For the Future

One month and a week in Cebu for my board exams review and I am more than happy to be back with a purpose – and that is to fulfill my dream of becoming a registered physical therapist.

The past weeks had been very grueling since examinations are given from time to time and I have been hearing about the stiff competition in the upcoming board exams. I really need to stop worrying about the competition but rather focus in improving my statistics. 

However, there are days when I badly needed the motivation – so I made myself a motivation card! 

It basically contains my main goal – the four-letter initials I need after my name, and the rest are biblical verses for motivation and the songs I listen to whenever I study. It's kinda weird but I need every means I can get in order to build self-motivation because external gratification no longer motivates me. I need to work deeper and I need to utilize what I'm good at. 

For studying techniques, flashcards seem to work on me. I just write and draw important information in index cards and flip on them when I have spare time, plus they are really handy. I also learn better when I'm jotting down information, win-win situation for me.

And lastly, an aphorism I made: fangirl hard, study harder because what better way to motivate myself than by making myself believe that I can both fangirl and study at the same time?! Probably on a 5:95 ratio.

Rio 2016 Olympics Crush

Source: www.ncaa.com

It's Olympic season and here, I find myself crushing on a 22-year-old foil fencer, who happens to be very exceptional at his sport. 

The story here was during another boring weekend afternoon with my sister and I browsing through the channels hosting the Rio 2016 Olympics when we both came across a duel between a Russian and a British fencer. Fencing was never an interesting sport for me. I did find it interesting when I saw Lindsey Lohan sparring herself (or not) in The Parent Trap when I was eight though.

I was engrossed with Kruse's and Safin's bout that I actually watched all throughout the latter's bronze win. A little while later, Darth Vader's iconic theme song the Imperial March started playing and two notably appealing fencers came into view (I have to hand it to Garozzo, he is darn straight handsome but Alex's charm won me over because hell yeah I am a sucker for Asian beauties).

So I stayed through the whole game and was a bit sad when Garozzo won the gold. Alex's posture says much of his dismay to a very close step for the gold, but hey, a silver's not bad either especially since it was a very long time since the USA had won a medal in foil fencing. By this time around, I was pretty much obsessed with this cute guy. I needed to know more about a certain Alexander Massialas - and I thank modern technology and social media for it.

With my superb (if I say so myself) fangirl stalking skills, I have found quite a few informative stuff about him: the basics, his history as an athlete and I actually found an interest in fencing! Lucky for me he still had an event coming up: the Men's Foil Team with Gerek Meinhardt, Miles Chamley-Watson and Race Imboden where they'll be vying for the bronze with the Italian Foil Team. I was heartbroken during the exact time it was supposed to air in my country because there was no channel hosting it; I was literally bawling on the floor while my sister had it filmed on her phone whilst laughing uncontrollably, jerk. Luckily, there was a replay of the game, and on a Saturday!

I was jittery the whole time I watched the replay even when I already knew they got the bronze. I know, weird. But I couldn't explain the rush of adrenaline even when I was only seated comfortably and not even remotely moving a muscle, eyes concentrated on the television screen. 

Fast forward to present time, I only get minimal updates from him because he rarely updates his social media accounts (not very friendly to a fangirl) but a true blue fangirl must have her resources, so I am depending my updates from his team mate and friend, Race Imboden, who happens to be a very reliable source of Alex's whereabouts (I used to be very judge-y about Instagram stories but this is currently giving me life! Thank you Instagram! Though I still very much love Snapchat, teehee).

After Graduation: Now What?

For starters, I'm here in front of my computer, trying to compose a decent article for my blog that has been completely barren for the most part of the year. I have just finished downloading and printing 2/3 of the practice questions our instructor sent us yesterday for advance reading before the intensive review for the PT/OT Licensure Examinations starts on the last week of September. So I am now fully dressed to leave my cave and go get me some short bond paper (I think I should stock like 2-3 reams a time).

I know I have vowed to become eco-friendly a few months ago, but even when graduation has ended almost two months ago, our thesis has yet to be published and all these editing and revisions are eating up my stocked bond papers. I'm really sorry trees - I'll get back to you when I'm financially stable where I can adopt seedlings and see to it that they become full-grown trees.

So going back to the topic at hand, now what that I have graduated and should be a functional citizen of the Philippines?

Employment has not been a top priority in my mind yet because I intend to pass the board exams first and be employed as a physical therapist. But I have filed applications to an online English tutorial company and a call center agency. The online tutorial center has not contacted me yet and I applied three weeks ago which is a sign that I might not have made it to their cut. As to the call center agency, it was recommended to us by the mom of our classmate and when we went to apply, it is not functional yet.

I know being picky at this stage should not be part of my attitude but I can't help but pick because my parents have set some rules with the jobs I should take for now. I can't even be tied to a lengthy contract because I'll eventually quit to start my review soon.

So I guess this is the situation after graduation: jobless, penniless and I have to endure the unending boredom because I really miss being on the move.

I wish I could fast forward to review season. 

