A Dreamer

Day 9 Journal- March 25, 2021

In a community, an individual has a role that depends on his/her status in the group they belong. One can either be a leader or a follower in the society; nevertheless, these two roles are both important for the community to achieve its goals. A good leader-follower relationship is one of the keys for a society to make an absolute change for the betterment of everyone. Both role must unite and cooperate to each other for losing one won’t make a community achieve any of its goal.

A good leader that has the ability to lead a group and would listen and care to the members of the group is not enough and will never be enough if its follower won’t listen and cooperate with the leader. Connecting to every follower is a challenge to all the leaders of the community. Connection is important because it is the followers who’ll obey and do the action in every solution the leaders have come up every time the society faces a dilemma. All in all, both roles in the society is important, losing one will disturb the balance and a community would never achieve its goals.

Day 8 Journal -March 24, 2021

Love is vague, there is no exact definition as to what love really is and how should it be expressed. Love cannot be quantified, that is why people often wonder as to how should we really love. But, according to Gary Chapman in his book"The Five Love Languages" there actually different ways as to how a person expressed or would want to recieved love and these could either be through words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, quality time, or gift giving.

As I took the test to determine my love language I was a bit excited. Looking back I have never really put much of thought as to what my love language is. Whenever I hear a thing about it I would instantly think that my love language is acts of service not really understanding what that was. And the result took me by surprise. I have never thought that my primary love language is actually words of affirmation. So that explains as to why I really melt everytime people around me tell me how proud they are of me, how much they see my worth, and how great of a person I am that's I am quite easy to please. Also, the reason why I always tell the people who are dear to me encouraging words or simply words that would make them feel better about themselves. While on the other hand, I had a very I have a very low percentage when it comes to gift giving proving that I am not really giving much attention about gifts or the likes.

All in all, we all have different preferences upon how we express love and how we like to receive such. Some compliments their partner a lot, some give gifts, some serves their partner and treat them as their queen or king, some spends time with their partner as an expression of love, and some liked to cuddle a lot. Understanding one's preference of giving and receiving love is one of the keys in order to make a relationship work.

Day 7 Journal

March 23, 2021

People are social beings, which mean that we cannot really live on our own. We tend to form bonds or relationship with other people. May it be in our family, peers or romantic partners. And today, we were taught how to build a harmonize relationship with other people specially our romantic partners.

Since I was young, I have been aware of the presence of love. Though my definition of it may be vague, I know love is everywhere. I have always seen people around me especially those close relatives show love for their partners. I might have know love for a quite long time now but i have little to no idea about how did they keep it blooming for such a long time. Before I thought that love will always be about the good things and I was very wrong. It doesn't work that way.

As I grow older, I have gain more knowledge about it. I have start learning about how you should stay committed to your partner no matter how hard things can be. Given the fact that they don't abuse you in anyway. Just last year, my family have gone into quite a rough road. My father who used to be so loving had experience some problems with his mental health. He became so short-tempered that he would always pick a fight with my mom. He would put my mom into silent treatment or just say some harsh words to her. And it was the worst ever, especially when I have never really witness them being that way growing up. And my heart hurts more as I see my mom cry almost every night because of how my father is acting. It did goes on for months without my father seeking help from the professionals and my mom never left his side. She understood that my father did not mean anything he had done and he just needed her most during those times. She waited and waited until my father had gone through consultations, getting back to his normal self again. That's when I realized how love can be understanding and patience. How beautiful love can be when it is truly cherished.

Things like that are only one of the few real life experience of how I have learned about love and it's beauty. Today's lesson brought me deeper understanding about it from simple attraction to its deepest point. Love may not be quantified, may not always be visible. But one thing's for sure. Love is just around every corner.

Day 6 Journal - February 3, 2021

    Today’s discussion talks about our psychological well-being and what hits me the most is the lesson about mental health. Mental health is one of the gem in our life. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. But more often than not it is either neglected or taken for granted because of less knowledge about its importance.

     Our mental health is one of the factors that can affect our personal growth. Mental health is not just the absence of mental illness but it can also be viewed as our capacity to cope up with life’s normal stresses, a state of where we discover and develop our abilities, our ability to work productively and our capabilities to contribute something to the community. In the stage of adolescence, our mental health is incredible vulnerable since we are exposed to a lot of things that can play with our emotions, relationships with other people or just by nearly anything that can affect our mental health. That is why we should be more careful about it.

