SAF 44: Reflection

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How to be a Good Leader?

What is a leader? Is it someone who orders others around or maybe someone who initiates and inspires others? In your opinion can we consider our current world leaders as a true leader or not? Here are the list of traits that we consider that a good leader should possess. 

Selfless

A selfless leader is someone who has little or no concern for oneself especially with regards to fame, position, money and or any other thing but willing to surrender anything for the sake of others. This trait is essential because selfless leaders must think for the improvement of others rather than the contentment and richness of oneself. 

Good communicator

Communication is the most important key to great leadership being able to explain the goal/plan to your team will lead to success. Remember in communication listening and speaking are both important, good leaders shares their idea at the same time they should listen to their team.  If you want to be successful, leader and members should learn the art to clear communication. To become a great leader is to be a great communicator. 

-        Committed

Commitment is the dedication of someone who works very hard to do something. It is very important for a leader to be committed to their task in order to be successful. Leaders should show to their team that they are committed, should work hard and be a good example for them to be motivated and work hard too.  By proving to your team that you are committed you will earn their trust and respect that will lead to good relationship. 

        Gives Credit 

Giving credit or praising a specific person for his or her job well done is one of the traits that a good leader should possess. Not only does praising boost the confidence of your workers but it also shows that you, as their leader, appreciate the effort that they have exerted in order to achieve that goal and/or outcome. According to Carol Dweck’s research entitled A Study on Praise and Mindsets, she stated that praising someone using the right words helps them focus on a mindset about the growth of their talent so that they won’t disappoint the person who praised them.

-        Inspires People

A good leader does not only work for the sake of monetary reasons and fulfillment but they should also keep in mind that they need to impart their knowledge and inspire the people around them.  As a good leader, it is part of their responsibility to give their fellow workers an overview on how to become an inspirational leader. An example of a leader who inspired the future generations is Nelson Mandela who not only fought against racism and led his people to democracy but he also gave his nation hope in order for them to look forward the future. 

Not only these characteristics help ensure the trust that your workers placed on you, but it also helps you, as an individual to grow with decent traits and values.

-- Collantes, Bryan , Domingo,Micah, Gabayan, Marielle

Dream Girl: Review

A Dream Girl by Carl Sandburg is about a man who longs for the girl in her imagination, he hopes for the girl to come and be with him in a right time and right place with the exact characteristic he imagined. The persona however worries if that day will still come or if they’ll just pass each other just looking into their each one’s eyes. The poem for me is kind of sad, because the persona do not know if the one he loves will love him too or if they will even have a chance to meet each other. He describes her as a girl tender as a dew, sudden as a rain, with a tan skin, has a pose full of grace, with slim but expressive arms and with moods as delicate as the sky. 

The persona loves his dream girl even if she is not perfect and despite the fact that she may not exist, and for me this is a perfect example of a true love. Loving someone you don’t know takes courage because you need to surrender everything like your beliefs emotions and sometimes even your dreams. If only everyone will be as faithful as the persona there would never be sadness, but sometimes we need to experience sadness to be able to recognize true happiness. 

In my opinion his current situation is really hard, because I was once like him. I have always imagined a girl with a smile that would brighten up even the darkest part of my soul, chingky eyes that would make her prettier, and a personality that cheers even the loneliest man. At first, you would not realize time passing by but the moment you encounter her time slows down every second would feel like hours you will treasure every moment you spend with her and capture in your memory her sweet smiles. Love is a feeling that even science can not explain, love is so weird that in comes in different shapes, sizes or colors. You can not also reason out why you love someone because love works in manner that even your own brain can’t decipher. As long as you love someone you will wait for them even if it takes them forever. Love can’t be rushed because loving someone takes time and effort. Loving is not easy, because in love giving is a must without expecting anything in return. True love is so powerful it can even change a person because loving someone means giving them all your best. Meeting your dream girl is not possible but meeting the right girl is. A right girl is obviously not as good as your dream girl but in the end you’ll not even care because you love that girl too much to let go and find someone better. In life we just need to appreciate little things to see their best part.

