A Fallacy

Love is a Fallacy. Fallacy means a false idea or a mistake in reasoning. This is a topic introduced to those people who are taking law. A topic in Logic as well. I’ve read the story “Love is a Fallacy” by Max Schuilman. It was a humorous story with all those twists. Unlike stories with “Love” as one of the basis of its topic, meaning the romantic type of love, the story focuses on love as a kind of fallacy, something that’s not at all that romantic type.

At first I didn’t understand the story because it had so many turns. But as I read through, I’ve understood why “Love is a Fallacy”. Thinking of why it was entitled as such, I read the story again and understood its true meaning. Love was a fallacy for that story because the lead character was thinking that he loved the girl yet it was all for personal reason. He just wanted to have the girl because for him, she was fit to become a lawyer’s wife. He thought that by teaching her fallacies, she could be as smart as he is. But like taking a snake for a pet and eventually you get bitten by it, the woman used all the fallacies taught to her in making excuses that she doesn’t love the guy. Should I say, the main character was someone who wanted to have something just because he was going to become a lawyer and that he was already that smart thinking of outwitting his friend.

I liked the story because it somewhat tells us that love can also be a false idea. Sometimes we think that we love that person yet all we feel is ultimately infatuation. Sometimes, we think that we love that person yet all we feel is ultimately friendship. I mean, what’s the basis for true love? According to my former teacher in English, Madam Manlunas, if you love someone then you are ready to give up everything even your own life just for the sake of the person you love. A very hard and meaning full decision isn’t it? But really, it also makes sense. How could you say you love someone if you’re not ready to risk even your own life? Love is a very mind boggling and heart aching experience. In all that’s happening in our lives, we think of love as the romantic type. Love has all types and kinds. There is the love you feel for a friend. You even risk getting scolded by your teacher just because you want to protect your friend. There is also the love you feel for your parents and relatives. Love really has all types of colors like the rainbow.

Love is a fallacy and that’s what I can say for now. Love doesn’t happen that fast. You need to be hurt, to stumble and you also need to learn how to stand up. Love is a step by step process in which you must learn to value things in the way and you need to take one step at a time so you wouldn’t fall off. The story was somekind of confusing but as you read through, you would understand what the author means when he says “Love is a Fallacy”.

Math: A necessity?

Mathematics as we all know came to this world because of those people who wanted to name things by using units of measurement such as meters, pounds and even grams. Math is branch of science that deals with numbers and sometimes variables or letters. It is useful especially in branches of science like chemistry and physics. Geometry is just one of the subjects under math. More importantly, math is a necessity in our everyday life. Without knowing how to do simple arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), it will be easy for other people to trick you especially when you are in the market or in places of business.

Mathematics is considered one of the most difficult subjects in elementary until you go up to college. There are lots of people who gradually fail and eventually take a “back subject” as what we call it in U.P. According to these people, math just squeezes everything that’s in your mind. You need to memorize so many formulas and do so many computations that for us are just hassle. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to do computations and to come up with an answer. Thus, it is mind boggling. And this subject is the student’s worst enemy. But have we, students, ever thought of the advantages of MATH? Well actually, Math is very important especially in our business and trade societies.

For me, the business men are considered to be the people who are very intelligent when it comes to Math. Obviously because when you say business, it means money. And when we say money, we need to be smart or wise in the budget of our expenses. If the business men do not know how to budget, then it will cause the bankruptcy of the corporation. In a business, money comes in and out. The money that’s not being placed into good hands has a very high probability that it will be lost. In tagalong, we say this quote, “Pera na nagging bato pa”. That’s what most importantly makes up a business for the business men to apply their knowledge in Mathematics.

Not only is Math important for business men but also for ordinary people. Like the business men I have mentioned earlier, ordinary people apply their knowledge in Mathematics and use it in their everyday life. For example, you can apply math in the market. You buy something and pay the vendor but you were given the wrong amount. If you do not know how to count your change, then probably the vendor would be pretty much happy because of his extra credit. Advantageous to the vendor’s part, isn’t it? But if you immediately know what is wrong with your change, then you can immediately tell the vendor the mistake you have made.

Math is really a hassle for students like me because of that mind boggling experience when you are taking the test in Math. But these are just stages in our life as students for us to learn how to do computations to be used as entrepreneurs of the future. I know there will be so many students who would say negative things about this post, but read it properly and you’ll know that math, though it is a very difficult subject, has lots of benefits in our lives. And now, Math really is a NECESSITY in our lives.

Explore

Summer. It’s a month from now. We can now feel the intensity of the summer sun because of the state of our weather. From the cold breeze we experienced over the months of September to December, now we experience the cold breeze only near the seashores or maybe high up the mountains.

The Philippines is known for its beautiful beaches and refreshing atmosphere. And during the summer there are very many tourists here in the Philippines. Some of the places where tourists go are Cebu, Boracay, La Union, Subic, Palawan and many more areas in the Philippines with beaches that can cool and refresh us. There are also some tourists who just want to go to quiet places here like in Baguio, Mountain Province and Bukidnon. But have we ever gone to these places? The answer is no. In my own opinion, it is better that we discover our own country first than going outside the country like going to the United States or even European countries like Hungary, England or France.

