Yoloswag

My life feels like a bottomless pit of stress and schoolwork and anxiety. Oh, and more schoolwork. 

When the fuck is this going to end?

It’s true. You don’t need a title to be a leader.

Anyone who has a mind that can think or work properly can be a leader. It can be a little boy studying in grade school, or an old man who has retired from his job recently. Any person who wishes to take control and influence can be a leader.

There is an inborn leader in everyone. A person doesn’t have to be a president of a certain group to be called a leader. I believe this is a just a label so that you will be officially called a leader. Anyone and everyone can be a leader given the right situation. 

One situation could be a classroom. The main leader inside a classroom is the teacher who takes the spotlight most of the time during lecture discussions. However, once the teacher asks a question and one of the students in the class suddenly recites, he or she has taken this spotlight temporarily and becomes the leader. It could be unnoticed by the rest of his or her classmates, but the student has actually become a leader, a representative of the whole class.

In the ongoing Sanggu elections in the Loyola Schools, no one in my block had successfully filed a certificate of candidacy for Block Rep. This means that it is possible that my block might not even have a block rep. Personally, if given the chance, I would take this role.If I were to be appointed as Block rep, it would be a great honor to take it and do my best to do my job. However if I don’t get it, I’ll still do my little ways as a “leader” in the block. I may not have the title, but I’ll still take my part as a member of the block.

To conclude everything,having a title as a leader is just a mere label or a consolation prize. It is not important that people know you as president, block rep or even simply “leader”. Being a leader means having the will of taking control and being able to influence people for the sake of everyone.

- Danmig, INTACT Assignment 2

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/10/16/quotes-on-leadership/

Good news: Fall Out Boy is back after a two year hiatus. Cheers to good music.

On a more relevant note, our long break is over. It was long but come on, where did my weekend go?! So we’re back to reality, back to my everyday routine of cramming and studying.

- Danmig

I find that which truly tortures the soul isn’t anything external, but is in fact something of our own doing. I know I may sound cynical, and maybe even jaded, but stay with me on this. I’ve passed on so many opportunities in the past, misjudged a lot of people, ruined a few relationships here and there, before I could even really act on anything. How? Because I’ve already ruined it in my head. We buy into this whole franchise of over-thinking (or as I’d now like to call it, mental explosives) that which already concludes any and all possibilities, and then utterly paralyzes us.

As human beings, we have this uncontrollable need to rationalize everything. To pre-empt rejection or whatever undesirable outcome we can imagine for ourselves. But the irony in that is, no matter what justification we may conjure up in our anal little minds, we create more possibilities of rejection and “undesirable outcomes” when we limit ourselves to the voices in our heads. Not the crazy ones, but the over-analyzing ones that tell us “you can’t do that” “nooo, don’t talk to him first” “should you really wear that?” “she’s looking at you. TOLD YOU YOU SHOULDNT HAVE WORN THAT”

When we ruin things in our heads, we ultimately ruin it for us in real life. Something that had as much chance of becoming something great (if not more), as it did of becoming awful, becomes nothing more than a scary endeavor. A wasted opportunity. A potential that could have never materialized.

Now isn’t that much worse than the scenario you’ve imagined?

Over-thinking kills. It kills relationships and opportunities. It kills your chances of becoming something more than the you that lives inside your head. It’s almost unavoidable at times, but the best you can do is ask yourself “Is he really going to pull my pants down, dump his yogurt on me and laugh at me when I ask him out, or am I just over-thinking this?”

-Kendra

Most days are spent wondering. When I was 8, I wondered what it was like to be 10. And when I was 10, I wondered what it was like to be 13. And then 16. When I was in grade school, I wondered what it would be like to be in high school. You can guess that I did the same for college. You’d think with all this wondering, I’d have been better prepared for.. well, anything really. But that’s just not how life goes. 

Nothing could have prepared me for this. 

Mediocrity paired with an almost insurmountable pile of work you have absolutely no interest in doing, a nasty reminder at the back of your head that never seems to go away. People and places that constantly intrigue you.. Yet in a quiet, unsurprising way that you may just miss if you let the work consume you (which it almost always does). Having to face disappointment left and right, feeling like a deer that’s been backed up into an alley. The only way out seemingly a far distance away. 

But then there are some days. Days that make you feel like it’s worth it. Cold, sunny days that remind you of summer, but still lets you work your favorite sweater. Walking from Schmitt to your En/Lit class in SocSci, the leaves raining down upon you as the cold breeze gently brushes your cheek, earphones intact, your favorite song on max. Some days, when you get a reminder every so often of why you are here. Why you do the things you do. Where you want to be.

When I was 8, I wondered what it was like to be 10. And when I was 10, I wondered what it was like to be 13. And then 16. I wonder now..

Am I better off the way I had always imagined myself to be?

After the several hell weeks I went through, I was rewarded with a break from the stress and school work. For others, it was a simple 4 or 5 day weekend but for me, it was 6. To celebrate the weekend, I “submerged” myself in on of the most amazing parties of the year. Shindig.

The huge event was held in the NBC Tent in The Fort. Shindig, as they call it, is AJMA’s biggest party for the year. Students help out each other to provide fellow students an amazing party experience.

The party was beyond amazing. It was epic.

Upon entering the venue, the whole setup marveled me. Since the theme was underwater, they did their best to design the tent as an under-the-sea environment. The first thing I saw inside was the long tunnel which lead me to the side and to the main dance floor. The whole room was in a shade of dark blue to give off that underwater aura.

Aside from the great venue, it was accompanied by great drinks, great music, great program and great people. Over 3000 people from different schools attended Shindig. The dance floor was about to explode because of them. Everyone danced to good tunes from critically acclaimed DJs who mixed for the event. To complete the party vibes, fellow students served chill drinks for that maximum party experience.

Submerged would not have been complete without its program. The program was spectacular. Fireworks and sparks flew off the stage as it started. Models then strutted out on the runway for the fashion show.

The party ended at 3am when practically everyone was drained from the night’s event. Indeed I can say that this year’s Shindig was a big success. It was truly a great way to celebrate my long long looong weekend.

- Danmig