-- Collantes, Bryan

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

BY CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

Come live with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove,

That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the Rocks,

Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow Rivers to whose falls

Melodious birds sing Madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of Roses

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;

Fair lined slippers for the cold,

With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and Ivy buds,

With Coral clasps and Amber studs:

And if these pleasures may thee move,

Come live with me, and be my love.

The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May-morning:

If these delights thy mind may move,

Then live with me, and be my love.

The passionate shepherd to his love is one of the poems written by Christopher Marlowe, an English dramatist. The poem describes how the shepherd wants the woman to live with him and be his love. The man is willing to give everything just to get the woman; but instead of giving her things money can buy the shepherd offers her gift from nature. The scenery from the rural country is what he offers to make her happy.

Since the poem uses the rural settings the poem is considered a pastoral poem. The poem beautifies the life of a shepherd who bears a hard life in the country side and cannot offer material things like gold, diamonds and jewelries.

The poem shows how passionate the shepherd is. He is excited to tell what he will do or give to the woman if she accepts him as a lover and live with him.

The poem is inspiring, it shows that there is still a man who will do such thing, a man who don't have a lot of money but still offers beautiful things because now a days it's hard to find someone like that. Today courtships are done through text and social networking site unlike in the poem there is personal interaction.

-- Gabayan, Marielle

The Truth about Forever: Review

The Truth about Forever 

by Sarah Dessen

Plot Summary: Macy Queen is a teenage girl whose life only revolves around studying, helping her mother’s work and pleasing her idealist boyfriend.

When her boyfriend, Jason Tabot, went to attend Brain Camp to spend his summer, Macy, on the other hand, was stuck doing library works Jason left her (she’s actually compelled to do it since she did not want to disappoint her boyfriend. Ugh.) together with two coworkers, who are both oozing with hatred and superiority complex, in the morning and working with the Wish Catering – a group of crazy individuals, which consists of consists of Delia, Bert, Kristy, Monica, and Wes, at night.

Wish Catering, most especially Wes, helped her realize that life will not be complete without a dash of chaos. Wes brought out the grief that Macy’s been holding in ever since her father died and because of this Macy felt really grateful, not just for the companionship but also for giving herself a chance to enjoy what being a teenager really is.

Unfortunately, Macy’s mother, Deborah Queen, saw how her once perfect daughter change because of the Wish’s staff that’s why she decided to sever Macy’s ties with the Wish Catering by grounding her for the rest of the summer.

Macy then reverted back to her regular lifestyle which is to study for college, do the normal routine, and help her mother until the night of the grand opening gala for the new townhouses came. The night before the gala is a disaster but eventually, Wish catering came to help and assisted, making the event very successful. Since then, her mother’s view on Wish changed and Macy finally realized certain amount of things like one would not be able to enjoy life without a little bit of disorganization, forever is happening, and She and Wes are totally in love with each other.  

The Truth! : The Truth about Forever is an interesting book to read especially when you, as the reader, are looking for a light romance novel.

It doesn’t actually contain too much cheesy parts but seriously, even the phrase ‘I love you’ brought the Macy, the protagonist, despair when she wrote those three words to Jason (actually when I read that Jason and Macy’s relationship lasted for a year and a half, I was like, ‘Seriously?! Why the heck did you not realize sooner that your relationship isn’t going to work?!’) But still the wheels of fate turned, Macy got the love she deserved from Wes and everybody’s happy, except for Jason that is.

Going back to the topic, the book not only revolves around a girl and a guy going brouhaha over trivial matters but it is also about family. Actually everything started because of what happened in Macy’s family! When her dad died, Macy and the rest of the family members got depressed. Macy got herself a boyfriend which she thought is someone who can organize her life back to normal, her mother, Deborah Queen overworked herself, giving Macy a hard time to release her locked away feelings while her sister, Carolyn Queen, married at an early age which resulted to lack of communication.

