8 - About A Week Ago

Few weeks ago, the Junior Philippine Computer Society announced the details of the upcoming SoCSIT Week. It was quite exciting since there will a plethora of activities that will be held for one whole week. This term holds many academic and extra-curricular activities for the SoCSIT students. During the fourth week, the English Department declared a Chants and Cheers contest which is open to the students who belong in the School of Computer Science and Information Technology. After securing a spot in the top three blocks (second place to be precise), we were quite relaxed and satisfied of the results despite of having certain difficulties while we were preparing for the actual competition. Moving on, several weeks have passed until the JPCS announced the opening of the SoCSIT Week. It was another week to get busy and have fun. After waiting for days, the long-awaited week has finally arrived.

First on the list is the opening ceremony of course. There is a small catch, the organization required every student to wear a 90's attire. It was kind of peculiar but it still compliments with the theme of the event which is "Bring IT back". It was no ordinary Tuesday morning when I went to school with a corporate attire. Upon entering the room, I have noticed that almost all of them wore the required attire. Since I have a rebellious and thuggish kind of attitude, I did it on purpose. Few hours before the opening ceremony, I came up with another foolish decision. I encouraged one of my classmates to go home and play computer games. Since I have a rebellious and thuggish kind of attitude, I didn't came up with that kind of thing in school. Instead, I already planned it way before the day has even started. And that is one of the stories of my life as a rule-breaker in college. Anyways, there are more activities waiting in queue for the next couple of days or so. Wednesday, Second Day of the culmination week, the JPCS organization also organized a sports tournament. Some of my blockmates participated in the basketball, volleyball even in the LoL tournament. The games were scheduled in such way that it will coincide with our subjects for that day. So, I came up with another evil plan. I pretended to be one of the players in our block who will be excused for the class. I was bored in the classroom somehow so I decided to take my nasty trickery into a whole new level. That is not all, my friends. The highlight for this year's SoCSIT Week is the 30 Seconds of Fame or Shame. It's a shame that I, together with my partners in failure, got a SHAME from the judges. Before the contest, something tells me that I shouldn't have attended and participated in the first place because of the unbearable embarrassment. But it is too late for regrets. During the annual event, the hosts who were used to be freshmen students like us told everyone that it is not necessary to participate. They just intimidated the students by simply telling them that it is required and graded. Too bad the deceiver has been deceived. That night, I remained silent until the next day due to the circumstances that I suffered that day. Overall, it is still a memorable week for me; a memorable week indeed.

7 - Midterm Madness

Midterms has finally arrived. Although I had the same feeling as with our first day in college, I have never expected that I would made it this far. After eight weeks of brutality, we managed to hold on and made it halfway through the first term. I have been hearing stories from some students who had an eventual conflict before the midterm exams strike. One week after the opening of classes, one of our block mate decided to drop out and transfer to another school. He explicitly stated that he cannot handle the burden being thrown to him. Presumably, that block mate of ours thinks that the pressure from all the subjects (not to mention English Subjects) are too difficult for him to accommodate. Almost every one of us were quite kind of surprised of his transferring of school. "But it has only been two days since we deal with these subjects. Why would you back down all of a sudden?" These are the words that came into my mind after hearing the decision he has made. Aside from that, we supposedly have another classmate for the term. Unfortunately, he never shew up from the first day of classes even until the moment I am writing this blog post. The only thing we knew from him is his name by the initials J.R.H. At the very least, both of them might have found the most suitable and comfortable school for themselves.

Anyhow, I am very thankful because I survived somehow and made it halfway through the term. Dealing with five English subjects feels harsh for each and every one of us in the SoCSIT. The worst part is that you have to take on each of them everyday for the rest of the term, for four hours each. Most of us felt bored and sick of it because of the fact that we can't simply put an interest into it. I mean we love to learn more about English and stuff but we don't have the capacity to acquire all of them very easily. Another thing is that taking in charge with a lot of English papers seems to be a tiresome and brain-consuming work. You have to consider your grammar, format, diction and vocabulary all at the same time. There would be a time that I could handle these kinds of work, but that time has not yet come. Perhaps a couple of years or so, my English communication skills would be enhanced and come in handy by the time I will need it the most, especially when I am on the stage of getting a job. Looks like we have got this far already. Thinking so much about this term makes me want to wonder how would I end up in the future. Well, I guess we'll just cross the bridge when we get there. Also, there will be more blog posts that needs to be done at once.

