The Frog Prince Theory: It's gonna be a thing!

The Frog Prince Theory is loosely based on the Mermaid Theory. What's The Mermaid Theory, you ask? For men, it is when an initially unattractive woman become very attractive through time. For more details, click the link for a YouTube video of a clip from How I Met Your Mother s06e11. 

Now I've come up with a similar theory applicable for women: The Frog Prince Theory. The theory states that a guy, whom a woman finds to be unattractive at the first meeting (much like a frog) through time may become an attractive (note: handsome, hot) "prince" in her eyes. The theory works like beer goggles, only it doesn't always involve copious amounts of alcohol. The Frog Prince Theory may come into effect through a) spending plenty of time in the company of said "frog/prince", b) absence of guys that women find to be attractive, c) hormonal imbalance, or d) desperation to "get some."

Recently, The Frog Prince Theory applied to my life. For about two months, a classmate of mine suddenly appeared... what's the word?... decent-looking. To be honest, he's not really a catch. He's not a 10 with looks, he's not the brightest bulb in the room, and he's not exactly Mr. Personality. As a matter of fact, he's the kind of guy who flatters girls ("bolero" in Filipino terms) just to get their attention. I guess that's his way of compensating.

Anyway, if you ask me what caused my sudden attraction to him, I would probably say all of the above.

But if you're wondering if it's possible to go from finding the frog a prince, and finding the prince to be a frog again, I tell you that it is. Eventually, I sobered up, so to say. The beer goggles went off and I found myself not attracted to the guy again.

And now I can look back and laugh at how wrong I was. Then I can get on track with finding my actual prince.

Good, Bad, and Mediocre

This past weekend was good, bad, and mediocre.

It was good because I got to be a part of the lantern parade for the centennial of our university. The bad - nay, hellish - part was being late and having to chase our school just to keep up (in the case of me and 5 others). From there, the worse led to a mediocre performance at the dance whatnot after the parade.

It was good that I got to exercise the growing photographer in me. But, it was bad that some classmates take advantage of the fact that I use a DSLR camera for them to have their picture taken. What am I, their personal photographer/paparazzo? And before that, a supposed friend ruins my day by sneaking up on me on putting me on a choke hold. If that is his idea of a joke, well, I'm not LOL-ing. I genuinely got pissed off because what he did made me feel embarrassed me in front of my classmates. I haven't even heard a genuine apology from him. (Not even a "sorry", just a defensive "okay, I'll give you your space.")  I hate to admit that that moment ruined my mood for the day. I felt disrespected - as a friend, and as a girl. That choke holder "friend" can expect a few words from me the next time he sees me. He can expect a taste of my wrath.... because hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right?

Okay, so more bad things happened than good, but I'll choose to remember the good when I look back on this past weekend. If I look at the bad and mediocre, I'll only boil my own blood and go, "shoulda, woulda, coulda."

And those words are only for fools.

Dear So-Called Friend,

Thanks for letting me know you were tired of me. Forming new close friendships with those two and rubbing it in my face really was the kindest way to do it. 

And thanks for sitting down with me and talking about your problems with me. Then again, it was probably better for you to ignore me and act like the past two years of our friendship never happened. You have a way with the element of surprise!

It's all right if you want to be with your two new BFFs. Go ahead and be with the pretty, popular ones all the boys bow down to. Go ahead and forget about the little people.

All I ask is for you to give me some honesty and show me a little respect. Don't turn your back on me, ignore me, and leave me hanging.

If truth be told, you don't know the pendulum I am on - I go from happy to sad, from mellow to enraged. You don't bother to ask me about it, so I don't tell you a thing. Besides, it's not my style to shower others with my burden. If you truly know me, you would know that.

So if you want none of my baggage, that's your prerogative. You can do the weak thing and abandon someone who needs your help.

Because a true friend would help a friend with a baggage. In doing so, everything else becomes easier. But I'm guessing you're not the person I count as "true." Thanks for the times, the invite your home and all the other things - I'm just sorry I can't be who you want me to be. I'm sorry if my baggage is too much for you to take.

For as long as we've been friends, I've accepted you for who you are. All along I thought you were doing the same thing.

Consider this letter my way of letting go of the bottled up emotions.

WONDERING IF I WAS EVER TRULY YOUR FRIEND,

P. Viron

Umbridge Strikes Back! (And no, I'm not referring to THE Umbridge)

Life can be strange sometimes. For a moment, it presents you with a problem that you feel you can not conquer, and all you can feel is doom and dread. But then, surprisingly, that problem is lifted off your shoulder and you feel as if you're free for good.

Oh, no. Life's little third act twists come into play and bring back the problem you thought you've gotten rid off.

