Since this weekend is the UPCAT, and this is the first time that UPCAT involves esssay writing, witty and funny rejected essay questions were made up by different people and it just spreads like fire right now in social media networks.
I gathered some of the top tweets in Twitter that used the hashtag #RejectedUPCATEssayQuestions and these are the following:
For my major class, Philippine Arts 198 (Introduction to Cultural Heritage), my professor always told us that there will come a time that we will be given a chance to speak to a minority. Fortunately, an Aeta studies in our school also (University of the Philippines Manila).
A 2nd year BS Behavioral Sciences student, Norman (I wasn't able to get his last name.), gave us a glimpse to his life as an Aeta. At first, I thought it would be a simple storytelling but, honestly, I learned a lot from him and was impressed by his dedication in life.
Norman belongs to an Aeta community in Pampanga. When he was a kid, he was brought to an orphanage by his parents. Norman didn't find anything negative about this because he was able to communicate with different types of people and boosted his confidence. After high school, he had to stop and work as a helper in Pasay City. He also worked as a call center agent (no wonder he really spoke English fluently. I was shocked.) and after years of working experience, Norman's father asked if he wanted to go back to college and he eagerly said yes and is now an Iskolar ng Bayan. We asked about his age, and he said "Age doesn't matter. 'Wag na natin pag-usapan 'yan."
Since Norman didn't want a one-way communication, me and my classmates were able to ask him questions (personal, about his community, their practices, and the like). The first time I saw Norman, I was bothered by his tattoo on the arm. It looked like a tribal symbol, so I asked him if it was a symbol, indeed. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Haha! It only symbolized his pride of being a katutubo. The more important tradition of the Aetas was the "pagkikikil ng ngipin" or the sharpening of teeth. He said the sharper an Aeta's teeth was, the more attractive they find themselves.
Minorities here in the Philippines always end up becoming the object of the subject. People study their culture, then after that, left behind. Meaning, pinag-aaralan natin sila para lang sa sarili nating ikabubuti. Makakakuha tayo ng matataas na grado, ggraduate with flying colors, makakapasok sa magagandang opisina, tapos ung mga katutubo, wala na. Hindi na natin babalikan para magpasalamat. Yes, Aetas are given the recognition, but how about importance?
Hunting
Aetas are great hunters. That's a fact. What we do not know is how they do it. Norman said there's this act of mimicry. They imitate the sounds of birds to be able to catch them. "Kung hindi ka marunong gumaya ng tunog ng mga huni nila, eh patay tayo diyan. Wala ka talagang mahuhuli." He even gave us a sample of the mimic styles he do! I was so amazed. Before hunting, Aetas believe that it is important to give an alay or offering to the spirit guardians. They also believe in the saying na kailangan mo mag-tabi-tabi po para hindi makaabala sa mga nagbabantay ng kalikasan. After being able to catch wild animals, they have a specific way of cooking them. They use less condiments except for onions and pepper. Most of the time, they only grill or ihaw. If there are no wild animals to catch and cook, they eat vegetables.
Nothing beats a classic UAAP game between the eternal rivals, the De La Salle Green Archers & the Ateneo De Manila Blue Eagles.
For this 75th season of the UAAP, I am sure that the De La Salle community expects a lot from the Archers basketball team after a four-year drought. With the rookie, Jeron Teng who has proven himself already in the past games, and veterans LA Revilla, Norbert Torres and Luigi dela Paz, the team's and community's spirits are up and hoping for a win from the Eagles.
July 27, 2012, 4pm, Saturday
SM MOA Arena: Another state of the art establishment here in the Philippines.
Flashing LED screens surround the Arena.
Ateneo Blue Babble Batallion (Halftime break; Ateneo leading 35-26 against La Salle)
I'm about to perform a monologue tomorrow for my theater class. I've had a really hard time choosing and deciding which piece to do and what type of acting I would like to show. Believe me, I hate performing in front of many people if it comes to acting.
So, I came up with three choices.
1. GET A GREAT PART FROM AN AWESOME MOVIE. A Little Princess written by Richard LaGravenese & Elizabeth Chandler Sara: I don't have a mother either... she's in heaven with my baby sister... But that doesn't mean I can't talk to her, I talk to her all the time... I tell her everything and I know she hears me because... because that's what angels do. My mom is an angel and yours is too. With beautiful satin wings, a silk dress, and a crown of baby rosebuds, and they all live together in a castle. And do you know what it's made out of? Sunflowers. Hundreds of them, so bright they shine like the sun. And when they want to go anywhere they just whistle, like this... (whistles) and a cloud swoops down to the front gate and picks them up and as they ride through the air, over the moon and through the stars... until they are hovering right above us, that's how they can look down and make sure we're all right. And sometimes they even send messages. Of course you can't hear them with all the noise you were making... but don't worry they'll always try again... just in case you missed them.
The
Notebook
written by Jan Sardi & Jeremy Leven, from the novel by Nicholas Sparks
Allie: Do you remember sneaking over
here the first time you told me about this place? I got home late that evening,
and my parents were furious when I finally came in. I can still picture my
daddy standing in the living room, my mother on the sofa, staring straight
ahead. I swear, they looked as if a family member had died. That was the first
time my parents knew I was serious about you, and my mother had a long talk
with me later that night. She said to me,"Sometimes, our future is dictated
by who we are, not what we want." And I know it was wrong of her to keep
your letters from me, but just try to understand. Once we left, she probably
thought it would be easier for me to just let go. In her mind, she was trying
to protect my feelings, and she probably thought the best way to do that was to
hide the letters you sent. Not that any of it matters, now that I have Lon.
He's handsome, charming, successful. He's kind to me, he makes me laugh, and I
know he loves me in his own special way...but there's always going to be
something missing in our relationship -- the kind of love we had that summer.
2. MUSICAL PEG
I think Jesus Christ Superstar is one of the most dramatic, memorable and classic musical movies ever. I'm choosing the parts of Mary Magdalene where she sang Everything's Alright and I Don't Know How To Love Him from this 1973 hit movie. Her voice matches mine, I love this movie, it makes me cry, it's heart-warming.. All in all, this will be perfect.
Well, for this musical... I honestly haven't watched the full movie. :( But, I've heard a lot of great parts from it and I was thinking of making my own version of Over The Moon. It would be a great monologue piece, but my problem will be if my theater classmates have thought of this already. I don't want to be compared in the end.
3. DO AN IMPROMPTU MONOLOGUE. (Which is probably the most stupid idea I ever made. :| HAHA)
The main idea of this monologue is to showcase my talent. So, I decided to stick with the musical. I've chosen Jesus Christ Superstar. :) This will be a big challenge for me since tomorrow's performance will also be our audition for our final theater act. I hope I'll do great tomorrow.
Here are the videos of the original songs I'm performing tomorrow. I'll be mashing the two and instead of singing it all the way, I'll do some parts in a speech form. Or should I say, acting dialogue. :)
July 18, 2012
UP Manila Salinlahi, a Philippine Arts organization, had their annual acquaintance party at the Mezza Residences. Organized by the Juniors, the event "Wet 'n Wild" definitely speaks for itself.
