A Semantic Malfunction

Sometimes, if I am alone, I tend to lose sight of my life's purpose. Just like earlier today, I was alone inside the bus going home and I felt something embracing my heart. It is not an embrace of warmth and familiarity. It is rather an embrace of coldness and aloofness. It is unfamiliar and yet something I have felt before. It is during these moments that I begin to wonder what I am still doing with my life and if I am able to identify it, I question myself why I am doing those things. The clear direction which I have set for myself becomes blurry, that losing one's way is totally inevitable. I tried to reflect upon this experience. I realized that this feeling is totally unnecessary and absolutely unhealthy. I think that this is only but a result of being tired and weary of the many things that I am doing. It is sometimes overwhelming that probably sadness is trying to seep through the crevices that this weariness is creating and thus taking advantage of this weakness ...

These are just some of the things that reminds me of my teaching life. I guess it all started under the shade of a tree of our church. Under that tree, I was with youngsters of about 11-12 years old and I was teaching them their catechism. When I was in high school, I used to be a catechist in our parish. I will never forget those wonderful years of my life because I felt so happy and complete with what I am doing. During that time I felt as if I have hit the target of what I am supposed to be doing with my life. I thought that I have discovered the gift that remained hidden inside me throughout those years. I have come to the conclusion that teaching must be the right job for me. However in those years of being a catechist, I never thought of myself as a classroom teacher. I have actually imagined myself as a teacher of a different sort, a teacher who stands in the pulpit and preaches the word of God and a teacher who celebrates the mass. I felt that I wanted to be a priest. ...

Allow me to give you 5 reasons why teaching is the best job ever. Here it is: (1)   You'll get tons of workload; (2) you have to smile even in your worst days; (3) you'll meet the most notorious student; (4) you'll have to take on multiple professions; (5) and you have to love even when it already hurts . Ahhh… Ok, that did not sound very optimistic right? But I promise you that if you read further, I might just be able to change your mind and heart about the teaching profession. 1. You'll get tons of workload. One of the main tasks of a teacher is to prepare a learning plan and execute it. He/she has to do it each and every day. At the end of each school day, a teacher has to check mountains of test papers and worse, tons of essays. To make the work even more burdensome, there are other school forms that must be accomplished. But no matter, each carefully prepared lesson plan, each mark and constructive comment on the student's paper, and each data on the ...

A Bosconian will always think of Don Bosco (I am referring to the school, Parish, or Youth Center) as a home. It is our one and true home as a Bosconian. And whether you are a Bosconian from a certain Don Bosco setting and you chanced to visit a different one, you cannot but still feel a sense of kinship. This is an experience of mine in my trips to different Don Bosco settings. I began to wonder why there is always a sense of affinity as I go from one Don Bosco setting to the other. After much careful musings, I think I was able to realize why. Different Don Bosco settings share similar characteristics and it is so effective in forming young people to be good Christians and honest citizens. So my dear friends, you know you're in Don Bosco when… 1. There is a big and open space The reason behind the big and open space is for Bosconians to be able to run, jump, shout, and make noise. Bosconians need a big space so that they can enjoy themselves and enjoy the company o...

The summer season is almost over, and the time has come again to prepare ourselves for the upcoming school year. The previous school years have a lot of things to teach us as students. Now is the time for us once again to start fresh and be a better version of ourselves. Let me give you 5 simple tips to better prepare yourself for the coming school year. 1. Organize your things First and foremost, it is our duty as Bosconians to be the ones accountable for our own things. Although we have our parents to prepare for our stuff, it is not their duty but ours. We should be the ones viewing our checklist of school materials whether we have completed it or not. It is but time that we take some responsibility for ourselves. 2. Mentally prepare yourself Aside from preparing ourselves physically, you have to set your mind that the summer season is almost over. We must avoid a gloomy face because summer is ending. Rather, we must put on a smiling countenance and be optimistic for ...

A Bosconian's identity is always marked with a great devotion to the blessed mother, Mary Help of Christians. It cannot be otherwise because Don Bosco himself did say that a young person who enters a Salesian setting was brought there by no less than the Blessed Mother herself. And as a Bosconian starts to get immersed with the Salesian spirituality, he/she cannot help but to have a deep devotion and love for the Mother Mary. On a personal note, when I was young, I never had a relationship with the Blessed Mother. I never ever had an inkling as to her significance in my life. My thoughts of her bordered only on the statues of her that I see everywhere. When I became a Catechist at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Paranaque, I think that at that moment, God planted a seed in me which will eventually help me grow a love for Mary. In our shrine's Oratory, we always prayed the rosary every Saturday and we will sing Marian songs. Every time that a feast of Mary...

If you are looking for something different and unique, I think Don Bosco- Canlubang is the right place for you. I do not want to talk anymore about the quality of education that this school has or the great facilities that it already possesses. What I really want to talk about is the character which I think that this school alone has. Let me give you 5 reasons why a young person like you should be a Bosconian. 1. Bosconians are God-Centered. What is the point of having all the knowledge in the world if we Bosconians do not have God in our life. Bosconians are Men and Women who love God and love everything about God. For a Bosconian, God is not someone high up in the air who can't be reached. Rather, God is someone who accompanies us every day in our victories and struggles. For us, it is cool to be friends with Jesus. 2. Bosconians are Socially Responsible. Bosconians do not live in a cloud, but we are rooted to the ground and are vigilant to w...

