(70) future students

Dear English 110.01 student,

You are probably thinking one or more of the following:

1)      1) I hate science fiction

2)     2)  I’m already good at English I don’t need this

3)     3)  Blogging everyday is going to be such a pain

I know this because those are the exact same things I thought during the first day of this class. After going through the whole course, I can honestly say that those three ideas were completely altered. (Well, maybe 2 of the 3). I’m still not really into science fiction, but I’m definitely more open to watching it now. Dollhouse was a pretty interesting series, and I would highly recommend it for the academic research paper. From the comments and feedback from my teacher and peers, I realized that I’m not nearly as amazing at English as I thought I was. Remember that there’s always room for improvement. Blogging started off as being really annoying, but once you get used to it, 250 words isn’t bad at all. It really helps you practice your writing skills and be more aware of your grammar and spelling. I suggest the following things to pass this course:

1)     1) Stay on top of your work. Do all the blogs, comments, memos, etc. The points can really rack up, and it secures your grade.

2)      2) Go to the writing center. I failed to do this enough and only got 2 extra credit points, so I highly suggest that you don’t follow me.

3)    3)  Consider feedback. Take all of the constructive criticism into consideration and use it to improve your paper.

Good luck, and take it easy!

Sincerely,

Former English 110.01 Student

(69) culture

I don’t know if this is conceited or not, but I’m pretty fascinated by my own Culture. Filipinos have a language and a way of doing things that used to never really mean much to me since I’d see it everyday, but now that I’ve experienced living elsewhere, I’d say I appreciate my culture a whole lot more than I used to. In the Philippines, the first thing a homeowner says when a visitor arrives is “kumain ka na ba?” which is Tagalog for “have you eaten yet?” I think this is pretty interesting now since I’ve visited a couple of houses and not once have I been asked that at arrival. I guess it shows something about Filipino culture and how much we love food. Another thing that I love is our language. My friends here have heard me speak it and they think it sounds really cool, but I actually think it sounds pretty weird. This may be part of the reason why I think things said in Tagalog are generally funnier than in English. Jokes, snide remarks, things like that. We have words that I have absolutely no idea how to translate into English, and usually those words are the ones I use a lot. The one thing that I love most about our culture is our cuisine. I love Filipino food. Most Americans have never had it before, unless they’re close to a Filipino. I used to have it all the time, for every meal, but now that I don’t, I really miss it. I can’t wait to have it again when I get to California!!! 2 more days!

(68) fear

So there are a number of things that scare me. Bugs, rollercoasters, the dark, if typical girls are scared of it, I probably am too. But the one thing that scares me the most is losing people. I’m really scared of deaths in the family or friends dying. I  don’t know how to handle things like that, and I think I would pretty much break down and lose myself if something bad happened to my family. Although I’m not an extremely emotional person, I think I’m a fairly sensitive person when it comes to my family. I love them dearly and can’t imagine life without them. Whether it be my grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, or my parents (most especially my parents), I’m not sure how I would handle losing them. They’ve been such a huge part of my life growing up, and I go to my parents for every little thing. I grew up with my cousins, and they’re practically my siblings since I don’t have any real ones, so I love them a lot. My grandparents from both sides are all still alive, and I’m pretty close to them. I know they’re getting very old, and I dread the day that I have to say goodbye to them. Another fear, which is related to this one, is losing any of my relatives while I’m here in the States. That would mean not being able to go to their wake or seeing them, and it’ll be a lot more painful. 

(67) concerns

A world problem that is a huge concern to me is poverty. Coming from a third world country, I’ve seen the worst kind of poverty and the lowest levels of the socioeconomic ladder. It’s really shameful to realize how much luckier you are compared to most people, and how you don’t appreciate this enough. I used to encounter street children and beggars every day, while driving to school or the mall. You see these people and realize how extremely lucky you are to be in nice warm car, driving to a place to get an education or spend some money. I’m pretty sure I’m part of the upper 5-10% of the Philippines, when it comes to money. I did a research before, and around 80% of the Philippines is considered part of the lower class. I wouldn’t say I’m part of the upper class, because I don’t think I live too luxuriously, but I’d say I’m well above the lower class. In any case, I am more well-off than I give myself credit for. I always catch myself complaining about not having enough money to buy more clothes or whatnot, but then I stop and think how petty those complaints are. So many people out there don’t have enough money to buy necessities like food and water, while I sit there complaining about how I can’t afford to buy designer shoes. I really hope I can join an organization or volunteer program here at Ohio State that will allow me to help and reach out to those less fortunate than me, because I think everyone deserves a decent and comfortable lifestyle. 

(66) creative

Okay so I just realized my blog prompt handout has two of the same page, so it doesn’t have the next few blog prompts. Judging from other people’s blog posts though, I can safely assume that it says something like “blog creatively about yourself.” Well. Way to be vague, prompt sheet. I supposed I could….write poetry? Totally unnecessary use of my time just thinking about the rhymes, but oh well. Here it goes.

