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Opinion

Take a break

Last month, I received the results of my annual physical exam, a yearly checkup that I do for both school and work. The results were mostly consistent with previous years in that there were no significant findings to report. There was, however, one part that caught my eye: I had a low level of HDL—what…

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Opinion

Bursting the bubble

At any given point in time, there are perhaps a dozen or so crises happening simultaneously around the world. The global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the yet ongoing bushfires in Australia, and the protests in Hong Kong are just some of the world’s present troubles that beat down on everyone’s psyche, not…

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Opinion

The unknown

One of my greatest fears as a kid was the dark. I was afraid because I couldn’t see anything, letting my imagination run wild from all the horror films and stories I would bathe myself in. Sleeping alone at night would be difficult for me, urging myself to leave the door open and the night…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

Through small eyes

I’ve always had a problem with the way my eyes look. My earliest memory of my disdain for my Chinese features was when I was told that Piolo Pascual was the epitome of male attractiveness. Young, impressionable, kindergarten Westin was heartbroken when he looked in the mirror; he faced not the chiselled, brown-skinned, wide-eyed Piolo…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

Role models

What does it mean to be a “role model”? A frosh candidate said, in the Miting de Avance (MDA) held last November, that leaders are the “role models for the future”, as people would use their actions as a benchmark for what it means to be right and wrong. It was an admirable answer, and…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

A good time, not a long one

After the Taal Volcano eruption, classes in Manila were suspended for two days. After the suspension was announced, my friends and I were talking about the ash fall in our respective areas. One of my friends, wondering why classes were still suspended, mentioned that the ash fall didn’t seem so bad in Makati as it…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

3,600 hours and counting

“I have over 3,600 hours in Dota 2.” Oftentimes, telling people that I have spent at least 116 days furiously right clicking the mouse on a computer baffles them. My love-hate relationship with the game was rather apparent due to my persistent rambling about it. Those I ramble to might even ask, “Why would anyone…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

The loveliest lies of all

Confidence was never really my strong suit. In seventh grade, the final year before everyone would transition to high school, I transferred to a new school. With the move, I knew no one.  On my first day, I kept to myself while pre-established cliques and friend groups flashed by me. During this time, one of…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

I’m still here

I’m on my fifth year of college; I’m still here. To be frank, it was my own decision. I applied to the LIA-COM program, where two degrees—one under the College of Liberal Arts and the other under the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business—will be completed in a span of five years. I am…

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Opinion

Breathe easy

There are times when even simple tasks feel daunting. A pen poised to write the first word faltering before ink can meet the page. Encroaching deadlines can feel like shadows weighing you down until taking a nap feels like the best course of action. Writer’s block, procrastination, and denial—these are manifestations of the crippling fear…