     The importance of mental health in our life should not be overlooked. A low mental health can cause a change in our personality and behaviours and can take a toll on our health. Sometimes, signs of low mental health are unnoticeable to our closest friend and family. We be never know, that people around us maybe suffering from a low mental health and emotional turmoil that’s is why we should always be mindful with our words. And also to anyone who feels that their mental health is at the edge, never be afraid to seek for help and practice the things that can keep your mind healthy. The mind and body has great connection. What the minds thinks, the body radiates. So mental health is just as important as our physical health. Keep in mind that you are matter, your mental health matter.

Day 5 Journal - February 2, 2021

     A period of stress and storm, this is how our teacher describe adolescence stage. Stress as defined by Selye, is the non-specific response of the body to any demand. It is our body’s reaction to certain pressure or challenge or situation may it be in the physical, mental or emotional aspect. Stress can be get just by nearly everything. You can be stress out by the people around you, simple happenings, and your academics or just by nearly everything. Making us kind of wish that stress was non-existing and that’s the common misconception about stress. Because stress is not always about the bad things, stress can even brought about the biggest development to ourselves or can turn our lives upside down depending on how we react to it.

    Stress, sometimes can be scary. People who are stress often times see things in a pessimistic manner thinking that there’s no way out in a certain problem. They also tent to isolate themselves, which sometimes makes things worse because stress should be talked out with the right people around you. The worst case scenario is that when stress affects your physical health, such as causing eating disorders.

     Personally, I have also experienced stress in certain parts of my life. But I would not wish it to be non-existing because if it hadn’t been for those I wouldn’t have learn anything. Even in the process of making swords, heating the metal and putting it in a very high temperature is an important step to make sure that the product turns out good and I’d like to believe that the same thing applies to us human. Stress is there for a reason and it is meant to teach us to be better persons ourselves. After all, if life is just as easy as 1,2,3 it wouldn’t be as meaningful. We just need to remember that stress are meant to build us not to break us.

Day 4 Journal - February 1, 2021

     Peers, as per definition are those individuals who you see as your equal. Those people who are of the same rank, status or background as you are and they are widely known to be a great part of a person’s personality development. The peers we have reflects us as an individual. Most of them if not all, shares the same characteristics with us may it be in our behaviour, beliefs, or outlook in life. Peers are also those people whom we run to in times of trouble lending us there time to listen.

     But then, no matter how we say that our peers are just a reflection of we are, there will always be people who are better or worse than you are. Some are doing so well in different things in life that you can’t help but compare yourself to them, and that’s pretty healthy. What’s unhealthy is when you start to downgrade yourself, and take those social comparison in a negative way.  Instead of making things worse for yourself by self-pitying, you should take those things as a motivation to also do well on your own life. You hold so much power to direct your life so own it and kill it. Being stated that we are a reflection of our peers, we should be mindful with the people we associate with. We should keep those people who brings the best in us and leave those people who keeps on dragging us down. ALWAYS REMEMBER, we are known by the company we keep, so we should also try to keep it as positive as it can be.

Day 3 - January 29, 2021

     Every human in this world does undergo changes that comes with their growing age. The most crucial part of a human’s life is during the adolescence stage. Where we experience drastic changes within our lives, where responsibilities starts to unfold right before our eyes, realizing that life isn’t about just flowers and rainbows. That you should already start to look at life in a much broader aspect. Things that we believed as a child may change as we reach the adolescence stage, our approach towards certain things may also change. But that’s alright, everyone experience that and it’s normal.

      There will be changes when it comes to our physical, cognitive and even socio-emotional state. There will come a time where you’ll think that your peers are developing in a different pace than you are. Making you think that you are being left out especially with that thing that we teenagers like to call ‘glow up’, don’t bother to much for your time will surely come. Besides, there are different principles of development clearly stating that our development as an individual is unique in our own little way and it is a gradual process that does not happen overtime. Alongside that noticeable changes in our appearance, the challenges that we will face that will affect our outlooks and behavior towards life.  A lot of things will shift but one thing’s for sure it is now up to you as a responsible adolescent to whether or not embrace it.  

     If you’ll ask me? I’d say you embrace it. Go along the current of life without losing your grasp of reality and grow beautifully  with it.

-Day 2 Journal: January 28, 2021-

              This is already our second meeting for this subject and true to the purpose of this subject our activity today is what I’d like to call a bridge for better understanding of ourselves. Right after our first meeting yesterday, we were tasked to either draw or take a picture of an object which we think best represents us as an individual. And what makes it more exciting was the fact that we are also to share to the whole class the reasons why we have chosen those objects to represent us.

