"Remembering Rizal" (Narrative)

          Dr. Jose Rizal is our Philippine National Hero. He sacrificed his life for the sake of our country. Not all of us knew what was his life before, even though we all knew that he's our National Hero. But in this essay, we will recall his childhood and his simple heroism.

          When we entered the Assumpta theater, the place where we will watch the stage play entitled: Batang Rizal, cold air immediately embraced us as we walked in. We sat in our designated seat and waited for the play to start. After some time of waiting, the play started. Pupils from the Rizal Elementary school appeared in front of the stage. They were doing some random stuffs until their teacher called their attention. She announced that their Mayor would visit their school to construct the monument of Rizal so they must behave properly. When the mayor arrived, he showed what the monument looked like. During break time, the pupils  played with each other. Some of them are teasing Pepito, one of the naughty boys in their school. While they're playing, they accidentally bumped the monument and it shattered into pieces. They panicked and find a way to solve their problem.

          Pepito was in the library when he found a big book. He read it and then all of a sudden, he was already in the old time of Rizal. He met Jose Rizal in person and they also have the same nicknames. Jose Rizal was often called, Pepe, by her mom and sisters because of his small height. When they became friends, Pepito asked Pepe’s help. They returned to our modern time and Pepe was amazed because their school was named after him. But he got sad when he learned that he will die soon when he’ll grow and got excited when he knew that he would be recognized as a hero. The pupils wanted him to be the replacement of the broken monument but he refused because he said that "a heroism or a popularity of a person can be measured not only through monuments." In their Buwan ng Wika, they just made a statue of a child that symbolizes their unity and teamwork. The mayor forgave them because they confessed the truth to him. He promised that he would not close the school and instead, he will donate more books and room. In the end, they all thanked Pepe and bid their goodbyes to him before he went back to his own time.

          We learned a lot from the play we have watched. I learned that being honest can cause good things and the true meaning of friendship was showed here. Pepito and Kaye were bestfriends but because of some challenges in their lives, they kept a distance with each other. But after some time, they broke the wall that separates them and they brought back the friendship they had before. At the end of the story, they promised each other that they'll never waste their friendship again and they will face and fight the circumstances in life together.

          Based on the play that we have watched, I realized that Jose Rizal had an ordinary childhood experiences just like us. A child who only think of happiness and doesn't know what the future brings. For me, it only means that, everyone can be  a hero like him. That no matter how good or bad experiences you have encountered in your life, you can still renew yourself when you'll grow up. Remembering the life of our National hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, is a good idea because it makes us realize that even you had a simple life, you can be a hero in many possible ways.

Dr. Jose P. Rizal

"Appreciation Of Books" (Process- Analysis)

          Among all the hobbies I enjoy doing, reading a book is the one I love the most. Books are like our friends. They can make us cry, happy, scared, excited, and make us bored but after having these different emotions, you'll still learn to love and appreciate them. There are some tips I can provide for you on how to appreciate the books we read. These steps are not based on studies or from the experts but it's only based from my opinion.

          The first step is to choose a good book based on your interests. There are a lot of genres of books. Before choosing, you must have an idea what kind of genre you like most so that it would be easy to pick a nice book. Do not be attracted with the fancy cover of a book because the contents or the flow of its story can make you get bored if you don't know what is the story all about. If you'll buy it right away, you'll just waste your money. So to avoid experiencing this, go to a shelf where your favorite genre is indicated and read the blurb at the back of the book you chose. If you're buying a new book and you're satisfied with the book, buy it without hesitation. But if you'll just borrow it, grab it immediately and take the next step.

          Picking a proper place is the second step. You must find a place with a nice and peaceful atmosphere to make yourself comfortable. Avoid choosing a place where you can hear some unpleasant sounds that might distract you while reading. You must also consider the people around you. They must be the type of person who would relax and behave to avoid bothering you. For me, the perfect place will be the library or our own room because silence is observed here. Garden is also a good example. You would have a nice feeling when you can smell the fragrance of a flower and feel the fresh breeze of the air while reading. But, it still depends on you what place you want to read as long as you're comfortable and you can focus on what you are reading.

          The third step is to read the book. You must start from the beginning up to the end to know and understand the flow and message of the story. If there are some unfamiliar words, you can consult a dictionary or thesaurus. Avoid skipping some pages because you'll miss the other parts of the story. If you already knew what was going to happen next, you would not feel any excitement anymore. And one more thing, you should imagine that you're one of the characters in the story to make it more realistic.

          After reading the whole story, the last step is to evaluate your feelings and emotions about its contents. Determine whether you enjoyed it or not. You should also ponder what lessons you have learned from the story. Some books might not reach your expectancy or interests but you must not always look at the negative things about that book. Keep in mind that no matter how drab the book contains, you must learn to accept it and be contented with the positive sides to appreciate it more.

          Books can be considered as another useful friend. They must be loved and appreciated also like us, human beings. It's not a thing that you would just throw away or ignore after using it. They must be treasured because it contain precious, priceless lessons and values that are useful and might help us in our daily lives.

LEARN TO LOVE BOOKS

"My own heaven" (Descriptive)

 

            When we’re talking about our favorite place, most of the people prefer the beach, gardens, and forest because of its wonderful and attractive surroundings. But mine is different because when you ask me what’s my favorite place, one thing would automatically appear on my mind: My room.

Well, for most of the people, their room is the place where they can sleep and relax after having a bad or boring day or finished doing a very tiring work. It’s also a place where they can have time with their families. Even though some people that are busy with their work like our parents and having less time with their children, their room is the place where they can still recreate or play with each other. They can watch a television while eating snacks or talk to their children about the happenings in their school. These are the common things we are doing in our rooms.

After school, I would go directly in my room to change. There’s nothing elegant inside of it.  I only have small bed, small table where I’m doing all of my works in school, organized folders and books in my cabinet, my blue guitar that I’m rarely using because of being so much busy in school, my medals and trophies I achieved that were displayed on my table and the big mirror that you would notice first when you will enter my room. I only have simple room containing simple things and owned by a simple person no other than me.

My room is the only place I feel really comfortable. The only place I can do all things I want without the control of other people. The only place I can have fun with myself, talk to myself, reflect and meditate to the things and events that happened today and most of all, unlike other places, It’s the only place I can reveal my true self without doing the expectation of others.

Whenever I’m in this place, it reminds me of a paradise. Other people would think high expectation when talking about paradise. Of course, their paradise would have garden, butterflies; fresh air, beautiful surroundings and they’re with their loved ones. But for me a paradise is having a peaceful atmosphere and surroundings. Sometimes, I may hear noisy sounds or music, yet these sounds can still make me feel relaxed. It can still make my heart dance to the rhythm of the song. It is also a place where you would forget all your problems and do all the things you want to make yourself happy. A place where you would really feel that you’re blessed, you’re special and you’re a beautiful creature of God. And I can feel these things whenever I’m alone in my room.

My room and the things inside of it are only simple but I’m taking care of it. It’s important to me because it’s already a part of me, my true self. Through this place and things, and on how I’m giving importance to it, you would recognize the simple me and my true identity.

PEACEFUL