This is the case when one of SOH's most infamous instructors - let's call her "Dolores Umbridge" - became my instructor in one of my major subjects. I used the word "infamous" because she is known to be as a certain  majors' worst nightmare (I'd like to specify what department of School of Humanities that is, but I would like to keep that one under the rug in case anybody accuses me of anything). She comes across as mean, especially since she is known for humiliating her students in class. Some also say that when things get personal between her and a student, she fails any student who would dare defy her. If what I mentioned make a person a bully, then, yes, I consider her as a bully.

The moment she entered the classroom during the first meeting, dread filled every student in the room. It was like a Dementor entered the room and as though all the happiness in the world was gone. "Why her?" could've crossed a student's mind. As for me, though I did feel the dread, I eventually just told myself to accept the situation for what it was: a challenge to overcome. I tried to keep a strong spirit, but eventually I realized that I don't believe in using intimidation in order to make a student learn. To me, it felt like this instructor had to be respected because she's feared. I'm sorry, but I believe that there must be kindness in teaching. Even if I was only under her class for a few a day, I hardly saw a speck of kindness in her personality.

Fortunately, it turned out that she was only a temporary instructor for that subject. The class was euphoric upon hearing that.

But the celebratory mood was short-lived when we learned she was going to be our permanent instructor in another major subject. Oh, crap, "Dolores Umbridge" is back.

I for one am not so happy at this news. I thought we were all free from "Dolores Umbridge". Then again, maybe this is a challenge I'm just going to have to face. I once read a quote that says "When life puts you in tough situations, don't say 'why me?' Just say 'try me.'"

Well, you know what? In the words of Barney Stinson: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

And come to think of it, "Dolores Umbridge" isn't the only mean-spirited person I will meet in my life. I mean, what if I end up having a boss who is just like "Dolores Umbridge"? So I might as well get used to facing "superiors from hell" and know that at the end of it all, I'm going to be all right.

The Bully, The Bullied, and The Bystander

Bullying is a growing social problem that needs to be addressed, and more importantly, stopped. Although it's a been around for as long as anyone can remember, it's only when the tragic deaths of a few gay teens that made headlines in the US did people start taking the situation seriously. It took tragedy for the world to truly notice what bullying can lead to.

I myself have been bullied as a kid. During first grade there was this one girl who would always make me cry in class. Here I am, 12 years later, and I can't really remember why she bullied me. I don't think I ever purposely did anything mean to her that would make her hate me. She probably didn't like me even if I was just being myself. There was even a time she punched me in the face. Literally. I didn't even do anything to her - I never humiliated her, took anything from her, or intentionally hurt her. I was the quiet, new kid in class who may have come off as "strange" because I didn't go about the way the other did. I never talked smack about anyone. And I was kind enough to lend my things to some of my classmates, but they would either not give it back or if they do give it back, my things would be in poor condition. (Keep in mind, we were all first graders.)

Most of the time I didn't feel accepted or liked. I didn't have people to hang out with long enough for me to consider them my friends. As early as seven years old I was already made to feel like an outcast. There were event times when I didn't want to go to school so that I wouldn't have to face my oppressors.

So the following school year my parents transferred me to a different school. From there, things started getting easier. But, at first, things were slightly tough for me. During the first few days I didn't feel so welcome, but eventually I found friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with.

You might be wondering: since I was bullied, did I ever bully another student? In retrospect, I did. But I wasn't the kind who would steal lunch money or push kids around. I did call names, though, like "freak" or "loser" and once made a girl cry. These count as thing in life that I am not proud of. I was young and a but ignorant. Now that I am older and know better, I do not encourage kids who were once bullied to become bullies themselves. Bullying another person is not the way to move and forget the hell you've been through.

In the paradigm of bullying, there are three sets of people involved: the bullied, the bully, and the bystander. I've been the bullied for a year, the bully on few occasions, and of course,the bystander for as long as I can remember.

Bystanders are those who just stand and watch - either in indifference or out of fear - as a bully makes someone's life a living hell. They don't gather the courage to tell a bully to stop or come to the aid of the bullied when he or she feels miserable. Bystanders usually don't care or maybe they do, but their train of thought says "It's none of my business anyway."

As much as I'd love to encourage bystanders to stand up against bullies, I believe that I do not have the credibility to do so. I would be a hypocrite of I myself turn a blind eye when a bully is on a rampage.

What I will encourage, though, is kindness. No matter how different your peer is from you - whether in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, faith, economic status, or whatever - they deserve to be treated with kindness and love.

People have wasted too much time focusing on how they differ instead of seeing how they are alike and what they have in common: the ability to love. And I believe that now, more than ever, we should work on that ability.