During my summer vacation before I entered the University of the Philippines, I spent it with my family and relatives in Cagayan de Oro City, Bukidnon and most of all my father’s home town in Misamis Occidental particularly Calamba. During my stay in these places, I found it very enjoyable especially when we went to that waterfall in Cagayan. A very peaceful place indeed. Before arriving to the place where we can see that falls, it spent us plenty of hours before we saw the beauty of the said natural resource. It was not like Kawasan Falls here in Cebu but the beauty and the ambience of the place was very relaxing. Beside the falls was a man- made swimming pool. We were not able to go swimming near the falls because it was drizzling and the water wasn’t clear enough to see the bottom. But what really amazed me was that we were able to climb up the falls. It was a very memorable experience especially when we were at the center. The way up the falls was very slidy and we needed to hold on each other so that we wouldn’t fall. After that very memorable experience in Cagayan, we went to Bukidnon and had very many funny experiences. First, we had to change tires for about maybe two to three times before arriving at Damolog, the last town in Bukidnon near the border line of Cotabato and Bukidnon. We were there over night and the next day, we went to the spring resort where for the first time I was able to ride a cable car. Heheheh. . . . Anyways, it was beautiful there considering that the environment was natural and there were trees all around the place. In my father’s home town in Calamba, Misamis Occidental we were able to rest for about two to five days. We were able to go to the beach and go swimming too in the very clean river near my Lola’s house.

Now you see that there are some places in the Philippines which hasn’t been considered and explored by some tourists. And some of these places aren’t discovered yet by the people in the Philippines. So now, you know that there are still beautiful places in the Philippines not yet discovered and hasn’t reached the eyes of foreign tourists. Before going to other countries why not try and explore the Philippines?

Life’s Art and Canvas. . . . 03/25/07

When creating a “master piece” all you need are sketch pads or even plain paper, pencil, charcoal or watercolor and most important of all, your inspiration. As you come to draw more details on your drawing, it becomes more beautiful. But, beauty doesn’t just stop there. What makes the art work much more attractive is the color you add. The colorful your piece, the much more that people want to look at it. The color of the picture isn’t the only one that can make a picture attractive. Of course, you can’t color anything if there is no drawing. No inspiration, no drawing. As simple as that! But it includes perseverance and patience to find the right inspiration to make that special picture. A picture for me is drawn with love. Without loving your art work, it wouldn’t look presentable and not loving the job would make the piece ugly.

A drawing can be compared to our lives. Without loving people who could be our inspiration, our life would be dull. We have special people in our lives because they are the ones who add richness to who we are. We have friends who we can share moments of laughter and tears. We also have our family or parents who eventually become our role models and stepping stones. And there are special people who we consider sometimes as inspiration in school or at work. And through these people, our lives become much more colorful.

In life, we get to face problems and consequences. Sometimes it has something to do with the way we think for ourselves or the way people look at us. Sometimes we eventually become exhausted and we get tired or painting that certain picture in our lives. But, as what I have said earlier, patience and perseverance are the keys to success. Sometimes, we’d have to take advantage of things and sometimes we need to forgive and forget. It doesn’t matter if we do bad or good things because as mortals and individuals who are not at all perfect, we get to make mistakes. Some people say that mistakes can help a person. Why? Because as we make mistakes, we learn on what is the right thing we should’ve done. For example when taking a test, you cheat on your seatmate’s paper. By being scolded and told on how cheating is bad, we do not do it again and find ways on how we can correct the mistake we have done. Like the art work, we could erase lines which had been drawn incorrectly. And in painting, we could use paint eraser or white watercolor to cover up the excess paint.

Life can be a little too rough on us especially that we are in high school. But you know what? What we are experiencing now is just the start of new problems and challenges in our life. If we connect it in drawing, it’s just the start of making the drawing, meaning, just the first line we have drawn in our canvas. And our canvas in life is very, very big where we could draw more things on it and we could use more inspirations. Life is very colorful and by adding a smile everyday that we live, it just gets better and better.

A Gift from Him

Everyday of my life, we get to meet so many people. And one of the most important is our friends. Friends are made by the Lord, not to become your servants or for you to become their servant, but to be the ones who will take or raise you up everytime you fall. They will be the ones who will be here in every tear that will fall from the windows of your soul, the ones who would be there in the happiest moments of your life and they will be the ones who will see you at that point when you need them the most. At times like today, we cannot really differentiate a true friend. We have friends though but are we sure that they are the ones who will be there and who will be the ones who could see us in the darkest point in our life. There are just some who make friends because of money. There are some because they have done something good to you and they are just waiting for your return. But there are really some who will be there at the DARKEST days or hours in your life. Non other than that, a real friend is still the most loyal and is the one who will disapprove the saying that goes like this: “Your best friend can be your worst enemies”.