6 - Why Students Need More "Space"

Every student follows the same routine when school days are up. They would normally wake up, take a bath, eat breakfast, get dressed and then go to school. For most students, it seems that it is normal and already part of their daily lives because they got used it, or aren’t they? They might get used to it; however, are they susceptible enough to handle a schedule which might not look or feel comfortable for them? Assuming that conclusions are immediately drawn, of course not all students would say that they could cope up with the schedule they have. If the schedule is not the problem for some students, then the dilemma has something to do with the study habits. Some might complain that their schedule affects their study habits negatively. This could be true for a large population of students. Some might also complain about having straight classes and less time on taking a break. But what does this have anything to do with an uncomfortable schedule?

According to recent studies, taking short breaks allows people to have a better performance whether in work, school and in home. For example, there are two groups that are assigned to memorize things within a given time interval. The only difference is that one group is tasked to work continuously while the other one will take short breaks then proceed back to work. It is quite surprising that the group of people who were asked to have short breaks tend to perform better and memorize more of the given things.

To be honest with you, it is true to most people. It is just that we never knew that it would benefit us in such positive way. At first, you might have the impression that taking short breaks would lead to longer breaks and eventually will result to having not enough time for work. Taking a rest has a couple of benefits only if they are used right. First of all, resting for a while soothes our minds and also refreshes them. And when they are refreshed, higher chances are they will function efficiently. This kind of principle applies to a lot of things. For instances, gadgets, appliances, machines, even animals themselves. So if you seem to feel tired and exhausted, it is highly recommendable to take a nap just for a few minutes and then wake up. This will increase the chances that you will have a better performance afterwards. Most importantly, taking breaks helps us to relax for a short time. Remember, you are a human, not a robot. Humans need rest in order to have a good utilization of himself/herself. So, when you are having a hard time with a problem, or you are loaded with a lot of paperworks, try considering a good and relaxing break to freshen up. You might not know what you can possibly do after having a nap for a worthwhile.

5 - The Struggle is Real

As a part of our everyday lives, having struggles is something no one could avoid. It is true. Every people in the world will counter so many problems over and over for the rest of their lives because that is how life goes. However, you should not let your pessimistic side overcome your thoughts of handling problems in life. As the matter of fact, it could be a two-way process where someone encounters one and learns from the experiences he/she had from it.

"Losing does not mean that you failed; it means that you must try again with experience." This quote is mentioned by the Gaming Genesis Organization but I'm not sure if it precise. I actually agree with that and those who are reading this should be too. There are a lot of things that I tried to be good on. For instance, one of the famous sports, basketball. I haven't learned much anything about basketball until 5th Grade. But it took me two years to have a constant exposure to the game. Unfortunately, it is not enough for me to consider myself as a decent basketball player. Through the years, I persisted to play and learn more about basketball by playing with my classmates when I will be given a privilege to do so. Finally, after all those years of training and trying, I managed to succeed on my own goal. The hard work and effort I invested has finally paid off. I didn't aim to be a great player among others, but to be a great player to my own self. And there, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the struggles I went through during the past few years of my life and I hope that there is more to come. Well, life goes on and on and as you go, there will be some challenges that await you in the future. We people should get used to it because it is part of our daily lives. 

Sad to say, there is another problem that I have been struggling recently. And surprisingly, it is the fact that laziness hits me hard in the face when I am trying to accomplish the blog posts which must be passed at a given deadline. It is some kind of ironic that I still managed to made this one. Well, as I have said earlier, facing struggles is a part of your every normal day of your life. You just have to overcome and surpass it. Remember, you might meet challenges that you can't take. But you are wrong. They might look huge or small, yet everyone would still surpass it no matter what. It is because that is how life goes. I hope that through mentioning things about struggles, you won't give up on yours. No matter how big or small that problem is, believe in yourself that you could conquer it. The struggle might be real, but overcoming them is also real. Deal with it.

