Galleries

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Stomping on the dream of becoming a doctor at the last year of Junior High School, it was not easy for Shanniah Aubrey G. Peralta to find another profession to set her eyes on. Setting aside a life-long dream because of the impracticality of it- as she is the firstborn of her family, and due to financial constraints, was a bitter and hard pill to swallow. All the plans she had made for her supposed future was gone in a snap. Her excitement and passion, gone. Maneuvering 4th year High School without a career in mind was heavy, but the light that carried away the rock on her gut soon came. And when it did, it was like a smack on the face. Why did she need to look so far, when the answer for all her woes was right there, in front of her face?

She first spoke in front of a large crowd when she was in Grade 1. It was a storytelling contest, and even if she did not win, it has awakened her love for reading stories. The first book she owned was an almanac, and when she read it, she started collecting since. The first time she ever joined a writing contest was when she was in Grade 6, in a public school where her mom graduated. She did not even know that it was a contest back then, thought it a workshop until she had been announced a winner. It was something she thought she could not do before, and she was hooked. Her time for writing had come to a halt, though. As when she entered Junior High School in an institution that prioritizes Science and Mathematics, her adoration for writing has no place but on the four walls of the classroom for a single subject of English. She was confined for years, and almost forgot her love for writing until she was allowed to write again. But this time, she was also able to use her voice. Being recruited to be a part of a Broadcasting team to represent their school for the PressCon was a huge honor, if not quite a bit scary. Come Senior High School, she took on the Strand HUMSS, the track for the students who wanted a career on Humanities and the Social Sciences. It opened her eyes to the problems beyond herself, and that experience marked the path she wanted, and eventually did take.

Currently studying at the University of the Philippines Los Banos with the program BS Development Communication, she was once again given the chance to pursue what should have been her track long ago. Even if it was hard to be parted with her family for the first time in her life, she had taken the risk and sacrificed to take a step in the future she wanted for herself. She might have stopped before, but it must have been for the better, as now, she has gained something more: a purpose. And she writes before, yes, but now, she was not only writing and speaking for the contests she wanted to win and at the classes she wanted to pass, but for actually the most important judge: the masses.

Working with a group is never easy, especially if you are not acquainted with the people in it for a long time. But isn’t that what makes the task more interesting? You don’t just discover things of your intention but you also get to see sides of people you thought only existed in stories. Sides of people that you thought was too good to be true. Sides that you thought that’s so bad it just renders you speechless, maybe even leave a tinge of hatred?

As I worked on a task with my group, which we proudly named “Candy Girls”, what did I get to see and learn?

At first we were in a state of confusion. Our task was to gather information at Brgy. Mayondon, a place we don’t know and with the time we don’t have. When we got the chance to compose ourselves to plan what we should do, we went on our way. Along the way, we decided to get acquainted with one another. We asked questions and discovered things about each other that made us more comfortable working together. It was something that I think is significant because it would be easier to maneuver tasks with people you know you have connection with. Communication and comprehension are must haves of group works. This will make the task easier and working with the group bearable.

Of course, we must not forget why we were there at the first place. As we have arrived at the Brgy. Hall of Mayondon, we immediately searched for a person we can ask for directions. The officials at the Barangay were very accommodating and kind. They worked hand-in-hand to share with us the information that we needed.

Throughout the whole experience, I can sum up 3 tips on how the next batch of freshmen would be able to get the information they need and work in a group with ease.

1. Be respectful to everyone
   Might it be the lowest positioning employee or the highest, always be courteous. Not only because it’s a standard but because it can also be leverage for you to get familiar with everyone and maybe manage to get tips/advice that would get you what you want. Also, always start by introducing yourself then your intentions, people would’t want to be sharing information to strangers.
2. Bring the essentials
   As DevComm practitioners, you need to know what to always have in hand. Cellphones, paper and pen are some of the things you should always have with you. Also, some offices would require you to have letters from school to verify your intentions so be familiar with offices of such.
3. Be clear with what you are there for
   Some of the people, especially government employees, don’t have the extra time to entertain everyone. So when you get to your location and find the person you need for your task, be concise and clear with what you are there for. State what you need and why you need them so they can work on getting them for you quickly. This will not just save their time, but also yours.

