A Letter to My Love by Scot Damier Sandoval

For thy night I saw a beautiful bloom
Though I also see your heavy pain and scars
For I know I have already seen doom
May we see the moon and its lovely stars
Shall we stay as lovers till it's the end
And prove our love can never be broken
The heat of our love even metals bend
Your beautiful bloom made me awaken
I hope I can be with you till it's dawn
But it's really hard to think it shall stop
Because I know you can't accept a pawn
I know that you are really on the top
I can't bear to see you leave, so please stay
Because the two of us can end this play.

Unexpected Love by Grazella Suarez

It's crazy, I did not expect to fall
To fall in for an unexpected man
To whose standards are just but way too tall
As tall as statues that will bend for none
Unexpected smile came to me one night
And that one smile was only meant for you
I hope that this one love is right to fight
Is right thing to fight that this love is true
Showed up in my life as the best surprise
When I think of you my heart always glow
It simply feels like you're my paradise
I love you, more that you can ever know
Unexpected. Love drags to one person
Could be a blessing or our lesson.

Fading Love by Claer Obando

We are in love to each imperfections
Live like no one can ever destroy us
We're walking like strangers for no reason
We're going to the place where our love last
You and I we're going to the place where love can last
You and I were so grateful way back then
We thought walls and barricades were useless
I thought the happy memories wouldn't end
But it ends, why? Because of so much stress
I am wond'ring, why you ask me for space
Yet I know I did all the best for you
For long I've counted these tears in my face
Because I know my heart says I love you
Everyone knows that this love never last
What you did was you put me in your past

A BUTTERFLY'S LETTER TO HIS FLOWER by Scot Damier Sandoval

I love my flower who glows at night
I am a butterfly who roams at dark
I've never seen a light which shines so bright
Even seen from a far my eyes will spark
May you be my first and my very last
O flower, petals which are beautiful
I don't think about your life in the past
Because for they heart which is merciful
Troubles are just life's tests
I hope you understand thy problems
I always try to protect you from pests
Just to see you smile my blood doubles
O beautiful flower, by my bride
So that you shall be the source of my pride

A STORY ABOUT TO BLOOM by Kurt Ponce

The first time my sight laid into your eyes
It's like a garden with the touch of blue
I want to share so me flower flavored pies
Which your taste buds would like a part of you
That moment isn't the very first time
When my self begins to puzzle so wide
Knew that this feeling isn't any crime
Why won't we just relax and take a ride
Then came out the new word defined of bloom
That surely can be only learned by few
Anything isn't just a simple boom
Thus it should go with such feeling that's true
I'm glad to have you in those scenes that spark
'Coz I know our story's about to start

Why love?

WHY LOVE

A Lyric Poem

by Nisha Sokhal

Love? 

What does this word mean? 

Is it something than can be touched or seen? 

Love as they said is when you give something without asking in return. 

Love can`t be explained without someone being hurt. 

Love for me actually is an experience. 

Why experience? 

Experience is a process of doing and seeing things workout.

Love is a length of time someone has to spent doing something. 

Love is repeatable for it has no expiration. 

Love is what god has taught us . 

With love, there can be no poverty. 

Why?

When love is present, people are willing to share what they have .

Love is something that is rendered to other people. 

With the presence of love, hate can no longer exist. 

Love is above all things. 

We can feel love even when we say " I love you" . 

Our parents can give us the ultimate love. 

Why? 

Because they are the ones who can love us perfectly. 

Spread the love.

Overcoming CHALLENGES IN LIFE

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES IN LIFE

An Essay

by Nisha Sokhal

In life, we are always challenged to make many choices. All choices are judged according to their effect on our lives. Everyone has problems or challenges to overcome every day. We have to overcome challenges or problems. No one in this world is without problems however we are always bound to overcome them one way or another.

Growing up is one of those challenges everyone, in time, gets to be face to face with. Imagine those inexplicable emotions which tend to trouble teenagers, not to mention those new experiences that may stress them out. Some deal with them differently and decide that they can’t beat the troubles they feel. It may come to a point that they think it has all been too much and that their life is no longer worth living. When you've reached to this point, always remember that challenges are everywhere and that life is always worth living.

Some days you just don’t feel like getting out of bed or even waking up. It could be that the stress in school is too much or your personal life just isn’t going the way you want. School is a huge stress to everyone, and I want to tell you out that it isn't that difficult if you just focus. Sure thing essays and tests always linger though there is an incredible amount of other distractions in school. But then again, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can get an incredible amount of confidence. Such will relieve the stress in your life because of the gratification it brings. 

