The LaSallianI am often haunted with the singular thought that if I knew then what I know now, how would things be different? This mixture of regret and curiosity stems from the month of May. I have gone through five first days and each time brings me back to when all this was still new to…
There is something wrong with immersions. It is difficult to point out what exactly it is – it could be from the preconceived goals it sets out, or from the execution, or from the follow through (or lack thereof), or perhaps it stems from somewhere else.
OJT or On the Job Training is one of the last challenges a college student will have to face before getting that sweet, sweet diploma. Let’s face it, no matter how much you ready yourself for your future career, even with the help of your many cramming nights, “terror” professors, and unhelpful group mates,…
We Filipinos are sensitive people. However we try to disagree, a very influential part of our culture is our inherited compliance to implicit, unnamed rules. Think about it – isn’t utang na loob an unwritten law? Nonetheless, to even think of not conforming to it produces drastic consequences in the form of sama ng loob…
Cream does not always rise to the top. In certain cases and specific situations, the material that floats above the rest is of little value and unimportant. Every once in awhile, we experience this media phenomenon wherein no matter what direction we look, we find ourselves staring at the same story. This happens in both…
“So, ano na plano mo after graduation?” asked my grandpa across the dinner table, and immediately the room turned to listen to a confident answer as to what brilliant plans their eventual graduate had for that “bright” future. Like clockwork, from all those times this question had been presented to me, I mutter with a…
A habitual early riser, a Chinese-Waray matriarch, a forever octogenarian, she is none other than my tai ma, or my paternal grandmother’s (ama’s) mother. Normally, in the Chinese family structure, a tai ma is a name reserved for one’s paternal grandfather’s (angkong’s) mother. However, I did not get to meet my angkong’s mother, so the…
The unspoken rule in keeping cultured: choose indie — or at least, the lesser known. For example, between the mainstream theater and local film festivals, the latter is the obvious choice. And it is with good reason — art here thrives in small and exclusive spaces like competitions, exhibits, and holes-in-the-walls. I held on to…
“The more you rush, the more you are delayed” this native Moroccan proverb haunts me whenever I’m engulfed with fast decision making. With the rush of a decision, comes the punishment of its consequences. These challenges present themselves at the most awkward circumstances and surviving the given due to certain decisions has been the spotlight…
Last year, I had the privilege of attending an advanced screening of Brillante Mendoza’s Captive, a film about the 2001 Abu Sayyaf kidnapping in Palawan. The event happened in the hospitality of his home, complete with food and drinks, entirely free of charge. After the film, despite being in the middle of shooting his next…