Author: leilamapa

Media Writer Reassessment

As we end the semester, we look back in our Week 2 entry which featured our assessment of our skills and qualities as a media writer. We look back on the ratings that we gave ourselves.

Let’s see what areas of these qualities and skills I developed or improved on.

In week 2, I mentioned how I needed a lot of improvement in interested in and loves people. In this quality, a media writer must is required to interact and create bonds with people. After weeks of lectures and exercises in lab classes, I have rated myself from 4 to 2. I used to rate myself 4 because of how shy I was in the beginning. However, I have improved on this quality after series of exercises that required us to interview a lot of people. I also believe that I still have a lot to learn in relation to this quality in my next devcom classes.

For the skills of a media writer, the lowest rating I gave myself was 3 on writing clearly and effectively because I have no experience in writing news articles. However, I believe that I should rate myself from 3 to 2 after weeks of writing for different platforms. I have also decided to improve my rating on validating information and organizing information. Through the laboratory exercises, I was able to experience writing and develop/improve these skills.

Tips for Leila

The semester is about to end soon. I can’t believe one semester passed that quick. After spending one semester in UPLB, I definitely learned a lot of things which I hope I knew sooner. Here are the top 5 tips I wish I could give myself about 4 months ago.

You will learn these things. You were part of the school publication in Senior High School but as a layout artist. You might not have a background in writing but you’ll definitely learn these things. Don’t overthink and just do and enjoy every activity in your devcom classes. The harder you work, the better you become.

No to procrastination. Please do not procrastinate. Start your requirements as soon as possible so you won’t cram and get stressed. It’s better to finish your requirements earlier so you can peacefully have time for yourself. Start now, not tomorrow.

You’ll be needing a lot of courage. As someone shy, I find it hard to approach people. Since this course involves a lot of interaction with people, I hope you can overcome this challenge and successfully do your requirements.

Rewrite your notes ASAP. Make sure you organize and keep your notes that you have written on a paper. Then, please rewrite your notes ASAP so you won’t have a hard time when quizzes and exams come.

Rest and reward yourself. Don’t stress and overwork yourself too much. Learn to rest. At the end of a long tiring day, make sure to reward yourself with something that you really like. You did great.

There are more semesters coming. This is just a start of our long journey in UPLB. I hope I can keep these 5 pieces of advice as I enter another semester.

A time to unwind

Exams are indeed challenging and stressful. You will be needing to allot time and effort to study all the concepts. It’s never easy to study so after that, it’s time to finally unwind!

As for me, I prefer staying, chilling and unwinding indoors. Here are some of the things I do whenever I have free time:

Photo by Rowan Heuvel on Unsplash

Catch up with family
Every weekend, I make sure to go home. Whenever I’m home, I usually tell my family stories of my stressful days in the university. It helps me relieve the stress I have. This also helps because they cheer and encourage me to do better in the future.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Treat yourself.
After stressful days of studying, I make sure to reward myself by eating something that I really want. Usually, I would treat myself with something sweet like an ice cream or any pastry.

Photo by Christopher Jolly on Unsplash

Sleep is life.
Sleep is really important. Whenever I had to stay up all night for studying, I make sure to sleep a lot after the exams. I believe that I have to get recharged since there are more exams and requirements coming.

Photo by Mohamed MAZOUZ on Unsplash

Binge-watch or catch up with kdramas
I often watch kdramas whenever I have time. After exams, I usually spend my time catching up with the drama I’m currently watching. Sometimes, I start watching a drama and try to finish it in 1-2 days.

It’s nice to give yourself a break once in a while. Reward yourself or find time for yourself after working hard. Have time to recharge as there are more exams and requirements to come in the next weeks.

Learnings in Elbi

    UPLB annually celebrates Loyalty Day during the 10th of October. This is to remember the 193 student body and 27 faculty members who enlisted to serve in the Philippines National Guard. This year, the university is on its 101st year of celebration with the theme “UP Los Baños: Patuloy na Tumutugon sa Hamon ng Bayan”. Alongside this celebration, UPLB conducts a homecoming event where graduates are once again welcome to the university not as students but as alumni. I had a chat with some of my older sister’s friends who have graduated not too long ago. They are Ate Jen, Ate Carmel and Ate Lyka.

    Carmel Oliveros or Ate Carmel also first entered the university as a freshman of Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 2014. She is also one of graduates of Class 2018. She says “Aside syempre sa lessons sa klase ito yung highlights sa stay ko sa elbi [na] lagi kong dadalhin: to be independent; ability to interact with different kinds of people in numerous walks of life; and, compromise becase you won’t always get what you want or not everything will go according to plan“

    Like Ate Carmel, Jenesis Maine Palicpic or Ate Jen first entered as a freshman of Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 2014. She is one of the graduates of Class 2019. During her five-year stay in the university, Ate Jen learned a lot of things like how to work under time pressure, to interact and work with the minorities and be innovative.

    Angelika Barbeyto or Ate Lyka also first entered in the university in 2014 under the course Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Just like Ate Carmel, she is one of the graduates from Class 2018. Throughout her stay in the university, Ate Lyka shared that UP taught her to be independent, to be open-minded, to work under pressure.

    Aspiring Iskolar

    One of the many aspiring iskolars for the coming school year is my sister Jasmine. Jasmine Jade Mapa is the third iska hopeful from our family. She is currently a 12th grade student at De La Salle Lipa under the HUMSS strand. Diliman is her first campus choice where she picks AB History, AB Anthropology, AB Political Science, or AB Sociology as the possible courses. Los Banos is her second campus choice where she picks either AB Sociology or AB Communication Arts.  When asked about why she picked UP as her first choice of university, she said ” Nung una talagang reason ay dahil nag-search ako ng magandang school para sa course ko which is history. UP yung unang lumabas. Tapos tamang search lang about UP ganon. Bonus na yung iskolar din kayo ni Ate Christine.”

    As a support, my mom and I accompanied my sister to the testing venue. She was scheduled on October 05, the first batch of UPCAT takers. When I asked my sister how she felt, she immediately replied that she was nervous. “Kinakabahan talaga ako. Kasi kasabay ito ng [midterm]  exam namin. Hindi ko alam kung uunahin ko gang mag-aral para sa midterms or para sa UPCAT”, she said. “Puro completion ng requirements ngayong week”, she added.   In order to prepare for the UPCAT, she took review classes from June 09-July 08, 2019 in Diliman Access.  

    While the examination was on going, I asked my mom “Ma, bakit UP?”. Just like any parent, she answered, “Kasi free tuition”. She then immediately adds that a state university like UP can help develop a love for the country and the passion to serve the people.

    After about 5 long hours of exam, Jasmine said she felt she needed to sleep. “Kulang ako sa tulog. Tapos nakakapagod yung exam so feeling ko talaga, kailangan kong tumulog.”, she said. When asked about the difficulty of the exam, she said, “Kaya naman sagutan. Pero kulang sa oras.” She prays and hopes everything goes well when the results come out next year.

    “Ang hirap ng reading comprehension. Kung meron lang control F.”

    “Ang dali niyang ibagsak.”

    While the first batch scheduled October 05, 2019 at 7 AM vacate the testing center, I overheard students saying these experiences from their UPCAT exam. They were ready to look for other universities. I was reminded of my UPCAT experience back when I was in the same situation as them. I even failed UPCAT two years ago, yet I’m here as a new transferee. UPCAT is just one way of entering UP. If you really dream to become an iskolar ng bayan, work hard and never give your dreams up. Good luck to all future iskolars!

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