It’s like a giant domino effect, one good deed or action can lead to an endless amount of happiness and content. Sometimes you feel like you can’t do it all yourself and that’s where others come into play. When you feel alone there is always someone who loves you and wants to help you succeed. Dealing with personal problems brings too much stress. Life may become too burdensome when your parents care in a bit of a disagreement, when you’re being bullied, or you and your best friend are looking through different glasses. There will always be greener pastures and new friends or even sometimes new parents will walk through those fields. Everything gets better even when it seems like your world is crumbling.

When those guns, pills, or knives stare at you and challenge your fate, just close your eyes and condition yourself that challenges are everywhere but people love you. Mold your life into something special instead of moping around because things aren’t quite going the way you planned. Get back on your horse and make things happen.

THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE: THE NEW TREND by Jegi Nero

Ever since the increased media attention in the US on June 30, 2014, the ALS ice bucket challenge has become the latest trend. The challenge involves dumping a bucket of ice water on someone’s head to promote awareness of the disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and encouraging donations for research. It became the talk of the town.

Everyone talked about it especially in social networks which has increased curiosity among netizens. Its immediate attention has made everyone wanting to try the challenge themselves. Even the most popular celebrities  participated and donated.

The mechanics of  the challenge states that nominated participants are to be filmed while a bucket of ice water is poured on their heads, then they nominate others to do the same. This made the act a trending topic not only in the US but also in other countries. In short, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is spreading all over the world.

Many videos have been uploaded in Facebook, Youtube and the like in just a couple of months. The challenge also says that  nominated participants only has 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donations; but the participant who has done the challenge within 24 hours can still donate for the ALS. This is one reason why the association handling the Ice Bucket Challenge has never been this happy since they have received $100 million and counting.Most of the donations were received from celebrities.

And with that kind of amount, they could do researches and find a cure for the disease, sad to say. 

But here’s the catch, most people do the challenge without mentioning in the video that they should donate money to the association. They did it only for the sake of fun and trend. 

Those who did the challenge ignorantly, have taken away the purpose of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Cold water is poured onto someone's head because the numbness one feels when the water is poured is the same feeling the patients feel.

Sad to say people at times, forget purpose for fun and non-sense.

No one blames you if you're curious just make sure you carry out its purpose. Donate, do not only nominate.

- Photos from Google Images

TEENAGE SUICIDE by Allysha Danielle E. Tadios

                Parents have a major role in their children’s lives – it is to keep them away from harm and danger. But what happens when these parents start to neglect their children? Our present society puts pressure, though unconsciously, to the youth of today to be this or to do that. It is rather hard to keep up with the standards being put up by these adults. Believe it or not, majority of the youth ask themselves, “Am I enough?” or “Did I do something that can satisfy them?” It doesn’t come as a surprise if someday, these teenagers would doubt their parents if they even love and care for them.

                Bombarded with things to do, roles to fulfill and tasks to accomplish, the youth doesn’t know where or what to start. There are those who were born lucky or fed with a silver spoon that they can get whatever they want in just a snap of a finger. But sad to say, we live in a cruel world where most of us couldn’t be as rich as the person owning the biggest shopping mall in the Philippines or be a member of a royal bloodline. An example to this is the suicide of the late Kristel Tejada, a behavioral science freshman from UP-Manila. The reason of her suicide was because she failed to pay her tuition fee amounting 10,000 php. She wasn’t able to comply since her family is struggling as well. Tejada considered that it was her duty to help her family thus her dismissal from school was shattering. According to her suicide not, “I just could not take it anymore.” The hardships encountered by Kristel are common for millions of working class youth. Too much may result to helplessness – but then again, suicide was never a solution. Based on the saying, ‘Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.’ It is a waste for youth to give up so easily just to ‘solve’ a problem which, in any way, it isn’t. Parents have to be with their children especially during hard times since teens, precisely, can’t handle pressure well.

                Media, social media to be exact, is also one of the reasons of teenage suicide. They tend to focus more on ‘how suicide was done’ instead of focusing on prevention. This is relatable to that of the deceased American actor and comedian Robin Williams. Tributes were offered, of course. One of those came from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but what was perhaps intended as a moving act became controversial after the Huffington Post reported that it seemed to be glamorizing the act of suicide could spur imitative behavior among vulnerable individuals. As of today, technology is fast rising making the dissemination of events happening around the world real quick.

                Parents tend to ignore their children’s needs as if it’s nothing. On a separate note, the government has been encouraging youth to consult to adults especially when they have problems. But according to a study, troubled teens find it hard to approach an adult as they were afraid to be judged or simply adults would turn a blind eye on them. The death of Kapamilya actress Julia Buencamino would serve as an example. She didn’t show signs of being suicidal nor problematic but then again, she could’ve shown it elsewhere. And where can she express those thoughts if not through art? Months before her death, she posted her ‘rather depressing’ artwork through a photo-sharing site Instagram. Even after her death, questions remain unanswered as to why she committed suicide. If those adults could’ve known better, would her suicide be prevented? It was nobody’s fault, honestly. She couldn’t be blamed either. Julia was gone already. People around her couldn’t be blamed either. They didn’t see it coming. If only they could understand her, if only they didn’t underestimate her just because she’s a teen, would that change everything? If truly she did live a happy life, why would she commit suicide? Is it because of the demands being brought by showbiz? Or is it because of social media? But what about peer pressure? No one knows exactly why.

