Heroes of All Time

       What would be more important for you between your job and your family? Will you consider first the ones you love who beg you to stay by their side or will you help the ones in need who cries for your aid? Being in that situation had never been easy. You may only have two options. First is to set aside your responsibility as a leader that may lead into a defeat but knowing that you have your family with you. The second one is to go on to the combat that may or may not lead you to success and fatality. That kind of situation often happens to conquerors. Two of them are Aeneas and Hector who are both great heroes of their times. Aeneas was in deep sorrow and was in rage that he wants to go in battle with the Greeks.  But his wife Creusa begs him that he must save their lives first before anyone else. She continued begging for herself and her son's safety. Her feelings of being a wife and a mother over power her that time. Aeneas seeing his wife acting that way considers her. He listened to Creusa and he prioritized his family first before anyone else and flee with them. 

       On the other hand Hector who was going to brawl with Achilles was asked by his wife Andromache to not go into combat anymore. Andromache begs him to stay by her side with his son because if he dies in the battle, no one will be left with her and Astyanax since her father and brothers were already killed by Achilles.  Hector considers the request of his wife but then he insists to go on combat because it is his responsibility. Although Hector thinks of his family, he still prioritized his fellow men, because he thinks that it is his destiny and the will of the Gods for him. There are a lot of things in common and in contrast between the stories of Aeneid and Iliad. First, they have the same scene where in the wife of the two heroes asked them to stay by their side and don't go into combat anymore.  Creusa prevents Aeneas from having revenge during the Trojan War and Andromache begs Hector to not go into battle with Achilles. Secondly, they differ because the other one refuses to listen to his wife while one considers his wife's request. Aeneas turned his back to the war and chose his family over his obligation while Hector prefers to go in combat than to stay with his family, he chose his responsibilities rather than his loved ones. 

       We cannot judge anyone of them. Both of them just did what they think is right. For a soldier, a leader and a hero, one must swear to do his obligation sincerely and make it as his top priority. But a family must also be one of the things that he needs to consider. Decision making is certainly a tough thing to do, you must always read between the lines, you must always consider the ones involve and you must always accept whatever your choice will end up into. 

Defeat first, Victory later

       Aeneas had been into many conquers. Aeneas lost many of his fellow Trojans during the battle. You'll never know the true essence of winning if you don’t even lose just for once. But for Aeneas he doesn't just lose one but many, plenty of sacrifices were done and a lot of trials were conquered. He really had been into so many struggles during the journey to found Rome. But he never gave up, he never loses hope, he keeps on praying to the Gods and Goddesses for their support. After his last battle with Turnus, he finally had the glory of victory in his hands. It was certainly a harsh journey not just for Aeneas but for all of the Trojans as well. Aside from having victory at their side, they also found Rome. It was one of the greatest victories they can ever obtain.

       One will not achieve success easily. Achieving it with such effort is the most satisfying triumph. Success will never be yours unless you worked hard for it. Victory is the bittersweet part of the game. It’s bitter because someone will get badly hurt for you to get victory. It’s also sweet because at last all the hard works, obstacles, heart aches that you've been through will already be paid off. One may attain victory through determination and hard work. 

A Man of Values

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” 

- Albert Einstein

          Aeneas was retelling the events that happened which led to the fall of Troy starting from that night of the banquet where the Trojans were celebrating for their victory, but had no idea that it will also be the night of their defeat. When the Trojans were in their deep sleep in the middle of the night, the Greeks attacked them. The wooden horse which they thought was a peace offering was really a trap, a massive trap from the Greeks. The wooden horse contains the greatest warriors of the Greeks while the others were just waiting outside the frontier of Troy's walls. Countless Trojans died in the battle, most of them were hurt, and those who were left in Troy became slaves. The fall of Troy was really a very upsetting event for the Trojans. Aeneas, knowing that fighting back from the Greeks will not be a wise decision, flew from Troy simultaneously with the other Trojans. 

