What Life Should Be

What Life Should Be

By: Joanne Christine H. Mocay

Everyone was given a special gift called life. Some give importance to it while others are not. Life is the sequence of physical and experiences that make up the existence of an individual. It is a period from birth to death. As stated on that definition of life, it was us who has the choice whether we give meaning to our existence or not.

I remember when my instructor in Values Education once said, “Living is different from existing.” He explains that living is simply waking up in the morning, eating your breakfast, lunch and dinner then sleep without doing anything different. Living is just a daily routine which means nothing has change and we are not doing something to attain development. On the other hand, existing means making our life meaningful or we give meaning to it. This implicates that a lot of people were just living and they don’t exist. People who really exist are those who do their best and give effort in everything they do such as, those who keep on sending resume to different agencies to get a job, those who are applying for scholarships to uplift their education, those who are keeping their dignity and respect for themselves despite of circumstances and to those who believes that life is priceless.

            Some people do not see the value of their lives that is why they waste, neglect or even kill it. Some do not care about their health which is an important element of life. They smoke cigarettes which damages their lungs. They drink liquors which damage their kidneys and to some extent, others use prohibited drugs which damages their whole body and sometimes the way to death. Others kill themselves because they are broken and stressed which suggests that they do not see the beauty of life.

            It is true that we only live once and everything will face death but it is not as easy as that because even if life is short, everyone (including me) was given a “free will” and with that span of life, we can do something special in between. We do not know the exact date and time of our last breathe that is why we should live life to its fullest by doing the best that we can.

            Let us always remember that life is a precious gift from God so we must give value to it. Do not let others be our hindrance in finding our meanings of life. Instead, make a stand and make a change for the better then afterwards let us ask ourselves, living or existing?

Only God Can Judge Us

Only God Can Judge Us

By: Joanne Christine Mocay

The saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is already considered as a cliché but its message was still significant and essential nowadays in reminding people not to judge or discriminate other people.

It was very hard to remove the attitude of being judgmental and discriminating. Most of us judge and sometimes stereotype other people by their physical appearance and disabilities without thinking first what if I was them. Everyone is unique on their own way so let us try to put ourselves on their situation so that we can understand their feelings also.  Judging people can lower their self-confidence and self-worth. They have the possibility to downgrade themselves which can give stress to their part.

We cannot accept the fact that we only remember mistakes and shortcomings while the positive sides and correct ones are mostly forgotten. In a quiz or in an exam, we frequently forget the correct answers but we always remember the mistakes. Suppose you got 99 correct answers on a 100 points exam, the item you will never forget the most would be that one item where you got the wrong answer right? We can reflect from this example that, we always disregard the good things a person did and destroys them for their one mistake.

Deny it or not but we are fun of judging other people by looking only on the outside and not on the inside. We should not destroy, judge and discriminate our fellow man for us to boost up ourselves and look good to other people because in God’s eyes, we are all the same and we all have equal rights. Instead, we should help each other to uplift one’s status and have the aim not to be a hindrance for one’s success.

Don’t judge a book by its cover because like humans, you don’t know what stories they have on the inside and what struggles they have gone through. Let us always remember that, “only God can judge us” and we are not Him to judge other people.

Love and Beloved

Love and Beloved

By: Joanne Christine Mocay

            Few days from now will be Valentine’s Day- a day connoted to love and romance. For me, Valentine’s Day is not just a time to prepare for a date and gift giving but it is a time to remember the sweet memories of lovers on those past years and how it started.

            It was late in the afternoon of February 14, 2012 when I was on my biology class and my instructor was lecturing about sources particularly citing of sources on the internet when researching or making an assignment. Meanwhile, a knock on the door echoed on the four sides of the room. When our instructor opened the door, I cannot explain my feelings because whom I saw was my suitor holding three red roses. Our teacher asked who he was looking for and he uttered my first name. I don’t know how I feel that time but honestly, I was slightly irritated and shy because I don’t expect that to happen. But there’s a feeling I cannot explain- my heart beats so fast. Our teacher asked who was that he was looking for (he doesn’t recognize me because he knows me by my second name and not the first). My classmates looked at me and say, uyyyy..I bow down because my face was blushing and my ears got hotter. Our teacher smiled and my seatmates teased me.

            My suitor went to the line where I am seated and gave me the flowers. At first, I doubt because of mixed emotions whether to accept it or not but in the end, I accepted it. Just imagine yourself when you’re in my situation that time, maybe you will feel the same too.

