Asians (2018). It came as a surprise to most that it was only until her seemingly-mundane indie role that she even got nominated for awards deserved several films back. Her co-star, Stephanie Hsu, has captivating acting skills honed from her appearances on Broadway runs of musicals Be More Chill and The Spongebob Musical that undoubtedly shined in her breakthrough role on the big screen. Lastly, supporting actor Ke Huy Quan had an emotional revelation that his last big role was several decades ago in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) due to the lack of offers for Asian American roles in America. He instead went to work behind the scenes as a stunt choreographer throughout the years, yet lost his health insurance due to the lack of work while anticipating EEAAO’s release. The triumvirate of actors embodying integral personalities in current Asian culture all made groundbreaking history with the flick: peaking in an ongoing and flourishing career, in starting a new and bright route, and in regaining a longed-for spark—nothing short of emotionally inspiring every future Asian actor to thrive and be formally acknowledged in the international entertainment industry after having been kept in the dark within the film history that we have now slowly left behind us since the movie’s release.

Being an independent sleeper hit film from the company A24, it comes to no surprise that the film’s budget is on the lower end when compared to other popular films it shared the big screen with. Regardless of the small amount of money spent on production, it was definitely not made obvious with the visual treat of a film’s impressive use of special and visual effects that merely had a five man team working behind it. The team dropped a piece of cinema with strong direction that has truly made a mark by making anyone emotionally engaged with just a still shot of rocks and their dialogue as font flashing on the screen. It applied various strong philosophies, using the fictional aspect of the film as a vehicle to creatively exacerbate difficult nonfictional issues that we encounter, resulting in a uniquely comedic and endearing system of engaging fight scenes using belt bags and googly eyes in an IRS office that never fails to keep you coming back to witness it all over again. Interesting pop culture references such as the ever-famous Wong Kar-wai direction and Ratatouille narrative were also seen in the film. The amount of effort and passion poured by the entire cast into acting, directing, editing, sound production, costume design and styling, and even coloring and branding the narrative was done in a way wherein its simplicity and authenticity reached itself out to you directly with ease.

There is truly a lot to take in with the movie; however, its simultaneous stories are treated with care and attention, and its central themes are never lost and are instead easily captured by viewers who are not willfully ignorant to said themes—queer and mental health acceptance, especially in growing up with Asian immigrant culture. It tells the pressing stories of today: wherein to be “loved” by your family doesn’t always mean to be accepted, the constant dread in thinking about how our mundane lives and selves could’ve been something else, the insatiable human desire to always be more than what we are which in turn wreak havoc within ourselves, coming to terms with the insignificance of one’s life, and the topic of generational trauma wherein children’s tendency to please their elders traps them in an approval-seeking cycle which is consequently projected on their own children due to the fear of seeing their “failures” in their little ones. Hung up on blaming anything superficial before they are held accountable for the acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities and mental health talk with each younger generation, immigrant parents typically tunnel vision into cultural traditions and financial stability, overlooking these new arising holistic needs of the youth today. This allows for familial estrangement over expectations and the alarming ease in detaching from your own blood. Regardless, one of the unique and concluding things about the film is its focus on central philosophies of nihilism, existentialism, absurdism, and humanism and the importance of extracting its positive outlooks on human life. Ultimately, EEAAO is a contemporary classic that shows the glory in the mundanity of life, in all of its laundry and taxes since there is always something to love in everything and everywhere.

