echoknowmix

Being poor is never a hindrance.  It’s not a crime.  It’s a leverage to success. I am posting this primarily because I am indeed proud of my daughter’s accomplishments and at the same time to give inspiration to others who are aspiring to be an Atenean. To be honest, I did not approve of my daughter’s going to Ateneo.  From the very beginning, I was uncooperative with her application for ACET (Ateneo College Entrance Test).  However, as the saying goes. Ïf there’s a will, there’s a way.  And that’s it.   She qualified in the top 3 universities of the country : DLSU (De la Salle University), AdMU (Ateneo de Manila University) and UPD (University of the Philippines - Diliman). She also qualified as DOST - Merit Scholar.     We had a long argument regarding her choice of school because of the very obvious reason : FINANCES .  Pros and cons were laid on the table.  Friends and relatives were consulted. In the end, the die is cast and Dorothy got her resolve. AdMU maintains a reputation of

"My dad was the only person that religiously watched TV in the house. And when he wasn't on cooking channels, he was always on ABS-CBN." "After a morning jog, he'd come back home to have breakfast while watching Umagang Kay Ganda. We'd sometimes have a brief foray into GMA for Eat Bulaga during lunchtime, but more often than not, we watched Pilipinas, Game KNB? or Wowowee." "While waiting for my mom to come home after work, we'd switch to the channel dedicated to 24-hour coverage of the PBB housemates, or watch Boys Over Flowers (and after that ended, he watched Katorse just to see Erich Gonzales). Dinnertime was always watched with TV Patrol, without fail. And in the middle of all that, the television was always on ANC. Needless to say, we fought a lot over the remote." "When he died, my mother cut the cable and bought a cheap antenna from CDR-King. And though we did have access to GMA, we'd still watch TV Patrol during dinnertime

  MANILA, Philippines – Undeterred by allegations thrown at activists, various youth groups from different universities in Metro Manila took to the streets to condemn red-tagging allegations and attacks against young Filipinos on Wednesday, August 14. Through simultaneous protests at select universities such as University of the Philippines (UP), and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, among others, students slammed the government’s efforts to oppress the youth. Attacks against the youth Among these are the proposed  revival  of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), falsification of kidnapping cases due to involvement with progressive groups, and the proposal to increase police and military presence in schools. Just recently, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Senator Ronald dela Rosa proposed to increase military presence in schools to curb recruitment and alleged kidnapping of students by leftist groups.  On the morning of the protest, Anakbayan youth activist

  I'm used to death. My father died when I was 11, my grandmother died when I was 13, two of my uncles died when I was younger, and I never even got to meet my grandfather. I'm used to bittersweet stories and sad longing and overwhelming grief. I'm used to funerals and going to the cemetery for Father's Day and tragic smiles over what could have been. My uncle died when I was 15, just a week ago. It was an accident and unexpected and because of that, all the more devastating. In Les Misearables, Marius sings, "There's a grief that can't be spoken." And I can see that all around. There's the grief of his wife, his children, his siblings, his mother, his father, his friends, his family. There's the grief of his boss, of his neighbors, of his former classmates, of the people who used to buy food from him. There's the grief of those who sympathize, the grief of those who empathize, and the grief of those who will truly miss him. The grief of th

The past three Covid years proved a test of time and humanity.   It wavered some faith and it challenged human strength of mind and body. As a solo parent, I have taught my only child toughness of character in the midst of adversities. Though it pains to see her hurting and in difficulty, I have to endure that feeling so she will grow decisive and forbearing.   At barely an age of 11, she lost a father she dearly adored.   At 12, she had to leave to study away from me.   Six years later, she went farther to pursue a college degree.   For 10 years, she has learned to live alone, manage finances, care for herself and juggle time to meet academic and co-curricular activities as well as spare time for personal enjoyment.   Notwithstanding the rigors of the schools she went into, Philippine Science High School – Western Visayas Campus for her secondary education and Ateneo de Manila University for her college degree, she consistently held a slot in the Honor’s List and maintained her DO

Twenty-two years ago, two parallel lines on the pregnancy test kit brought the greatest excitement in my life.  A week ago, two parallel lines on a test kit brought shivers to my senses.  The fear of Covid set in momentarily.  However, I did not let fear overwhelm me because doing so would prevent me from thinking rationally.  I was transformed back to a prayerful state because I am always confident that the power of prayer counts a lot. However, prayer should be attenuated with positivity and toughness of mind. Of course, I do not discount the possibility of the severity of the disease but knowing that I am fully vaccinated and boosted, I will not suffer much.  I monitored my body temperature which has been on the rise for three days and I  closely monitored my oxygen saturation.  I had also steam inhalation to soothe my stuffy nose and had a regular gargle and took  more water and juices, managed to eat well, and I got more sleep. I also had my regular dose of online masses and praye