Everything happens for a reason.

So many faces, so many races, different voices, different choices; these are the lines of Francis Magalona in his song Kaleidoscope World. These lines stick in my mind, when it comes to choices. There are many aspects, and there are many reasons on how we chose things. We meet different faces every day. We come from different races so we have different beliefs. We hear different voices and opinions that can change our beliefs and choices. So, what I’d do differently?

When many people are on their death beds, they think about their lives and think about what they could have done differently if they had been given the chance to live again. Every person has made one or more mistakes in life and a chance to survive will provide an opportunity to do things differently and right. Even though I have lived my life the way I enjoy it, there are different aspects that I could change if I lived again.

To start with, I will make sure I have high self-esteem and I make decisions without considering how other people feel about me. While in high school, I relied heavily on the reaction of other students to my actions. If I have the chance to live again, I will have confidence at a young age, which will allow me to decide without listening to other voices.

Second; if I had a chance to live again, I would like to have a real fun. Some of us are very good about having fun, and do it regularly. But some of us, especially as we get older, we tend to forget to have fun. We think we enjoy watching TV or playing a video game, and some of us really do, but many times we use these activities as stand for actual enjoyment. There is nothing wrong with that. It's just that you should also make space in your life for real enjoyment too. While there is a time and place for seriousness in life, there is an equal time and place for forgetting your problems for a few hours a week and really enjoying yourself.

Many of us are so focused on getting where we are going or where we think we should go that we forget that travel is often just as important. Life is a full-time, 100% learning experience. Even though we think we are in the middle of the most addictive, repetitive and enjoyable experience, life tries to teach us something. The problem is that many times we are not aware of it. We remove the experience, and in the process, we remove a part of our life. Embrace the journey, even if it’s only once in a while, and understand that everything is part of living a full and meaningful life.

Going back to the question; “What I’d do differently?” In two decades living on earth what I did differently is changing my mindset. As I grow older, I frequently wondering what is my purpose; am I happy on what I’m doing in life? Is this the real happiness, or am I pretending to be happy? Sometimes the greatest challenge we face in changing something about our lives is the actual act of doing something. We put barriers within ourselves to prevent ourselves from even trying to do something else, because we believe we will fail, it will be too hard to change, or it will take too long. We didn’t even start.

You hear it over and over. “My vote doesn’t matter,” students often say. Others complained that politicians were "all the same and everyone was corrupt." How can we overcome this tempting resignation and encourage students to register and vote despite their belief that the sport is initially unlucky?

Personally, I think everyone should vote, because everyone has an opinion. In Philippine democracy, we value our ability to decide who is in position, and enjoy the very fact that we have something to say about what is going on within the world of politics. However, when 75.90 percent vote regularly, we ask ourselves: is this really democracy?

Yes, many people will argue, in fact it is. We still have elections, and therefore the country will pass the President. But look at it this way; the whole purpose of democracy is for every person to have a say in what’s going on, and when more than the country votes, not everyone’s voice is heard. Most of the votes are bought by the politicians. And when not, most hear, that’s not a democracy.

What worries me is the unfathomable fact that the majority of non-voters are children, those in their 18 to 24 years only. while many people have opinions and have different beliefs and aspirations, most Millennials (individuals 18 to 29 years old) have removed themselves from the election process. Most Filipino are voting because of money given by the politicians.

When I first heard these statistics, I was shocked before. We always assume that everyone voted, but that’s not true. What I find hardest to believe is the very fact that only about more than a half of Millennials actively express their thoughts. I personally can’t wait until I’m old enough to have something to say within the functioning of government. And I don’t like the thought that people have a chance to abuse it.

Because of this, and also the undeniable fact that the voter literally has the longer term of the country on their hands, I urge anyone and everyone who reads this to appreciate how much democracy plays a part in voting, and use the opportunities given to them to make a difference in the Philippines.

Citizens of many countries have complained about the world around them, and many should not choose to change the world. However, you do. The Filipino child has the facility to make decisions that can affect the country. If you just don’t like the way the Philippines operates, but you don’t choose elections or make your opinions heard, you, not the government’s fault.

