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April 2024
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ALWAYS THE MUSE4/10/2024 There's something about physical beauty that people values. In my culture, when you look physically better than all the rest, you get some special attention, whether you like it or not. Mestizas, half-Caucasians get to cover the major magazines and become showbiz stars and personalities. They are elected in public office and some get to really compete in beauty contests abroad and win prizes. If you're smart too, you really get places- a promotion, a graduate scholarship, more friends, and many more perks, perhaps. Nowadays, you might be suspected as a showbiz personality or a social media influencer and people will ask to have a photo session with you while walking in the mall or just doing your business. During my time in elementary school, classrooms would vote for the leaders such as the President and so on. For more than 3 years I got to be the Muse of the Class and then of course, I should have an escort. At first, it was fine, I didn't mind at all. If there's a school event, the Muse and the Escort of each class will lead the parade or be the representatives to meet honorable guests and VIPS. In short, public ambassadors. But after a while, being voted beautiful is not the same way as being regarded as smart, intelligent, or just a very interesting person. And you can be all of these too. Beauty is a value but superficial and over regard and valuation of physical superiority based on certain standards do not make the person more or less better than others. You need internal beauty that is a strong character and identity to weather the storms of life and become a much improved version of yourself. You need self-esteem that comes from within and no matter what you are good, enough, and sufficient for the task of your existence. No amount of makeup, plastic surgery, popularity, millions of social media followers, and doting from your friends and peers can cover the ugly and toxic aspects of one's personality and mask the real life your living. This pattern repeated when I was in high school. But by the end of high school, I was no more Ms. Muse. At the later part, I was voted Secretary and then Vice-President. My grades and overall standing mattered the most. I read more books and literature to keep abreast of international and local events and whatnots. I became a trivia buff, a bit nerdy on spy novels with a culinary bent. I became more well-rounded than just a person with a nice face to look at. After high school, I was never the Muse. In college, I was a consistent Dean's Lister for four years. I was Number 1 in one semester in my Department. I graduated with honors at the end of four years and moved on to take my graduate program. With the flippancy of youth and the culture that values physical beauty above everything else, a young person can stumble. But eventually, the real world opened up to me to rethink this experience and understand that beauty, fame, wealth, status, and even relationships come and go. There 's no permanency in these. You should have to learn quickly and take your genetic advantages and assets appreciatively while working on other aspects of life that needs more work.
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OPTIONS AND EMOTIONS12/4/2023 My daughter was complaining about her English assessment today. She was a bit worried as to how she would perform. We already rehearsed some scenario for the exercises where you have to imagine what happens/happened in the series of photos last night. But, emotionality gets in the way. We all have options and solutions. I will not guarantee that they will all be successful but at least, these options are there for you to take, analyze, and, maybe, you're closer than you think to addressing the issues. My student in the last session told me that he wanted to take a Masters of Psychology and he had to attain a certain grade level for him to be admitted to this program. It's this one or bust. I told him, "Well, there are many universities and programs that could be an alternative to that only one. You might be happier and less stressed if you could widen your choices a bit." But of course, people do what they want to do, no matter how much you will warn them otherwise. I will never ever believe that this one choice is the end-all and be-all of everything. As life happens, we know that change happens in the blink of an eye. We see systems collapsed, infrastructures paralyzed, and even the securest of securities crumbled in multiple crises environments. If a salesman is selling a widget with a ten-year warranty, you better believe that a warranty is another ploy to give you the peace of mind without the real guarantees. Emotions have got to do with it, as well as the limited and narrow framing. Politicians and policymakers want to narrow down the issues so they can use a magnifying glass, albeit with more disastrous results. As for us, we need a wider vista to overcome the paralyzing and emotional roller-coaster of created miseries.
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HOSTAGED PEACE11/15/2023 With the world on Gaza these days, there's a call for ceasefire but not a call for peace. Peace is surely underrated, underexplored, underinvested, and under-committed in this specific conflict. Revenge in this situation is overemphasized, as in the use of military might. Aside from Israeli and Palestinian deaths, Hamas as a terrorist organization is not vilified as much as the Israel-Arab animosities more aroused than ever. Pitch forks on both sides including the mainstream media showing its partiality on the issue. Peace whether in the form of multilateral diplomacy, Qatari-based leadership, or an Arab League-UN combination should be explored to the maximum. Israel should be restrained from exacting more harm on civilian population in pursuit of Hamas' leaders and Hamas must be pressured by its allies and friends to release the hostages. A ceasefire doesn't mean that Hamas had won or giving Hamas a congratulations. They can always continue to fight to get their aims but the Palestinians have been bombed enough. If the lessons of the Oslo Peace Accords can come alive again, they need people from the Israeli side who can broker long-term peace and not just the sure military victory from a terrorist organization. The Palestinians need better leadership too. The Palestinians deserve a better deal post-Hamas and that they should govern better than what their leaders did a decade ago. Let's not let history repeat itself. |