Bridge to Terabithia

I know you think this is a review of the Movie Bridge to Terabithia. But I must warn you ahead of time; this isn’t purely about the film. On the contrary this is a reflection of one of my fondest memories which was brought upon by watching the said movie – thus the title of the post.

It all happened right after we had our lunch.

My sister cooked practically half of the stuffs laid on our table. They are comprised of rice, sautéd vegetables and fried fish. I, on the other hand, prepared the dessert and the beverages. I have a penchant for shakes and salads so; it fell on me (as the least talented in cooking) to prepare the fruit shakes and the desserts. I provided mango shake and avocado shake as beverage and fresh Durian as dessert for this meal.

Most of the time, especially when I and my three sisters are present at home, this is the routine. They cook; I take care of whatever is left to be taken care of. This time though, there were only two of us present. We still managed. I cleaned up after the meal and my parents went to attend to our business.

April (older by three years) and I then went inside the house to amuse ourselves with whatever it is that we could amuse ourselves with. I played the violin; she played her flute. A few minutes later, we both turned towards the TV. For days now, I couldn’t find the ‘movie channels’ (our satellite’s been behaving weird lately) but by some wink of luck, I managed to find Star Movies. There, I saw Bridge to Terabithia.

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The movie was about two kids who weaved their own world (Terabithia) through their combined minds.


I thought the two looked good together, but anyway, the movie was for children so I highly doubt that the intent of the producers was to make the audience think of romance. It’s probably just the hopeless romantic in me that made me notice this fact (^_^).


I love the way the makers of the movie unfolded the story of the two ‘misfits’ and how they became friends. I was also delighted about the way the difference in Leslie’s and Jess’s family was portrayed (the psychologist in me talking).

It was saddening though, that the girl had to die in the end and that the boy almost ended up ruining himself because of guilt. See, at a certain point in the movie, the boy went to a museum with his beautiful teacher (who also happens to be his crush). All the while the girl went alone to Terabithia (the wood at the back of their house) where she drowned and died. The boy then wallowed in shame and guilt. He thought that if he only invited the girl to the museum, she wouldn’t have drowned.

Guilt is funny that way. It makes one irrational, that although some things are beyond our control and we don’t intend for it to happen, we still blame ourselves. I guess there is no worse critic of oneself than oneself. Anyway, it was only during the end of the movie that the boy managed to get over his burden and move on. He finally decided to embrace life for what it was; the girl being dead and him being alive.
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I think the girl’s presence in his life made an impact not only to him but also to his family. In the latter part of the movie I’ve seen how his dad’s attitude towards him changed (for the better in my opinion). I’ve also seen his maturity after the crisis. Another truth that is in the movie; after a trial, we either become stronger or weaker. In this case, the boy opted for the path that will make him better.

And yet another wisdom shared in the movie was “The best joy in life is working well at something worth doing”. This was said by the girl’s father during one of their house-painting sessions. Quite piercing to those who are forcing themselves upon doing something they don’t really want, such as, I don’t know, taking up a course that is not really of your liking? Sticking to a job you hate? It tells us to reconsider. It is known that God wants us to have joy in life. He made us for His glory. But then, how can we bring Him glory if we always feel miserable? I believe then that we don’t have to deprive ourselves of options. Life is short.

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Okay. So I was busy watching this movie and filing away some nice lessons when my gaze fell upon my sister. I was astonished of the fact that she was sniffing and secretly wiping her tears. Yes, I know. On some level, although my sister does not really confide that much things in me, I understood that she cried because she unwittingly put herself in the boy’s shoes. I understand that she loves her friends and that if things like those in the movie happens to them, she would also feel bad.

Funny is that thing called friendship. I admit, I can’t really relate that well to it. The closest things I have to best friends are my sisters. I have friends of course but not best friends. And let me get this straight, I’m not bitter about it. I guess that’s the price of independence. Relying solely in God and yourself in times of trouble really has its way of you being not-too-attached with anyone.

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Actually, my sister isn’t the only one who has musings of her own. During the middle of the movie, there was a scene where the two friends built a tree house. I remember when we were little we built our very own tree house as well. We sawed. We hammered. We cooked using tin cans. The tree house was about six feet above the ground and is anchored upon the mango tree beside our abode. (background song: pana-panahon ang pagkakataon maibabalik ba ang kahapon.*laughs*)

We dressed up ourselves. We were the Power Rangers! The Magic Knights! The Bananas in Pajamas! I can’t imagine that we used to have that kind of imagination. Truly remarkable! After watching the way those kids in the movie create such magnificent world with their minds, I almost remember what it felt like to have imagination as vivid as that, to think of things in their best light. Then, it made me wonder where all those imagination have gone to. What went wrong? When have I turned into a person whose realism almost border on jaded cynicism? What made me give all of those things up?