As the pandemic progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that extensive vaccination is essential to help contain it. Moving away from physical, face masks, and frequent hand washing is effective, but not goofy. And after all, these steps will not work if they are not followed.

Thus, the rapid development of mRNA vaccines and other vaccines to harm COVID -19 is welcome some say miracle - news. But while many people are struggling to push for a vaccine, others are hesitant.

It is common to be careful about any new treatment. Health problems are not properly blamed on the vaccine. When health problems develop immediately after vaccination, people tend to charge for the vaccine. However, cancer, stroke, heart attack, blood diseases, and rare diseases occurred before the pandemic, and in fact can still occur. Many of us are expected to develop such health issues whether vaccinated or not. If through investigation shows some health problems occurring at a better than normal rate, the vaccine may be at fault. Otherwise, it is more likely to be an unfortunate opportunity not related to the vaccine. As an example, A Filipino nurse of approximately 40 died from infections caused by the coronavirus, just days after receiving a dose of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine. Health officials told reporters he failed to die because of adverse reactions to the vaccine. “The patient died of Covid infections,” said Dr Rommel Lobo, who heads the government’s National Adverse Effects Following Immunization Committee. He said the nurse was likely exposed to someone carrying the virus but not showing any symptoms. “It is very clear from the report that there is no reason to suspend our vaccination program because the vaccine did not cause the death of our health care worker,” he said.

Elsewhere, there is concern over specific vaccines that the Philippines also plans to use-specifically the vaccine company Sinovac Biotech, where one study showed an effectiveness of almost more than 50%, even one yet gave it more than 91%. We can’t blame them because most of the Filipino are traumatized of the dengvaxia; a dengue vaccine kills a lot of people.

It is important to understand the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine in different populations, but testing a vaccine in vulnerable populations, such as children, also raises ethical concerns. Researchers must balance the need to protect children’s safety with the need to adequately understand how a vaccine will work and protect children when administered.

Similarly, it is important to understand how vaccines affect people in developing countries. However, conducting vaccine research in developing countries includes a list of ethical concerns such as how to provide necessary diagnosis or treatment if diseases are detected; how to meaningfully involve local communities in the research design process; how to ensure that testing and vaccinations can be administered by local ethical review panels; and how to ensure participants understand the consent.

Dear 10-year-old me,

To be honest, my major wasn’t my choice. I really wanted to be a Seafarer like my brother, because I am inspired by my uncles and cousins. During my 12th grade, my course was Maritime and I’m planning to continue it until college but taking a course of Maritime Transportation is not easy at the same time, it is very expensive.

So, I given up my dreams to become a Seafarer and what I did is I went to University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines also known as USTP which is my school now. I scheduled myself for the entrance examination, all I need to do is to fill up the form that they’d given to us. There are lots of courses that we can choose from the form but when I saw the course Food Technology or BSFT I was shocked and chose it and that was my first choice, we need also choose for our 2nd choice of course because encase you can’t be able to pass your first choice of course you want, then you have to take the 2nd choice. I am not really smart when it comes to Math, I asked one of their staff if there’s an available course that there are not much related to math? and she said that only Technology Communication Management (TCM) is not really related to mathematics and that course was my 2nd choice.

The day of entrance examination, I was really busy at that time and I forgot my schedule. I went to my school to take the exam but unfortunately, the woman who assigned to guide students to take their exams won’t let me go inside the library which is the place for the said examination. She wants me to go again in the admission office to get a letter for rescheduling my entrance exam, then I went there and thanks to God they let me to reschedule my exam. I was thankful of that time because they’d given me a chance.

I never wasted my second chance and during the of my entrance examination, I am on time. The exam was not easy, the woman who guides students only given us 15 minutes to answer each task or questions. I had a hard time answering the math subject because I was weak when it comes to that subject, but the English subject was a little bit easy for me such us grammars and making sentences.

Days went pass by when my classmate during 12th grade called my name and said, “your name is on the list of passers”. I was shocked, and I am really glad that I’ve made it despite of being late. When we checked what course I am belonged it says there, Bachelor of Science in Technology Communication Management. At first, I am disappointed because I only got the 2nd choice of my course but when I already in college I found my course interesting and challenging. That is how I chose my major BSTCM.