The World Will Be Watching (The Hunger Games: Movie Review

       Hunger Games Books 

         The series that became the most talked about topic on different social networking sites all around the world, recognized  for its cast and its huge sales on theater, the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was awarded as the"Best Books of the Year" for the million of copies sold worldwide. The "against all odds" story of Hunger Games brought the series to a phenomenal fame.I haven't read the book yet so I can't say what the story is all about. Based on the film that I watched, let me interpret it the way I saw the film.

           The theme of the story is indeed against all odds, but the way I saw the movie, there's more. There's a deep interpretation for what the story of Hunger Games was trying to say. First, it depicted POVERTY. People are really struggling for food so they could survive. Millions of people around the world are suffering and dying because of HUNGER. Second, the film showed how the Class A manipulates Class E (based on the film) It's true! Some elites use their power, money and influence to control and manipulate poor people. Look at how the people in the City behave and what they eat, what they wear, these were all manifestations that they could get whatever they want and to entertain themselves they use the weakness of poor people which is food to add fun to their so called "perfect life" without considering how inhumane it is.

          If you will look on how I interpreted the movie, you will agree with me. Hunger Games is not just to entertain its audience. Let's always analyze the content of the movie and what does the message really implies. Trust me! You will enjoy the film more. :)

Someone's praying for you...

I liked somebody before but this time, I am liking someone at the same time I am praying for him. Everytime I say this to my friends,others don't believe me that one day he'll notice me. But actually it's not about getting him or for him to like me agad naman e. I am praying for this special person because I want God to show me if he is the right person for me to like and sooner or later to love. I am not expecting anything in return as much as possible because I don't want to decide for myself, I want God to decide. But of course, sino ba naman ang hindi gustong magustuhan din siya ng taong gusto niya diba? But when you know that God meant someone for you and believe that He is the author of Love, you will stop looking. You will wait. That is what I am doing right now that's why I am praying for that special someone.

We chat super rare. We talk in text super rare. We see each other super rare. (I used SUPER because it's more than rare but not NEVER, gets? :D) Usually our topic in these conversations were mostly about business not us. Why should we talk about us? He doesn't even know that I like him and I don't want to make the first move. But still, why do I like him? because I believe that nothing is impossible. Though he seems to be almost perfect for me. He's GOD-fearing (he's a Christian) first thing that I looked for a guy, he's a family guy, he's smart, he's hardworking, he's cute and he's simple. When I met him, it was unplanned. He just came. I stringly believe that God has a purpose on everything that He do. We met for a purpose. Whatever it is, I don't know. God can only know, that's why I am praying. God let me to meet this person, I know He has a reason.

If you will ask me what's our status, we're friends but we're not close. That's why I keep on praying that there will come a time that I could know him more and for him to know me more. I want to know what makes him laugh, what makes him laugh, what are he afraid of? What is his favorite food. I really like this guy, I really do. But if it's not on God's plans for me, then I will not pursue my feelings. Actually I don't care if he likes somebody else, I can accept it cause as long as he's happy I will go for it and it's true.

You, if it happens that you are reading this. I want you to know that I am praying for you. You mean a lot to me, though I know that you can't even notice me in that way. I know this is a little bit cliche but you really completes my day everytime I see you online (FB, Twitter and on Skype). I want to thank you for being my inspiration and no matter what, as long as you are happy. I will be here for you. I wish you would know that. May God bless your parents for bringing you here in this world and for your siblings for taking care of you. In God's perfect time and if it's the right time to say to you, I will tell you how much I like you. God bless you! :)

Hanjin ba kamo? Ano ang isyu?

HANJIN workers, narinig mo na ba ang isyu nila? Malamang hindi pa, pero sigurado ako yung iba sainyong nagbabasa nito e napansin na yung pangalan ng Hanjin na nakasulat sa mga malalaking truck lalo na kapag gabi. Tama ka, ang Hanjin ay isang korporasyon na pagma-mayari ng mga Koreano. Ang Hanjin ay tinatagang pang apat sa pinaka malaki at pinaka advance na art shipbuilding facility sa buong mundo na matatagpuan sa Subic Zambales. 