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Born as puzzle pieces with curved and cornered sides so unique

Piece by piece my passion buried under all the bits of who I am 

Ramble in the free space

No yet idea what’s the purpose of my every piece 

The first she opened her eyes in the world we only knew, she knows she was just a piece of nothing. A tiny girl living in a shell and hiding from herself. Started with an innocent mindset and do whatever she wants. Her life is free from some responsibilities and challenges of the real world. Until she takes the first step in digesting knowledge of wisdom and accountability. Learn to feed her fantasy by seeking her skills and passion. Read various genres of textbooks and watching compelling documentaries became her hobbies. Joining several organizations and competitions made her blissful of all her time. Serving others enriched her heart. Thus, she initiated outreach programs that gave hopes and smiles to individuals. But the day came…..

How do I put these pieces together? 

There’s a missing piece 

Nowhere to be found 

I can’t figure this out

She lost her identity. She feels happy but incomplete. Can’t figure what is missing to her to fulfill herself. Absence renders her grand masterpiece incomplete. Truly solving her puzzle can never be easy. It is challenging. She is mixed up pieces, confused, trying to solve the mystery within herself. She never knew that she is still blind to the real her. Again, blind to the passion buried under all the bits and pieces of whom she was. 

Until a black ink flow unto my puny hands 

Saw a new call of responsibility 

Woke up my sleeping passion lying inside of me 

Find the missing piece of my grand masterpiece

 Her chaotic time ended when she entered the world of writing. The passion of being a vital voice of unheard was waked. It gave her the power to use her words to see what others can’t see. It allows her passion to breathe through writing. Unveil the purpose of her life. She wants to be known as someone who uplifts the one who left behind. Someone who revealed the truth and allowed the audience to see a reality they did not know existed before. She writes to live and she lives to write.

The time I found the missing piece of my puzzle

Everything fell into one place 

Solved the mystery of my puzzle

And created my very own grand masterpiece

Piece of passion, serving and responsibility as a Media Writer

Learning things about yourself is just as important as learning about other people. Assessment of my qualities and skills is a step towards knowing how to engage with people of all walks of life.

QUALITIES OF A MEDIA WRITER

In this aspect, I rate myself as follows:

Curious or Inquisitive – 1
Intelligent – 3
Industrious – 3
Resourceful – 3
Persevering – 3
Imaginative – 3
Puts a premium on accuracy and truth – 1
Loves to read – 2
Interested in and loves people – 4
Service- oriented – 3

These are some of the qualities that are evidently observed of me. Some are not that evident because needless to say, I need to work on developing them. Qualities that I gave a “1” rating are the qualities that I know I grew up having a strong inclination to. I always want to know things that I don’t know and when I know things, I want them to be the truth. I want them told as they are, without any biases. I also have qualities that can be called “pwede na”, but of course we rarely want to settle for that. I gave the rating of “2 or 3” to some of my qualities that I know can still have improvements especially throughout the course of DEVC 11. I need to work on the quality which is being interested in and loves people because sometimes I find it difficult to communicate effectively to people I just met and it’s also hard for me to put myself out there in environments I am not familiar with. Lastly, there are also times that I get filled with anxiety which stops me from immersing with people.

I know that I have qualities that still have room for improvement and I’m just currently not giving them my best because sometimes I think that there are only few situations that demand I give the best of these qualities.

Skills of a Media Writer

In this aspect, I rate myself as follows:

Gathering data – 2
Validating and Clarifying Information – 2
Organizing Information – 1
Writing Clearly and Effectively – 3
Proficiency in the operation of communication tools/devices – 2

I have the highest competency in organizing information because throughout my experiences in the academe, I learned that I don’t want my ideas and information that I have gathered to be all over the place and I want to express the data as efficiently and neat as possible so that the messages or thoughts are easily grasped by the readers.