Graduate of 2016

2016 marks the year of the end of the endless paper works, examinations and exhausting classes that my batch, the Prophetas Curationum Dei, survived the grueling five-year course of Physical Therapy. Yet, it opens for us new challenges, such as the local board examinations, national medical admission test, national PT board exams, etcetera. 

Even days before the ringhop and graduation ceremonies, some of my batch mates encountered problems but I was elated when I found out that all of us passed. Praise God!

A lot may have perceived me as outgoing and that acing my academics were easy. Hell no! I had to endure the nagging migraines I incur by sleeping late on a nightly basis just because there are a ton of exams and practicals waiting for you on the next day. There were days when I'd wake up to the scrub uniform I've worn yesterday (which I really try to avoid since it's unhygienic). I had to experiment on various food and drinks that might help me retain my alertness during the laborious night - coffee, energy drinks, soft drinks, banana, tea, you name it.

Like I have always said, physical therapy is a hard course but not impossible to finish. All you need are faith, perseverance and determination - intelligence is only a bonus point. If a student has an above average intellect well good for you, now all you have to do is diligently read and understand your books and handouts. 

I believe in this statement because along the way of my PT life, I've had classmates who were classified as genius types but due to reasons I don't know (they probably don't like the course or something) have failed to finish the course. Whereas, for those classmates of mine who identified themselves as average learners finished the course and are now mapping out their next step.

And we really need to take our next step seriously because the local boards are really tough, Hunger Games tough. It's a competition to secure a slot. A slot where one can have the rights of attaching the letters PTRP at the end of one's name, and of course, landing decent and well-paying jobs.

Though, I'd rather enjoy this short vacation of mine. I think I earned it, the whole PCD '16 deserved it. Until the next milestone.

Me, the fangirl

That's why I'll always believe the mantra, "Once a fangirl, always a fangirl" because it's been a while since I've gone this crazy over a love team (because the Jamie Bower - Lily Collins and Emma Stone - Andrew Garfield pairings are currently stable, though I am saddened by Ben Affleck's divorce with Jennifer Garner, I mean, whyyyy?).

But the sleeping dragon has finally awoken all thanks to: Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza. They are the accidental pairing found on Philippine TV network, GMA's noontime show, Eat Bulaga. 

Source: http://twitter.com/mainealden16

Source: http://twitter.com/mainealden16

To be honest, I am not a great fan of the local show business yet here I am going gaga over these two beautiful people. Watching them act on television makes me feel like I'm thirteen again, like experiencing a puppy love.

So give me the chance to influence you with this #Aldub or as I prefer #Maiden addiction! 

Bandwagon

While I was perusing on my Twitter feed yesterday, I was shocked of the flood of retweets coming from the queen herself, J.K. Rowling! She was tweeting about #WorldBookDay and are retweeting photos of fans wearing hogwarts robes, their pets in the same outfit and the harry potter books.

My friend and I decided to join the fun and we thought about featuring the current books we are reading.

So yeah, at the moment, my friend and I are busy studying with our encyclopedia-thick books. It may look bothersome but once you get the hang of it, it's rather fun reading these.

Almsgiving Turned Tolerance of Mendicancy

A semester ago in our religious education class, we were tasked by our professor to bring an empty Coke bottle with a coin slot bored through its neck. This was to be part of a university-wide campaign of a one peso per day habit which will then accumulate by the end of semester and to be given to a selected beneficiary - from my point of view, a failed attempt to almsgiving as my one-peso filled Coke bottle is still sitting under my study desk, just waiting to be given away.

About a week ago, I accidentally kicked on it while trying to draft my assigned topic on our Seminar II class which will be passed in a few weeks. I paused from writing and thought about Ash Wednesday's homily. The priest was lecturing about the word 'ASH' in mnemonics and how to live with it for the next 40 days of penitence. A was for Almsgiving, S for Sacrifice and H for Holiness. Seeing the Coke bottle reminded me of Almsgiving and so I decided to have it given to an elementary or high school student who'd need it more, even if it's just a meager help, for their education.

Thinking about Almsgiving also reminds me of my social responsibility. Being in a university deep in the heart of the city, beggars are not strange to me. And since Ash Wednesday began, I have noticed their growing number in the overpass I frequently use. Sometimes I become guilty why I don't give them alms, the priest's homily from Ash Wednesday consistently nagging on my conscience but I just choose to turn a blind eye and move along the road.

How I had been this unmoving to their cries was because of the painful truth that these beggars may not be in real need, how they may be part of a greater network business of human trafficking (though I am not saying this to all beggars I see on the street, it's just that it's a reality everyone should stop ignoring).

Another reason is these are the same beggars I've been seeing since I enrolled at my current university, and that was four years ago. And that I've heard stories (probably just hearsays or they may be accurate) that the government have tried to relocate them into homes in the provinces, but they keep on refusing the help and keep on coming back to scavenge for food and beg for scraps.

I understand their situation, I just cannot connect this to me and almsgiving. Of how I should break my belief that tolerating their current act of begging is not helpful rather it is blatant feeding their dependence on us.

In the profession I am in, we are taught that our general goal is for our patience to achieve independence. And I am applying this to life which greatly contradicts my moral beliefs.