          When I read the part where Aeneas was narrating his experiences to Dido about the fall of Troy, my sympathy sank with his story. I could sense that he was really in deep sorrow but then he is trying his best to move on and focus on more essential stuffs. I feel sympathy for him, though we all know that he is certainly a brave warrior and an unconquerable hero. But to feel powerless and worthless while seeing someone so close to you, is eventually dying and you can't do anything at all to save him.

          He is indeed destined to found Rome himself. When I read that part, I was so pleased. All of the dreadful things that Aeneas experienced will bear good ones because it will make him stronger. Maybe it is really meant to be a tragic way for victory to come to him. He is indeed the founder of Rome but before that he ran into such obstacles and challenges. He lost a lot of his men and also his loved ones. He sacrificed his free will. He led his men into such journeys and battles. I know he felt a very intense pain in his heart but he still kept on moving forward even if it hurts him sometimes and I salute him for that.

The Mysterious Beam

The Mona Lisa painting is a very famous work of art and a very controversial oil painting in Western Art History. This painting made by Leonardo da Vinci is really striking, very distinctive yet mystifying. Her smile is a very captivating smile and everyone is interested to know the true reason behind her enigmatic smile. Researchers found out that the smile is consist of 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, 2% angry, less that 1% neutral and not surprised at all.  The new theory for Mona Lisa's smile states that the young woman posing in that painting suffered from muscular atrophy on the right side of the body.

 Some people wonder why Mona Lisa’s facial expression seems to alter depending on the direction from which you glance at her. Given the fact that da Vinci manages to capture so many diverse emotions and character-traits in one canvas, it seems normal that every time one gazes at the Mona Lisa, one sees something different. Because it is not easy to outlook all the portrayed emotions and aspects of Mona Lisa’s personality in one glance, one is left with a sense of mystery. Certainly, this canvas is truly appealing and the smile is really mystifying.

 According to the painter’s biographer, the artist hired clowns, singers and bell-ringers in order to amuse Mona Lisa so that she wouldn’t get depressed or bored.  No matter what’s the explanation behind the smile. The bottom line is Leonardo da Vinci did a great job in this work of art. Regardless of the individual in the painting, the reason for its smile and other puzzling speculations in it, it will always be the one of the most remarkable paintings in the whole wide world. 

A tete-a-tete with Mr. Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci

      While I was looking at the painting of Mona Lisa at the museum, a guy approached me and I was amazed with what I saw. That guy was Leonardo Da Vinci, the one who painted the Mona Lisa. He asked me why I was looking at the painting and I simply said that the painting caught my attention. He also asked why it caught my attention; I said that it’s very simple yet it expresses beauty in simplicity. I asked him his secret on how he paints such very fine images and he just smiled and asked me if we can go out for a walk, I agreed with him. While we were walking, he took out a piece of paper and a pen then he started illustrating. He said that, there’s no such secret behind his outstanding work in painting.

        Let it come from your heart, free your mind and let your imagination run wild, Da Vinci said to me. He showed me the illustration he had made. Guess what? It was me who he illustrated on the paper and he affixed his signature at the bottom. Words can’t express how happy I was at that moment. He gave me advises and tips on how to paint perfectly. He also showed me some of his paintings. I enjoyed looking at the paintings though it’s a little bit old and the image is not that clear anymore.

           Time passed by so fast that I didn’t notice that we have reached my house already. Before leaving, he gave me a paint brush and he said that it’s mine already. For me, it was the greatest remembrance that a person can have in their life. He said to let the paint brush serve as an inspiration to me when I paint something. He said that even though we only had one day spent with each other still, he had a great time with me. He bid goodbye and I watched him walk away. I admit I’m going to miss him very much.

A tete-a-tete About the Christmas Party

      It was a cold morning on the 19th of December at exactly 8 o'clock, when Rose Anne and I were talking about our Christmas Party.

 " Hey Patricia! The Christmas party will be held tomorrow afternoon, ma'am said that" Rose Anne told me.

                                                                                   
"Really? I heard from Christian that it will be held on Friday" I replied.

"Noooo! Ma'am said that it will be held tomorrow" she said.

Then suddenly Marinel joined in our conversation.

Marinel asked what we are talking about.

Rose Anne replied that we were talking about the Christmas Party.

