Can't believe I survived second sem

I am so glad I was able to survive this sem. I'm thankful that all the hard work that I put in, especially during the finals period. I know I can still do better, and that's my goal for the next school year. I have to put in 2x the effort since I have BioSoc duties to balance with my academics now.

On a side note, I'm still shocked that the highest grade in my roster belongs to Track and Field HAHAHA

Keep Dreaming.

My 19th

So yesterday, I celebrated my 19th birthday. So lemme just roll out how it went.

I woke up.

I heard mass.

I had breakfast with my dad (my sisters still had school).

I watched the new episode of Once Upon A Time.

I went to church for a meeting with my acolyte group.

I had dinner at Tender Bob's.

I watched Oz: The Great and Powerful with the fam.

The day was okay, I guess. I've had worse. I've had better. I just don't think I'll be able to remember this day in, let's say, 20 years.

I'd love it if I got a surprise party. I don't know, it's just something that I've always wanted. The mystery and the shock you'd get to find out you had one. It'd be priceless. 

Though I don't think I should expect anything like this in the years to come *sigh*

Keep Dreaming.

Measuring the Academic Year in teachers [Part 1]

Now that the year has ended, I decided to give my opinion on the different teachers I had this year, whether or not they were memorable.

Professor # 1

One of the first profs I met in UST. This teacher is like watching beige paint dry: boring as hell. I seriously swear it's like he/she doesn't even have a personality. Well, I'm sure he/she has one, it's just very boring. It's not that I'm hating on this teacher, whoever, I felt it very boring to focus in this class because his/her voice was very monotonous. I swear, once I tried to record the class so I could make notes afterwards. It would've worked, except I wanted to sleep while re-listening to the lecture. And I'm still pissed that this teacher gave my group a low score on one of the major requirements for that class. I swear, we deserved a better grade because our output was more creative than everything else that I saw. Also, this teacher said that they wouldn't be around in the next semester for consultation, yet I constantly saw them around.

Professors # 2 and # 3

I had these professors work hand in hand for this particular class. When the semester began, I didn't really care for these two. I found them to be very, yet again, boring. But as the semester continued, I can honestly say that I grew to love these two. There were some times were I felt bored during their class, and there were times were I felt they were being a little to harsh on us, but overall, they were nice people.

Professor # 4

I loved this next prof. First off, he/she was a great teacher. I really understood the class and was really motivated to do my homework and study. More importantly, this prof was funny as fuck. Whether it was making fun of other people, or just being sarcastic as fuck, I really appreciated his/her sense of humor.

Professor # 5

This prof was really annoying. I hated his/her hair, and the fact that it always looked wet. The way they spoke english was annoying as well because it felt very forced. But I will admit this, I found that the class he/she taught was very easy. I don't know if it's because the tests were easy, the topics were easy, or because I've been succeeding in this class since high school. But on a good note, I think that this prof seemed more like a class moderator than our actual mod. I think it's because we met this prof more often, she usually checked up on us, and reminded us on different requirements and announcements around the college and the university.

Professor # 6

This prof was really adorable. I think it's because of the age. He/she was really nice and friendly and approachable in and out of the classroom. However, the class was very boring. As in I would sometimes doze off and when I'd wake up, it'd still be his/her class. And I'm still bitter that the very long assignment he/she gave us was only considered 10 points, considering it covered  almost 10 chapters.

Professor # 7

Hands down, this one was my all time favorite prof for the first semester. This was one was the coolest I might ever have. Aaminin ko na ngayon na lalaki siya. He's literally like a brother to a lot of us, especially considering that he's a new teacher. Smart, cool, pogi,I'd love to have a prof like him every year (every sem nga kung kaya eh hahaha). He's down with talking about personal stuff (like his girlfriend) and even video games! And it's cool na medjo may pagkamanyak rin siya hahaha! But not like the pedo manyak, the funny manyak.