Then I realized, REALITY happened. LIFE happened. Which is why now, I don’t see the world as I did years ago. But is it for the better? Is my seeing the world through the eyes of realism making me a better individual? Well, I think in some ways it is. It made me more ready of the battles ahead. But for the most part it’s not. It only made me suspicious of the world and quite frankly, more pessimistic – always expecting the worst things to happen because some things are just too impossible to happen (spoken from the perspective of an unimaginative person).

As Believers, what should be our stand in this? I believe we must have both. Realism and imagination should come along in harmony. Although we understand how things work in life, we must not be afraid to imagine, and to expect these imaginations to come to life. In the problems and trials that we encounter, we must remember the biblical Truth that with God nothing is impossible. He can accomplish things far more than we DARE ask or IMAGINE (Ephesians 3:20-21). Being too serious and too realistic can sometimes rob us of the joys of being youthful, even of our salvation.

In this note, I would like to end this post by quoting Jess from the movie: “What good does being too serious do to a person anyway?”

Nice Kind of Shock

While everybody else is doing their merry-making, we (the ever FUN campus) are spending our time on books, calculators, exams. BEST summer ever!

Ok. So I was nursing a very foul mood just a while ago… I realize that I have an impending clash of appointments due to some prima donna date switching.

See, I have a flight this morning (4:30AM) and it’s still unknown to me whether I am required to take the final exams in org chem or not (scheduled today as well). Honestly, I don’t really care about the grade increase. As long as I don’t have to repeat the entire ordeal that is the subject organic chemistry, I’m cool with it. By now, I realize that I am not really ambitious and that my goals in life are not that high. (It boils down to that same question, “Why bother?”)

So there. I really have no idea what to say to my parents, as well as any inclination of what to do. I was really more than willing to dive headfirst from our roof deck to the streets of Nakpil and Malvar when some stroke of luck happened and I received a very auspicious message from Jaira. The missive informed me that I’m not among the people who will take the finals.

I'm exempted? I'm exempted!

IMAGINE my SHOCK. Absurd truly. But it’s still an Amazing Grace.

Thus this blog came to be. Conflict was solved. I can go home tomorrow with a clear conscience and light heart. Let me say this simply. I DID NOT DO ANYTHING ON MY OWN TO BRING THIS BLESSING UPON MYSELF. My dormmates can attest to that. I think, by now, most of the people around me can attest to this lack of effort on my part as well.

But I’m not really that ashamed about that lack of effort on my part. I won't apologize for believing that it is His will to make life easy for us...Well, He made it so much easier for me. And I just really want to let the whole world the truth. God made all these not me. I bring all glory and honor to Him!

He’s really faithful in His promises. This summer it was:

Ephesians 3:20-21
“His power at work in us can do far more than we DARE ask or IMAGINE. Amen.”

See, the difference when we do things on our own effort is that we'll have a tendency to brag. I DID IT. I WON. I. It's all about ME. We end up being like Kuzco of the Emperor's New Groove. We become successful, but we also become prideful.

On the other hand, when we let God do it for us, we become successful. But we realize that apart from His grace, we are NOTHING. Thus, we end up being successful AND humble. We not only become victorious. We also develop CHARACTER.

"Our nation does not need competence. It needs CHARACTER."- Nixon Ng

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Enjoy vacation! Trust in Him - WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. Don’t hold back. And He shall direct your path.

Be happy!
^_^

David Cook vs David Archuleta

Location: SM Mall of Asia Concer Grounds
Persons involved: David Arch, David Cook, 40,000 fans
Event: the Epic Back-to-Back concert
Accommodation: Gold



Archie = better singer (more good looking in my humble opinion... if you wish to dispute that, well...)

The kid really can SING. His voice was amazing. Even from our seats, I can feel the 'hagod' (pardon, i truly don't know the english of this word) of his voice. Most especially when he sang the song "A Thousand Miles" I can hear people screaming "Marry me!" from all directions...


Cookie = better performer (more seasoned, I can tell)

The man is really comfortable with his stage. I'm using the possessive noun because when he's there it's like he owns it. A total performer because he managed being professional the entire time (despite the family matters). I feel genuine sympathy towards him... what with him being here and not beside his brother. Anyway, for that, I admired him more.

The two Davids = REALLY CLOSE

Yeah. I truly don't see the point of people trying to have them compete against each other. For one, it is very obvious that the two get along REALLY well. Another thing is, they are from different genres so it's hard to find a basis of comparison between the two in terms of music styles and prowess. They address different audiences so there's no point. Really.

