Family at School

During the very early Christmas break we had, I looked for ways so that things will not be boring for me. One of these things is my favorite pastime which is watching animé series. Because of this, I was introduced by a cousin of mine into watching a very beautiful animé entitled “Ouran High School Host Club”. This is about students in a very high class institution wherein only children of very wealthy (and I mean FILTHY RICH) families are allowed to enroll. But of course, there is an exception for special students (like Fujioka Haruhi) who get to have special scholarships in the institution. I loved watching the animé because of the twists in the story and how it becomes very realistic when we apply it in our daily lives. It is a different kind of love story because most of the characters who are involved are male students. It is a comedy- romance- drama sort of T.V. series. This also shows how families must be bonded together like the family they have in the host club.

The president of the club is Tamaki Suou, who acts stupidly but pulls to keep his Host Club "family" together. He views himself as the "dad" and Haruhi as his "daughter" once he discovers her true gender. The vice-president, otherwise known as the "mom" is Kyouya Ootori, takes care of the financial gain and business opportunities related to the club. He is always calm and collected, silently running the club from the shadows, but he is really quite cunning and sly. The Hitachiin brothers - Hikaru and Kaoru - are twins who are always finding ways to have fun in the club whenever they get bored, which is often. They use their "brotherly love" act to attract female customers. They have a tendency of making Tamaki jealous of them and Haruhi. The fifth member is a small student by the name of Mitsukuni "Hunny" (or "Honey" in fansubs) Haninozuka who appears to be the youngest of the members but is actually one of the oldest of the group. He has an excessively cute style which his customers go crazy over. He is a master of martial arts, despite his small appearance and love for anything cute. He is always angry when he is woken up. His cousin, Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka, is the sixth member of the club whose defining quality is that he speaks very little, and always hangs around with Hunny, usually taking him on piggyback. His family has been serving the Haninozukas for centuries. The final member of the club, unlike the others, is in fact a female student named Haruhi Fujioka who stumbled into the club one day by accident. She was initially mistaken for male and seems to have no problems with cross dressing in order to pay off her ¥ 8,000,000 debt to the club. Since her mother died when she was very young, and her dad was always at work to support them, she had grown up to be a very independent young woman.

As the story progresses, you get to meet so many characters like Renge Houshakuji who is their self- proclaimed manageress, Ritsu Kasanoda, who is the son of a yakuza (in English this is what we call gangster) and the super creepy schoolmate (though he is very handsome when he takes his cape off) and president of the nearby Dark Magic Club, Umehito Nekozawa. And lastly, Tamaki’s supposed to be fiancé, Éclair Tonnere (their soon to be marriage was stopped by the Host Club members). I assure all those animé fans that they will like the series because of its twists and turns in the story. This will surely make a big difference to the animé fans out there! www.wikipedia.com

Falling and Giving ……

“Do you know how painful it is to give up on someone
‘Coz you don’t have any choice but to do so?
It’s like falling off on the 22nd floor of a building
. . . And sadly . . . .
You end up alive . . . =’ (”

As I was looking through the quotes in my phone, I found this one strange quote. It’s really painful to know that you just have to give up loving that person because all you could feel from him is ultimately friendship and you don’t have any choice but to do that very stupid thing; giving up. That’s what’s so hard. It’s when you end up being friends with that special someone though you can’t hide your feelings for him or her. But what is really very hard is when you aren’t actually friends! I don’t mean anything like you’re enemies but the fact that you just know each other yet you don’t talk with each other! Do you get my point? I mean, loving someone you know you don’t have any chance is such stupidity. You don’t even talk to each other and yet it still occurs in your mind that you want him or her to notice you.

I have a friend who’s been experiencing these things. She has this kind of special feeling for someone. That special someone doesn’t actually talk to her. It’s as if when they meet at school, or even when they pass by each other, not one single “hello” or even a “hi” is heard between them! My friend just thinks that he is shy or maybe he’s just not in the mood. That’s what’s so weird about guys. You don’t actually know when they are in a good mood or when they have their tantrums. I feel pretty sure that the guy is actually shy because I have met him and both of us don’t even say a single word when we meet. Sure, I can handle that, but not my friend. I feel pity for her. I want to blurt out to the guy how my friend feels because of his weird behaviors. I just can’t pass these things by. That’s why I feel a little bit confused about guys because of their attitude. Now, she wants to give up her feelings for him because of the things he’s been showing her.

