School is Fun

Forrest Gump is one of my favorite movies. For me, it has different genres; drama, comedy and romance that really touched my heart. the movie is about a special person who has a low IQ yet a simple man named Forrest Gump. He experienced ups and downs throughout his journey but he never gave up. When he was a kid, she was raised by her mother. She took good care of him not because he is a special kid but because she loves him very much. When he grew up, her mother let him chose the path he wanted to take. He became a football superstar through his discovered skill in running. He also decided to join the army service in Vietnam. There was a drastic changed in his life when he joined the army. He didn’t just gained new friends but also became a hero. Forrest is a good runner and he used that skill during the war. He saved injured soldiers even his captain by running very fast. He also discovered the break-in at the Watergate and opened a profitable shrimping business and becomes an original investor in Apple Computers. Forrest also to ran back and forth across the country for several years in search for his one true love, Jenny. In the end, they had a son but Jenny died because of an illness. 

The historical event in the movie is the Vietnam war. This war is the longest military war in the history of the United States. This is the war between the communist North Vietnam and the US supported South Vietnam. The war ended with the defeat of South Vietnam. In the movie, this was shown when the captain of the United States was nearly killed during the battle and majority of his soldiers were already killed. In the end, Vietnam was still unified.The history in the movie was shown with hope and bravery. Forrest, despite of his sub-normal IQ, rescued his fellow soldiers even though he knows that he might get killed.

For me, the value that I learned in this work is determination. No matter what situation we might be into, we should never lose hope and determination. I believe that we all have our own weaknesses like Forrest Gump. But it didn’t stopped him from doing what is best. 

Iba’t -ibang mukha ng pag-ibig sa makabagong panahon ang ipanakita sa mga nakalipas na istoryang aming binasa at tinalakay sa klase na merong mga pamagat na “Games” ni Noelle De Jesus, “Documents” ni Luis Jouaqin Katigbak at “The Tale of the Spinster and Peter Pan” ni Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo. Lahat ay mayroong komplikadong kwento ngunit sabi nga ng marami, ganyan talaga ang pag-ibig. Sa aking palagay, higit na mas maiintindihan ng mga kabataan ang mga istoryang ito dahil ito halos ang nangyayari sa kasalukuyan. 

Masasabing maraming pagkakaiba ang noon  at ngayon lalo na pagdating sa pag-ibig. Noon, simple lamang kapag ika’y umiibig. Kung lalaki ka, liligawan mo ng pormal ang napupusuan mo. Haharanahin mo at pagsisilbihan. Ang mga babae naman, naghihintay lamang ng papanik ng ligaw. Kapag nagustuhan niya ito nakapasa sa kanyang magulang, maari na niya itong pakasalan. Ngayon iba na, mas komplikado. Hindi na padalos-dalos ang mga kalalakihan ngayon. Kapag mayroon silang nagustuhan, hindi nila agad ito liligawan. Maghahanap muna yan ng iba’t ibang pahiwatig na may pag-asa sila sa babae. Tulad na lamang sa kwentong “Documents”. Naguguluhan ang bidang lalaki kung may gusto ba sakanya ang kaibigan niyang babae, pero di siya gumagawa ng kahit anong kilos para malaman ito dahil siguro ayaw niyang mapahiya. Makikita din ito sa kwentong “The Tale of the Spinster and Peter Pan”. Mayroong isang parte sa kwentong ito na sinabing nilapitan ng mangaawit ng banda ang babae dahil napansin niyang lagi siyang pinapanuod nito. Ginawa niya ito dahil naging sigurado na siya na may pagtingin sakanya ang babae. Ngunit sa kasamaang palad ay iniwasan siya ng babae. Ngayon kasi, hindi na ata ganoon katapang ang mga kalalakihan, ayaw nilang nababansagan silang “nabasted”.