THE CONCERT?

One night of pure enjoyment. I loved it. I don't regret going there instead of burying myself in textbooks and calculators.

If you wanna see their performances, I uploaded them in my youtube channel, WEIRDYAEF.... Some of the videos were taken by ArchuletaPhilippines (Archie's fan club in the Philly) from the Titanium area. They're very clear. I also uploaded videos from my CP.

To facilitate your search:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C7247236BBFF168B =>purely archie vids
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=80D23B35CB026018 =>mixed performances


P.S. ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

On Cultural Capital

New Kids on the Block... Welcome to the life of hardships. ^_^

Ridiculous slippers which amount to three pairs of shoes. Bag expensive enough to buy a wardrobe. Confident attitude. What else? Ah, yes. The phone. The designer clothes. The talk of grand condominium units and schools.

“Wow! Rich kid ka nga talaga…”

As I heard these words, I was torn between annoyance and amusement with the way the boy actually expressed them. I was sorely tempted to say (with an arched eyebrow, if I might add): Ahm, yeah. She is a rich kid. Anyone who's not born yesterday can see that.

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At around two o’clock today, I found myself joining the queue of people waiting for their ‘medical clearance’ in the UP-PGH health service. Much to my annoyance, my efforts in securing my medical report last semester ended up in vain.

See, I hate LONG LINES. Why else did I pay for my pediatrician’s signature (even though I can have it for free in PGH) if all along, I will still end up being inconvenienced? Heck. Anyway, I don’t have much choice. Better to just get on with it.

As if that’s not enough stress, I had to endure the suspicious glances thrown at me by the FBCs (Freshmen Block Coordinator). They thought I was a member of a sorority. I was, of course, curious as to what prompted these unfounded ideas of theirs. Like, really. The student that I’m talking to is a GUY. Why should I let him in a SORORITY? Besides, I always find the notion of recruiting a freshman student stupid. The risks are just too costly. Not worth the effort if you’ll ask me since one can never decipher if a freshman student is an asset or not. Not to mention the fact that they are the most vulnerable and most likely to end up shifting. But then, I’m not a member of any sorority (nor do I have any plans to join one).

Anyway, as I was saying earlier, I met a bunch of prosperous-looking students along the queue. It did not occur to me at first but after hearing their conversations (I know it’s extremely rude to eavesdrop but considering the confines of the place, I really don’t much choice, do I?) my mind went into motion. Since I was bored and had nothing to do but THINK I’ve come up with this notion.

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Based from the incredulity that I heard in the kid's voice, I can only deduce two things. Either he can’t believe that the girl is REALLY rich (although she looks like it) or the fact that the girl intends to study in UP despite her obvious station in life. In my humble assessment, I believe it’s the latter.

Well what can I say? There are still people naïve enough to believe that UP is inhabited by financially challenged students. If you are studying in UP, you will have no doubt that this entire idea is a LIE. At least, for the most part it is. Okay. So there are still some who are indeed financially unstable in the said university but those are REMOTE cases. They don’t even add up to ten percent of the population (especially in UPM where the costly medical courses are being offered).

I can’t help but see that the current trend of education in the University of the Philippines reflects the nation’s system regarding education. In a country where education is given much value (the fact that we are ready to go through hunger and poverty as long as we are educated is a proof of this), it pains me to know that RICH kids get the BEST education even in PUBLIC schools.

Now, I’m not saying that it is their fault they passed the UPCAT with flying colors. It’s to their credit after all. They studied well, did well and did not pass the test by merely putting their annual income on their answer sheets. They are honestly qualified for the standards of the said institution.

Which brings me to another matter. See, there’s this thing called CULTURAL CAPITAL. This is what the rich kids have as advantage. They can afford means to increase their potentials. They have unlimited access to internet, encyclopedias and books. They can hire tutors for themselves. They can attend symposiums and see the frontiers of science and technology. They have far greater CAPITAL in terms of exposure compared to students from other stations of life.

I know this, because I had the chance to study in both public and exclusive private school. I saw the difference. And even when I was studying in public school, I did notice that more often than not, it is the well-off student who excel. Again, cultural capital is a factor.

All I’m saying is that, by convention, those who have access to the resources (by this I mean the rich) get higher scores because they are most likely to go to better schools, get the best reviewers, get access to more resources and ends up getting MORE. BETTER. So indirectly, their wealth lands them better opportunities in life.

LIFE IS UNFAIR.

