Isang Mapagpalayang Bagong Taon sa Lahat!

2012 BACKTRACKS

1.  First time I made my hair blonde.

Blonde hair for the whole month of August! 

2.  First time I traveled abroad.

[Inset] My pose together with a friend as we are going to board at ANA Airlines bound to Tokyo, Japan

3.  First time I was not included in an honorific scholarship in college.

4.  First time I joined a search for Mr. DSS.

This was the craziest experience. I'm on pressure! Nevertheless, this never ended.

5.  First time I visited my mother’s hometown in Panglao, Bohol.

[Inset] A pose with my mother outside the ancestral house.

6.  First time I sang in a videoke bar.

How to welcome 12-12-12? A videoke experience will suffice that. The picture was taken on December 12, 2012 at 12:12 past midnight.

7.  First time I joined a Grand Reunion with my first time seen relatives.

Together with my cousins! :) 

8.  First time I'm in a serious relationship.

For the mean time, I want us to stay away from public recognition as we are both public figures. Time really has a say. 

9.  First time I went to the campuses of UP Los Banos, UP Diliman, and UP Manila.

10.First time I traveled via land trip to Manila vice versa.

11.First time I rode a bump car.

Star City bump car! 

12.First time I attended Simbang Gabi in Tacloban City.

13.First time I ate a lamb’s meat.

Lamb's meat is ...stretchy? :)

14.First time we were robbed inside our boarding house.

15.First time I touched a snow.

16.First time I rode in a cable car.

17.First time I got addicted to coffee.

18. First time I traveled via Shinkansen or publicly known as bullet train

19. First time I used LRT in traveling from Taguig to UP Diliman.

20. First time I took a peek in the Senate's Budget Hearing among Philippine Senators.

Before we witness the Senate Budget Hearing, I took the opportunity to sit on a desk inside the Senate Museum Hall.

An Interpretation to Rizal’s Poem Entitled “To the Filipino Youth”

What was Rizal's wish for the Filipino youths? What do Filipino youths need to possess according to Rizal? Did he hope for the youths to be genius or brave? These main questions seek to investigate  the reasons for Dr. Jose P. Rizal in writing his popular poem, "A La Juventud Filipina".

Jose Rizal was 18 years old when he wrote the prize-winning poem, A La Juventud Filipina, an immortal poem which is so much cherished by every Filipinos, especially the youths. What does this poem tell about?

The poem’s theme, “Grow, O Timid Flower”, simply shows persuasion. To ‘grow’ sounds compelling from Rizal who always wanted to make everyone rise amid the cruelty that dominates under the leadership of Spain. Using the word ‘timid’, he described the Filipino youths of his age as cowards who learn nothing but submit themselves to wills of the Spaniards. Definitely, Rizal wrote the poem out from disappointment. No matter what, he still sees the hope for every Filipinos. Like a flower opening from its overnight closure, he expected the youths to grow and shine.

Rizal mentioned “Spaniard’s holy land” and “crown’s resplendent band” in the 4^th stanza of his poem showing good attributes to the Spaniards. These words were chosen to balance his thoughts of criticizing them in the 3rd stanza, where Spaniards put "chains" to every Filipinos. Rizal called to untie the chains and prevail the youths' “spirit free”.

In the poem, he advocated for rising and waking up.  Did Rizal ever think of arm struggle? Though he wanted to make Filipinos spread around the flame, go for the sacred fire, and use one’s divine voice, Rizal was seemingly unclear about his specific moves to save the country. As we all know about him, Rizal neither introduced arm struggle or a bloody revolution to claim for victory. Instead, he advocated for an immortal strength, one that must use his intellect.

All of Rizal’s dreams to the Filipino youths are simply a replica to what he has done throughout his life. He was more bias towards using one’s own intelligence to fight against the flaming zone created by the Spaniards. He even portrayed a pen as mightier than a sword. On the 8^th stanza, he even wanted to transform the clear accent of every Filipinos, which is the voice of freedom of every Filipinos, to a magical art using a brush that is to be simply portrayed on a canvas.

Simply speaking, Rizal wants to communicate the means of making peaceful process to achieve freedom. This is an immortal messaged directed to the present and the future. It is imperative that we must fulfill our responsibilities as we use our skills, knowledge, talent, and strength in advancing our country.

Today, we are called to fight for what is good for the Philippines. Let us not waste the words of Rizal. We,Filipino youths, must identify our niche and maximize our knowledge and skills in our chosen fields. Let us continue working for the advancement of the Philippines.