Sa dinami- dami ng lugar, sa Pilipinas pa. E syempre madaling mauto ang mga Pilipino e, sabi nila at mababa ang pasahod sa mga manggagawa. Ano namang meron? Anong isyu? Okay nga yun e, kasi nakakatulong sa pag unlad ng ekonomiya natin yung Hanjin Shipyard. Anong problema? Alam mo ba na halos lahat ng manggagawang Pilipinong namamasukan sa loob ng kumpanyang ito ay  nanggaling pa sa malalayong lugar? Meron sa Visayas, meron galing sa ibang parte ng Mindanao, Hilaga at Timog. Kaya ibig sabihin nun marami talaga ang manggagawang namamasukan dito. Iniwan ang pagsasaka at pangingisda dahil para sa kanila ang kitang makukuha nila sa Hanjin ay mas okay na kaysa manatili sila sa ginagawa nila na seasonal lang. 

Ang mga manggagawa ay sumasailalim sa 6 months na training bago sila maging regular. Okay na sana kaso ang masaklap doon, ibinabawas ng mga Koreanong namamahala sa Hanjin yung bayad nila sa pagkain at paggamit ng mga silid. Napakabait naman talaga noh,pero hindi lang yun. Pag naging regular sila, binibigyan sila ng uniporme, pero sa uri ng trabaho sa loob, hindi uubra ang isa o dalawang uniporme lang, kaso binibigyan lang sila ng bagong uniporme isang beses sa isang taon. Kahit punit- punit na ang kanilang mga damit at sobrang dumi na, wala pa rin pakialam ang mga Koreanong nasa likod ng Hanjin Shipyard.

Napakasipag ng mga Pilipino, biruin mo sa 3 buwan 5 barko ang napapaalis nila. Ganung kabilis at ganun kasipag ang mga manggagawang Pilipino. Kaya siguro ayaw din silang pakawalan ng mga Koreano. Pero pag may mga aksidenteng nangyayari, bagya ng maipadala sa ospital ang mga biktima, parang walang pakeelam ang mga Koreanong ito na nasa likod ng Hanjin Management. At mas malala,  pag may nasawi dahil sa aksidente, minsan hindi pa sinasagot ng Hanjin Management ang bayad sa punerarya. Saan naman kukuha ng pambayad sa ospital at sa pamburol ang pamilya ng mga nasawi, e mahirap na nga sila.

Nakakaranas rin ang mga manggagawa ng pangaabuso o harassment sa loob ng Hanjin. Paano? Binabatuk-batukan sila, tinatadyakan, dinuduraan, sinusuntok at sa huli sasabihin “joke only”. Pero dahil sa kailangang magtimpi ng mga manggagawa, hindi na nila ginagantihan bagkus ay pinapabayaan na lang nila ang mga ito kaysa matanggal sila sa trabaho. Nakakaawa talaga ng mga manggagawang Pilipino sa loob ng korporasyon pero walang magawa ang gobyerno, bakit kamo? E kasi mas mahalaga ang ekonomiya ng bansa kaysa sa kapakanan ng mga Pilipino sa loob. Sabi ni Ka Renante, isang lider ng SAMAHAN at dating manggagawa sa loob, maraming bese na rin na nagpunta si dating pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sa loob ng Hanjin, pero ang sabi lang niya, magpasalamat pa ang mga manggagawa dahil binibigyan sila ng trabaho. 

Kaya naman nabuo ang Friends of Hanjin Workers dahil rin sa pagnanais na mabigyan ng katarungan at maproteksyunan ang mga manggagawang Pilipino sa loob ng Hanjin Shipyard sa Subic Zambales. Napakarami pang isyu ang hindi ko nabanggit sa taas. Sana naman ay mabigyan na ng solusyon ang mga isyung ito ng mga manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng pagbukas ng mga mata ng mga iba pang Pilipino tungkol sa isyu, gumawa ng mga aksyon na pumpoprotesta sa mga maling gawain at pangaabusong ginagawa ng Hanjin management sa mga manggagawang Pilipino, mag hikayat ng mga taong pwedeng tumulong upang maipadala ang kasong ito sa korte suprema upang mabigyan ng hustisya at makapagtrabaho ng ligtas ang mga Pilipino at huli maging parte ng Friends of Hanjin Workers upang mapalakas ang suporta sa mga manggawang Pilipino sa loob ng Hanjin Shipyard.

What’s with the CROSS?

Photo credit: Real Life In Line With God 

For Catholics, Cross is a very sacred and symbolic object because it is what the Roman Catholic Church has taught them. For Christians, it is a manifestation of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Both interpretations are valid and significant. Whether you are a Catholic or Christian, CROSS signifies one thing, the death of Jesus Christ on the Calvary. But there are still some, actually a lot of people, who doesn’t know the real meaning of what the CROSS stands for. During the time of King Darius I, cross was cursed as a punishment for those who have violated laws or disobeyed the orders of the king. Meaning, cross was used to execute people and Romans adopted it as well for noncitizens and slaves. Crucifixion was sentenced to execute the Messiah. But this time it’s different, cross was used to save us from death. Jesus Christ was crucified to cleanse us from our sins and became the bridge so we could humbly come to the Father. According to 1 Peter 2: 24 “Who his own bare our sins in his own body on the cross that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose strips ye were healed”.