Lucky charms for breakfast

Are a great way to start the day

Wash it down with some coffee

To make your drowsiness go away.

Everyday’s pretty much a routine

Shower, brush teeth, dress up

Sometimes I wish I could go to class naked

Just to spice things up.

Wouldn’t wanna die of boredom

This humdrum life is too plain for me

I’m a thrill seeker, a risk-taker

Or at least I’d love to be.

In my perfect world,

Oddities and weirdos would be commonplace

But then again, everything would be typical

If that were the case.

In all honesty,

(and other unnecessary ways to start a sentence)

I’m probably just not seeing the big picture

Or looking at it from the lame-o lens.

Miracles happen daily

Children are born, bringing new life

Soldiers reunite with their families

Rewarded after all the strife.

Waking up everyday

And eating a bowl of lucky charms

Going to class and work

And ending the day in your loved one’s arms

These are things you forget

to cherish and appreciate

so you better get on that,

or it might be too late.

(65) different time period

If I had to live in a different time period (which I really don’t because I think now is where it’s at), it would probably have to be the 80’s. I watched Austin Powers and see all these movies about how “groovy” the eighties were, and how carefree people were. “Austin Powers” is mostly where I got this idea from, with all the colorful clothes and outrageous designs. I think people were more carefree back then because they didn’t have all the crazy technology we have today. I’m pretty sure internet and cellphones weren’t invented yet (or at least not fully developed, as it is today) and people still enjoyed the simpler things in life. I honestly think that the improvement of technology and the internet has significantly made people fatter, dumber, and lazier. More people would much rather stay inside playing video games or going on Facebook, instead of taking a stroll or reading a good book. Relationships have become more virtual and less personal with the reign of social networking over the internet and calling and texting with cellphones. My parents were in their 20s during the eighties, and I think they turned out pretty well. They both grew up in the Philippines so it definitely wasn’t comparable to Austin Powers or anything like that, but I don’t think it was so bad. My dad still had “cool parties” and my mom was still voted “Miss Business Management” of her college, which I think is super funny. The eighties were pretty cool.

(64) biggest mistake

I’ve made so many mistakes in my life, and I feel like I screw up everyday (not putting myself down or anything but I really do think I do something wrong every single day), so it’s kind of hard to choose the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Thinking about it now, I would have to say it was when I lied to my parents about certain things back in High School. The first time it happened was actually in sixth grade; I lied to my mom about sneaking out of the house. I’m really not the best liar (pretty horrible at it, I sweat and stutter), so my mom knew I had been lying the entire time. She got over it but she said that that kind of broke our trust, and she had a harder time believing the things I said. Being a wiser woman after a few years, I smartly decided to do that again in high school. Snuck out and covered it up, about 5 or 6 times. It was actually pretty easy, since our room (I slept with my mom…only child) was on the first floor so climbing out the window wasn’t a big deal. I just forgot to close the window after climbing back in. I had to use the windows because the doors were locked every night, and usually my grandpa would check the doors before he went to bed, so if I unlocked it, he would totally catch me. I got caught again, and got grounded for a month. Wasn’t able to go to my friend’s prom with him, and I didn’t go to one of my best friend’s birthday parties. Pretty bad life choice.

(63) best friend

I already talked about my bestfriend in a previous post about relatives. She’s my cousin, and we’ve been bestfriends since birth. We grew up together and naturally know everything about one another, just because we were always around each other. It was fun having someone my age to grow up with, because I don’t have any siblings. She’s the sister I never had, and I miss her dearly. We skype sometimes and chat on Facebook whenever we catch each other online, but it’s definitely not the same. We used to text everyday back in Manila, and I’d see her all the time because we were classmates last year and we went to the same school for all of High School. Every Sunday we’d have family lunch, so we’d usually use that time to catch up on each other’s lives and just talk about things. I don’t think I’ve ever not been able to tell her something, because I know that she doesn’t judge me. She’s not the type who lets me do whatever I want though, she definitely voices her opinions if she thinks what I’m doing is wrong. We used to go to different schools in elementary, but then she moved for high school. It was so much better having her around. We didn’t always have the same friends and hang out with the same group, but that never changed how we were with each other. She is definitely going to be my maid of honor at my wedding, and I would like to think I’d be the one at hers. I love her to pieces and wish she could be here.

(62) favorite place

My favorite place is probably Boracay, Philippines. It’s a popular tourist destination in the Philippines for its white-sand beaches and clear blue waters. I have only been there twice, and only remembered one of those trips because I was really young for the first one. We had our senior trip there, and it was so much fun. I spent 4 days with my best friends just soaking up the sun, swimming, and having fun. I’m pretty sure I only got 10 hours of sleep TOTAL that whole trip. I slept for 24 hours straight when I got back home, because I was seriously exhausted. I went with my family and my cousin, while the rest of my friends went there with each other. We stayed in different hotels, which I thought wouldn’t be fun at all, but it was actually fine because I would literally just go back to my hotel room to sleep. We did fly fishing (which isn’t the same as American fly fishing, it’s actually a sort of ride thing where 6 people ride a raft and get dragged by a jetski, and it flies in the air when it gets pulled really fast, so much fun), jetskiing, and all sorts of other fun activities. The nights were spent with other friends from other schools, just partying and hanging out. I will definitely remember that trip, because it was one of the most memorable experiences of my high school life. I can’t wait to go back there with my friends one of these days and hang out just like the good old days.

