Kids Nowadays

Today, I was reading the blogs of a few of my friends. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. But I noticed something: Us kids are getting more and more aware of the world around us.

One friend of mine wrote about PEACE, and how our world is far from achieving it. And, in my opinion, almost all of the other problems we have in the world fall under the lack of PEACE. Problems such as corruption, discrimination, poverty and violence [just to name a few].

I know that there are a lot of skeptics out there who might be saying "The world's a big place, there's peace everywhere!" or maybe, "That war in Iran? That's only ONE war. Name me 5 wars that occured in the past 5 years THEN I'll be worried." Believe me people, WE NEED TO ACT TODAY.

If you don't believe me, take a look at this:

Just A FEW Of The Problems That Our World Faces

1. Corruption
Being a Filipino, I know all about this. Who cares if I'm just almost 13, corruption is EVERYWHERE. In my country, our people is divided into 3 groups: the rich, the fortunate, and the poor. And just so you can picture how corrupt it is in the Philippines: the way the money goes around is one way. The rich just get richer and richer, and the poor just get poorer and poorer. And that's just in the Philippines. The rest of the world has its own corrupt issues as well. In countries, political leaders bribing and stealing, and sometimes even killing. In offices, the smart yet less-fortunate workers lose their jobs to the less-smart but very-fortunate ones. I'm sure you can even name some forms of corruption in your schools or neighborhoods.

Cor-rup-tion - n. 1. impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle 2. inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means

Corruption is everywhere. Whether it's about money, or popularity, or whatever, it's everywhere.

2. Discrimination
Racism, sexism, ethnicism and even hairism, if you want to get really specific. They are all forms of discrimination. People are killed and marginalized and looked down on like trash just because of where they're from, or how they look, or what their religion is. Another friend of mine talked about the movie "Freedom Writers", just another example of people are getting more and more aware of discrimination.

Is there really any reason to discriminate others? People, we are all human beings. We all have feelings. We have minds that think, and hearts that beat. We were all created by one superior being we call our God. If we look at the palms of our hands, are they not all the same color?

Think about it.

3. Poverty
More and more people end up on the streets everyday. More children with no futures are born into poor families every second. This is happening all over the world. In the Philippines alone, 80% of the estimated 91 million population is in poverty. And a part of that 80% are children. "The youth is our future." What future do we then face...?

A lot of us are thinking... Why don't they just get jobs? Corruption. Why don't other people help them? Discrimination. Why don't they try to help themselves with the projects the government offers? Because they feel they can provide for themselves, even when the answer is right in front of them.

4. Violence
War, murder and even just small cat-fights between classmates, they are all forms of violence. A lot of video games portray real fighting scenes and war set-ups. Guess what? Your little brother has been playing with it.
A lot of people don't realize how serious the problem of violence is becoming. Why? Because it's become a part of everyday life. Seeing a 5 year old kid kick his younger sibling is just as common as seeing water in the toilet.

We cannot be ignorant to how the youth is growing up - and that is with violence all around them.


Us kids are the future. What we are right now is what our world faces. And right now, we know what's going on. We know what needs to be changed.
Question: What can we do?
Answer: Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Let's act today.

Take care you guys, and may God be with you. :)

Love your neighbor as yourself. --Mark 12:31

Reading

I'm back, bloggie. I've missed you. I'm sor - no, it's not another website, it's jus - I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You wouldn't want me to fill you up with boring stuff, would you? There, there, I'm not losing my touch. Things will be fine. Lookie, I have a new entry already! Now, there's the smile I've missed. :)

[forgive me, my blog is just a bit sensitive. She doesn't like it when I "forget" to post. She has issues.]

I'll admit it: I'm a bookworm. I just love books. Especially fantasy and realistic fiction... and maybe sci-fi too. But that's aside from the point. I just don't understand how somebody can hate dislike reading.

Let's do a sanity check. [refer to previous blog entry if this is all unclear to you]

Why Reading Is So Likeable (And No, That's Not A Typo)

1. It's a great way to get rid of boredom.
If you have the right kind of book, reading can be a great way to kill* time. I remember that when I was reading the 5th Harry Potter book (props to Ms. Rowling), I started reading at around 2 in the afternoon, and ended at 5 pm. Gosh that was a good book. But, yeah, there's my point. If you're stuck at home, ripping your hair out 'cause you're bored to the extent of being willing to watch grass grow, don't watch grass grow. That's just too weird. Grab a book. Your hair will thank you.