Why is it entitled The Truth about Forever? Well if you guessed that it’s related to Wes’ and Macy’s love story, well you are partially right. Actually it was not thoroughly discussed but Kristy, one of Wish’s staff, enlightened Macy about what this forever with the words, “It all depends on how you choose to live it. It’s like forever, always changing.”

-- Domingo, Micah

The Little Match Girl: Review

The Little Match Girl by Jerry Pinkney

This story is about a young girl who was very poor. On the night before the New Year, she was trying to sell matches to people. The merchants or anybody else wouldn't want to buy it. There was nobody there to help her. She was longing the warmth of home but she can't come home because she thinks that her father would beat if he finds out that she hadn't sold any matches and it was also cold in their house because they only had a roof. Many would relate to the character in this story. The people who experienced pain, hunger, loneliness and longing of love and to be loved. 

This story by Hans Christian Andersen was the first story I read as a child that made me feel blessed, lucky, and loved. Many of the children today is experiencing what the main character felt. Especially now that many families around the world are experiencing poverty and not able to provide good shelters for their families, good food and clothes that would protect them from the harsh weather conditions. Feeling cold, in pain, hungry and seeing that there was no one there to help them in any way that they can. This story even though I was an eight year old and don't understand much deeper sense about things that time when I read it, this story opened my eyes. It made me see the truth about society and how not everyone is blessed to be given a warm home that we could always come back to, food to eat when we are hungry, comfortable clothes that would keep us war in cold days and many other primary needs. 

In this story, this little girl had suffered so much that she was willing to come with her grandmother in heaven. It only tells us that we should not be afraid of dying. It is not always terrible and sad. Sometimes, it's also comforting, beautiful and happy. That after everything you've been through, and after a long time of pain and struggle, you get to finally rest with the other loved ones of yours who left earlier than you did. You get to experience an endless happiness. No more pain. No more hunger. No more cold.

You would see here that there is always hope. The author of this book poured a lot of emotions writing this beautiful literary piece. He opened a lot of eyes, taught a lot of minds and touched a lot of hearts with this story. Even if you read it again and again, you would still remember the pain the girl suffered before she was with her grandmother like it was just the first time you've read it. And it always feels like the first time when you felt the comfort when she had already obtained peace.
I would say that this is one of the many favorites i have. Why you say? Because here, even though I have not experienced this kind of hardships in life before, I felt it. I felt sad. I could literally put myself in her shoes and feel how hard she was doing. Living with no love and having to deal with it every waking hour. Or wanting simple things and could not just get it because you can't afford it. All the settings feel so surreal that you could literally feel how cold it was that day when she was selling those matches. This story is a really good story. Thought it is sad, you will realize and contemplate about so many things including life, how blessed and lucky you are nit having to experience with this kind of struggles and hardships. Or if you are experiencing this kind of pain, always keep in mind that there would always be a happy place for you. That somewhere along the bumps in life there is a straight road leading to the light. Where you would always feel happy.

-- Solis, Angela

Much Ado about Nothing: Review

Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare talks about two love stories. One formal romantic relationship between the Governor of Messina’s daughter named Hero and a soldier named Claudio. And another couple who follows the famous quote of “the more you hate, the more you love”. 

The play starts when Don Pedro, prince of Aragon, came back from winning a war against his illegitimate brother, Don John who has now reluctantly joined him. Don Pedro then came to visit Leonato, the Governor of Messina and also brought with him his two officers, Claudio and Benedick. When they arrived, Claudio falls in love with Hero while Benedick and Beatrice, the niece of Leonato, continue their war of witty insults. Later on, Claudio confessed his love to Hero and took her hand in marriage. And so, in one week, they are to be married. And to pass the time before their wedding, the lovers and their friends decided to play a game. They want to get Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love with each other. From the beginning, they both denied that they would ever marry anyone, let alone marry one another. The tricks of their friends worked and so the two did fall in love with each other, secretly. But of course,  a story would be boring if there is no obstacle. And so, Don John, got in the way of happiness of everyone.