God gave His only begotten son (John 3:16) to save us. God became human to save us. Jesus Christ was crucified to save us. Now you’re wondering why? because He loves us so much. Isn’t that amazing? God gave up everything for us and His goodness didn’t stop there. He was raised from the death for us to see that He is the One, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Now, Cross has been the symbol for what God has done for us. We don’t need to become obsessed on the cross just to prove that we are holy but our faith on Jesus Christ is what God is requiring us in able to live an eternal life.

Let us all pray...

Heavenly Father, we humbly bow down to Your presence. We are sinners. We are nothing without You. We thank You for giving up Your life to save us from death. We thank You for Your everlasting love for us. We thank You for giving us a chance to praise You, to follow You and to love You. Thank You for the cross that you’ve used as an instrument that strengthen our faith in You. We want to give you back all the glory and honour through Your son Jesus Christ. We pray, in Jesus name. Amen.

God bless you my brothers and sisters!:D

Letter from the heart (for you)

To my dearest someone,

I know that God has a purpose why I met you. Not just even once but a lot.  I never asked for anything as almost perfect as you are, but still God insisted that we meet on the right time and at the right place. I always pray to God that when that perfect time comes, He’ll give the right person whom I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I’m not saying that my long wait is over because I found you, of course I still have to focus on my studies and career after. But I think God wants to test my faith and challenge if I’m still going to follow His will or my heart. But I believe, God is really a merciful God. He wants me to obey to His will and follow my heart at the same time. He wants me to like the person that He wants for me. Of course, who has the same faith as mine and who will accept me for who I am. I know it’s not easy to be in love but I really don’t want to think about it right now. All I know is that I am happy that I finally met someone who is different from most of the guys that I met, and that is you. Thank you for giving colors to my world and thank you for letting me like you. I just want to express what I am feeling right now. I don’t know what it is yet called but I definitely don’t want this to end. J

Love,

Jojo

How do you define purity?

              According to the dictionary, Purity means freedom from dirt, freedom from evil, innocence and correctness. Words that could be easily understood but so hard to apply. Why? because there are a of people who can easily be deceived on by how the world portray the way it see things, Christians and non- Christians. We are living in wordy world which means temptations are everywhere. We go to church, yes. We pray, yes. We confess, yes. We read the bible, yes. But why do we still experience impurity? Just to clarify things, PURITY is not just about doing the act that cause IMPURITY, it is also based on the way you think and how you process these thoughts on your mind. God not only wants me to act differently; He wants me to think differently --- to view love, purity and singleness from His perspective, to have a new lifestyle and a new attitude. - J. Harris

I admit I became a victim of this sin. I disobey God because of the lustful thoughts that I had. Because of what happened to me in the past, temptations follows me everywhere. Satan tested my faith. There were so many times that I told myself that I want to change this behavior but it took me few years to surrender everything. But the time has come for me to change and see what life God has planned for me. I don't want to stay in darkness and I wanna live life the way God wants me to be. because of this I wanna live a pure and holy life. I shared this because I know there are a lot of youth out there who experienced or experiencing the same thing that I had. Now. let's all pray together and humbly confess our sins.

Heavenly Father,
We humbly bow down to Your presence. Fill us with Your holy spirit oh Lord. Forgive us Father for we have sinned and disobey Your will. Cleanse us Father. We don't want to go back to that shadow which brought us to sin. We want to ask for Your forgiveness oh God. Please Lord fix us and change us. From now on, I will walk with You Lord. I will follow You and will always desire for the life that You want me to have and to be. Thank You Lord for never leaving me. Thank You for loving me. All of these we ask in Your most precious name, we pray. Amen

God bless you my brothers and sisters!:D

I am a WINNER

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 

This Bible verse is what I hold on and still holding on to after the controversial elections that happened. I lost the presidency, that's the big thing that happened. I lost 200 votes. When I heard the news that my opponent won against me, I don't want to believe it at first because I didn't see the official result with my own eyes. But then, when I went to school to confirm, indeed I lost. I texted my family and told them the shocking news. They all told me one thing, "Maybe God has better plans for you". The first people that I shared my tears with were my Student Council family. They comforted me and gave me encouraging words that made me somehow feel better. I told myself that I will not cry but I can't control it. When I think about everything that I will miss as a Student Council officer, it really makes me wanna cry up to now. 