2. It takes you to different places, into different dimensions, into different people's lives. You get it.
Great authors, such as J.K. Rowling, James Patterson, Lois Lowry and Andrew Clements know how to take their readers into their characters' setting. That's technically speaking. And fortunately, I'm not technical. Technical people talk extremely boringly and deeply. I am more.... Free-versed. Yeah, whatever. :)) So in free-versed terms, amazing authors just completely make you WANT to read their books because they're just so amazingly interesting. Let's say.... James Patterson decided to turn Star Wars into a book. While reading it, you can feel yourself as Anakin Skywalker. You can feel yourself flying in a trooper, and kicking clone butt. That's just how great of an author Mr. Patterson is. *bows in reverence*

3. It gives your imagination wings, and your hands a mind of their own.
In boring technical terms, reading develops our writing skills and our capabilities to imagine. Props again to Mr. Patterson for helping me hone my book-writing skills. ;)

4. Your teachers and parents will appreciate your love for reading.
Adults just love seeing kids read. I don't know why, but they do. Oh, wait, let me ask my dad.

Nicah: Why do adults like seeing kids read?
Dad: Because... Reading is... Fun - damental.

...Don't mind him, he's only 20 percent adult. Too bad it only shows when he gets mad. :| Anyway, adults just like it. And if you're already an adult (thanks for reading my blog, by the way :D), reading just makes you feel good about yourself.

5. It's a good excuse for staying up late at night.
For those night owls who just can't sleep at night, reading's a good way to spend your restless nights. ;) As simple as that.


I'm sure there are more reasons. But I can't name them all. Much too many. ;) You guys... Just try it out. Maybe a lot of people dislike reading 'cause they haven't exactly given it a chance because they think it's dorky or something... but seriously, it's not. I bet even Brad Pitt reads. :P And consider yourselves extremely blessed, because a lot of people can't even read. It's a gift that you should take advantage of and put to use in the best of ways.

So just take the chance to read while you still have good eyesight, and while the good books are still on the shelves. And if you STILL don't like it, oh well. At least you tried. ;)

God bless you guys. Take care. :)

P.S. I love Maximum Ride. That's a good book to read. :D By, of course, Mr. James Patterson.

*psycho music starts playing

Blogging

You know what, I don't really understand the main purpose of blogging. So today, I'm going to make a list of the possible purposes. As a great teacher once said, "Making lists is a way of making sure you're still sane." I'm living proof of this. Yeah, right.

Purposes of Blogging

1. To let strangers friends into your personal life.
It's always good to keep your friends updated on what's happening in your ever-eventful life (especially for us almost teens). Especially if your friends are in the states or something. So I guess that's one good use for blogs. But beware people. Stalkers and hackers lurk these webs. *evil laugh* Honestly.

2. A form of self-expression.
Sometimes, us human beings *ahem ahem* just want to rant about our awful day and let everything out. And that's just another purpose of the blog. It's much more "hi-tech" than keeping a journal, and let's face it, who REALLY wants to spend time writing in an old notebook with any old pen when you can use a fancy LCD monitor and a keyboard? That's right, nobody does. :))

3. To get into the "in" crowd.
This might sound like a lame reason, but it's true. Blogging is becoming sort of a "fad", if I may say so. What kind of person sits around enjoying writing in any old journal while all her friends are on Blogger, or Multiply? Some strangely weird person, that's who (not that there's anything wrong with strangely weird people. Hehe).

4. To speak your mind out without revealing your identity.
The truth must be revealed: a lot of people trash their enemies (and sometimes, friends) through their blogs. And what's extremely convenient for them is that it's very easy to lie on the Internet about your identity and such. I bet you've read the word !@#! and ?&*#$ way too many times on the Internet. Alright, so this might not be a very NICE feature of blogs, but hey, it's MY list. >:)

5. To get rid of boredom.
Must I say more? :D


...So I've come to the conclusion that blogs are just something every person has a use for. Honestly. So get a blog today. *wink*

Eww. I sound like an ad. :))

God bless you guys, take care!

1st Day Hype

The 1st day of Grade 7. Wow. The whole day is sort of too long to tell about, so here's a list of things I like and don't like about grade 7. So far, at least.