Habang ang mga babae naman, yung ibang sobrang pakipot at yung iba naman bigay na bigay. Sobrang pakipot dahil gusto magkaibigan muna ang dating pero iba naman ang ipinapakita ng kinikilos nila at yung iba naman ay bigay na bigay dahil sila na mismo ang lumalapit sa mga lalaki. Sa aking palagay, sa kwentong “Games” bigay na bigay ang misteryosong babae dahil ginagawa niya ang lahat upang mabigyang kulay pa ang relasyon nila. 

Isa pang pagkakaiba ay ang pagsasama ng isang magkarelasyon. Noon, kailangan ay makasal muna ang magkarelasyon bago sila maaring magsama sa isang bahay. Ngayon kahit may anak na kayo, pwedeng “live-in” muna. Maraming dahilan ang iba’t ibang magkarelasyon ukol dito. Maraming nagsasabi na, mas makikilala mong mabuti ang kasintahan mo kapag nagsama kayo sa iisang bubong. Kaya ang iba, bago magpatali ng tuluyan sa kanilang kabiyak, ang sinusubukan muna ang makipag “live-in” upang maiwasan ang pagsisi sa huli. Pati ang pagtatalik ay ibang iba noon at ngayon. Ang usaping ito ay kahalintulad din ng pagtira sa iisang bubong. Noon, bawal itong gawin ng magkasintahan hangga’t di pa sila nakakasal ngunit ngayon, hindi na ito gaanong pinapahalagahan ang alintuntunin na ito. Tulad na lamang sa kwentong “Documents”. Mayroong isang parte doon na inilalarawan na sila ay nagtatalik ngunit hindi binanggit sa istorya na sila ay kasal na.

Ilan lamang ito sa mga madami pang nagbago sa pagtanda ng panahon. Hindi naman lahat ng nagbago ay naging hindi maganda. Siguro ay natuto lamang tayo na kumawala sa nakasanayan na. Noon kasi, sa aking palagay, higit na pinapalagahan yung mga alintuntunin na minana pa natin sa ating mga ninuno. Kaya kahit ayaw, walang magagawa dahil kailangan itong sundin. Ngunit ngayon, mas malaya na nating nagagawa kung ano ang gusto natin. Mas malaya na nating naipapahayag kung ano ang tunay nating nararamdaman. 

Pero para sa akin, mas malaki ang respeto noon kumpara ngayon. Noon kasi, kapag ang lalaki nanliligaw, pinaghihirapan talaga. Ngayon, bihira na lang ata ang mga lalaking ganoon. Karamhan kasi sa kanila ngayon ginagamit na lamang na mas pangpa-gwapo ang mga lalaki. At di maikakailang mas mahinhin ang mga babae noon. Iba din ang paraan ng relasyon noon at ngayon. Sa aking palagay, mas sagrado ito noon. Ngayon kasi, minsan nauuna na ang anak bago pa ang kasal. 

Isa pang pagkakaiba ay ang pagpasok ng teknolohiya. Malaki ang naging epekto nito sa atin. Sa modernong panahon, marami ang natutulungan nito sa pagpapadali ng ating mga gawain. Pero pagdating sa pag-ibig maaring iba ito. Isa itong tulay para sa mga magkasintahang magkalayo. Ngunit naapektuhan nito ang kahalagahan ng katapatan. Para sa akin mas makikita pa din ang tunay na katapatan ng pag-ibig sa tradisyonal na paraan tulad ng pagsusulat ng mga telegrama at paghaharana.

Sex plays different roles in our social condition then and now. According to historians, Filipinos have their own sexual and relationships even before the Spaniards came here to the Philippines. Filipino men were practicing polygamy because this is one of the expected behaviours of their society back then. Most of them have five or more wives while ancient unmarried Filipino women can freely engaged in sexual activities. Adornments or referred as sex toys today were also used that time. Men wear a ring with goat’s eyelashes to their penis.  Once the penis becomes stiff, the ring stays firmly that makes it hard to be withdrawn from the female’s sex organ until the penis becomes limp. I think this adornment is not only use for pleasure but also for reproduction because it tightens the penis inside the female’s sex organ.