Even without the accolades, EEAAO has deeply touched the hearts and minds of plenty of people even after several watches, and I’d have to say that I’m happily guilty of this. The term cinematic masterpiece may be overused, cliche, or reduced to a joke nowadays, but it truly is nothing short of one. There’s simply no other way to describe the bizarre yet ever-heartwarming film; however, despite the movie’s grasp on both its audience and the film industry, its only waterloo is the fact that it’s not the must-watch for every household. The absurdist nature of the film is still not easily consumed by the generation of Evelyns out there. Rather, the film’s nature mostly stands as the biggest blanket of comfort and peace by making all the Joys feel seen since holding onto someone that doesn’t wanna be held onto is difficult to change, yet through all the noise, they will still yearn to be be wholly embraced—a basic need possessed by any human—even if it meant crossing the multiverse to find a version of someone who will do so. It will take time, and imposing your own reasons will not do much; yet, all it takes is to simply be there and to let them know that you accept and want them in your space. This leaves the universal desire to be accepted left in the air without the actual ability to put parental figures on a sci-fi verse-hopping journey on discovering empathy or to simply have the off chance of having the movie serve as the catalyst to coming across Evelyn’s same epiphany of acceptance as a Chinese immigrant mom which is longed for by any queer and mentally troubled daughter. Perhaps deep-seated issues of generational trauma cannot be solved by simply sitting down and watching the trending flicks today, but authentic stories, such as this one, surely continue to creatively replicate the realities of life as we know it by shining a much needed light on the topic that has been troubling families since the conception of its very first member and its very own cycle.

REFERENCES

De Asis Lo, R. (2023, March 9). Michelle Yeoh cements Oscar frontrunner status. Philstar. https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2023/03/10/2250449/michelle-yeoh-cements-oscar-frontrunner-status

Hellerman, J. (2022, June 2). How “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Went from 10 Screens to $50+ Million at the Box Office. No Film School. https://nofilmschool.com/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-box-office

Ke Huy Quan Actually Lost His Health Insurance After ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once.’ (2023, March 3). Just Jared. https://www.justjared.com/2023/03/03/ke-huy-quan-actually-lost-his-health-insurance-after-everything-everywhere-all-at-once

Lee, C. (2022, April 13). Daniels Unpack the Everything Bagel of Influences Behind Everything Everywhere All at Once. Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/2022/04/everything-everywhere-all-at-onces-influences-explained

Pop Culture Detective. (2022, July 20). Everyone Everywhere Needs Waymond Wang (and Ke Huy Quan) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7YnbGszcb8

Tamagawa, E. (2023, March 1). Ke Huy Quan’s shapeshifting earns an Oscar nomination for “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.” WBUR. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/04/08/ke-huy-quan-acting

Silver from the Dirt

Carmelle Plabasan — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 00:05:34 +0000

Carmelle Francesca Plabasan

Author

Julia Dominique Peñalba

Layout Artist

March 11, 2023
8:05 am

Silver from the Dirt

Second place.

After the sleepless nights, the hard-fought battles, the slivers of yourself that you’ve offered to countless moments of silent sacrifice, you’ve reached this point. These are the snapshots in time, the junctures that will define your place in this world. Yet no one will witness them, except for you. No one will know how much of yourself you’ve given up, only to be rewarded with second place.��

You are second best. In your mind, that means you are the first loser. So close to clinching the gold and the glory of being the best, only falling short to someone more gifted. No one will know the agony. There will always be someone better than you. No one wanders through the passage of time and surfaces unscathed. No one fights for their place in this life and emerges undefeated.��

But it feels like a curse. You have done everything you possibly can, and yet somebody will always be better. Meanwhile, you are left desperately flocking for the crumbs of triumph, settling for the dignity of almost. Afflicted with banality, silver will forever remain in gold’s shadow.��

But you cannot wallow in your tears or afford even a single second to rest, terrified at becoming complacent. You have a vast assortment of silver medals that you consider harrowing mementos because all you really desire to achieve, for once, is gold. So you repeat the sleepless nights and the hard-fought battles. This time, you take more of yourself and offer entire fragments of your soul, in the hopes that some benevolent deity out there might have mercy and bestow your life’s greatest wish. But alas, someone else has secured the victory once more. Someone else has won the gold.��

Now you feel downright helpless. While somebody else was gifted with saplings of talent at a young age, you’ve been concentrating all your time searching for your seeds and waiting for them to bloom, so you can catch up to the towering trees of the naturally gifted. Lucky them, for having an inherent flair for a particular field while others toil and grind away for even a modicum of their expertise. Hard work surrenders in the face of such a gift.��

But envy strangles. Worse, comparison kills.