            It was already late in the evening on the same day when he was accompanying me home.  I gave him a small bookmark which I already made few days before Valentine’s Day. Before that story of mine came into action, I’ve already decided to answer him on February 14 which was Valentine’s Day without me knowing that something memorable will happen- him giving roses to me in the classroom.

            Maybe you are wondering what was written on that bookmark, it was my answer to him. Yes, finally after three months of courting, I answered him. As he read those words written on it, his lips begun to curve and he asked me for a hug. And from that day on, we are considered as couples. This coming February 14, 2014 would be our second anniversary as lovers and what I learned on those past years of being committed was, “When you love, expect yourself to be hurt and to cry because those are parts of it, without it you will never see how strong and steadfast you are.” Let us reflect from the line of Bride for Rent, one of the best movies of the year, which says, “Love and Beloved.”

A Mother’s Love

A Mother’s Love

By: Joanne Christine Mocay

When I was just a kid, I washed the dishes if my mother would give money. I am very happy when she gives me money but if not, I get tantrums and never talked to her for one day. I also remember when I volunteered to wash our clothes for me to be able to play afterwards with my neighbors and friends. My mother always told me that I’ll be back home after 4 o’clock in the afternoon and do not go on faraway places because I might be lost.

            Often times I do a lot of things and didn’t even notice that those clothes I thought I washed are not that clean that is why my mom washed it again without telling me in order for me not to be hurt. What I just knew then was, I helped my mother on some of the household chores which made me happy and feel useful and generous in some way. At the same time, I can play with my friends outside the house and do anything I want. Every time I get wounded due to playing, my mother was my doctor. She picks up green leaves in our backyard, scratch it on a stone and apply it on my wound which makes me feel better. A lollipop can stop me from crying and a simple hug from her will keep me still and calm. My mother always told me that if we commit mistakes and they get angry, it doesn’t mean that they don’t love us but it’s the vice versa. They get mad for the thing we did but not to us who did it. It was like the saying from the bible which states that, “God hates the sins but not the sinners.” It was just a lesson for children not to repeat the bad thing they did.

            As I grew older I noticed that parents do not whip anymore their children when they have mistaken or sins because according to them, we are now old to be punished and we already know what is good and what is bad unlike when we were still young and innocent. Sometimes I also ask myself, can I live without her? My answer is always no. We need love- not only an intimate one but especially a mother’s love. Do we love our parents? Of course we do that is why we should not waste our time with useless things instead, give a time to thank them for existing in this world and giving us a beautiful life. Always remember, things pass by but a mother’s love lasts forever.

Validate First

Validate First

By: Joanne Christine Mocay

When I was young, I told myself that I don’t want to be a policewoman. It’s because of the thought that I might die early because of the duties policemen need to comply, battles they need to conquer and bad people they need to catch.

As I enter college, I have decided to took Mass Communication as my course because I want my name to be written as a by line on a newspaper, be heard on the radio and to be watched on the television. This was the course connected to my dreams and media-related. I came to realized that it was not only in being a policemen or policewoman where I take my life at risk. Instead, being a journalist or media practitioner is more detrimental because what lies ahead is my credibility and trust of the people.

I remembered one situation somewhere in Pangasinan which happened before last month, it was wherein a journalist reported news about a disease and stated that this was a dangerous skin-eating and was transferable. This affected the people, tourists and others who want to visit and have their vacation on the said place. On the other day, a doctor clarified to the public that this skin disease was not transferable. With this, the credibility and trustworthiness of the public to that reporter decreases if not totally destroyed.

We can view from this that with only one mistake or wrong information we report can affect our whole life especially our career. Let us relate this to a quote which states, “Trust is like a paper, once it is crumpled it can never be straightly perfect again” which obviously states the meaning.

Nonetheless, as an aspiring media practitioner in the future, let us not acquire the “kuryente” jargon of journalists. It was a term used to describe a situation wherein a reporter immediately report or broadcast an information he/she have just heard from other people or colleagues without validating first it is true or false just to have fresh news. Validating is very important because in here you have to authenticate your sources if what they have told you is factual or not.

I always remember this phase from one of my supervisors in my internship and I want to share it with you, he said, “when in doubt, don’t”. Just imagine yourself on a narrow cliff, just one wrong move and you’re dead.