15 - Phantom of the Opera

I was not able the start it on time as I was late on class. But amazingly, as I was entering the room with dark setting, hearing the characters singing, seeing the costumes and set pieces beautifully and romantically, I’m hooked and can’t get my foot to take one step more to sit while watching. But of course, I sat because others of my classmates are also watching and they are all like asking me to sit and so I did and apologized at the event.

Aside from the never-ending beautiful voices singing on the movie that as I was not able to take my eyes off the screen, the story itself is fascinating. There’s a drag when the movie is starting to get boring there will be some comedic moments. 

Known as the Phantom who is a deformed genius who escaped from a freak show, and was presumed dead, but that he still lives somewhere in the Opera House, fell in love with a singer named Christine. Unfortunately for him, Christine met her childhood sweetheart Raoul and they fell in love. The Phantom decided to kidnap and imprison her because of the thought that by doing such, Christine will love him back. 

But life is not such kind of a thing. I strongly believe that someone is destined to be yours. Someone who will appreciate all your efforts. Someone you love, and will love you back.

The Phantom of the Opera is so magnificent starting from its storyline, to the actors and actresses, setting, the music, the costumes – all these together do wonders in the show.

14 - Speech Choir and Ignite Speech Competition

I used to believe that performance will not really depend on the professor but on the student itself. Initiative is the key to excel regardless how lazy your professor will be. However, as the competition for Speech Choir and Ignite Speech has started, I realized that I was wrong.

Our block didn’t win any of the said competition. To start with the speech choir, the piece was not given on time and we didn’t even know that we are going to be one of the participants until one day, a student from the other block asked us how are speech choir practice is going. And so were shocked and we checked if it was true. We asked one of our professors (not our assigned professor of PUBSP1) if we are going to be part of the competition and she was shocked as well to know that we were informed. It was only two weeks left for the competition to practice and choreographed for the speech choir. The piece was even given by the other professor.

Lack of time. We were not able to have a proper practice as time won’t allow us.

Moving on with the Ignite Speech wherein I am the chosen representative of the class, I failed to bring our block the bacon. I was also given just a two-week preparation for the contest which is just fine for me as I find it easy to memorize. But to be chosen by Miss Nina instead of Miss Agaton who failed to remind us about the speech choir and who failed to choose a representative of the class for the Ignite speech is just too much. Moreover, Miss Agaton asked us to write a research-like speech wherein we have to cite sources even with the images that are to be used which of course I understand. I delivered my speech to her before the Ignite Speech Competition itself and she asked me to put only one picture per slide. I felt so sabotaged as I heard other speakers who have their personal stories. What is the fight of a research speech over a personal story? In addition, competitors had a nice presentation as it was filled with animations and pictures that keeps the audience attention. I understand that some were overruled with pictures but my original presentation was not. From the very start that I heard the first ignite speaker, I feel like I wanna go home.

As my friend stated, “minsan ang performance ng studyante ay hindi lang dahil sa student itself. Malaking portion dun ay sa professor”.

13- Speak Sense Season 2: Inter High School public speaking competition

Last 27th of November, 2015, our school conducted an Inter High School Public Speaking Competition. The theme is, “The Best of Times or Worst of Times. It’s the only time we’ve got”. Seize your day! A competition I wished I joined but I ain’t qualified as I am not a high school student anymore.

The theme itself is interesting and I foresaw that speakers will talk more about their own experiences in life. I’m half precise as other speakers beat around the bush. I must commend those who did well and delivered their speech as if they were not a high school student anymore. The girl who won the competition is a girl I admire. With her speech and her attention getter, really hold my attention. From the beginning until the last words of her speech I was listening.

“Place your right hand over your heart”, a non-verbatim statement that started her speech. “Do you feel your heart beating?”, she added. “What if, one day, that sound suddenly stopped?” And that got me goose bumps. I really admire the way she composed and delivered her speech. She deserves to be the champion.