Also, Filipinos back then already established some arrangements and values when it comes to marriage. In Ifugao before, the size of the women’s breast and wideness of hips is equivalent to the money, goods or properties that a woman brings forth to marriage. Marriages between boys and girls who have reached the age of puberty are also permitted. Ambeth R. Ocampo also described the sexually attractive female body parts before which were bare arms, a good neck and tiny rosy feet.

But when Catholicism came here in the Philippines, most of their native practices were forbid. Virgin Mary that symbolizes virginity or being pure before getting married is promoted. Until Filipinos attitudes and practices towards sex and marriage were based on the doctrines of Christianity; Filipino men practiced monogamy instead of polygamy, women were encouraged to engage in sexual intercourse after they get married, the size of a woman’s breasts and hips didn’t matter anymore and teenagers should reach the legal and not puberty stage before they get married.

Sex education also came to picture to guide the youth in making decisions especially when it comes to sex. But still, it is not enough because of the media we have today. According to survey, Filipino youth whose ages ranged from 15 to 24 years old already engages to pre-marital sex. The Christian idea of purity maybe is not that powerful anymore because of the media we have today.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_in_the_Philippines

The stories “Divide by Two” and “Bread of Salt” have a different theme compared to the past stories we have read. These stories showed the essence of individualism which is about being independent or being able to show that he/she can work with his own decisions, belief and will. For me, being individualistic doesn’t mean selfishness. I do believe that sometimes, we need to work on our own to learn, be better and to be able to show to others how unique we are. (http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/individualism.html)

In the story “Divide by Two”, we can see how the two couples wanted to have their own personal spaces as a solution to their problem. They have decided that it’s best if they live on their own without anyone or any neighbor minding their own business. This is contrary to the ‘Bayanihan’ culture we have here in the Philippines where neighbors act as one family. While in the story “Bread of Salt”, the narrator tells his dreams and aspirations in life. These dreams are his dreams because this is what he really wanted not just because of any influence of anyone. 

I think we Filipinos have a collective mindset because we are very family oriented. Most Filipinos do things because of the influence of their family. Like for example, most college students here in the Philippines took the course their parents wanted him/her to take or sometimes because of the pressure of his/her family reputation. (http://thepoc.net/commentaries/8415-filipinos-lack-of-individualism.html)

 The stories How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and The Mats both showed us that we Filipinos are very family oriented. We highly value the presence of our families more than anything. We have the strongest relationship with each other. In the story How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife, the father sent his son, Baldo, to observe Leon’s wife. He sent him not only because he wanted to know more about the woman but also, he wanted to know if Baldo likes her for his brother. It’s like he wanted his whole family, even his youngest son, to be a part of Leon’s important decision, choosing a wife. While in the story The Mats, Mr. Angeles’ family is always eager to have him home after his trips and they also have this some kind of ritual with mats that binds them more together. Also, in the story, Mr. Angeles showed how important his family is for him. When he brought home the mats, he made them special for each family member and didn’t forget to also brought one for his three children who passed away. That’s how strong a family relationship is in the Philippines. 

This strong relationship is very visible in our media today. For me, advertisements that show the picture of a traditional Filipino family catches more attention. Just like a biscuit commercial, I think it is Rebisco crackers, that showed how strong a family relationship is. The commercial is about a mother who works as a nurse abroad. It was Noche Buena in the Philippines and her family video called her. The family placed the computer monitor on the table so it would be like their mother is eating together with them on Noche Buena. It is very touching because it showed that Filipino would do everything just to be with their family on a special occasion. 

This element still occur in the context of the modern family. Like OFW’s who mostly suffer in homesickness and tough work just to support their families back home in the Philippines. For me, this will never fade because we Filipinos consider home where our family is.