L-R: Roxas, Duterte, Santiago, Poe, & Binay, the 2016 Presidential Election Candidates On May 9, 2016, I had the chance for the very first time to participate and vote in the Local and National Elections 2016. I had to vote far away from home because I am registered in the modest little town of Mabini, Pangasinan. Apparently, an uncle of mine is running for mayor in that town, and he needs all the support that he can get from his relatives to vote for him. I am happy to say that he was able to win a very close fight against his opponent. I am not at all unsure with my vote for my uncle because I am pretty certain of his character both as a leader of the community and as a father to his children. However, I was quite unsure with my vote for the governor, vice-governor, and all the other candidates for the positions needed for Pangasinan. It is with a heavy heart that I have to vote for people that I do not know. I just had to trust the instinct and advice of my relatives, h...

Image source: Google Images Planning gives structure to life. A planner is an aid to every individual so that every week, a person can maximize each time that he has and can even make time to those things that really matter in life. In this highly erratic world, planning gives us security that even when all things in the world fail; you are on the right path. However, when your very plan does not work, you begin to feel the tremendous bitter pangs of disappointments and frustrations. As much as possible, I try to avoid a work day which is unplanned. I think that it is a great waste of my mental and physical dexterity. I believe that a moment lost is gone forever. So I plan everything down to the last minute so that I can achieve my goals. Aside from that, I do not only plan my week, I plan my monthly activities, and I plan my yearly activities, and most of all I plan the long term. As I plan, I am already imagining the circumstances that can be and will be in the future. Howe...

Shakespeare once said that "parting is such sweet sorrow." I can very much relate to this since I am at a crossroad in my life again where I am to undertake a new path and leave behind great people, experiences, and fantastic adventures. To say goodbye is probably a sweet event worth remembering because you get to relish what a wonderful time you've had. You get to remember the people you were with, and you get to relive even if it is only inside your mind the wonderful experiences you've had. It is sweet because you begin to realize how God blessed you with bountiful graces, and you also get to realize that the many experiences you've had taught you greatly about yourself and others.  To say goodbye is also sorrowful because you begin to realize that you have to part ways from that perfect state that you found yourself already residing in. You begin to realize that this perfect state is not at all permanent. You also begin to realize that you have to lea...

It's so easy to pass on judgments to others, but it is so difficult to see the goodness that these people are truly capable of. I just had an epiphany a few days ago about passing judgments on people, and I have realized how they can be downright deadly. I see people every day, and I cannot help but be judgmental about them. If they wear this kind of clothes, talk a certain way, or even act in a curious manner, I easily judge them negatively. Moreover, if someone has committed a heinous error, the more I judge that person as an evil guy. However, after a series of mental and spiritual crunching and gymnastics, I soon realized that this is not the right path. The right path which I learned to take is to always look onto others with a look of love. If I look with the eyes of love, I know that I can be patient, kind, courageous, and sympathetic towards that person no matter how evil he/she is. A wise professor of mine once said that our errors are only but 1 percent of o...

I remember an Instagram post I made last June 2015. I posted a picture of the class list of gr. 7 Francis Kesy. As a caption for the post, I said there that “I am hoping for a blessed and productive year.” I never knew that that those simple words I stated on that ordinary Instagram post would actually come true. I never knew that the 36 names written on that class list would be the very ones to make significant changes in my life.                 When I started my journey of being the class adviser of the Kesy Gang (a name which I called the entire class), I never expected anything at all that grand and fabulous. I only had a vision for them and that is they become better people by the end of the school year.                 As we tried our best to achieve this vision, we’ve had so many ups and downs. It is in this very rocky ...

For the first time, I was given the chance to give a Good Morning Talk to Bosconians. Here is the complete text. When I was in High School, I attended a Franciscan school at Paranaque which is of course run by the Franciscan sisters. In my 10 years of stay in that school starting from grade 1 to fourth year high school, I have always thought of those nuns as a very serious lot. They seem to be very cloistered in their convents, so intent in their prayers, and very serious in their work for the school. Since it is a Franciscan school, they have taught us the life of St. Francis of Assisi. I have seen a lot of his pictures, mind you, they show his face in a very serious tone and mood. Because of these experiences, I have formed inside my mind a picture of holiness as something very serious, something that requires a very straight face, eyes tightly closed, and eyebrows on the brink of touching each other. Everything changed when I met Don Bosco. I live in Brgy. Don Bosco in Parana...

This was a piece that I have written last December... Knowing that it is December saddens me a bit. It is not because the Christmas season makes me sad, but rather it is the thought that in a few months, the school year is about to end. When I was given the task of being a class adviser of Gr. 7 Francis Kesy, I was filled with Euphoria because this is the very type of task that I have always been wanting for quite some time in my stint as a teacher. Before the school year started and after having learned of this new task, I kept wondering who my students are going to be. I received the list of the Kesy gangsters. I saw their names and kept wondering what these people are going to be like. Just seeing the list of my advisory class students keeps me in awe because I will be with them for the next ten months, and a lot of things are bound to happen in the coming months. I was not at all disappointed of finally having to meet my students. Rather, I am and will always be h...