No moral hypocrisy intended

Must I admit, I initially thought Social Psychology was boring, but my five-month-long experience proved otherwise. To me, Social Psychology is the most interesting subject I’ve for the semester, and Sir Paul didn’t fail in showing me how amusing and [strongly] socially-defined the world is. The entire course provided me a deeper understanding of others, and most importantly, of myself. Not all the time we get a detailed explanation of the reasons behind our actions, and rarely do we get to internalize aspects of our personality and attitudes. The topic helped determine my social identity, and in this time of experiment and confusion, it is satisfying to know you are being guided by such information.

Perhaps my favorite topic (out of the 11 really looooong chapters) is Attraction and Intimacy. Love being [I guess] the greatest feeling in this world, I find no reason not to consider this interesting. I think I’m at a point in my life where relationships – be the mutual ones or friendships – are of vital importance, and knowing exactly how a Psychologist should handle them was of great help. It lead me to value even more those around me, and also guided me in choosing the people I want to be part of my life. Like what I said, the world we live in is strongly defined by those around us. The way we act, the way we think, and the way we feel are all shaped by others. And knowing the kind of people I should surround myself with guarantees me that the right path is what I’m taking.

I didn’t want this course to be over with, but I don’t want to repeat the subject (Hah!). However, like enduring relationships, all good things come to an end. Guess we have to move on to a bigger step towards the fulfillment of our dreams  – and I hope we all do (no failures, please!) – but the learning doesn’t stop here. In the coming years, I will try [hard] not to forget the things I was taught, and I will continue wading through our social thinking, social influences, and social relations even outside the classroom and beyond our books.

All words are meant with no moral hypocrisy intended. Thank you Sir Paul, really. :)

Never, never, never quit

When Louise informed me of the tentative election results, my initial reaction wasn’t shock – it was more of numbness and it was a strange feeling must I say. I kept denying the fact that this could be the end of my dream. Then came the moment I realized it was pain I have inside – I would’ve cried in front of the class have I not controlled myself. I tried to act normal, not ‘cause of feelings of shame over what just happened (after all, it’s gonna be out in the open), but because I am not yet ready for the huge wave of sympathy coming my way. It’s going to make the pain worse, or so I thought.

To get away from everybody, I turned my mobile off, stopped tweeting, and locked myself in a room together with my laptop and Social Psychology book. I decided to study. But in the middle of reviewing, I cried. It was undeniably hard to keep myself focused with other things when all I want to do is spend the night shedding tears, or somnolently detaching. I reached for the nearest uplifting book: the Bible. I looked for a verse that, in a way, I can consider as God’s answer to my prayers. After quite plenty of pages turned, my eyes got tired. Perhaps, it’s the really, really small font that made my visual system retreat from its search, or maybe God wants me to find the answer within myself. I lit up a candle and took a moment to reflect -- the process was too long I almost fell asleep, but in the end, it served its purpose. When done, I was able to collect the pieces of my heart that was shattered. And that’s when I found my inner strength: my faith.

I realized that I shouldn’t give up, I shall believe. There will always be humps that will shake up my life, but I’m for sure God will always be there come the time I stumble and fall. After all, I took in mind what I learned from past heartaches: life is no smooth-sailing; there will always be hurdles to cross, roadblocks to conquer, and setbacks from which to recover. Before anyone gets the chance to victory, they must first learn the art of losing, and find the beauty in it. I know I have two options: to stay at this low point I am right now, or pick myself up, dust off my knees, and continue fighting. I will stand up and take the entire experience as part of my growth as a person. Cliché as it sounds, but a [hopefully] bigger door is still being made, and soon enough, it will be open for me. For the meantime, I’ll stick to my belief, that He always has his reasons for putting us in difficult situations. And these bumps? These actually make the journey to success even more interesting, because it sharpens us through learning.

To end this entry, I will borrow a four-word quote by Winston Churchill: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER QUIT. The fight isn’t over, let’s keep going, shall we?

 

Mind, Body, and Soul Exercise

It was a weekend well spent, must I say.

I was surprised, actually, that I woke up on my own without the sound of my most-of-the-time-useless alarm; perhaps it's the drive to help. (Doesn't sound like me.. at all.) Thanks to Bourne Legacy's shooting, the road was clear, and tada, I arrived earlier than the call time. Being Filipinos, we left an hour later, but arrived at Rizal just as scheduled. By the time we got there, the kids were already at the Function Hall, all set for the fun day ahead of 'em.. and us. It felt so good to see how the kids' faces lit up when they saw our bus. They gave as flowers us part of the welcoming ceremony, and oh what a delight to be hugged by those tiny, cute hands. Being a child-friendly person, you can't imagine how elated I was.

The first thing we did was Bible Study with Sister Julom, followed by a story telling courtesy of Lowell, and finally, the most interesting part of the day.... Outdoor games!! We played agawan-base, badminton, and I mostly stayed with the boys because there was this cute kid who became my closest buddy and asked me to be his partner. :"> Aww, isn't he sweet?

Right after playing, the kids, together with some parents, had merienda. There was this little boy who kept poking me, asking for water. I felt *how do I put it in a right way* pity over the kid 'cause he really really looked tired, with clothes worn out and wounds all over. So I went inside our bus, took my bottled water, placed it in a plastic cup and had him drink I even gave him my Marie. It wasn't my intention to brag. But this incident made me realize how blessed I am. That moment, I thought to myself, here's a kid who doesn't eat enough, compared to me who wastes food from fancy restaurants. I wish I could do more, probably, given the enough resources I would extend my help. But I'm just a student, also trying to recover with every day's crisis. My hope is with the rest the of the world who has all the resources: HELP.  Even in your own little way. Even just for a day. It makes a BIG difference.