What is Love?

I was writing a friendster message earlier to somebody that I was kind of "scolding" and trying to impress on her my concept on what is love. Maybe now is not the right time to discuss matters of the heart considering that I still have my last Final Exam tommorrow, but the so many events that happened this past days kind of gave me that "loving feeling" that just tells me to share my thoughts regarding Love.

I will be the first one to admit that I am a HOPELESS ROMANTIC. I believe on things like falling helplessly in love, concepts of soulmate and all other ideas that people will say as "corny" in a sense. Perhaps that is the reason why I can go on all day watching romantic movies from Sassy Girl to Endless Love to Sleepless in Seattle to Romeo and Juliet even the Judy Ann and Rico Yan flicks, to be honest I've seen it all. I realized that in as much as I rarely admit watching these movies and being "kilig" over them, I really am a romantic. Its not because it is just who I am it is because I believe that all things in this world will not be as meaningful and as important if love did not exist. Today, we have come in terms with the reality that the world is not that "loving" to us. We have experiences of people taking advantage of us, other people being victimized by seemingly heartless individuals and others giving us the impression that love might just be an obscure concept created by wise men of long ago. But then I had this thought, if the rest of the world is in chaos and that everyone is totally hating each other and that you're only recourse is to either kill yourself or live in some isolated island all by yourself, does that mean that God has ceased to exist or that God has died? I think most people will answer no, but the irony of it all is that the world has not yet come to that point but people have already started believing that God has ceased to exist. Going back to love, does it follow that since so many people are bieng abused, parents leaving their children, spouses betraying each other and siblings killing each other that love has become extinct? My point is this Love will never cease to exist... PERIOD. Because of this, I will refuse to allow the world to say otherwise. Even if the rest of the world will become some desert full of barbaric nomads ready to devour you by just mere sight, I will continue to believe on the magic of love and try my best to always cultivate it within myself. If we look closer to how the things are happening, we will realize that it is because we have not cultivated love, love has disappeared in our system. Don't you think that it is kind of absurd that we expect people to fail more than motivate them to succeed? We believe that a relationship will fail more than believing that love conquers all? We accept that love is JUST an invention just because we were betrayed by some people, yet we never considered our parents who still say I love you every now and then, a stranger who smiles when you look at them, or even a friend who says thank you for just being yourself. I hope that we think of this things, find love within ourselves, dwell on those things and CULTIVATE IT!!!

So what is love? Love is believing that the world is a beautiful place no matter what is happening simply because every person in it is a loving being and that no amount of corruption, betrayal and all the bad things that are happening can ever change that. Love is within all of us we just have to find it and when we do, we allow it to grow and overflow from within us so that those around will be able to feel it... I forgot it's infectious and I hope you'll be infected :P

Just another blog entry...

I do not know if what I'm feeling is correct, I think I haven't blogged for a while and so even if my mind is still a mess and so far I do not have the slightest idea what to blog about, I just type away confident that in the so many times that I am like this I always come up with something that would at least fall within the category of being sensible.

This is actually the last week of our academics and things did not happen as I expected. There is still no inclination that I am exempting any of my subjects two of which I'm surely taking the final exam. Well at least in Calculus I have always been prepared but with Psychology, I'm really hating the fact that I just missed being exempted by 0.13 points. So little but the damage is so great. Imagine having to recall everything about the human mind so taht I will be able to come up with plausible answers to pass that final exam. But that is the reality and feeling bad about it will not change any of what is real so, I'm just praying that I will remember what I learned. But of course, finals week signals something worth looking forward to-- BREAK!!! Although I am taking so much final exams compared to last semester at least I'm confident that I am going on break. My mind is already having so many thoughts on what to do... this is fun.

By some twist of fate or just sheer luck, the whole Cadet Corps was allowed to go out last Saturday after the Incorporation of Cl 2009. It was funny how Baguio City was suddenly swarmed by cadets. SM Baguio kind of felt like the Post Commisary when all I see are familiar faces, the familiar haircut and the familiar atmosphere of cadets. Cadets can really be so infectious, the whole place was saturated by what is very typical of PMA. When I went inside the moviehouse to watch Batman Begins at first I thought we were all alone, but as soon as my eyes adapted to the darkness, I suddenly noticed so many of my fellow cadets seated comfortably and being treated by the husky voice of the new Batman. Well, noone can really blame us, hearing all this buzz about movies that we were already predisposed to miss and then having this rare chance to see it. I felt a sense of victory in the taxi on the way back to PMA proudly holding my Batman begins Cup, its funny how this little things can make me so happy, or I'm really just shallow? I also had an opportunity to buy the new book of Nicholas Sparks, I think I really need a dose of romance considering that somehow I have been day dreaming a lot. Although the I'm nearing the end of the book as I blog now, I'm just happy. I also had the opportunity to reserve a copy of Harry Potter Book 6 which will come out next month. I'm really so extravagant with books, what can I do I just love reading.