Now back to reality. As I was saying, loving can’t be a very easy emotion. Like what the quote just said, making a decision to give up on someone is like falling off the 22nd floor and ending up being alive. Ouch! I can imagine that that would hurt so much. The pain would be unending. But what I can only say about people who love? It’s just that they risk being hurt just to learn. They risk finding someone new and sometimes they finally end up together or they end up being hurt again. Ironic isn’t it? Love for me happens because we want someone to keep and someone to share our lifetime together. We want someone to be there whenever we have problems or someone who we can share sad and happy moments. But one advice from me is that, it’s not bad to love and to get hurt because being hurt is just part of loving. You wouldn’t know how to love deeply and how to hold a relationship longer if you haven’t tried being hurt. The point is that, when loving, you don’t have to actually end up being together. There are times when you need to give up and to start again. < = )

I’ve been posting so many things yet I haven’t introduced my self that much yet. I’m Nneka Joy Lim. I’m currently 13 turning 14 this May 15. My parents are Chuan Ching Lim and Feliciana Lim. Actually my father has a Chinese blood (so do I). I live in a very annoying yet interesting neighborhood. I am the only child in our family. I stand 5’4 and I am taller than my mother.

But before anything else, I will give you a brief description of my family. Actually, we have a very big family tree. First, let’s start with my great grandparents. My great grandfather is Choco Chua and my great grandmother is Cornelia Chua. Just this December my great grandmother finally got her biggest break in her life. She died at the age of 104. Next in line is the best grandmother for all times. My grandmother’s name is Consusa Chua Lim. She lives in our “Ancestral House” in Calamba, Misamis Occidental. Though I haven’t met him, my grandfather is Bing San Lim. Since I was young, I haven’t seen him except in pictures. My father has 6 siblings. The eldest is my auntie Letty. She’s my father’s half sister. She has her own family as well. My other uncles are Jaime Lim, Yonilo Lim, Willie Lim and Fred Lim. You see the difference? My father has the only Chinese name! He gets so annoyed with his name and keeps on telling me that he will change his name (blah, blah, blah).

So, you have known the old people in our family. Next are the youngsters. First are my close cousins. They are Cristine, Kline, Juliene and Cyrus Lim. They have been my playmates (except for Kuya Cyrus ‘coz he is the eldest amongst us and very mature and quiet also). Almost every Saturday, I go to their house just to play with them. Sometimes I even get scolded by y mom ‘coz I don’t go home early. Well, what can we do? I was just a kid back then who wanted to play all day. But what I realize now is that life’s not that easy. It’s just that everything in life was so easy during those times.

I’m really a very optimistic and moody person. Often, I do not speak and I get mad right away. I am also approachable and I often give some advise to other people. I keep problems to myself too and I hide these problems by smiling always. But what’s amazing is that, through my smiles and laughter, I get to hide my problems. I also get to fool other people that I’m happy even though I’m not. I’m not a very quiet person. Often times or maybe always, I am very talkative at school. But what most of my classmates do not know is that I am very quiet at home. I don’t talk too much and I am really very scared of my father especially when he is mad.

Maybe that’s enough of the things you want to know about me. I hope you learned so many things about me that I am not in school. Wish you learned something about me!

KNOW MORE ABOUT ME!

Enough is Enough!

Too much of everything can lead to serious, and I really mean serious problems. Too much love for one another can make you go crazy. Too much drinking can lead to serious Liver cancer. Too much Internet surfing can make you crazy or even lead to serious eye problems. But worst of all, too much eating is way too much!
Most people from the United States of America are obese. There are studies that prove that most of the obese people are those that do not have any work to do and those who do not exercise.

Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality.
Obese, meaning, very, very, very fat. They lie in bed and eat all day not thinking that it would be bad for their health. Aside from eating too much, obesity can happen when a person lacks exercise. Sleeping everyday, or just plain staying at home, not even trying to run or jog outside. Fatty foods are a no- no especially for those people who are in a strict diet. But for a person who is what we call in tagalog as “matakaw” it may really cause obesity. The fats stick to our body organs and become what doctors’ call “High Blood” or “cholesterol”. A no- no for obese people too is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, though something we must have, shouldn’t be taken excessively. It can make you fat especially when you do not exercise.

Being obese doesn’t only mean getting fat. It may lead to serious problems such as heart failure and high blood pressure. You know what’s the worst? You may die because of obesity. I’m no doctor to tell you to stop eating much, but I’m someone who’s trying to make an advice that too many in takes of sugar, fat and carbohydrates, and lack of exercise is going to be a very serious problem.

We see people who are very, very fat and it doesn’t look good actually. They sometimes become the subjects of teasing and that person may lose his or her self-confidence. Especially for girls, it does not look good because you may lose your figure. Obesity can be inherited too. It may come from your grandparents or from a close relative. But one thing is for sure so that you can avoid obesity or excess weight. And that’s regular exercise and a balanced diet to maintain a beautiful figure. Sometimes you could not prevent people from eating especially the Filipinos who really, really love eating.

