FEATURE
THE 13TH SCHOLARS
CHECK THE LABEL
DARK CORNERS Jeodvayn B. Estorco
Iriah Monica B. Benito
Huge and thick rimmed glasses. A set of pearly white teeth overlapped with well kept braces. Sky high stacks of books nestled within their study. Why is this a common stereotype for the Philippine Science High School students? Transitioning between the easy going flow of my sweet, sweet elementary life to the hectic and stress filled chaos of my first year in Pisay wasn’t easy. It was stitched with bumps and lumps and I barely had any time to sit back and breathe properly because at any given time a teacher of mine could be planning the next failure of my life. I felt tired, exhausted and I found it a tad bit difficult to keep moving. Yes, it was a disastrous change and no one in their sane mind would want that, but did it destroy my individuality? No,
it
did
not.
“I heard Pisay students spend most of their time studying instead of socializing.” “Maybe it’s because they’re all pressured to maintain perfect grades.” Philippine Science High School is a difficult institution to get into. Thousands to millions of students bet on their skills and stocked intelligence every year just to snag themselves a position among the limited slots and yet only the ones who managed to top themselves could experience the wonders of PhilScie. It sounds excrcuciating, doesn’t it? It is, yes, but not in the way people think. “I heard Pisay students spend most of their time studying instead of socializing.” “Maybe it’s because they’re all pressured to maintain perfect grades.” “Does it make them antisocial? I think books are their best friends.”
We are actually fully functioning individuals with our own unique quirks and personalities, strange hobbies and own humanly desires. We are not entirely pressured to maintain anything because we all work on our pace. We don’t push our limits pass its breaking point. We enjoy our adolescent years too since we, the supposed ‘bookaholics’, are just like every other student out there with the exception of being able to cram hundreds of notes within a given time limit. Some of us are interested in the anime and manga community; a vast number of us ogle over interesting and mind-sharpening TV shows and networks; and a majority of us even invest a lot of our time playing online games or wasting hours jamming away with our friends to sick beats. We actually have talented pupils too who, if given a chance, could sketch and illustrate portraits almost as vivid as Rembrandt’s, write hundreds of literary works as scintillating as Poe’s, program games and sites as good as Notch, or maybe depict Sorabji’s arduous Opus Clavicembalisticum. We are just like any normal high schooler. Attending the intricate and proud school of Philippine Science High School is a huge privilege to all of us scholars but it doesn’t really stand as a label that marks us as ‘NERDS’ in size seventy-two bold. It’s just a place we call our second home. A place where we hone our similar and individual traits and skills and train ourselves for the better of our future. Being a Pisay student isn’t what makes us ourselves. We are not big nerds. Not all of us are decorated with glasses or braces. We don’t always stuff our noses into books. We’re fun too if we want to be. Sometimes, we just have to check the label.
http://phesgltp.blogspot.com/p/about-butuan-city.html
BATTLING FOR BUTUAN
R
- Nigel John F. Casido
emnants of the
with the coming of change from the foreign mentalities. Because
previous
before there was a Philippines, there was the kingdom of Butuan.
life
of the lands
Big sailboats excavated from various parts around what
that we live
was then the Hindu rahjanate of Butuan can be found in the
in today are
museums of Butuan and so can the remains of the ancient people
usually rarely seen anymore.
of the state.
Glimpsing
into
how
our
Places of these historic value can be seen all throughout
ancestors lived doesn’t seem
the city however, the people of today’s society are not visiting
to be much of the newer
these monumental sites, or even taking an interest in visiting
generation’s interest, leaving
them. Thus, the rich culture of the ancient times are slowly being
them to rot.
forgotten, left to be forgotten with the passing of the years. Which is why, we as the inhabitants of this sacred land should be the
The Philippines is
ones to protect it, to remember it for what it was before.
rich. It may not be visible, but it is. The country is filled to the
But how come, we aren’t? Modern Butuanons aren’t
brim with wonders that may
even taking the time to explore how Butuan was before.
interest everyone, and the city of Butuan is not an exception.