Professor # 8

Ugh. One word. Boring. I literally felt like his/her voice was some kind of rape drug, meant to put us to sleep. I'm not even gonna go into the details of how boring the class and prof were. Let's just say that the prof is a nice person in and out of class, although he/she never fails to comment on my weight :|

Professor # 9

Last one for this entry! I've had this prof for both semesters. Turns out this one was also prof to my dad when he was in bio years ago. During the first sem, I really could not stand this prof. I mean, up to now, but for some reason he/she's kinder than he/she was before. I swear, ever since we gave him/her pizza, he/she's always been in a good mood towards us.

Keep Dreaming.

Change your world, change your mind

"This is the beginning, the beginning! This is the beginning of the rest of your life!"

- RuPaul

This academic year was full of ups and downs. Good times and bad times. As a matter of fact, when it [the academic year] began, I was a bit doubtful about the decision I made; whether or not I made the right choice in transferring from the Ateneo to the University of Santo Tomas. As this school year is nearing it's end, I've made my verdict. Moving from Katipunan to Espana was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I'll admit that I was hesitant that I wasn't so confident in myself and my decision to transfer last June. During the first few days of school, I'll admit I had a hard time making friends. In fact, during the first few days of school, I spent the breaks by myself. I usually just bought food from the carpark and sat down and ate, praying that the break would end soon so that classes would resume, which would mean that I'd get to go home soon. It reminded me of the scene from Mean Girls, where Lindsay Lohan sat in the bathroom during her lunch break because she had no one to eat lunch with on the first day of school.

I'm just thankful that there were people there who somewhat recognized me from our facebook group. I'm glad I was able to talk to them and prevented me from being a loner on the first day of classes. While this continued on for the next few days, I'm glad that I was finally able to make a group of friends that I hung out with.

Later on, as the months progressed, I slowly started coming out of my shell. No longer was I the quite boy from Ateneo who sat by himself on the first day of school. I slowly morphed into this loud, outgoing, confident young man who owned the world.

Also, I was able to establish my own set of friends. At first, it started out as a group of individuals who sat together and whined and bitched and moaned and talked smack about anything and everything under the sun. Though, as the days past, we slowly grew up. Soon, it just became a small set of friends that I felt safe and comfortable around.

Cabana Crowd [03.08.2013]

Also, I kind felt lonely in my group of friends, mainly because I was the only guy in there. Luckily, I was able to establish my own set of bros. My own set of manyaks that I can be myself 100% of the time. If it wasn't for them, I don't know where I'd be able to release all of the tension I have, especially since I'm used to an all boys environment. With them, I get to be loud, rambunctious, crazy and all that shit that I'm used to from hanging out with boys 24/7. And I can easily open up to them. I mean, yeah, I do the same with the Cabana girls, but there are just some things I can talk about with the boys that I couldn't with the girls.

The Chikinini Gang (w/o Dan)! (L-R: Me, Louis, Raf, and Rex) [02.28.13]

With Dan at his surprise 17th birthday dinner! [11.21.12]

The chikinini gang! [11.21.12]

This year also marked several firsts, but the one that stood out to me most was just recent. For those who follow my blog, in my last post I was pleading for you guys to vote for me and my party #TatakBio for this year's Executive Board of the Biology Society. Well, the results just came out yesterday. It turns out that I won :) and so did a lot of the members in my party. This was the first time that I decided to run at a higher level (I'm used to running in class, but never anything for my batch, let alone the ENTIRE biology community). I'm honored, but I know I have big shoes to fill, and an even bigger responsibility. Not only am I part of the executive board of the ENTIRE biology community, but I am the school's OFFICIAL representative to the BMAP or Biology Majors Alliance of the Philippines. God, that is some pressure. To represent your entire school to an alliance of the bio majors in the country, that's insane. But it is a duty that I am proud and honored to have.

Anyways, this school year has been amazing so far. I've met so many new people, made new friends, experienced new things and I've grown so much since March of 2012. I think if I were given the chance to go back in time, and talk to HS me, the biggest piece of advice I can give him is that there is Life beyond Ateneo. There are so many things I would've never experienced and so many people that I would've never been able to meet if I didn't leave. It's like being an artist or a performer. Playing it safe will not take you to that next level. It's all about taking a risk, taking a chance, making a change and breakaway.

Keep Dreaming.