(61) stories

oooh this is an interesting one. hmm okay i'll try to make it hard.

1.     i got pushed into mirror lake during jump night and bruised both my knees. They were dripping blood and I had to be given a piggyback ride all the way back to my dorm. Good thing I live on south campus, because I wouldn’t want to have someone carry me all the way back to north/west campus!! That would be just horrible of me. I could’ve probably walked back, at a very slow and painful pace, but thankfully my friend offered to take me back.

2.     I set off the fire alarm in my dorm because I was trying to heat up a chocolate chip cookie in the microwave. I left it in for too long and opened the microwave, not knowing that it was filled with smoke. It all came out, and the smoke alarm isn’t too far from where we put the microwave, so it started ringing and I almost died from panic.

3.     I got a 21 and up wristband at a club in Urbana, Illinois during the Filipino-Americans Coming Together conference, even though I was only 17 at the time. I was kind of freaking out because I was the only one who wouldn’t be able to get in to the after party, since everyone else was 18 and up. I showed my Filipino license at the door and the bouncer looked it with a really skeptical look on his face, squinting his eyes and everything to decipher the weird foreign driver’s license. After a few seconds, he gave me a yellow wrist band. My friends who came after me got Xs on their hands and were really confused because they saw me get a band. I still don’t know how I got away with that.

(60) word

I think this blog prompt is really funny, because there are so many words that I wanna talk about and i’m having a hard time choosing one!!! The one that I think is really funny is the word moist. Someone once told me that surveys have shown that the word “moist” was voted to be the most annoying word in America. I know it’s an adjective, but what exactly does it appropriately describe? Most people say cake, because you don’t want your cake hard, you want it moist. But other than that, what else is there? Moist towel? Face moist with sweat? They all just sound kind of nasty and wrong.

I watched an episode of How I met Your Mother (looove that show, just saying) where Lily told Barney that the word she hated most in the world was “moist.” Barney, being the sensitive and caring friend that he is, makes a whole play, with the first act composed of him saying the word “moist” ten billion times. Lily’s trying to prove a point to Barney that friends should sit through each other’s plays to make them feel good, because that’s what friends do, so Barney turns it all against her in good ol’ Barney fashion.

Sometimes I stop and think about English words that may or may not be in my Tagalog vocabulary, and I don’t believe I know of the Tagalog translation for moist. We have a word for wet, and I think that’s the same word we use for “damp” or “moist”. I think that’s kinda sad. Oh well, that’s what I think about the word moist. 

(59) Major

I am currently a Business Management major, specializing in finance. I just recently got into the Fisher College of Business (whoop whoop), and am now a certified Business Major! Now I have to keep my GPA above a 3.0 to stay in. I’m not an honor student though, so I’m glad it’s a 3.0 and not a 3.5. That would be a loooot of stress, and I don’t know if I could handle all that pressure! I’m liking the business college so far, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be sticking to it. I know a lot of people who switch majors like toothpaste brands; it really messes up their schedule if they do it too late. I can technically still switch without affecting much, since it’s only my first year and I’m still taking general classes, but my math 131 and 132 would be completely useless in any other course. I was pretty confident that I was going to stay in business, so I chose to take Business Math instead of the normal one. I’m pretty glad I did that, since the 130 series is way easier than the 150 series. Both my parents are in the field of business, which is probably what sparked the interest in me. I used to look into medicine and law, but I decided that those were a little too long for my patience, and that business was well-suited for my personality. I like math, and while science is my favorite subject, I don’t think I could bear all the memorization and work that medicine entails. I’m pretty satisfied with my major, so I hope it goes well.

(57) dreams

I’m not exactly sure if the blog prompt is asking us to write about dreams like when we go to sleep, or the dreams that we have for our future. I’m gonna write about what I want for the future simply because I hardly ever remember my dreams, and usually when I do, they’re really weird and make no sense. I have always wanted to spend a portion of my working life just travelling, seeing the world, and making money while doing it. I want to have a job that’ll let me go places and try new things, instead of being stuck behind a desk in the same place every single day. I know that’s a lot to ask for, and it usually doesn’t come true, but hey, a girl can dream. I didn’t really consider if I’d be single or in a relationship at that point in my life, but I think a relationship that can withstand something like that is worth keeping. Once I settle down and try to raise my own family, I’d like to have a more stable job that won’t have me in the air every week. I imagine myself getting married somewhere between 26-28, so hopefully the few working years I have before that can be spent being sent everywhere around the world. My cousin Ashley did a zillion internships and research projects during her stay at Yale, and I really want to try and do that as well. Just a study abroad program for a quarter would be amazing, if I could get the money to do it.

(56) practice memo