You would give anything for a single gold. No one looks twice at silver when gold is in their reach. In a world defined by your place in it, results matter most.��

But in that same world, a sapling doesn’t simply grow into a towering tree just because it is a sapling, just as a shrub doesn’t simply bear fruit just because it is a shrub. There, seeds bloom when buried in the dirt, but finding the tenacity to remain rooted, when battered by the brutal storms, yet standing tall and unyielding regardless. In this world, only the right conditions can cause efflorescence. In this world, only with grit, mettle, and diligence can the flowers bloom.��

Your silver medals tell a more powerful, more meaningful story than loss. Their reflections narrate a tale of sleepless nights, hard-fought battles, and pieces of yourself.��

There will always be somebody better than you, gifted with the saplings of natural abilities at a young age, and then bloomed into a formidable force of prowess. Meanwhile, you will have to sow your own seeds and patiently wait for them to bloom. You will lose more and more hope each day because others are soaring, and you will lose faith in your own skills.��

But neither sapling nor seed will blossom without the essential ingredients of determination and persistence. Neither can bring home the gold without the right conditions. We all bloom in our own time, on our own terms, by our own progress. The most quintessential of flowers blossom in adversity, through effort and dedication.��

You look closely at your reflection in those silver medals. You remember the times when your driving force was passion. Then, you see the strength you have forged in the dirt, through the torrential rains, and the powerful winds that you have withstood. You see a story of second place, but not of first loser. In its place, you see the flowers blooming all over your soul. You see the patches of silver. You see your triumphs, not against others, but against yourself.��

In a world defined by your place in it, all that matters is the meaning you assign to your own victories. To cultivate your talents without forsaking your own happiness. To live a life of silver, but surrounded by the diverse colors of the flowers you have made bloom. To shine amongst countless stars, but burn with the flames of passion. To be cursed with banality, but blessed with ambition. To sow your own seeds of talent, so they may sprout through dedication.

Once upon a time, gold was not your aspiration; it was a mechanism, a fortunate side effect of your endeavors toward your ambitions.��

You look at the silver, and you see your own reflection. You see it twist into a younger version of yourself from a time when you were simply driven by the urge to capture every moment, down to the very millisecond, doing what you loved. You see the joy in the small achievements, your face beaming with hope and delight in simply watching a seed sprout. Then, you return to the present and you stare at the silver medals once more. You must have been a magician in your past life, or a sorcerer of the highest rank.��

You created silver from the dirt, after all.��

I’m With Them but I’m Still with Me

Carmelle Plabasan — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 00:26:04 +0000

Aaron Baldejera

Author

Luisa Campos

Layout Artist

January 27, 2023
8:26 am

I’m With Them but I’m Still with Me

Look. We have friends. We like them and we love them. We connected with them for a purpose, likewise, they also did with their own. They keep us interested, they share a piece of themselves with us, they acknowledge us, and they accept us for who we are. We do the same. We lend them a shoulder to lean on, we stay in touch with them, we entertain them, and we keep them company. Some friends go, and some stay. Some are intentionally befriended, and some are not. Some are more special than others, and lastly, some are real and some are not. All in all, this goes the same for them towards us.

Being with friends is fun and all, but let us not ever forget ourselves—ever. That statement alone can stand for eternity. Why? Because it’s us. Our selves will never leave us. Most, if not all, of our friends and peers will not stay until the end of time. Some will change so much that it will distance us from them. On the other hand, some will not, but we are the ones who will. Is your friend circle the same as it was 5 years ago? Or did your friend circle increase or decrease its size and quality? There will surely be several changes, and these changes will go unnoticed and are inevitable. Next thing we know, we are already with those who we did not expect to be with from the start.

In other terms, we adapt and we change for the betterment of ourselves, or what we think is “better” for us. We learn to whom we must connect with, for this world is a place of the survival of the fittest. But with all that said and done, we cannot achieve greatness if we will not start with a strong foundation: ourselves. We do have our friends and peers as supporting pillars but that doesn’t mean that our life will or should revolve around them. Remember, the friendships we make are a part of who we are, but it is our independence that builds our self-identity.

On a final note, the point is not that we should abandon our friends and peers and just be with ourselves, but rather, it is for us to realize that we still have ourselves even if we don’t have anyone. We will walk ourselves through the paths of life, for our friends are those who pave new ways for us to walk through, but they are only the shadows that we’ve cast from facing the bright light of independence and self-reliance. Let us go and live life to the fullest.

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