I remember the time when our former English teacher was talking about the Analects of Confucius. I cannot remember the exact words that he said but it was really talking about how well you know somebody, which was pertaining to a friend. She asked a few students who their best friends are. A very simple question, you can just pin- point on someone that he or she is your best friend. But, after a student could answer the first question, she asked: “If he or she is really your best friend, do you know why he or she is really like that as a person?” Very simple huh? But nobody, not even the closest of all the closest friends answered this question. That’s what I’m trying to say here, that if you are really friends with someone, he or she will know why you are you. It maybe very ironic or skeptical but this is a philosophy nobody can answer not even Confucius himself.

Can you remember those times you had a fight with your best friend and suddenly you begin hearing from other people about a secret you told him or her? I mean, what kind of friend will do such a stupid act?! It just isn’t right that you tell others other people’s secrets just because you are mad with that person. It’s such a childish act. A TRUE friend for me is someone who would still keep the secret you told him or her even though you get to have misunderstandings. It just isn’t right to do a “revenge” sort of thing that would also hurt the other party’s feelings.

But most importantly, friends are precious gifts from God. That is why, we need to keep REAL friends and back away from those people who we call “FRIENDS” yet when we turn around they say these really nasty things about you. Real friends are those who we could keep in our hearts longer than we ever imagined. They are precious gifts which we should keep inside the treasure box for decades or maybe for hundreds and hundreds of centuries until the day we forget other people but not our friends.

ONLY REMINDS ME OF YOU

C G
I see you, beside me
F
It's only a dream
Am G
A Vision of what used to be
C G
The laughter, the sorrow
F
Pictures in time
Am G
Fading to memories
pre-chorus:
C G F
How could I ever let you go?
Am G
Is it too late to let you know?
Chorus:
C G
I try to run from your side
F
But each place I hide
Am G C
only reminds me of you
G
When i turn out all the lights
F
Even the night
Am G C
only reminds me of you
Verse 2: (use verse 1 chords)
I needed my freedom
That’s what I thought
But I was a fool to believe
My heart lied when you cried
Rivers of tears
But I was too blind to see
pre-chorus:
Everything we’ve been through before
Now it means so much more
Chorus: C G F Am G
play these chords: C G F Am G after chorus
Only you...
Bridge:
C G
So come back to me
F
I'm down on my knees
Am-G
Girl can’t you see...
C G F
How could I ever let you go
Am G C
Is it too late to late to let you know
Chorus: C G F Am G
Am G C
..only reminds me of you..

So Not a UPian. . . .

The school is our home and we cannot deny the fact that this is where our second learning begins. UPians are considered one of the best students here in the Philippines. Once you are called a UPian, everybody thinks that you're that smart already or it's as if you're so good at everything. UPians are the "Iskolar ng Bayan". This simple phrase means that we are actually the ones who receive and use the people's taxes. But like any other schools here in the Philippines, there are all types of students. There are those who belong to the type of students who are quiet. There are some who are very noisy or just plain talkative. there are also those who reflect a bad image for the Univeristy. Never the less, UPians are considered the "smartest" and most "democratic" people. But what makes the UPians gain a bad image?

There are times that we often hear of visitors coming over to our school and sometimes, we get to meet new people. But this is not my point on what U.P students are not. What's the bad side is that sometimes we are last minute people. I agree with this, simply because I myself is a last minute person. Like what happened last March 22,2007 when there were visitors from Guam, it was like everybody wasn't ready for them. I mean it was the only time the students cleaned the campus. Most of all, there were still some parts of the campus which wasn't cleaned yet like the windows in the Physics room.

Another is that U.P. students are considered very high class intellectuals. But we couldn't really deny the fact that UPians can sometimes make our heads ache. Often, there are teachers who just leave exercises for the students to do. Once the teacher is gone, the phrase "When the cat is away, the mouse is at play" is very true. Why? Because once the teacher goes out of the room, it's like it was hit by a tremendous typhoon. A tremendous typhoon because everything changes in an instant. The room gets so noisy that there are some students who cannot actually focus on what they are working on. It's as if after the storm, a market gets into the scene. A market place full of people shouting at each other and making transactions with almost everybody.

As students, we are expected to have the right behavior. But then, there are times that we cannot control ourselves. What I mean is that we can't stop students sometimes from showing "unearthly" behaviors. Meaning, there are times when the students show uncivilized actions such as shouting or doing actions that can take the name of the school into shame. the best thing we students should do is to tell each other or to mind other's actions so that we cannot bring the name of the school to a shame.

As a UPian and a student, there are times that there are bad impressions about us. But what matters most is that we do not put the name of the school into great shame. As UPians, we should be the ones who will become the model for other people. Though there are bad impressions about U.P. students, I am proud to say that as a UPian, there is nothing impossible unless we do our best and study hard for the sake of ourselves and for others. We should prove to everyone that we UPians can bring the nation into good condition.