long live.
ampersand hcpsmshs
| volume 36 | issue 2
envirex special graduation issue 2022
anatomy of a scilinian.
alexandra evangelista
G! Meet? aliana singian & alleah palacio
Click open. Search. Type in your status for the day. Normalcy has never felt this melancholic—to feel as if the universe has taken away all the 'coming-ofage’ materials from the best years of your life, a nimbostratus hanging around your head with a downpour po every single day—missing the bygone days hindered. Click "Open." Search. Normalcy could also be life-changing, on mundane days in which it is too far to call a state of grace— here are some tips to face that screen, open your camera—and be the best that you can be, G? Meet! Receive Invite
Add Others Snapping out of bad habits is no picnic. Doing it alone will make someone feel like a fish out of water. But the burden can be lightened by surrounding yourself with aspirational people and someone who's also on a journey of selfimprovement. These people that you add do not have to be in bulk since the encouragement they bring is the fuel for your voyage.
Report a problem
(and Troubleshoot)
Sometimes, things get out of hand. Literally. Consistency is not a walk in the park—it’s not easy. There will be days where burnout kicks in, how much you plan and set a time—there were really days where tiredness could never be washed away. So, when consistency is lost and tiredness sets in, rest — give yourself time to rest, whether it's an hour of sleeping or an hour of doing nothing. Take all the time that you need, and recharge at your own pace. A diamond is not honed by a night alone.
Change Background When preparing for a meeting, one of the first things we do is check our virtual background. We want this to represent our personalities, hobbies, or things we value. And in the literal sense, changing our environment can drastically affect our thinking and can contribute to quitting toxic patterns. However, unlike in a virtual setting, we can not change it with just a click. It will take effort and time, but the result will bring us one step further to the person we aspire to be.
Unmute Change comes best when the environment you live in evolves into something better when your friends, family members, people, and the community are striving collectively for the best. So, unmute yourself, and don't confine a better version of yourself within the thin walls of your own home – walk out, break free, and be the change.
Present Now
Click "Open." Search. Normalcy can also be life-changing; on mundane days, with nimbostratus circling your head, there may come a time when you can call your life your own state of grace.
metamorphosis | 03
to do or not to do
waldy hans de castro
adherence | 04
confessions of a procrastina..t....or........
angela flores
Hi, I have a confession to make, but I’ll tell you about it later (or when I feel like it). How about we start with a narrative of my life as a struggling student in an online class? Maybe, how come I’m almost out of high school yet undecided about which course to pursue? Or should I go to college? Hmmm.. how about we talk about the hype around the newly released season of Stranger Things and how in the world I have never watched a single episode of it? Also, do you like cats? All these things. I can talk about them for hours. But never ask me if I finished my schoolwork for the whole semester. Of how I turned Friday nights into days, just to accomplish them right before the deadline—at least, I got to enjoy the other days of the week doing absolutely nothing. Of how I finished an hour of work for the whole day and a whole day of work in an hour. After all, the school year is already ending. I have all the time on my hands now! Tik, tok. Tik, tok. Tik, tok. I can hear every second passing, and I’m okay with that. Maybe now you’re wondering, “Where’s the confession?”. So here’s the thing: I’m a procrastinator (but you already knew that). I know what you’re thinking; “Procrastination is bad!” But I beg to differ. I’ve always been an over-planner, and I guess that’s why I’m such a good procrastinator. “Due tomorrow? Do tomorrow.” By far, this has been my mantra since the classes started. Well, I did try my best to do one thing at a time in the first few weeks of my senior year, but I guess I want everything piled up and done in one sitting. I’ve tried the Pomodoro technique, but I don’t have the time to learn time management skills (See the irony?). I have also read self-help books and watched videos on how to beat procrastination, but minutes later, I’m already searching for what chainsaws were invented for in the 1780s on Google. Really, I am productive—just doing nothing. And even though you may not need to hear this from a master procrastinator like me, I am going to tell you about the five stages of procrastination anyways. You’re welcome.
1
FIVE STAGES OF PROCRASTINATION Nonchalance
Everyone hates Mondays. Especially when your empty to-do list on GClassroom starts filling up again. Who wants that? Definitely not me. But again, you have four more days to do those, so why do it on the very first day of the week?
2
Denial
Another day has passed and no one is initiating in your GCs to start working on your group tasks. You’re thinking of it but you’re afraid of getting unnoticed. Plus, there is a new season of Rupaul’s Drag Race to binge-watch. You start making excuses just to have this day for yourself.
