As one of my professors in Psychology bid farewell to end the term, he reminded the class that mental health problems affect all of us and it should be okay to talk about it. As that thought slowly sunk in, what surprised me was the honesty he had and the guts it took to admit […]
As I write this column, at the back of my head, a tiny voice repeats the same words that are written on a resignation letter I just submitted. A few weeks ago, I found myself ranting nonstop to my brother about this job where I’d start the day with a bowl of being unappreciated for […]
It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the Philippines. Last May 23, firefights and clashes between the Philippine government and Maute troops erupted in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, after failed attempts by the military to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was reported to have been in the city. The death toll […]
The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently unveiled their new campaign slogan last June 12, with the tagline “Experience the Philippines”. To set things off, DOT released an advertisement entitled “Sights”, which features a Japanese retiree who visits several spots in the Philippines. The ad later reveals the retiree to be blind, saying, “You don’t have […]
I never thought that I would be writing a column about anime; however, as the art form consistently gets rejected and belittled despite the growing number of beautiful pieces, I can’t help but try to reach out to people to give it a chance. Usually, when I tell people that I watch anime—unless I’m speaking […]
Last April 4, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit the province of Batangas, and tremors were felt in Metro Manila and the rest of the southern part of Luzon island. A series of aftershocks that would continue throughout the next four days was capped with more powerful twin earthquakes that hit the same province on April […]
It’s been said before: End call-out culture. I’m sure we’ve all witnessed this trend online, where when you find a post that sounds wrong when you read it, you proceed to share or retweet it for more of your friends to see. You probably add a piece of your mind to that repost too, so […]
Imagine this: a daughter, coming home to the province, on board the bus, stuck on the highway. A trip that should have taken 2 hours at most has stretched 15 minutes past, then 30. Her phone rings, and she awakens from her nap. It’s her mother on the other end. “Did you feel that?” the […]
As I was going down SJ Walk today, I passed by a poster that had the following quote by Boona Mohammad, a male Canadian poet: Beauty without modesty is like a conversation without honesty. I just had to stop and stare because I didn’t understand the analogy at all. Now, modesty can mean numerous things. […]
My family went to Tokyo, Japan for the holidays, and one of the most striking things I noticed during my stay there was the way the Japanese daily commute looked like, something I got to observe as we used the subway to get around the city. Whenever a train would pull into the subway station, […]