He framed Hero by bringing Cladio to watch his companion, Borachio and Margaret, the serving woman of Hero, make love in the darkness of the night through the window. With this, Claudio believed that Hero was unfaithful to him and abandoned her on their wedding day at the altar. And so, Hero’s family members decided to pretend that she died of shock and grief hiding her away while they wait for the truth about her innocence to come to light. After the rejection, Benedick and Beatrice confessed their love to one another. But as they say, no secrets can stay forever a secret. Someone overheard Borachio’s crime and the heads of the local police arrested him. Eventually, Hero was proven innocent and Claudio believing that she is dead, grieves for her. As punishment, Leonato told Claudio that he wants him to marry his “niece”, someone who looked like Hero herself. And so, Claudio goes to church with the other, preparing to marry the masked woman. When Claudio found out that Hero was the woman under the mask, he rejoiced. Then and there, Benedick asked Beatrice for her hand in marriage and after arguing, they agreed. And so, they celebrated their double wedding.

I like this play because it gives so much emotion. May it be 
sad, happy, or heartbreaking. William Shakespeare’s works never fail to bring out the emotions of his readers. This play is also considered one of the best comedies. This story did not have a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet yet it is still as beautiful and this is why I love it,

-- Calma, Kamille

Reading List~!

10 SHORT STORIES

1.How do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning
2. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
3. Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines by Pablo Neruda
4. If you Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
5. Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
6. Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
7. But Not Forgotten by Dorothy Parker
8. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
9. Alone by Edgar Allan Poe
10. A Hero by Sir Robert William

10 SHORT STORIES

1. The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
2. The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
3. The Happy Man by Jonathan Lethem
4. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
5. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
6. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
7. The Man Who did not Believe in Luck by Jerome k. Jerome
8. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
9. We have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirley Jackson
10. The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

5 NOVELS

1. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
2. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
3. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jenniffer E. Smith
4. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
5. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

5 PLAYS

1. Much Ado About Nothing
2. Midsummer Night's Dream
3. Les Miserables
4. The Wizard of Oz
5. Wicked

-- Calma, Kamille, Domingo,Micah, Solis, Angela, Moraga, Michaela

How do I love thee? : Review

How do I love thee? (Sonnet 43)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 – 1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

Sonnet 43 is the most famous poem of Elizabeth Barett-Browning from her book, “Sonnets from the Portuguese”. It is often said that her sonnets are inspired by the relationship of her and her husband. I like this poem for it concretized the idea of love. We see love as an infinite, boundless and abstract thing but through this sonnet, we can see how it can be materialized into almost something tangible.

It started with the verse, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”. She decided to list the things she loves about him and describes them in detail in the following verses.

In the line “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight / For the ends of being and ideal grace.” She explains how her love for him is filling the dimensions of her soul (breadth, depth and height). Even if she could not see how far her soul extends, she is sure that her love is as great as her soul.

”I love thee to the level of every day’s/ Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.” Unlike verses 2-4 which describes her way of love to be very spatial; in verses 5-6 it is very grounded. She illustrates how she loves even the moments of silence, through the day (sun) and night (candle light).

“I love thee freely, as men strive for right/ I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.” In these verses, we can see two contradictory phrases. Men strive for the right through freedom. Because of our freewill, we are given a choice to do what is morally good or not. With her freedom, she loves him and for her that is the right thing to do. She loves him with utmost purity. Her love for him doesn’t require adoration or praise.

In the verses “I love thee with the passion put to use/ In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith”, she traces back the raw emotions she experienced as a child. The passion she holds for her old misery is as intense as how much she loves him. She loves him with a love as strong as a child’s faith; blind yet powerful.

