15-Perspective In Life

           We have often believed that life is like a book. Every person we meet is a new character, every obstacle is a new chapter. God is the author, and we ourselves are the main character. We being the main characters make choices that make up the book of our life. Those choices we’ve made can turn into memories and experience that can change ourselves as well as our outlook in life. Those things can either be worth remembering or worse haunting. But most of all, those things have undeniably molded us to the person who we are today.   

            People are like Books we should not judge them by their cover or simply how their looks; for inside those pages a lot can be discovered. Judging them by its cover is simply criticizing them without knowing the story behind it. Judging them doesn’t make you a better person, in fact you don’t have any difference to the bullies out there. Before you make a conclusion on the kind of person you think someone is, you should stop and get to know them first. You never truly know what goes on in someone else’s life until you learn who the person truly is. People should be judged by the things that honestly matter like what kind of person they are and how they treat others. We are all human beings and should be given fair chances to have people learn who we truly are. There will always be people who judge you, but if they don't want to see who the real you is, that's their loss.            

Like a book there are many pages in life that tells different stories. We started off as a blank pages, perhaps everyone did; dull, lifeless and completely uninteresting. All individual has a stories to tell no matter what the consequence and the stand in life they have, yet as the days, months, and years go by those pages gradually becoming more of an interesting story. As the pages grow by I was becoming more of a better person than I was before. Indeed, I could say I was flourishing.            

In books there will always be a conflict and obstacle, the same as life.  The conflict and obstacles that I’ve encountered in life make me a tougher yet a fragile person.  Because of all the obstacle and downfall we both have our downfall and never ending storms in life. But, come to think of it things like those comes inevitably, right? Yes those were the rotten pages of the books that we wanted to tear apart immediately. Suspense filling in our soul as those pages haunt our well-being.  Those trials have made us very vigilant in life and also made us see and realized the flaws of realityEvery each of us has our book we own. That are the stories that no one could ever take away from us. The stories, and the journey we had defined something that used to be nothing like a blank paged book. A lot of changes will happen in our memories, even some of us are meant to meet someday. Change is the only thing that is permanent in this world, nothing more, and nothing less. It chooses no one because everyone is involved. Lastly, always remember that we should keep our book worth it, exceptional, beautifully written and touching to every persons soul. So, start moving now and try your best to have the best book in the world.

14-Anti Smoking Campaign

 I’m a student of Asia Pacific College in Makati city. But, I must say that now a days a lot of people are smoking, not juts people but  simply a student like me. In my school Asia Pacific College, Our parking lot is a dedicated place for students who smoke. What is really, really devastating is about 40% of the smoker in our parking lot are girls.

First of all to be completely honest with you folks, I’m not a smoker, I haven’t try smoking and I’m proud of it. In my opinion I think they are aware and knowledgeable about the health risk of being a smoker they just can’t stop smoking because they really want to look cool to people. I think it’s really not right to smoke just to look cool. Currently my school Asia pacific College launch an Anti-smoking campaign. It is really the perfect timing for that because more and more students are becoming a smoker.
Here in our room about 3 out of 30 person are smoking, It’s really low compare to other class but what’s really alarming is that maybe some of my classmates will be influenced by them or might try to imitate them just to look cool.

                Every time I see a student smoker not to take away from, them but I easily get turned off because you’re just a student you can’t even earn a money of your own then suddenly you already have a vices. It’s really not right and also I think most of the parents don’t know that their child is smoking so my heart really breaks every time I saw a student smoking.

                Asia pacific college anti-smoking campaign, actually I haven’t heard of it, I also don’t have any idea how are they going to campaign anti-smoking and convince a lot of student to not smoke. I also think that it’s the school obligation to prevent the student from smoking. Look on the internet you can see many countries doing also a lot of campaign just to prevent people from smoking so I think, We the whole Philippine should follow and start making a move to stop people from smoking. 

13- Heroism

What is a hero? We often believed that super hero are fictional character who always saved us human. That is the question that had a few seconds of my thought. A question that had me started to search for what it really is and how they become. A hero is a person who is in the face of danger from a position of weakness, it displays courage, bravery or self-sacrifice. That is, heroism for some greater good. The word hero comes from the Greek word "hero, warrior", particularly one such as Heracles with divine ancestry or later given divine honors. Literally protector or defender.

            We Filipinos always believed and always see our own heroes in our money in our everyday lives but we never wonder how they became a hero? What are their contribution to our mother country? How did they fight to all the injustices? This are just the questions that we don’t care about. Questions that we don’t ever care. Now recently, I have attended a seminar about Filipino heroism they are a group of Filipino who are consists of artist like John, politician, historian and even a simple Filipino like me. They are currently promoting a movie named Heneral luna which is also a famous Filipino hero. Heneral Luna is played by the artist John who is also part of the group. They promote the movie so that a lot of people will watch it ad we should watch it too so that it will not be changed by Sm cinemas for a short period of time.

            I like the group’s advocacies because they explained a lot of question to us that can’t be answered easily by our own teacher because they are not really a historian like we are not made by the history, because we mad the history, The more you know the past the better you are prepared in the future, and a lot more. They even told us that the main reason why there is no progress I Philippine economy is first we don’t acknowledge and imitate our hero. They say that we see our hero as a perfect person and has a mindset that A hero is a perfect person but that is definitely not true.

11-ME

            My name is John Rafael P. Furuya. 16 years of age. Half Japanese half Filipino. I lived with my mom, Juliet; my sister Mayumi; and my father Tadao. We are a simple and very happy family. Both of my parents are catholic even though my father is a Japanese. My father is an engineer so he usually went back to Philippines after finishing one project so I think every 3 months. Me, I grew up here in the Philippines where I learn to see the world.