Now I can say and as my mother said to me, "You passed the challenge of God". Instead of blaming God and get mad at Him, I looked at the bright side. God is an all-knowing God, God is a God of purpose. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I know God has bigger and better plans for me, as one of my friends said. When I checked my Facebook that night, I was surprised there were a lot of people who wrote a message for me saying how much they love and support me. That made me cry again. I don't know how to react to these people so instead of answering them back, I just read their messages over and over again feeling overwhelmed. 

The reasons that I think God wants me to realize are first, He wants me to depend on Him and enough relying on my own understanding because God wants me to make more time with Him. Second, God wants me to have a stronger faith in Him and His one way of testing me is when I sacrifice and let go of one thing that I really love. Third, maybe God wants me to use in different ways after I served inside the school. 

I believe God is preparing me for something which is the best for me and I will put my trust in Him. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who gave their full support till the end. May God bless you all! :)

A Fire in the Soul: A Cantata

One of the darkest ages that is written in the Philippine History is also the darkest age for De La Salle College campus on Taft Avenue. On February 12, 1945, it was World War II when the Japanese soldiers invaded the De La Salle College campus on Taft Avenue and attacked people which brought to the death of Twenty-four men, women, and children, and 16 La Salle brothers died in the massacre.

Now, as a commemoration to the historic event of the Lasallian mission, De La Salle University presents A Fire in the Soul: A Cantata. A play created by Gabby Fernandez and directed by Peque Gallaga. The Cantata is one of the highlights of the yearlong centennial celebration of De La Salle University (DLSU) in the Philippines. 

The perfromance will be on February 26 (Sunday - Matinee) at 3pm and February 27 (Monday - Gala Night) at 8pm. Both shows will be held at Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium at the 7th Floor of Don Enrique T. Yuchengco Hall of DLSU. For more information, please call the DLSU Centennial Office at (632) 524-4611 local 290 or email perla.garcia@dlsu.edu.ph.

How do we learn to accept those who are different from us?

I have a friend who opened up her problems and difficulties in going to school facing another day, thinking that she will be bullied by the people she gets along with. People think that she is different and I don’t know why. These people talk behind her back. Laugh at her actions and how she talks. But I never thought that these things will really affect her because she doesn’t say a thing about the behaviour of the people that surrounds her.

Every time I see people judge her for her actions and her physical appearance, I felt sad for these people because they don’t know her and yet they judge her based on what they can only see. Acceptance is lacking and there are two things that explain why. One, because they think that they are worthy enough that’s why they can’t accept that there are other people different from them. Two, they can’t accept their imperfection that’s why they rather judge others and criticize other’s appearance than looking at themselves.

According to the book that I’ve read, “Accepting others may require us to look at people from a different perspective.” “They are just looking but not really seeing”, based on the movie A Cinderella Story. They don’t understand we people, have our own uniqueness and differences. They can’t accept that there are really people who are different from them, which is wrong. We have to accept other’s being indifferent because God created us equal individuals. He wants us to stand out on our own uniqueness not from because we have the same personality and we want the same thing.

The Bible says in Matthew 9: 11- 12, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” they asked his disciples... Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor --- sick people do.” Even Jesus, the Lord, accepted us for what we are. He accepted us even though we’re different from Him, even though we’re sinners. Now, God is telling us to accept and love our brothers and sisters for who they are because we are all created by God and God wants us to love one another. As the Bible says in Romans 15:7,“So accept each other for God has accepted you; then God will be glorified.”

Let us pray...

Almighty Father, we give You praise and thanks. Forgive us Lord because sometimes we judge others without even knowing them. Sorry Lord for being so self- centered and selfish. Help me to accept others for You have accepted me for who I am.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen

The Smile of A Child

Tiendesitas, Taguig

                  Every child has the right to play and have fun. But not every child can afford to enjoy their being kids and own toys. That's why De La Salle University Graduate School, together with Beginnings and Twenty Plus, organized a Benefit Concert for children last Christmas. The Smile of a Child Event was organized to collect toys and funds for children who were victims of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan De Oro. The calamity happened just before the month of Christmas Season so the organizers thought of a project where in they could make hundreds of children smile for Christmas. The event featured OPM bands like Callalily and Bloomfields which added entertainment to the people who watched the show. The benefit concert was a success after getting donations more than the expected. :)