See, nothing really is so exciting about what has happened to my life, but I'm smiling as I relive the things that have happened in the past days. Each day is becoming better for me and I hope this will continue... well life can be exciting if we just look at the right places I think that is what it happening with me..... Anyway I'll just think of something sensible the next time around..... Till then... adios

It's confirmed... I'm an upperclass

One of the greatest triumphs of cadetship is actually passing pleabe year. The moment we earn our first stripe, it becomes the culmination of an exciting year filled with rotment and the beginning of life as a member of the upperclass corps. But then, the reality is in the first few months you are still the lowest mammal since the fourthclass are still in summer camp. Now that Incorporation Day is approaching there seems to be this aura of contentment realizing that at last I'll get the chance to lead people, the fourthclass.

Finally seeing plebes speaking to you in their confused robotic english, seeing them chinning properly and bracing up like hell is some kind of adrenaline rush. You are suddenly nostalgic thinking that you are doing the exact thing about a year ago. You realize that you were victorious and that as a reward you are given the chance to teach those that will come after you how you have overcome the struggle that they are to undertake in the year ahead. I felt a sense of fulfillment finally being able to apply the things that I learned and actually being able to lead young dreamers like me into fulfilling their dreams also. I now have an influence over somebody and that influence is something of a trust, a trust that I will vow to continue the glorious tradition of what it takes to become a true blooded PMAer. I find fulfillment earlier this morning while ironing the uniforms of this young plebes knowing that I am embarking on a journey that will allow me to evaluate whether I am really worthy of the stripe I am wearing. Another cycle has began and I'm hoping that with this new cycle, improvements will be done and that the plebes that are to be incorporated come June 18 will experience a better Philippine Military Academy. Well, we can only hope for the better, I'm crossing my fingers that the mistakes that were previously committed will not be replicated by our class as the tigers of the corps, although this time Tigers that think and Tigers that understand the responsibility set before them.... Well,,, I hope...

Letters and thoughts

I received several messages yesterday. One was a snail mail from a friend in UP and the other was a long friendster message from a friend. Aside from the fact that my friend from UP was implying that Calculus has taken over me and that the subject has sucked all the sense I have, the other friend who sent the friendster message said otherwise. Well sometimes I do not know who to believe. I refuse to believe that Calculus has sucked my sensibility since the reality is I have been blogging a lot lately and so far I do not think that any of my sensibility was lost on my previous entries. And so as I try to compose myself in this blog, I begin to think about letters and its messages.

I have always been fond of letter writing. When I was younger, my mother use to supervise me and my brothers when writing letters to my father and to my grandparents. I think that habit did not leave as I can not remember an event that I did not like writing letters. When my mother was in the States, I practically write to her everything that happens to my life, my crushes, the things that I did and sometimes even when I am angry. I remembered writing a letter when I was so mad at her that I was crying while writing it. Eventually, I decided not to mail that letter as it was too emotional so I just placed in somewhere in my cabinet. A couple of months later I rediscovered this emotional letter and was so amazed with the things that I wrote on that letter. I eventually got around mailing it to my mother and I remembered that she was deeply touched with my honesty on that letter that when she called me up after that she was so emotional and she felt so sorry for causing that feeling to me. And then there was this lady that I met during a National Youth Forum when I was in High School, coming from Dumaguete that was so far from Baguio where she came from, I started exchanging letters with her and eventually that led to a very wonderful friendship. I consider that episode of my life as one of the most memorable and up to now I still smile thinking of that wonderful friendship I had with her. I realized how letters have actually nurtured some of the best relationships I had with other people. One friend once told me that I should keep her letters so that when she becomes great I can sell our correspondence for a huge sum. You know what? I realized that letters become memories just like pictures. When we write a letter to a friend or somebody we have some kind of emotional attachment, we are able to immortalize the feelings through the letters that we write. Somehow the advent of the internet, text messaging and other means that simplify communication has caused letter writing's popularity to decline but then I really believe that nothing beats the pen and the paper plus an honest heart.

I like this particular concept when I am here as a cadet, when the people that I care for are miles away. Having my own cellphone might be the most convenient way to communicate but still nothing beats the personal touch of a carefully written letter. When we write letters we are actually sending a part of ourselves to somebody hoping that the same feeling that we felt will also be felt by the receiver as he or she reads that letter. Being a cadet, somewhat imprisoned in this Fort, the ability to be able to share your deepest sentiments despite the distance is perhaps one of the best fulfillment one can get. I believe that the soul that is reflected on each stroke of hand as a letter is carefully composed. I personally feel that a letter in all its simplicity is the most and perhaps the best way to express oneself, in the end it is the person's heart written on paper.

And so I conclude. Letter writing for me has bridged the gap between people separated by a distance so great. It does not require any explanation because no matter how intricate the world has become it is the human heart that will always be successful even with letters. When the heart speaks and the body follows it becomes a perfect harmony such that whoever hears the music can't help it but to sing or dance along it's familiar tune

They're back

After almost one week, they are finally back. Maybe everything will go back to normal, the usual study periods, the usual academics, I'm beginning to worry about the so many projects that are due in the days to come plus my deficiency in Calculus. At least I already found my ATM and tomorrow I will be mailing a Corps Magazine to someone hahaha... I'm hoping that the stars will be on my side..... Well, I'll write something philosophical the next time around for the meantime, I'm kind of happy and its just something that came out of the blue, maybe seeing my upperclass was the reason, but I really do not know well... at least I'm smiling maybe that's a good sign for the days ahead........