4 - Pursuit of Happyness

If you have noticed that the word "happyness" is being misspelled, then you are aware enough of these kinds of vocabulary mistakes. Unfortunately, it wasn't accidentally misspelled. To be clear enough, it is intended to be spelled in that way. Although the spelling is incorrect, it has or it should be maintained in that manner because it has a deeper meaning.

Without further interruption, let me have the floor once again. If you will be asked to define happiness in one word, what word will that be? Hearing a lot of possibilities means that everyone has a different definition of the word happiness, which is true. Happiness is when the school bell rang at the dismissal time. Happiness is when you have finally achieved something you wished to accomplish a long time ago. Happiness is when you are having fun with your friends. Happiness can be defined within endless number of potential chances. It is because everyone could be happy at everything. Sad to say that, happiness cannot be easily attained. Opening your realistic side will let you realize that nothing in this world can be gained through effortless means. It that was the case, what does true happiness truly mean?

First and foremost, happiness is an unconditional feeling of a person who expresses a positive emotion that can be caused by many things. As what I have mentioned above, it can be defined within never-ending ways depending upon the person. However, not all the time a person would be happy. Is this a bad thing? Actually, it isn't. There should always be balance through everything that is inside the infinitely colossal universe. In short terms, all things should maintain balance. Try to imagine a person who is happy all the time. What I mean by all the time, I mean "ALL THE TIME." For me, I can't imagine because it is way too impossible to happen. The same thing goes to someone who is always feels an agony inside his/her heart. One does not always be happy neither sad. The story of the title is actually based in a true story. There is one kid who is being fetched by his father to school periodically. Everyday, the kid would ask his father about the banner hanging outside. He says, "Dad, why does happyness spelled wrong? It should be happiness right?" So far, that is the "etymology" of the title. The story lies upon the life of the kid and father as they work hard to live another day. After all of those struggles, they became successful at last. And in that day, they pursued their happiness. Life gives you problems sometimes. But always remember that it doesn't lend you every possible problem you can have. Life is always full of ups and downs. There are times of rejoice and times for sorrow. I would like to leave a note to everyone who would read this. True happiness isn't above how much you have in life, but how contented you are with the things you only have and with the ones you truly love. True happiness cannot be attained is one's self is not contented to his/her own. I found my true definition of happiness and hopefully, you will find yours too.

3 - Sunday Morning, Rain is Falling

Sunday is considered as the day when people tend to rest from their work; in other words, Sunday is a day of Sabbath. With endless possibilities, you could do a lot of things within the day. You could have a walk in the park, go to your favorite store in a mall, play your favorite sport or game, spend a quality time with your beloved family and so much more. The rainy season has finally come. Spending the days might be a little different than how you do during the sunny season. But it seems to be that it's a merely identical thing, or isn't it? I think not. Regularly, our family would go to the church every Sunday of the week, month and year. Put it simply, going to church on a weekly basis is a familiar thing to us. What about you? How do you spend your weekend? Do you feel satisfied of what you are doing during that day? Well I hope you do enjoy your day completely.

It is absolutely pleasing to have some personal time every Sunday; however, there is something that lacks my day. It is something I desire to have or to do. Although Sundays could give me time to do whatever I want to do, something continuously bothers my discontented mind.  As I have mentioned earlier, Sunday is the day when you can make use of your own time for things you want to give attention to. For most people, they see Sundays as "Hurrah, I could finally do this and that" day of the week. But for me, or maybe as well as some people, Sunday is when I could relax and take a break for a while especially during the rainy season.

Let me share this statement which is mentioned by my blockmate in his blog. "As the raindrops slowly trickled onto my head on the way to school, I felt calm and, for no apparent reason, cleansed (mentally). It is as if all of the rage, hatred, pain, agony, despair, and noise in my head just got washed away. I felt calm, collected, and clean". I admire the way he achieved some sort of enlightenment in his state. Sadly, I cannot attain the relaxation that I want to desire in my emotional and mental statement. Now what I'm trying to point out here is that everyone can't simply do the things that they want in life. You might find my ideology deep but I'm just attempting to explain what I want to express. Many of us could spend a regular Sunday in different ways they would want to. I'm pretty contented of what I have but not of what I'm doing right now. It is just like wasting so much time on things that doesn't even matter at the end of the day. To tell everyone frankly, staring at your phone for hours, playing right in front of the computer, eating, taking a bath and sleeping does not sound very productive to make use of a regular day. Not only for Sundays, but the same thing goes for the rest of the days of the week. I hope one day, I could finally capture and figure out what is still missing in my life. But for now, my mind would just continue wandering what could it be. Besides, I still have a lot of blog posts to accomplish within the given deadline.