I know. But one shall not have to despair. After much deliberation about this unfairness, I’ve come to the conclusion that we have the gift of choice. You either do something about the problem or not do anything. Cynicism and pessimism, in this case, is not an option because they will only bring you to more defeats than victories.

Rich or not, it’s still the one’s attitude that counts. By the end of the day, we still see that we just have to do our best to get the most out of what we have, make do of what we have and find ways to augment things which are lacking. This may not be easy but it is also NOT IMPOSSIBLE because we have a God who provides, a God who wants us all to be victorious. After all, RESOURCES can get one to success. But it is still ATTITUDE that KEEPS him/her there.

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Well, after finishing my musings, I glanced at the clock, surprised that it has been an hour already. Now, where in the world is that consultant? Half an hour later, I found out that I waited in vain and could’ve gone home much much earlier. The meeting with the consultant was not necessary. The nurse just OVERLOOKED the fact that my pediatrician already signed ‘FIT TO ENROL’ in my assessment sheet. The bureaucracy of the Philippines, indeed. But then again, had I not wait, I wouldn’t have pondered on these thoughts. Then, you would not have this blog to read.

Again, my motto: NO REGRETS. JUST LESSON LEARNED.

To Break the Monotony

Why not? Take the plunge!

Life is short.

Recently, she found another side of her that was never known to anyone (not even by herself) before. Because of this, she is quite certain that for as long as we all live, we will never cease to surprise ourselves. There will always be that part of us that will be kept hidden. The part where only the Almighty knows. The part which couples often take a leap of faith for when they decide to tie the knot for better or worse. She believes this was designed to be so, for us not to get too bored with our lives. Imagine a life where a person acts, thinks and speaks in exactly the same way that you have predicted him/her to do so. It definitely could get boring.

Okay. Where was I? Ah, yes. I was talking about that part of herself that she only recently found out. Many of her former acquaintances would find this very astonishing but she turned out to be a laid-back, really quick-to-get-bored-with-everything-around-her kind of person. Fancy that, they all thought she was the type A, determined, hardworking, SENSIBLE kind of lady any parent would be proud of. But, NO. The case is quite the contrary.

She’s tired of studying. She needs a change of scenery.

Which is why she would go to Tagaytay tomorrow.

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Did you buy that? Well, I hate to break it to you but, that my dear, is a defense mechanism called ‘rationalization’ (with a little bit of projection). As you may very well know by now, she could never get tired of studying because in the first place, she doesn’t study at all. But yeah, that bit about her surprising herself and all has some truth in it. ^_^

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Behold, the reasons why she is about to take a break tomorrow.

For one, SHE IS ENSLAVED. And she needs to evaluate whether or not she wants to continue this modern form of slavery.

And she refuses to be enslaved to lessons that she cannot use in REAL life yet she NEEDS to learn because society DEEMED it necessary for her to learn them. Every grain of her being goes against it. Every time she looks at her professors and listens to them, her mind wanders and all she could think of is:

“Man, what am I doing here, learning about isomers, carbon chains and all these loads of things as useful as fur coat in a desert, when I can be somewhere learning far more valuable things in life?”

See, by nature she is a rebel. She loves it when she goes against the majority especially when she knows she has a point. In the past, this trait had led her to many disasters and if she’s wise, she better get on with it, swallow the bitter pill and do things exactly the way other people do them.

THE WAY OF SOCIETY:

To be successful, you need a source of income. To have an income you should be working. It may be for yourself or for other people but nonetheless you need a certain credential to convince other people to put their stock in you. In short, to get somewhere, you need to be a graduate of something. And, to earn that ‘graduate of something’, you need Chem 1001, Math 2002, etc, etc, which, I’m afraid is not related to your chosen field at all.

Her rebellious side battles with her pragmatic side. Whether which side will win is a constant source of amusement for her. But fear not. God will not let her choose one which she will regret later. His grace abounds her. ^_^

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Right now, since she can’t resolve any of these matters she’d rather take this opportunity to relax and unwind (as if! She’s been doing nothing but relax and unwind these past days!). But anyway…

Four days in Tagaytay
+
Free board and lodging
_____________________
God’s answer to Faye’s prayers.

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By transitivity:

She=Faye____________Faye=Me______________She=Me

(I see. So there’s a use for all that gibberish after all.)

I just think (in my humble opinion) that there are better ways to spend life. It is too short to be wasted on doing something that you don’t want to do (a sure formula for failing by the way).Besides, God wants us to have a quality life. ^_^

Matthew 6:25
“I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing?”

verse 27
“Can worry make you live longer?”

verse 33
“But seek first His Kingdom and righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

I bid you all a productive holiday! Don’t worry. Be happy!