Pros

1. Air-conditioned classrooms.
Okay, so this is one very good thing about being the grade school seniors. We get the best building with the air-cons. :))

2. My homeroom advicer is Ms. Capule. :>
Those studying in my school already know who she is. ;) She's only one of the most awesome, most hilarious, most amazing teachers in Miriam. PLUS, she was my math teacher last year, so we're tight. *does hiphop thingy*

3. My seatmate is Camille. ^_^
Camille is a very close friend of mine. :> I'm so glad she's my seatmate. We're gonna make so much noise. :))

4. Good teachers. ;)
As far as I know, at least. ;)

5. Our class color is BLUE. :>
Meaning our Phy. Ed. shirt is blue. :> Just like our jogging pants. :)) But at least it's blue! A very cool color. ;) And, blue is lke... Our signature color. :)) Well, obviously.

6. My classmates are real funny and nice. :D
Just to name a few.... Alitha! Wooh! Camille [as mentioned above]. :> Miki [aka Mister Bean]. Gabin. :D An old friend. Well, there, we're going to have a blast. ;)

7. We have batch night. :>
When we can party all night long. :D

8. My class number is 31.
Hehehehe. :)

Cons

1. The rest of the school that isn't air-conditioned, it's friggin' hot. :|
Every second out of the classroom is sweat. Sweat. Sweat.

2. We're on the 4th floor. :|
Our legs will be uber muscular at the end of the year. :))

3. More rules.
Self-explanatory. :|

4. I'm away from SO MANY of the friends I said I wished I would become classmates with. :(
Sigh. Christine. Basia. Mateh. Kat. Kirsten. :( Oh well, at least Camille and Gabin are in Tagbanua (my section) with me. :D And, I'm sure I'll make even MORE friends. ;)

5. More work, less play.
It may sound harsh, but it's true. Need to manage time. :( Bye bye everyday YM and blogging.

So there you go. What I've learned/discovered about 7th grade so far. :D More to come.

God bless you guys, take care. :)

7th Grade

Yes. Tomorrow, June 14 year two-o-o-seven, I become a "sevvie", a 7th grader, a kid in grade 7.

Am I scared? Maybe a a little bit.
Am I worried? Just slightly.
Am I excited? Definitely.

The first two grades of middle school (5th and 6th grades) were good, I guess. They were GREAT, actually. I had good friends, good teachers, and pretty much everything about it was good. Except of course the occasional slip up of forgetting a project or assignment at home. And the small [and sometimes BIG] fights I had with my friends. Overall, though, middle school has so far been great. :)

But from what I've heard, I think 7th grade will be even better. ;) Us sevvies will be the SENIORS of the grade school. Every 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grader will look up to us [in theory]. Then of course, the preparations for graduation.

*squeals* I'm going to graduate! :) All those years have hard labor are finally going to pay off. :)

Anyway, even if the lessons and teachers *ahem* will be deadly tougher, I'm sure Grade 7 will be a blast. :) And if it won't be, I'll still get through. Heh. Heh. Hehe. :D

Anyway, I need to go prepare for school tomorrow. 7th grade, ya know? ;) I'll see you guys later.

God bless, take care. :)

Writing

As a lot of people know, I'm a dictator writer. :)

I used to be a JI Snoop [junior writers for a major newspaper in the Philippines]. But my term ended last year. XD
Won an essay writing contest in 6th grade. :)
Was in the the top 25 for the Readers' Digest Philippine Pen Awards 2007. :)

Anyway, I love writing. It's one of my 3 passions. Ever since I discovered I could write ^well, it's been something I love doing. Poems, essays, stories, whatever.

So, anyway, I've been writing this book. Basically, I want to let everyone know what a teen's life is really like. The ups and the downs. The pros and the cons. You get it. ;) So I came up with the characters, the plot, everything.

As of now, I'm only at chapter 5, but I'm getting along well. :) And, I've drawn a couple of the characters. As seen above.

In college, I plan to take up journalism. And literature. In my working days, I'll strive for a good job in a leading newspaper or magazine. One day, you will see my name on a book about teenage life.

But for now, I'll stick to my little blogs. I'll stick to the masterpieces I store in my computer. Then, everything will come out to show my talent. :)

Every night, I thank God for the talent He's given me. :) I thank Him for my hands to hold a pen, my brain to think up ideas, and my heart that has the passion to write. :)

God bless you guys! Take care. :)

First Post

Okay, so this is my first entry. :)

I'd just like to say some things.

I'm a very happy, not emo, energetic, almost 13, Christian girl.

Hehehe. :)

As you read my future posts about my life and such, I hope you're touched. :D

Take care, God bless. :)