                According to Randy Dellosa, teens commit suicide because they feel extremely lonely, desperate and helpless. That is why parents have to do their best to warn, protect and advise their children regarding this matter as most young people lack emotional resilience. They cannot face frustration, rejection or any kind of failure. Thus parents and/or adults should better understand that these young people are more vulnerable that what they thought. They should stop looking at these teens as if they’re actual adults when in reality, they’re young adults. There’s a difference between the two. Adults should also stop comparing their generation to our generation. Both generations have different types of hardships to go through. If they want to avoid the number of suicide cases to increase and to make a troubled teen feel comfortable when approaching them, adults should be gentle. They don’t have to force a kid to tell them his/her problem. In other words, they have to let us, teenagers, know that they’re there to be beside us. In that way, teens will be comfortable talking out their problems to an adult or their parents.

10 TYPES OF PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK by Alyssa Plaza

       Facebook started in 2004 and at that time, people used it occasionally. Eight years later, with almost a billion people on the website, I noticed that some people only used it for specific things and some of those things are practically annoying. I'm looking at you, you FarmVille fudgers.
       Anyway, I categorized these people to what I believed to be the 10 types of people on Facebook. And by the time you're done reading this I guarantee you that you'll find at least one of these types of people in your news feed.

1. The Creeper (A.K.A. The Lurker)
        We may also call these people stalkers! You know those people who never post anything, never like, never comment but they know everything you about you. You'll know who these people are because when you see them in real life and you bring up something you did recently, they'll say, "Oh yeah, I saw that you posted that on Facebook." It gets real awkward.

2.  Over-Poster (A.K.A. The Timeline Rapist)
        These are the people who would like you to know what they're doing every minute no matter ho trivial it is. 'Oh, just ate my morning oatmeal."POST. "Shower, work, gym." POST. "I just took a massive dump and I think I hurt myself." That's annoying. Nobody cares. STAHP.

3. The Status Hijacker
        Have you ever posted something on Facebook to find that the conversation's been completely taken over by somebody else? Either they take it over or they change the subject entirely. They're the same people that'll steal something funny that you posted on your timeline and put it on their own. And everybody knows they didn't come up with it because they're just not clever? I just want to see those and be like, "Hey you, that's what the share button's for!"

4. The Attention Seeker
        These are those people who post those cryptic one-line statuses. They'll post those one-liners like, "I CANT BELIEVE IT! or "EVERYTHING SUCKS RIGHT NOW D:<" And then they'll wait for people to fall for their trap and ask what happened. They never tell the rest of the story. They just let the comments and questions build up to feed their own Narcissism. I feel like those people should just be honest with us and be like, "I'm an attention whole? Like and comment on this post so I can feel better about myself!"

5. The Promoter
        We all have somebody like this in our friend list. He/she is that person who invites you to every single event under the Sun. It's usually somebody in the band who wants you to come to the 500 shows they're playing this week or maybe thy started a group and wants you to join the SAVE THE POLAR BEARS CLUB! And as if the first 20 invites weren't enough, they always send you one more just to be sure.

6. The Game Addict
        We all hate these people. These are the people who play games like FarmVille and flood your newsfeed with useless spam like, "I just planted a FUDGING TREE! Now I better mass send out requests so everyone can plant FUDGING TREES WITH ME!" I'm gonna want those people in with the same people who post their horoscopes all day like you care it's 'their year'.

7. The Preacher
        These are the people who post inspirational quotes or anything related to God, which is OK. Sometimes when we log into Facebook they can make us feel like we're in church.

8. The Drunk
        This one's a personal favorite of mine. These are those people who only post when they go out drinking with their friends and once they're hammered, they flood your newsfeed with drunken statuses and pictures. The most funny thing about these people is if you watch their status the next day, you'll see their statuses from last night before magically disappear one by one. Because you just know they're sitting there with a hangover going, "Delett...Dilittt..."

9. The Anti-Proof Reader
        This is that person who spells so badly on all their statuses that you wonder how they got through Grade School. Punctuation is either misused or non-existent with these people. What blows my mind about these guys is that they often use their cell phones to post on Facebook.... and you have spell-check on that thing so how do you still make mistakes?

10. The Whiner/Drama Queen
        Oh yes. We all know one of these. Every single post with these people is about how life sucks or how it sucks to be them. They find negativity in everything! These people need to understand that Facebook is not their personal therapist. I decided that from now on I'm going to track all the time that I spend reading these people's posts and build them for my time at the end of the week.