            Growing up with my father is really tough. The Japanese culture is really different from the Filipino culture. I always compare myself to my friends on how they are being raised by their parents. My father is very strict in everything because in Japanese culture it is said that men should be superior than woman because they are the one who would work for their family. The discipline and the lesson that my father is nurturing me is somehow help me equipped in my journey in life. It may be tough but it really pays off.

            As a student I’m really not the best in class. I’m just an average student, not that good, not that bad. I haven’t received that much awards and honours but I always put my 100% effort in everything I do. In my social status I think it’s also average, a lot of people know me because of my different looks but most likely don’t care. I’m not that athletic but I know how to play table tennis and volleyball. High school is really one of the best part of your life. The chapter of my life where I learn and mould myself to who I am right now. A lot of memories happened in me including the happiest and the most embarrassing. It is also the chapter when I found my first love and eventually breaking apart with her. It is a part of my life when I learn to rebel just for the sake of going out with my friends. I also experience a lot of failure especially in my grades my parents didn’t met their expectations but I always get up and reclaim myself.

            After graduating High school one of my plan is to pursue a degree in medicine and eventually continue it and became a doctor but ended up taking Information technology major in Mobile application and internet technology. To be honest my parents are full support in me when I said I wanted to take Medicine but I choose IT as my career simply, because they are not getting any younger I don’t want to see them working for more years just to send me to a medical school. Actually right now I’m beginning to like and enjoy my course. It is the second course that I would like to take next to medicine. I just hope that I would not regret that big decision that I made. In the near future I hope I can be a successful IT specialist someday and have a simple and happy life.

10-What does it take to be a Filipino

I am half Japanese. Fifty percent of the blood that runs through my veins is Filipino. I was born and raised in the Philippines and highly exposed with traditions and culture of my Motherland. I fluently speak the native language, but what does it really take to be a Filipino?  That is the part that got few seconds of my thoughts. A question that had me started to dig deeper, and go straight to the historical route of search.

The culture we had is traced back from our great and complex history.  It is influenced by most of the people we have interacted with. In my limited research on this matter, I have found out that it is a blend of Western and Hispanic, Chinese, Arabs, and other Asian cultures which contribute to a diversified customs we have that makes us unique.  Let’s have a glimpse on some of our popular Filipino traditions and find the similarities that bind us to each other.

We highly value the presence of our family more than anything else.  Having close family ties is one of our unique traits.  Proof to this is when a child gets married and has a family of his own, he would prefer to stay in the same house with their parents living together and taking care of one another in everyday living. We just love the concept of family.Another trait Filipinos made themselves exceptional from others is their strong respect for elders.  First on the list is “Mano Po”. Mano is a Spanish word for “hand” while Po is used in the sentence when addressing elders or superiors. It literally means can I ask for your blessings?  It is done mostly when someone is leaving or arriving in the place.

We are known not only for our breathtaking sceneries and rich cultures but also because of our hospitality.  We never fail to show our heart-warming generosity and friendliness towards foreigners and locals alike.   We will even go out of our way to ensure our guests feel comfortable. We even give welcome and farewell gifts to them. Lastly, imagine the picture of Filipino men carrying a house on their shoulders. Who would even forget about this Filipino sense of community?  “Bayanihan” is a core essence of Filipino culture. Though nowadays the picture of it is no longer applicable and is not being practiced any more, the act itself and the value that comes with it should always be retained. I personally believe that this is the reason why despite the trials and hardship our country is experiencing, we never fail to smile. We still manage to be happy despite all the calamities and issues that are happening around.

These are just few of the little treasures we have. Yet despite this substantial heritage, one thing is clear to me - that these precious values become really powerful when we Filipinos begin to understand them deeper and start to live them. To sum up, a true Filipino is defined by embracing our collective values and culture, and being proud of it with profound respect and appreciation. We enjoy and take pride in being called Pinoys and are totally convinced that it’s more fun in the Philippines. 

9-Oh nana here's my name

          A name is a word that gives identity to a certain person. Have you ever wonder why your parents gave you that name? A name represents a big part of yourself, without knowing the story behind your name you will not be able to know yourself fully. It’s like knowing yourself without knowing what your origin is. Hi my name is John Rafael Furuya and I wanted to share to you guys the story behind my name.

            My name John Rafael is a name given to me by my grandmother, actually my father wants me to have a Japanese name while my grandmother doesn’t want. My Lola is a Christian so she a want a name from the bible. The name John is actually a book from the bible and also apostles while Rafael means God has healed and a Saint. After a long time thinking I asked my grandmother if there is any story behind my name or why did she chose that name. My grandmother didn’t even hesitate to answer my questions. She said that John because it’s just that it sound good and the name trend at that year, while Rafael because I have an older brother who died when he was still a baby so she said that Rafael means “God has healed” and they think of me as a blessing that healed them from the scar due to my brother’s death. I was really shocked at that time because I’m really not expecting that my name would mean so much. After sometime I ask my grandmother the list of name choices they have for me and she said that its only between my name Rafael and my brother’s name Kenji. Well about my last name FuruyaI really don’t have any idea about it aside that it came from japan. So after several times of researching the net I’ve found out that it means an old valley or old room. 

          Actually I really like the name that my grandmother has given me; I think it suits me well. Every time I’m out of track in my life I always think of the meaning of my name because I think it’s my purpose in life, It molds me to who am I right now. I hope my grandmother is proud of me at who I am right now and what I accomplished in life.