We should dig into the history of this ancient land we
Dotted all across the city are
live in and glimpse into the remnants of the golden ages. We, as
remnants of how the kingdom
the generation of tomorrow’s future, and more especially as pisay
used to be before it was altered
scholars, should be the ones to remember and fight for the culture left by our ancestors for Butuan.
http://dreamicus.com/.html
The false accusations are endless. Where do these hearsays come from, anyway? Is it because of how exclusive PhilScie could be? To simplify a Pisay’s student’s life is easy, unlike what others may think. We do not ‘study’ the whole day.
CHILD’S LAM ENT - Danielle R. Ajoc
N
othing but a freckle to the face of the earth. No less than a droplet of rain. As little as an ant in an open field. But I am still someone. Don’t I have rights too? I have a name but can’t be acknowledged. Grows but can’t age. Born but no legal parents. Stands in a block of earth but can’t be located. Breathes, walks, ages, pumps blood, feels and sees but a ghost to the nation. All these are caused by the absence of a piece of paper, the birth certificate. My non existent account to the community has disabled me from being a cell to the Philippine body
and subjugated my right from having government support. My feet could not even have a step in a classroom. Education, such a fantasy away. Illusions cloud my mind about learning. Would it not be nice to be educated? To graduate? To have a proud face as you savour sweet success?
Every time a student draws closer to me, my jealousy filled heart would draw closer to explosion. They would talk to each other about homeworks and quizzes while I talk to myself about staying alive. They would wear pig tails and skirts while I wear grass and camouflage pants. They would have pretty bags on their arms while I have guns strapped to my shouders. They would have
school to look forward to while I do not even have a home to look back to. Home is but an imagery of a thing that I can never have. My home is a cage without walls, I may seem free. My feet has no limit but someone is always watching me. In my world of thoughts, I may seem free. Talking and screaming as I want but no
one can hear me. In my room full of people I may seem free. Laughing and chatting as we please but they are just masks that do not care about me. I have always longed to have a friend. To have somebody to love me not because they need me but need me because they love me. To have somebody not see me as just a pawn for a so called
Do you get that feeling when all your emotions are pouring right out of you? Like a glass of overflowing fluids, ready to slip, ready to break. Do you? In times of downfall wherein situations don’t go as planned, most of our views shifted. It transforms opposite to what we believed before. It’s somewhat slowly dragging us away from the glittering light that served as your guide to your goal. The goal wherein it is transplanted to a map, without the light you might not see the directions and end up getting lost. But what can we do? We’re just a human after all. We feel. We feel out of ourselves, that the moment when we sought and think, we are encountered by the perplex hue of our own minds. That every wind that past by you comes out dull, every chirp of the birds comes out horrid through your ears. Every smile you saw comes out as a frown. Every laugh you heard comes out as a sob and every word they said comes out as a lie. A false promise. To think about it nothing wondrous will happen if you’ll just stay at bay. You’re just sitting still, and accepting defeat without you even realizing. You keep talking and talking without changing your situation. Might as well close your mouth, might save you the energy. But you know, I can’t blame you either way. It’s because you’re blinded by the dark, that you only saw negativity among positivity, irrationality among rationality and despair among hope. But if you truly want to be free that has and currently been weighing you down- then move. If you don’t have a light, grab a candle. Don’t have a candle? Find one. Make it simple. Find a way no matter what it takes just to light up your map and get in track to your goal again. Sort out your thoughts and emotions and pour the overflowing fluids out of your glass. Remember you’re in control here, so you’re in control of your desired outcome. You lead, they follow. Not all are a disadvantage when dwelling in the dark corners. Through mind’s contemplation it seemingly made you stronger than before, made you wiser than your past self and maybe perhaps cautious when life throws anything at you. After all dark corners are all around you. You just have to deal with it with your perspective, it’s the key to change.
“greater cause” but as a locket kept close to the heart. To have somebody to at least listen to my fears, hopes, and dreams. But in the world that I am in, such a thing would always be just a fantasy away. Nothing but a grain of sand in vast dunes. No more than a speck in the universe. No less than a pebble in a pile of rocks. There are many things that I am not but nothing is not one of them. I am a child although frail, but the world’s future lies on my bony shoulders. Although small, tomorrow’s fate is on the tip of my tiny fingers. I may be squeaky, but my lips can build or crumble a castle. Please hear my plea: Give me my rights. Give me my destiny.
9