               To complete the given tasks each one of the class did choose different objects, bearing a story behind it. Most of my classmates words and also mine during the sharing goes like, “I’ve chosen this object because it reminds me of myself when…” or “This object best represents me because just like this object I am..” or something with the likes. Every classmate of mine have a really fascinating thing to share. As the sharing went on I became more indulge into listening to every words they say about themselves. On one rare day, we have become an open book to everyone. Activities like this really does bring people closer to each other. Truth be told, I think I am really close to some of my classmates so I already know a thing or two about those certain individuals. But, for some of my classmates I have discovered more about them like their views, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and many more. I really did listen intently to them especially those classmates who I’ve got very little interaction with during the face to face classes. If I were to be ask how the activity was, I’d say it was totally amazing as a whole.

               As I talked about myself, I was just at ease. I was used to it because there had been quite a lot of times that I and my friends shared things like that in the past. Personally, I have always loved listening to people talk about themselves. Those deep talks late at night are my personal favourites. Because aside from the fact that it makes you empathize and connect more with people it also helps you in evaluating yourself. The more I listen my classmates talk, I’ve come to realize that indeed everyone is different in our own little ways. So if you would like to know a person better, listen to them especially when they are talking about things that they are passionate about.  

 “Getting to Know One’s Self”

               In your everyday life made by God, have you ever wondered whether or not you truly know yourself? This may be a very simple question but it is very vital in improving one’s self. Today marks the first day of our second semester as grade 12 students. In our very first subject PER-DEV which talks about getting to know one’s self, I have learned about self-concept and how it is connected to your self-esteem and many things about how you perceive yourself as well as how others perceive you.

               Self-concept as how it was determined is your perception of yourself, how you define and understand yourself as a multi-dimensional human being. This is a vibrant representation of who you really are. It is composed of three components which is the physical characteristics, personality traits and social identity. As we discuss self-concept a while ago, the question if we really know our selves seem so fitting. It made me ponder, if I were to be asked that question I would say that partially I may know myself. Maybe, on some parts I do know myself but in every new day I live this life I discover something new about myself. In some random situations I face I came to realize that I was an impatient person, that I was sensitive but understanding at the same time. I could also see that I am thin, I am fair-skinned and many more. There’s really something new that I discover every day.

               Understanding one’s self was never easy. It is affected by a lot of things in your environment especially the people around you. Truth be told, no matter how you conditioned yourself to not be bothered by things that other people say, it will always get to you. You, yourself could also affect how the people around you view themselves so you should be always mindful of your words.  Because words, no matter how simple they are can cause a lethal damage to someone. So always be kind.

               Personally, I believe that if you know yourself it would be a lot easier to improve as a person. Knowing your strength and weaknesses and using them at your advantage will really help you achieve goals and objectives. Also, what I have ultimately learn in this lesson is that it is very important that we view ourselves in a positive way so that our self-esteem would be boosted and those people around us would also perceive us in a positive manner. Understanding one’s self may not be that easy, it may take some time but you should always remember that a lot of things can help you assess yourself. Keep in mind what Lao Tzu have said, “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself id true power.” So go on, reflect more. Know more about yourself. Take all the that you need, it will all pay off in the end.

 Ybonnie Mae T. Lapinig 

With the sky-high use of digital technologies, also came the digital divide. Surely the common scenario in a classroom should be the teacher holding a chalk writing her lessons in the board while students take notes in their notebooks with their pen or pencil. But, that kind of scenario is just witnessed way back when digital technologies are not yet present. Today, their blackboard has been replaced with an interactive whiteboard that serves as a blackboard, projector, and computer all in one. It is the differences between the traditional classroom and the high-tech, modern classroom that represent the digital divide. The term digital divide refers to the gap that exists between those groups who have good access to technology and those who do not. This gap is really inevitable but as a student, what should we do to be able to bridge this continuing gap which is known as the digital divide?

To decrease the digital divide gap, we must tackle the problems of poverty, low education levels, and poor infrastructure. First and foremost, we should increase affordability of digital technologies. For the large number of people to access the digital technology, governments can give tariff subsidies to encourage them to buy digital tools. Also, providing devices for students doesn't completely bridge the digital divide; educators also need to help students and families obtain home connectivity. Another way is to expand access at school. Internet connectivity needs to be available where students work both before and after school. Schools with a high percentage of students without home Internet access need to be proactive in providing robust, ubiquitous access during the school day. With the help of everyone, bridging the gap of the digital divide is actually possible. We just have to rely on each other’s and to contribute something to do it no matter how small it is.