You see, being fat isn’t really a very shameful thing. If you have confidence and the personality, you wouldn’t feel small anymore. Just raise your head up high and let the world know that you are proud of who you are. And the bottom line is, “Some people like chubby people because they are more caring and are very huggable” (LOL).

Goin’ Techky!

Everything is going techno! The world today is starting to get smaller!! But before you freak out, I don’t really mean it literally. That’s why I said that because of all the technology we have now. Years ago, if we sent letters for example to Luzon, it takes weeks or maybe moths for that letter to be received by the recipient. Now, thanks to the technology we have, letters can be sent through e- mail or electronic mail and can be receive by the recipient in just a few minutes! See how amazing? Another is by the use of cell phones. Because of these, we can call our friends from around the world! Unlike when the cell phone wasn’t invented yet, we needed to write letters or use the telegraph for us to send a message for someone abroad or far from us. Other amazing gadgets invented are the iPods, and MP4s. These things can now either store music or data. Wherever you go, when you need to type reports or send an important e- mail, there’s always a Palm Top or laptop that has easy access to the internet. These gadgets are easy to carry and are very light. Digital Cameras are now widely used throughout the world. Using Digital Cameras you can easily capture important moments or events in life. If you have enemies and you accidentally caught him or her by the camera, you can easily delete the unwanted image caught. You can also edit through the laptops or Personal Computers and print it using a laser printer and A4 photo papers. Gameboys, Dual Screen (DS), and PSP’s on the other hand, give children satisfaction on playing their favorite computer games such as Mario, Naruto, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Metal Slug and many more. They can play with these games even without plugging it in the computer or socket. Robots are now being made in countries like Japan, China and the United States. These are said to help humans in the future (especially in the household chores).

But what’s the big issue through modernization? These modern things may be a very big help to man so that our work will we easier. But then, it may affect the way we live. People may start to forget about their culture, or maybe worst, start being LAZY. Yes, you heard it right. People might get lazy because it will be easier to work with the use of robots. We will be starting to rely on these gadgets. Sometimes, we’ll have to think of ways also so that some of our cultures that we’ve been doing for years to be conserved and protected so that it won’t be erased in the minds of the Filipinos.

Having all these things are not really bad because it can help us in our daily lives. It may help us in a various reasons such as the use of more technological ways in the field of medicine and farming here in the Philippines. Let’s all give our support in modernization and try to protect our culture so that the balance of modernization and culture will remain the same.

Reflections on Being Taught by Students

Learning doesn’t only end in teachers and our parents. We also learn from other students. Sometimes what we learn is good, sometimes bad (LOL). And that is true during the KYSD or Know Your School Day in UP High Cebu. The students are the ones teaching fellow students in specific subject matters such as Math A and B, Social Science, Filipino, English, Chemistry and Biology. During the two day “day off” of the teachers, my fellow students were the ones running the school and teaching their fellow UPians.

I was one of those people who ran the school at that time (actually I was the student assistant principal) and those who taught other students (I was Math A or Advanced Algebra teacher). But most importantly, I was also taught by my co- Benton classmates. I could tell from their actions that they were both nervous and excited.
Sometimes, as I was being taught by my fellow students, I didn’t understand what they were discussing. But there are also times when it’s more fun to have student teachers. I think some of them were just plain nervous maybe because it was their first time to teach their fellow students. But being one of the pupils, I just wished that it was our “Original” teachers who were teaching us because I didn’t get much of what they discussed. It’s okay though. But honestly, I so didn’t get some of the things discussed so I needed the help of other students (like Macky). Well anyway, I thought they also did their best so that we would understand what they were discussing in front. I just observed that some of my classmates were already abusing the student teachers not thinking that the student teachers had somewhat a higher rank than they did during the period. It was the same when we had our real teachers discussing in front. We had seat works and games. As a student, you can’t stop yourself from asking questions related to the discussion by the student teachers. Sometimes it was a hassle especially when the question is out of the topic already. I really find it annoying when someone asks questions too much. The seat works given were easy but I really wanted more challenging examples so that I would’ve understood more. Not that I didn’t like easy questions from them but it was better if they’ve given one or two challenging questions and not rely much on the book they were holding. The room was not the same because of students ho don’t listen to our student teachers. Being their student, I have nothing to say but I did not understand most of the topics they have discussed. But I appreciate their effort in teaching us.

But most importantly, after every discussion, the student teachers were being congratulated by the real teachers. Of course I have thought that it would be better if the teachers were really the ones teaching us so that we would understand more. There are just these times when you don’t really get the matter being discussed because the student teacher doesn’t have much knowledge on what they are discussing. (PEACE to all the student teachers!!!) (^^,)