"Yep! We're so excited!" I added in joy.

Then we wondered about the time and activities of our Christmas Party.

"Hey, let's ask Ma'am the time of our year level Christmas Party" Marinel said.

"Yah! Let's go" I agreed.

Rose Anne opposed and said that we should make the invitation first because we’re the ones assigned to that.

Marinel agreed with Rose Anne.

"Let's use my laptop. I brought it today." I recommended.

"Sure! Give it to me." Marinel said.

"Ma'am Juliet said that Ma'am Orsal will be the opening speaker for tomorrow." Rose Anne informed us.

"Really?!" Marinel and I reacted.

"Yes!, just do it Marinel!" Rose Anne replied.

Marinel agreed with Rose Anne and said that she will do it.

"Hey! Who will be our emcees?" I asked.

"Hmmm I think Jessa and Igi will fit for that" Rose Anne suggested.

"Ah! Yes! Yes!" I agreed.

Then Marinel said that she is done already.

Rose Anne told her that she is very fast.

"Can we see it?" I demanded.

"Sure! I'm so great!" Marinel exclaimed.

"Ok! Let's consult Ma'am if this is okay already" Rose Anne added.

We both agreed with Rose Anne.


-END OF CONVERSATION-

The Student's Voyage to Hell

   Half way on the journey of our school year, I found myself lying inside a creepy room with no windows but only a lantern beside me that glimmers at its best. I felt like someone was watching my every move. After a while of searching for a way to escape the room I heard a voice calling my name, the voice sounds so familiar to me. Then it showed itself to me, it was my best friend Peter who was guiding me in this room after all this time.

   I asked him why I was here and what was he doing. He said that I was the chosen one and he was asked by someone to guide me through my expedition. He pulled a stick from behind him and he used it to open the door. Our expedition starts now.

First Room: The Slothful

          Inside this room, I found the lazy students who don’t do their home works, projects, seat works and other stuffs associated with studying. The disciplinary act for them is that they have to answer a lot of exercises, if they don’t answer it, more exercises would be given to them.

Second Room: The Late Sleepers

            After leaving the first room, we proceeded here in the second room where we can see the late sleepers. The students who are in here are the students who sleep late at night wasting their time with nonsense things. The disciplinary act for them is that they are forced to sleep for a long time to restore the wasted hours that they had made.

Third Room: The Scallywags

          In this room, I saw the students who had caused a lot of trouble inside and outside the school. The disciplinary act for them is that they need to kneel on a floor covered with a mixture of salt and monggo seeds, they cannot stand up until they had confessed and repent for the troubles they've made.

Fourth Room: The Cheaters

            The students here are the ones who cheat on everything. The disciplinary act for them is that they would be tied so tight on a chair and they’re forced to watch every cheating they have made forever.

Fifth Room: The Overconfident

            The students here are the once who are very much proud of themselves. Their disciplinary act is that they will be blindfolded and a boulder will be tied in each of their foot.

Sixth Room: The Mischievous

          The students here are the ones who always make fun of everything. The naughty students here are forced to seat on a chair with their body tied to the chair so tight and their mouth is covered with a lot of tape.

Seventh Room: The Violators

          The students here are the ones who violated the rules in school and inside their rooms. The disciplinary act for them here is that they would be tied on a chair and the rules will be cited on their ears for so many times.

Eight Room: The Ditchers

          The students here are the ones who don’t like to study at all. The disciplinary act for them is that they are forced to study and if they don’t study, they will carry big books in each hand while kneeling on the floor with a mixture of salt and monggo seeds.

Ninth Room: The Disobeyers

          In this room, I saw the students who disobey their parents, teachers and other people. The disciplinary act for them in this room is that they aren’t recognized by their parents and other people who know them. Their heads would become bigger every time they disobey their parents.

      After we have travelled the nine rooms, we have finally reached the room where we came from. Peter disappeared just like when bubbles vanish. Then I just lost conscience and fell down on the floor. Then I woke up inside my bedroom. I never thought of that journey as a dream but a true to life experience where my soul travelled into a different dimension where no mortal is allowed to go.