YBONNIE MAE T. LAPINIG

           Truly, we and our society are continually evolving. One of the biggest evidence of our evolving society is our technological improvements. Before, when technology is not yet as developed as it is today, we get our daily dose of news from print media such as newspapers and magazines. The television and radio are also utilized in seeking news and information. But now, since the use of digital media is rampant just a few scroll here and there we can already access news and information. Some companies who used to just serve us with print and broadcast media now starts to make sites and upload their content in the new media. The sky high use of digital media is one of the main reason why they say that it is not impossible that print media and broadcast media will be replaced eventually replace by the new media since it is more easy to access.

           In the next five years, I think the digital or new media will be utilize more. I say so because even today, the number of people who still relies on the print and broadcast media is very low. The younger generation would just opt to view the online versions of these information such as eBooks, online news and broadcasts. With that framework in place, the next five years we are going to see even more dramatic changes. Given this advancements in underlying technology – the wires, wireless networks and hardware that make social media possible – a world where everything is connected awaits us. The result will be both significant shifts in our everyday lives and a changing of the guard in several industries that are only now starting to feel the impact of the new media. Everything will be connected to the new media already, from the simplest down to the most complex things we’ll do it’ll be interconnected with the new media. Indeed, new media domination.

This is now the 21st century, where almost everything is advanced and the use of technology is rampant specially the new media. Today is what we call the social era, which is about connecting things, people, and ideas. The social era is a contrast to industrial age and information age, for this era makes access to information and connecting easier by digital media. But with this things being present in the social era, we must bear in mind that being information literate at times like this is very necessary. Information literacy is the set of skills required to identify, retrieve, organize, and analyse information. Being information literate is a life skill, it helps people in all fields recognize between good information and bad information and evaluate situations from several perspective. But the real question is, what is really the relevance of being information literate in the midst of social era?

The level of information literacy changes as we grow older. There are varying levels of information literacy because it is a learned skill that must be practiced. Today that the use of social media is widespread, contents on the internet also continually grow, but that doesn’t mean that everything in there is credible and true. This means that there are a lot of bad information to sort of and it’s not easy to determine which information is truthful. In this simple scenario it is important that you are information literate to recognize that not all information is created equal. Those people who are information literate with no doubt can solve almost any problem with precision and accuracy. No matter what information you are looking for, you must see it that you know how to find the right answers to your question while bearing in mind that not all information you see on the internet is true. Always remember to avoid misinformation you must be information literate.

Ybonnie Mae T. Lapinig

“Media and Government: A Love-Hate Relationship”

The media and the government, these are two different institutions that play important roles in our society. They have the power to influence people. They can also change the way on how people may look at issues and topics, in short they can actually manipulate us. The government leads and disciplines the country, while the media monitors and notifies us in everything that’s happening in our world. Sometimes these two institutions do agree with each other. For example during a typhoon, the PAGASA is the one responsible for monitoring the typhoon but it is the media’s job to spread warnings and such for those people to be informed and it is during these moments that the seemingly love relationship of these two can be witnessed. But, more often than not, the media and the government tends to be in conflict with each other. And when they do everyone is affected.

There had been a lot of conflict between the media and the government. The most recent one here in the Philippines was when the well-known TV network, ABS-CBN, was not granted by the congress of its franchise renewal. These issue became a hot topic between people, especially those online. Some says that it was because they violated some laws, some also brought up the dual citizenship of the owner. But, the most prominent reason that people who support the rejection of the franchise renewal believed was because the network is allegedly delivering biased news. It was also brought up by the president during one of his speeches that one of the reason why was because some of his ads during the presidential campaigns was not aired, making it seems like he had a personal grudge. Since the major role of the media is to monitor things in our surrounding one network out means less people monitoring our government which can be either a good or bad thing.

@queenlupitajones

Ybonnie Mae Lapinig

With the rapid innovations and inventions of things making our lives easier and more comfortable, we must bear in mind that we also have to do our part well which is to use it with a good goal and properly. Things that are making our lives easier and more comfortable are those things in line with machines and technology. The use of technologies such as televisions, computers, cell phones, radios and other medium for information. With this came in the media and information literacy, which enables people to interpret and make informed judgements as users of information and media, as well as to become skilful creators and producers of information and media messages in their own right. Now that we know what is media and information literacy, we should also know the value of being a media and information literate individual.

Living in the 21st century which revolves around the rapid growth of technologies, being literate about media and information will give us advantage especially in terms of giving and gathering information in different kinds of medium especially in media. Those individuals who are media and information literate uses variety of media platforms and information more effectively than those who are not. Being media and information literate, you know how to raise the right questions about what you are watching, reading, or listening to and must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information. Not only that, a country with citizens that is media and information literate will have more advantage than those who are not. With those things mentioned, it’s now clear that there is a very great value of being media and information literate individual.

Ybonnie Mae T. Lapinig