I need to develop my skills in writing clearly and effectively because sometimes I feel like I’m not properly saying the idea that I want to express and I still lack the skill on how I should write my ideas as concise and effective as possible.

As I write this, I get to contemplate on “why I am” as such and it allows me to reflect on what I am and what I could be, something I seldom allot effort to do so.

Finding golds in wider ocean.

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Lawrence Neil Ebuña- Sagarino is a freshman currently studying Bachelor of Science in Development Communication (BSDC) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Hailing from the young island province of Dinagat Islands— situated at north east part of Mindanao, he accepted the challenge to study in the country’s national research university for his province and its people. Even having no enough background about development and communication, still, this 18-year old kid dared to pursue the degree program which he believes as good instrument in helping the majority of his fellow Dinagatnons and Filipinos who are in need.

A trying hard writer as he always dub himself since his elementary years— for having poor vocabulary and for having grammatical errors oftentimes yet he is  still eager to learn and continue exploring the game of words and ideas to produce both factual and fictional products. As one of the Batang Press Cons, this dreamer was the former Associate Editor of The Island Echo— his high school’s official publication for three consecutive years, and managed to write editorials, news, features and even photojournalism aside from writing sports stories which he specializes on. On serving the people, it was never new to him, he was actually immersed in various social services since before he entered the university: he was a youth ministry leader in his hometown church; a consistent student leader since grade school; a former member of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council; an officer of the first civil society organization in his town, the Hingas Kabataang Dinagatnon (HKD)— which consists youth volunteers who work together with the local government for development— in terms of tourism and environment protection, and conducts charity works for the poor families in the remote parts of the town; he was also a member of both Provincial and Municipal Councils for the Protection of Children and; a member of Department of Agriculture- Agricultural Training Institute’s 4-H Club in Caraga Region.

He is still on the verge of learning a lot about the real world and building his confidence, but Abloy is now more inspired to learn new techniques and to accept critiques which he considers a good way of honing his desire in writing— which for him, is not just about the pen and paper but also with the collaborative help of our intelligence, dedication and passion— to produce developmental outputs.

As he set to sail for more opportunities despite the wavy seas he might encounter, he will always carry with him his purpose: to catch fishes of learning and share his harvest to the Filipinos who need the voice of development.

Marajaw na paglayag!

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In battles, one must come prepared and be ready at all times.

Bravery and confidence are not just the keys to win a battle, weapons are of great help and valuable in battles. Same with goes as a DevCom student, field works are like entering battles, so it is a must to have with you your weapons/tools everytime. In order to survive, it’s better to be ready than to say sorry. So, here are the top 5 items which keep DevCom students alive.

Pen and Paper. These are the most common yet valuable tools that gives life to a writer. They are both effective to use when gathering data and information because most of time the information can retain in your mind whenever you’re jotting down. It may be sound classic but still the best companion of writers.

Mobile Phone. One of the most weapon used in collecting information is mobile phones because it has many useful features such as audio recorder and camera. It also gives convenience to writers for it is a light to carry tool that can be use whenever you need to cover something.

Earphones. In spite of the noise that our surroundings have, it would be best to use earphones especially in transcribing interviews to clearly hear the response and content of the audio. It’s best to use this for you to have high quality of audio in interviews.

Laptop. This could be of great help to DevCom students in compiling files and needs a larger capacity of documents. It is better to have this whenever you do multi-tasking such as editing files, videos and researching for references.

Storage devices. These devices such as Flash Drive and External Drive could be a life savior to writers for it is used to back-up their important documents and files that can be used in the future. It’s best to have back-ups at all times.

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“Do something that counts. May it be big or small, make your actions count”.