Other speakers on the other hand, have a nice message with their speech but there are lots of grammatical flaws and mannerisms that ruined the entire speech. The question and answer portion showed moreover how knowledgeable the speakers were with their own speech. I am quite disappointed as there are lots of competitors who stuttered during the Q&A part.

There were also other activities and I’m one of those who were forced to join and I enjoyed don’t get me wrong. The game is called, “Speed Speech” where we delivered a speech about a word assigned to us. First word I got is corn and was given 30 seconds to prepare and another words will be thrown upon me after every 15 seconds. This is very fun and interesting as words being thrown are of different planets. This enhanced the participant’s transition skill.

Overall, the program was a total success, a fun and a good learning experience.

12 - Plagiarism

According to an online source, “plagiarism is the act of taking another person's writing, conversation, song, or even idea and passing it off as your own. This includes information from web pages, books, songs, television shows, email messages, interviews, articles, artworks or any other medium” (n.d). 

The Council of Writing Program Administrators admits that “plagiarism has always concerned teachers and administrators, who want students’ work to represent their own efforts and to reflect the outcomes of their learning. However, with the advent of the Internet and easy access to almost limitless written material on every conceivable topic, suspi­cion of student plagiarism has begun to affect teachers at all levels, at times diverting them from the work of developing students’ writing, reading, and critical thinking abilities”. 

I must say that plagiarism is almost everywhere. Some had been reported and most are left unnoticed. Internet made a way for students to finish their work as convenient as it can be but is not made to copy someone else’s work without proper citation. I was once guilty with such crime but I learned not to plagiarize. With news reported and as law stated, I shall be a responsible writer at all costs. 

There are millions of ways to avoid plagiarism. Copying other’s work is fine but copying without citation is something a person must avoid. Best way I must say is to research about the topic thoroughly until you have enough knowledge to paraphrase and combine ideas and have your original work with words of your own. This will help you to avoid plagiarism and at the same time learn more about the topic.


References:
http://wpacouncil.org/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf
http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/whatisplag.php

11 - Media Literacy

At first, I was not interested to go and listen at the seminar that will be held on our school’s auditorium. Reason is, a seminar about media literacy is so common. I want something more - something that will make me excited. 

However, as the seminar started with a video of Marcos’ deeds being compared to Cory’s, that stopped me dead in tracks. My father admires Marcos so much and I bet he’ll love it if he watch it. Moreover, as my father keeps on boasting about Marcos and what he has done for the pride of the Filipino, I became an instant admirer of him as well. Adding the video that we’ve watched, I can say that Marcos sure did a great job and news media is nothing but a lie. 

The seminar started well as it started with two video presentations. However, as I sensed from the beginning and even before I entered the auditorium, the latter part of the seminar bored me as information about media literacy and how it affects people, is already overheard. These are relevant things indeed but I’m one of those who have attended these kinds of seminar, a million times. 

Sad truth is, nothing changed. Media is something people cannot really trust. From social medias, to report news, it may either be understated or overstated, a truth or a lie.

Commending to the speakers, they are all knowledgeable about the topic to the extent that I felt like I’m into the news writing. There were jokes but I’m afraid it didn’t hold the audience’s attention. There was also a Q&A portion but I bet their lips are sealed as it showed how cautious they were to answer questions about the presidential election.

Social Media is indeed has been the greatest source of entertainment for every millennial youth nowadays but we shall not be easily deceived by what we see.

10 - Ways to Understand Women Behavior

                              

Men have always found it hard to understand women and according to James Michael Sama, some may even prefer solving a complicated algebraic expression rather than understanding women’s behavior (2013). But if you are given ways to unlock these mysteries about women, would you give it a try?

To start with, men should understand that it is natural for women to attach their memories to their emotion. It is where their decisions and reactions are based on. They tend to remember the things you’ve said, and the things you’ve done even if it’s years ago. Lion Goodman quoted, “if you hurt her feelings last year by acting in a particular way, or if you said something unkind, that pain still lives in her. She feels the possibility that you could do it again – even if you’ve changed significantly since that time” (Goodman, 2014).