2 - Self Introduction of Me, Myself and I

Unmistakably, I forgot to introduce myself in the first place before even posting my first blog post. So, I guess I will settle all of the unconfirmed information about my own self right here, right now.

By the way I am James Baldelomar and I am 16 years of age. If you were wondering about my full name, then don't even bother that because it doesn't matter. I graduated from Senator Renato "Companero" Cayetano Memorial Science High School or SRCCMSTHS for short. Quite long isn't it? In fact, when I introduced myself during the first week of our first term, everybody seems to be confused what the name of my school really is. Don't worry because I also went through that process of memorizing the whole name without breathing and stopping. You just have to get used to the eight-word name, that's all. Oops, did I just say "That's all"? I don;'t think so. Sometimes when there are test papers especially during the National Achievement Test or NAT and the National Careers Assessment Examination or NCAE for short, the name of the school is required to be filled out. And guess what, using abbreviations are not allowed so each and everyone of my batchmates will have to go with the same struggle of writing the whole name of our school on a limited space allotted on the paper. You might found it frustrating but you won't even give a damn at the end of the day so it's okay.

ANYWAYS, let's move back to the original topic ( I apologize for including the name of my school just to make this blog post look prolonged). I live in Makati City which is not too far from the campus ( which is three rides away from home actually). I was born at Sometime from January to December, a day from 1 to 31 and obviously, in the year 1999. To be honest with everyone I don't like my birthday to be publicized because of two reasons: I don't like celebrating my birthday and I wouldn't want to be responsible for everyone's free treat on my own birthday. It is not that I am cheap, it is just that I know how to value the value of money or should I say I'm a thrifty person.

Aside from being a thrifty person, I would gladly like to inform everybody about my personal characteristics and attitude. Emphasizing your positive traits first should be nice so I'll try to point them out first and foremost. I am a nice person. It is just not obvious because of my natural facial expression. I have a high tolerance among everything especially to those who need it most. I could say that I'm one of the enthusiastic and outgoing people out there. Lastly, I am confidently saying that I have a fair understanding to everything around me. Before I would introduce some of the characteristics of me that you might not like, I will point out just a few of my peculiar traits first. Some people might have disagreed with this but I am a introvert individual. Contrary to popular belief, introverts are also outgoing people like extroverts do. The only difference is that they tend to choose who should they stick, work and interact with. I think this should describe me perfectly when selecting the right people to hang out with because not everybody could simply be acquaintances with someone else. As far as I am concerned, I am a person who doesn't like gaining too much attention from a lot of people. Mostly, I like hiding my true capabilities so that people won't simply expect the unexpected. It is like having a different expectation outcome from they have expected. Just in case you haven't know much about the things you might not like about myself, let me point out some of those "Unpleasant" traits I possess. First and foremost, I am a very impatient guy especially when waiting on something that I'm not even interested with. For me, it is hard to cool your head off when you had too much of something; however, I still managed to pull it off by simply learning how to control your own temper. Second, I hate people who talk excessively. It is because of my quiet personality. I prefer to be silent most of the time and refrain from making too much noise. Last but not the least, i do not interact with people who seems to look illiterate. Please do not be offended of my statement. If you did get offended, then you might be considering yourself as an uneducated person. I'm not saying that I am a highly-intelligent individual among others. In fact, I consider myself as one the decencies, but not one of the mediocrities because going with the mainstream is too mainstream. Besides, using mainstream literally seems to be mainstream either. Imagine talking to someone who doesn't even knows what he/she is talking about. Would you like to have a conversation with this person continually? I hope you're with me who would say a BIG NO.