Lost in a Symbol

Today's a fine Monday on the first day of November. The weather is not intolerably hot nor is it cold enough to make you feel sleepy. Yet, I actually still feel sleepy despite the eight hours of sleep I had last night. My sleepiness is brought on by my late night reading of the novel The Lost Symbol.

I am a fan of Dan Brown's writing, as proven by my good impression of his latest work. Symbols, suspense, mysticism, history, etc. all come together in this compelling novel. It's one of those books I don't want to put down but would have to because there are other things that I need to attend to.

But I guess that my want to read more and more of the book is a good thing. It means that the book was so well-written that I could not get enough of it.

IMAGE SOURCE

Giving a Soldier The Finger is NOT Cool

Boys and girls, giving someone the finger is not cool. What's even more uncool is giving the finger to strangers while riding on a moving vehicle... and being caught by an enraged military man.

That's the unfortunate fate of two juvenile boys sitting across each other at the jeepney (one of whom was seated next to me) this afternoon. Like most boys their age, these two felt like fooling around. Their choice of stupid gimmick: giving the finger to while the jeepney strode past La Trinidad. And then unexpectedly, when one of the passengers got off the jeep, an enraged military man confronted the two young boys. He angrily asked the two of they thought it was okay or cool to give the finger as if the act was not going to offend anyone. Did they think that by raising the finger they were above everyone else? 

The wrath of the soldier frightened me a little, I must admit, but I'm on his side. Giving someone the finger is a juvenile, offensive (that goes without saying) act, and those two kids should know just that. I get the solider's point of feeling offended - he even said something about how he came all the way from Mindanao (it's a place in the Philippines where it's almost like Iraq or Afghanistan, i.e. almost a war zone with the clashes of extreme leftists and the army) and then he gets here only to be given the finger to. By the sound of that, the solider (and any soldier for that matter) was not to be messed with. The last thing the soldier said could have made the two young boys wet or crap their pants: that the soldier could easily kill them (savagely) if they ever do again what they were doing.

Personally, I don't blame the soldier for feeling enraged. I mean, here are two young kids giving an obscene gesture to strangers - who are teaching these kids what's right and wrong? It's unbelievable how young kids are exposed to such obscenity and nobody tells them to stop or to not ever do it again.

Stories of The Semester: Being a Part of Something... Doesn't Always Have Feel-Good Times

For the first time since my senior year in high school I am part of a school publication. The only difference is there's a LOT more pressure I feel now than I did three years ago.

The story starts out with a spontaneous idea to try out as a staff writer after I heard about the screening for our college publication. I went in, did some writing, and tried not to keep my hopes up. A few weeks later I received a text message that said I made it as a staff writer. The excitement upon reading the message is one of the highlights of my year. I was excited about the idea of writing articles, getting to work with other talented campus journalists, etc.

But I didn't count on one important variable: the seriousness involved when it comes to business. And business requires a lot of hard work and commitment, a couple of things that aren't exactly my forte. As a result, I was so overwhelmed when I couldn't handle some of the things that were my responsibility. There were even these incidents where I said I would attend an event, but I wouldn't show up because I'm either too lazy or I got something else going on, like school work. Long story short, I probably pissed off some people along the way.

I acknowledge my irresponsibility in both incidents and from now I will avoid a "three-peat" of disappointment and irresponsibility. I now realize that I am an adult whose actions have consequences. In the real world, my actions would have cost me my job so I ought to avoid travelling the road of Laziness.

My future in the publication looks a little bleak, after those incidents. But I shouldn't worry so much about it, though. Whatever happens, happens... and I'll just have to meet with it when it does.

Stories of The Semester: Engl14 - Principles and Procedures of Parliamentary

This subject is quite an interesting one. Prior to the start of the semester I was a bit curious as to what goes on in this subject. I figured a little that some debating is involved, so I was excited at the thought.

But came the actual time of the subject, as the semester started. Yes, Parliamentary Procedure involved debates, but not entirely. Parliamentary Procedure applies to government proceeding, company meetings, etc. It was a technical subject with so much rules that I personally didn't want to keep up with.

Another reason why I probably didn't enjoy the subject that much is the amount of group work that was a "make or break" when it came to my grades. I'm not usually excited when it comes to group work. A group is only as strong as its weakest member and that was a little bit the case in the group I was in. Some members lacked initiative and depended on the people known to be "the responsible ones."

But we managed to pull off some team work when our determination to pass the course kicked in. Eventually I learned to take it easy and keep the faith that I'm going to pass the subject.

As for now, though, I'm glad the semester's over and that I've gotten away from the course.Oh, let's just say that Parliamentary Procedure just isn't my "thing."