“I love thee with a love I seemed to lose/ With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath/ Smiles, tears, of all my life” She loved him even though she loved other people and they disappointed her. She thought she lost this love to her “lost saints”. She loves him anyway with her whole being, all her sorrows and joys and her past and future. “and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.” And if there is any better way to describe her love for him, it transcends her life on earth. And if God made her choose, it will always be him, even after death.

-- Michaela Moraga

Pope's Messages to the Public

Before Pope Francis departed, he made sure that he engraved numerous messages to the Christian believer's minds and hearts. 

First, Pope Francis said "Real love is opening yourself to the love that wants to come to you." If you open yourself to everyone, even the strangers that comes to your life. We really need to learn how to love yourself in order to love other people. Letting yourself love all the people that come in your life, makes you a better person. 

Second, the pope told the Yolanda survivors that we need to learn how to weep because if don't experience sadness, then we will not be able to grasp the true meaning of happiness. 

Third is that we should learn how to be a beggar. We should know not only to give but also to receive.  We should lower our prides, and learn how to accept the gifts that were given to us by other people because there will always come a time that we will be needing real help from our fellow brothers and sisters.

 Lastly, Pope Francis inspired us, the youth to love one another. We should learn how to help other people. And lastly, Pope Francis asked us to always pray for him. So that he can do all the responsibilities of being a pope. And so he can help and inspire more and more people everyday.

Not only were the local channels participated in delivering news to the public but also the foreign ones namely CNN and BBC. 

CNN focused on how the Pope felt about the children who were abused and exploited. It was said that the Pope’s message included one he’s talked about many times: empathy. John Allen, a reporter from CNN, reported this. While the BBC News focused on the people’s struggle to see the Pope himself and his security. They talked about the devotees’ determination to see the Pope even if it was then raining. And because of the intense rain, the securities, around 25,000 Philippine National Police, were intensified at all venues, to prevent any unforeseen situation that may arise.  Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, a reporter from BBC News, reported this.  

-- Calma, Kamille, Solis, Angela, Collantes, Bryan

Mercy and Compassion

          

  “Mercy and Compassion” These two words are this year’s theme for Pope Francis’ papal visit. The Filipinos had experienced “Pope Francis fever” while the Pope continued to show his mercy and compassion during his 5 days stay in the Philippines.

Pope Francis' visit in our country led to the renewal and strengthening of our faith to God for we believed that seeing him in person will lead us closer God himself. There were many devotees who would go out their way, willing to wait for hours in the rain just to get a glimpse of the Pope. It just shows that no typhoon can wither our faith in God. Seeing the so called "People's Pope" was truly an amazing experience. For the moment you see him, one will be able to forget the pain as well as the struggles that one suffered while waiting for the Pope. Everything’s all worth it once you see his smiling face that is so inspiring and uplifting. His presence makes us feel so special and blessed; an experience called as “Pope Francis effect”.

During Pope Francis’ stay here in Manila, two leading local TV channels namely ABS-CBN and GMA were both tuned in as they made sure that they were connected to the pope’s public activities starting from his festive arrival up to his heart warming departure. Clearly in competition with one another as to who will be able to execute the news better, both ABS-CBN and GMA news reported live via satellite during January 15 to 19, 2015.

One of the most intriguing events during the papal visit was when he visited Tacloban as to where he held his mass and imparted a meaningful message that tugged the heart strings of his listeners. The goal of these two channels is to deliver Pope’s message to the television viewers.  During this event, both GMA and ABS-CBN portrayed the point of view of the hopeless Filipinos who are more than willing to start anew for GMA showed the emotions of the audience while listening to their beloved pope. Thus their cameramen, focused alternately between the pope and the translator, and the audience who were engrossed to the Pope’s words.

It was truly a remarkable experience for us Filipinos to have witnessed the Pope here in our country. Pope Francis has definitely touched our lives during his apostolic visit here. Without a doubt, we proved, not only to Pope Francis, but to everyone that our Catholic faith is unwavering.

-- Domingo, Micah, Moraga Michaela, Gabayan, Marielle