                As a child, I was always detached from people. I don’t really have an idea myself as to why I am very selective with whom I interact with, but I just knew that I was. I am Gabrielle Allyson P. Dela Torre, a 19 – year old college student of University of the Philippines – Los Baños. How I got here is probably a journey I would gladly tell people because I know that it was not an easy one and I know that this is just the preliminary of an even longer and more challenging journey. To impart an insight of my life, I will write about the paths that I took to become the person I am today and as I write this, I want to see for myself what I aspire to become for myself and for others.

                In the beginning of my life within the academe, I never really knew what to expect nor did I really care for it that much. I pursued my studies because it was instructed to me by my family and I hold a very high regard for what they tell me since I knew close to nothing then. I studied and finished my primary education in Jose Rizal Memorial School in Calamba City, Laguna. In the span of six years that I stayed within the walls of that school, I learned new values, knowledge and perspectives, some of which have changed through the years or some that I uphold up to this day. I also learned new skills, technical skills and life skills to be exact. Technical skills such as reading, comprehending, writing and others which are supposed to be honed by school. Life skills such as befriending others and even unfriending, how to manage my time and baby steps towards independence. These were some of the experiences that I carried to my high school life.

                Now starts another chapter of my life as a student. A little more serious and complex compared to before but still managed my way through. I spent my junior high school in Liceo De Calamba and Laguna College of Business and Arts for senior high school. There I met people that I never imagined I would encounter. Some were lessons but some of them became life-time companies. I also started to go outside my box and be out there. I started joining organizations and later on became the officer of those organizations. I started joining writing contests, specifically essay contests, and developed a passion for writing. I also developed the passion for video editing, cinematography and painting. I also became engaging when it comes to connecting and conversing with others because I found it completing to know another perspective of a different life. I started becoming aware of people, their situations and their behaviors that can affect other individuals and the society. With these, I knew that there is bigger world out there and that this world can become smaller and developed through means of connecting, listening and communicating.

                As I now face the turning point of my journey, college, I started it in Batangas State University -Lipa. Then I came to realize that I wanted to be in UP therefore I made all efforts to make me qualified to transfer. Then I did. Now, I am a development communication student in UP Los Baños and I decided that I want to share the privilege that I continue to experience to the marginalized. I want to help them experience the positive realizations and achievements that I’ve acquired. As my eyes got to see the bigger picture of the world, I saw how the majority needs a helping hand. I became aware, informed and concerned with other people. That’s why as of the moment, and hopefully still in the future, I want to make all my actions count for people of all walks of life. That’s why I always remind myself, “Do something that counts. May it be big or small, make your actions count”.

Going back to my elementary days, I was one of the students that do their best at school and aim for the top. The name, Danica T. Salcedo, was always called up to the stage to receive academic awards.

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My years in elementary school were spent mostly in our classroom and library where I developed a passion for art and reading. I joined English Club in my grade school and got into writing, only to fall out of love from it as I entered high school. High school was indeed very different from elementary school. I was not the same student who always aimed for high grades, instead I settled for a passing score. Mediocrity has found its way in my life and my interest in writing has wavered.

Words seldom flow out easily from my mind to the paper. For me, writing is such a hard task. The process of thinking, gathering my thoughts, and writing in a concise way seemed very laborious to the mind. You can just imagine how long it took me to write this introduction of myself. I once dreamed of becoming a writer and a reporter but I am skeptical of myself that I have the adequate skills to make it come true. Despite the numerous uncertainties in my life, serving the people is one of the things that I am sure of.

Growing up in Los Baños and constantly seeing the University of the Philippines, it has always been a goal of mine to be considered an Iskolar ng Bayan. To be completely honest, taking up BS Development Communication was not a part of my plan. I am neither a good writer nor an efficient communicator but I am always willing to learn and try new things that are out of my comfort zone. I need to move forward in order for me to serve the people using the skills that will be honed in the College of Development Communication. I have witnessed the slow development in our country and the poor state of many Filipinos. These shortcomings elicit questions in me. What can I do for the people of our country? How do I communicate the cries of the poor in order for them to be heard? And considering the fact that I am inexperienced in the field of communication, will I be able to be an effective media writer?