3
The deadline—Friday has finally come. You did it. You were mentally and physically tired, but you complied. You did your best and, to some, settled for the bare minimum, but you finished right on time. After all, grades do not define you (except if they’re high).
And you think there are only five? Well, as Cruella said, I’d like to add one more. Repetition, not revenge. Procrastination is a never-ending cycle. The mere fact that you procrastinate and still do well is the reason why you procrastinate. Deadlines do not scare you anymore. You like to believe that nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute. Procrastination has become your comfort zone.
Optimism
Optimism? More like false hope. Today, you’ve set a time. You’ll start working on your assignments at 7 p.m., but you were five minutes late. Now you have to do it at 8:00, then at 9:00, and basically, the next day. You’re convincing yourself that you’ll do better when you get a good night's sleep.
4
5
Acceptance
Panic
The next morning, you didn’t wake up as early as you thought you’d do. The realization kicks in. You just submitted a five-minute written work on Google Forms, but your brain is thinking it’s time for a five-hour break. Like Elsa, you’d rather see what you can do to test the limits and breakthrough.
I think it's safe to say that we all have a degree of procrastination in our lives. Whether it's an extra inch of sleep, or maybe just prioritizing another task on the to-do list, sometimes the best option is to put it off for later. I don't blame you; sometimes getting stuff done takes more effort than most people are willing to give, and so when I find myself in a situation that requires effort from me, I like to convince myself that the future will take care of itself. A day will come when I'll be accomplishing my tasks. Just not today. So if you ever feel bad about procrastinating, remember I wrote this at the very last minute, and admit it, you had a good read. P.S. To whoever is reading this, may we procrastinate until the next chapter of our lives and still get things done.
long live.
fiona mallari
I have never been fond of endings. The ride home after hanging out with friends the whole day. The sadness that comes creeping as I prepare my backpack after a two-month-long vacation from school. The final hours before the examination I spend feeling stressed because I procrastinated on reviewing my notes. All these scenarios make me wish that I had the ability to freeze time, or at least hope that the clock was set one hour in advance. Unfortunately, though, that’s never the case. It’s always the end. The inevitable end. The end where the sea of uncertainty starts flooding— almost drowning you, us. I have never been fond of endings. But after 17 years of existence, I finally know that with everything I do, endings will come eventually. It’s like a doubleedged sword. When I hated what I was doing, I could feel relief that it finally ended, but if I were enjoying, I would feel devastated. I have never been fond of endings. What fascinates me though is how I can feel both sad and happy when a chapter of my life is ending. I mean, if I can finally be free of the academic burden, of the seemingly never-ending to-do lists, of the pressure of being a Scilinian who is supposed to be “matalino, masipag”, then endings might not be so bad after all. However, if that ending also means I will never get to see my friends again in the same classroom, or that I can longer spend free time with them watching illegally-downloaded movies on our television with the lights turned off and aircon blasted, or if we do not get to shout “half-day! half day! half day!” anymore after literally any birthday/teacher’s day/promotion celebration in the gymnasium, then I think I don’t want it to end anymore. Of all the years that we just stood there in the crowd wishing for the time we got out of Sci Hi, it is bizarre to think we are doing it at last. As they call out our names, we can finally walk across the stage to get our diplomas looking like kings and queens, with proud parents and friends cheering for us in the seats. With the thought that my batch mates and I will be leaving behind six years (or four years for some) of memories in this school, graduation will truly be the end of a decade, but the start of an age. Long live all the magic we made, all the obstacles we overcame, all the memories that could’ve been if the health crisis did not take place. Batch 2022, I know we all had the time of our lives fighting dragons with one another. I have never been fond of endings, but knowing that I got to experience the part between the beginning and ending with you, I guess I can learn to live with it.
meet the ampersand crew. happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. Fiona Mae C. Mallari
Roan Alleah I. Palacio
Aliana Joy M. Singian
Waldy Hans V. De Castro
Shane Lei T. Mercado
Justine Alexandra A. Evangelista
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jonathan Simon DG. Bernardo NEWS EDITOR
HEAD CARTOONIST
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
LAYOUT ARTIST
MANAGING EDITOR
LAYOUT ARTIST
Christiane C. Rumingan MANAGING EDITOR
Angela H. Flores
CIRCULATION MANAGER