Moreover, some studies show that hormones tend to deeply affect the female brain. They can shape a woman’s values and desires, and tell her, day to day, what’s important. Their presence is felt at every stage of life, right from birth. Each hormone state – girlhood, the adolescent years, the dating years, motherhood, and menopause – acts as fertilizer for different neurological connections that are responsible for new thoughts, emotions, and interests. Because of the fluctuations that begin as early as three months old and last until after menopause, women’s neurological reality is not as constant as a man’s. Hers is a like a weather that is constantly changing and hard to predict (Brizendine, 2006).

Given such, how can men can cope up with the behaviors of women?

Review what has been written. By knowing how women process their emotions, you should always understand where they are coming from. From there on, what would lead to misunderstanding? If she’s just hurt because you’ve done something similar to what you’ve done in the past, then apologize. In the first place, why would you make her feel what she has to feel? By knowing where they are coming from, you’ll understand the real meaning behind each words or cues they drop. This means, always be there to listen and pick up the important terms. Context clues are not only found in the paragraph but also in the situation.

Women, want a man that gets them — a man that does not need a full explanation of her inner workings each and every time that something meaningful needs addressing. She expects you to know her well enough, to be connected to her well enough, to not need a summary. (Hudson, 2013) . The process of understanding a woman, is simply understanding how they process their emotions and how they communicate to have a clue with cues she drops or things she explicitly say.

List of Sources:

Hudson, P. (2013, July 22). Understanding Women: Unlocking The Mystery Of What Women Really Want. Retrieved from http://elitedaily.com/dating/sex/understanding-women-unlocking-the-mystery-of-what-women-really-want
Sama, J. (n.d.). How To Understand Women. Retrieved from http://www.askmen.com/dating/dating_advice/how-to-understand-women.html

9 - Jose Dalisay Jr.

Having a set of literary works written by Filipino authors and another set of literary works written by foreign authors, what would you choose?

Reality is, we prefer reading works not from our countrymen. Stereotyping, we can say that poems, novels, books, as long it's written by a Filipino is not satisfying enough to read. Comparing an American film to a Philippine film is just the same.

However, as I was assigned to post a blog about a Filipino author named Jose Dalisay Jr., I was forced to read some of his works and biography and I could say literary works by some of Filipino authors are not as bad as they were stereotyped.

Starting about the author's biography, I was overwhelmed about the number of awards he received. He even entered the Palanca Hall of Fame in 2000 for he has won 16 Palanca Awards in five genres. He also won five Cultural Center of the Philippines awards for playwriting, and Famas, Urian, Star and Catholic Film awards and citations for his screenplays. It was back 1993 when he was named one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for his creative writing.

He graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1984 (AB English, cum laude ), the University of Michigan (MFA, 1988) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (PhD English, 1991). In 1998, he was named to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Centennial Honors List for his work as a playwright and fictionist.

He was a full professor at the University of the Philippines where he teaches English and Creative Writing and also serves as coordinator of the creative writing program and as an Associate of the UP Institute of Creative Writing. After serving as chairman of the English Department, he became Vice President for Public Affairs of the UP System from May 2003 to February 2005.

Two of his great works that I was able to access online are Cameo and Amnesty. After reading his works, I noticed his writing style. He is into descriptive sentences that'll make the reader visualize exactly what he is trying to describe. Also, I love the setting of his stories for it was all set in the Philippines. Moreover, some of his works featured the cultures and traditions of Filipinos including but not limited to fiestas and Santacruzan.

In conclusion, 'Never judge a book by its cover' may be an old-saying but a never-dying quotation for people always fall into the trap of judging a thing by its surface. And for literary works, literally, it is still being judged by its cover - which it shouldn't.