Surely, there are lots of things that I know nothing of and I will probably encounter an abundance of barriers along the path of pursuing DevCom but how could I learn if I’m afraid to make mistakes? I know that I still have a long way to go and I am taking one step at a time towards honor and excellence.

Ang iskolar ng bayan ay patuloy na lalaban.

As Development Communication students, it will always be expected that what comes along our profession is the need for observation, document search and interviews — and yes, lots of it. And so, as the Bonakid team search for answers to complete the community directory of Brgy. Bambang, Los Baños, Laguna through interview, we are able to perceive three tips for you in handling your own info search.

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First, be ready with your weapons, simply, know where you are going, when, who are you looking for and why are you looking for that certain person. It is very important that you know what you want to know so there will be no effort, money and time wasted. As a media writer every second matters, you must work fast but efficient.

Next is to respect everyone you’ll encounter. Certain situations call for longer patience, deeper understanding and unlimited determination. Not every time, you’ll get pampered and treated the way you wanted to get treated, and so it must be your responsibility to know how to adjust. You must be able to handle different personalities and work professionally every time. This mindset will help you catch the attention and trust of whoever you are dealing with.

Remember: Trust when broken, cannot be easily gained again. It will always be earned. So, learn to earn their trust through respect.

Lastly, know how to find ways. Ways in what? Ways to develop what you realized was bad at first experience, ways to improve skills that you think you lack of. Ways in knowing information despite schedule, activities, circumstances hindrances. Find ways when things don’t go the way you wanted it to be. Jump through logs, swim those rivers, climb that wall. Do everything you can and never give up. There will always be another way around, you just have to widen your perspective and see where it is.

And I believe that with the help of these tips, document search, interviews or any social related activities will be easier. There’s no battle you can’t win if you came prepared and ready.

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It’s officially a month since we entered the university and requirements, papers, readings, and exams are already piling up. Though we haven’t fully adjusted to the exciting and exhausting university life, we can do say we have picked up some lessons along the way that we’ll be able to use in the next months or so.

It’s okay to fail

Perhaps we put too much pressure on ourselves since we are in the university that we always aim to have perfect grades (who wouldn’t?), but there are instances where we don’t fully understand a certain lesson yet or we are not prepared for a surprise quiz- and it’s okay. This is just our first month and whether we like it or not, it is inevitable to not be perfect all the time. What we can do is to accept our failures, cheer up, and improve ourselves for next time.

Know your go-to places

Find the best place to study, do homework, hangout with friends, eat, buy supplies, print handouts and papers, and even take a nap. Whether it be a cafe nearby, the library or reading room, or any place inside or outside the university, it is nice to know where to spend your vacant time to be productive or just relax from the busy university life.

Always have an umbrella with you

Elbi weather is extremely confusing and we know it. One minute, it would be scorching hot that you would want to go swimming or take another bath, the next minute, it would be raining cats and dogs which would make you ask yourself, “Why did I wear white shoes today?”. It is best to have your umbrella ready in your bag to protect yourself (and probably share it with your crush if he or she doesn’t have one).

Be kind to everyone

In elbi, you’ll meet all kinds of people- even ones you haven’t encountered with before. Be kind to them, don’t judge them for who they are, what they wear, how they participate (or don’t) in class and group projects, who their friends are, or even just for existing. In the end, we’re all the same as Iskolars para sa Bayan and even just humans.

Take a break

There are too many requirements in a day that oftentimes overwhelm us. We would be too stressed that we would either lose sleep (and perhaps sanity) or ultimately give up and let God or whoever supreme being out there take the rest. It will never hurt us remind ourselves every now and then that we need a break and relax even for just a few minutes. Eat your favorite snacks, take a short nap, check your social media, or even just look at your surroundings- always find time for a short break then return to your requirements afterwards feeling less stressed.