Galleries

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RhN3RvZefnCDzWUUok6M52iB9HAJorka/view

The first semester has been a roller-coaster ride. It made me realize a lot of things. I met new people and of course making friends with them. It has also been our time of adjustment. With that, here are some reminders and advice I wish I could tell my old self.

Put in more effort. Don’t cram! Don’t work on your requirements only when the deadline is near! It will save you from a lot of pressure. It will also help you make competent outputs. It will save you from a lot of low scores. Do your best in every activity. Please self, stop being lazy and put in more effort.

Grab every chance to learn. Don’t limit yourself to what you already know. Don’t be afraid to do things you aren’t good at as it will help you improve. If there is an opportunity to learn grab it if it doesn’t conflict with your priorities.

Manage your time. Know your priorities and keep them as priorities. When it’s time to study, then study. Set aside time to rest but don’t drift too much as you always lose your concentration. Also, keep in mind that you have multiple subjects, all equally important. Manage your time so you can tend to all of them.

Loosen up. Pressure, stress, and many more challenges we overcame and still will have to overcome next sem. Please self, loosen up. Rest when tired. Celebrate when needed. Also, learn to accept failures and rejections. Enjoy the process of learning.

Take care of your health. You’ve lost a lot of weight since you started college. Be more efficient and manage your time wisely so you won’t have to sacrifice your mealtime and sleep for your Acads. Your health is more important as you won’t be able to perform efficiently when having health problems.

Laban lang self! Kaya mo iyan!

Watch as people gather around C-Park to witness several performances from Chorale Ensemble and Wyre Underground as they wait for the annual Christmas tree and Christmas village lighting in UPLB! The Devcom Explorers also asked the audience about the things that they are looking forward to this coming holiday.

Before entering UP, I thought the skills that I had was enough. BOY WAS I WRONG! After so many lab exercises and after all those lecture class, I managed to learn, unlearn and relearn things. My perspective about things had drastically changed. So did my skills. I know I still have a lot to go through to be able to tell that I am really good, but I know I leveled up from what I was before.

Here’s my self-assessment after finishing 1 semester in CDC

The lab exercises really pushed me beyond limits. That’s why I managed to develop new attitudes towards studying or even just my daily habits. I was also able to apply these new skills in my other courses, which was a really big help!

The most evident situation where I noticed I gained these glow up in my skills is when we were doing our case study in our STS course. It was a tedious requirement and it took a big part in the computation of grades that’s why me and my group mates knew we really had to step up our game. Thankfully, our teacher was really impressed with our output! All thanks to the contribution of my new skills!

What a best way to end a semester. Being at my best with the best people.

I know you must be anxious right now – everything is a lot to take in, to consume. I know you believe that you do not deserve that seat reserved for you in that classroom. I know you are worried that you might be alone, doing things all by yourself. I know you are afraid to meet and to talk to people of different cultures, beliefs, and wavelengths. Trust me, it is okay to be doubtful but I promise that everything is going to be alright.

Tell them what you know and what you believe in. I understand that you are afraid to speak up whenever a teacher is asking a question in class. Maybe you are afraid that you might be wrong, or what you will say may find offensive by others, but the culture here in UP is tolerance and acceptance of diverse beliefs. They will accept what you will say as long as you let it out in a respectful manner. Do not be intimated by the way others speak, how eloquent they are or how substantial their answers are.

Don’t be afraid to speak up – if you are pro-life and anti-death penalty, if you support women empowerment and despise gender roles, and if you believe that the system is harmful to you and your colleagues’ mental health. Just make that first talk, and everything will follow. However, I would also like to remind you to never be too flashy, that you would always want the limelight on you. Education is not always about being the one favored to but is sometimes experiencing rejection and making mistakes.

It is okay to make your pace slower. Everything happens so fast in college. You would not even notice that it is finals week already. If there’s one thing that you would not want to regret, it is making every second, thought, and moment count. Live the moment as it only comes once in a while, you’re not getting any younger – go to parties, worship God, and spend quality time with your friends and family. Do not regret taking a 20-minute nap when you’re tired. Doing things with a clear and rested mind makes your outputs more creative and amazing.

Excellence does not mean perfection. Yes, I know that you recall that you were once one of the bests in high school, getting perfect scores here and there. In the university, it may hurt you to realize that you are not always the best anymore. Once you’re at the end of the semester, you will realize how worthy it is to celebrate a score of 80 in an exam. You will also know how important it is to remember that making mistakes does not make you less of an Iskolar ng Bayan. You will say ‘ugh, I almost made it’ a lot of times, but, believe me, everything that you have, as long as you did your best, is more than enough already.

Recall your purpose. There will be nights when you will choose to not sleep at all or to sacrifice the leisure time for yourself to study for an examination the next day. There might be times when you will be asking yourself, ‘to whom am I doing this for?’ or ‘to where is this leading?’, and those are good opportunities to reflect on your purpose. Always remember that you are here in UP because you want to be a lawyer and be self-sufficient in the future, to give back to your family, to be of service to the country, and to glorify God with your life. Those four things might be long-term goals, but, trust me, they are within reach.

Enjoy. Everything’s going to be stressful, and UP life is going to consume you, but hey, happiness is always a choice. It might be hard and cliché but looking for the brighter side of things has always been helpful in moving forward. Always welcome the day with a smile and seek joy from its constant source – Jesus. No matter what negative energy will lure you that day, your happy heart will never falter. When life’s difficulties bring you down, the joy of the Lord will be your undying source of strength.

Looking forward, you will just be surprised that you made it. Aha, it’s done! You will just laugh at the times you almost cried because your output takes a lot of time to turn in, or you were careless during an exam. Do not forget to bring those memories and lessons with you as you move on. Lastly, no matter where your wings will bring you, always keep your feet on the ground.

Love, You (a semester after)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lwhmHcprwAiB7eCEabpO-cUPs7qhuHZ7/view

First semester is over, I’d like to believe that I have improved my qualities and skills as a media writer . The multitude of exercises and activities made me develop a deeper appreciate in the technical aspect of Devcom.

THEN and NOW: A self-evaluation as a media writer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDlMBmO6qkg49Dn8GC8U53VFK8ZUnoqb/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12SZkxfzYKmqUKK09U0YDELpNcmtTe3BG/view

Furthermore,

I learned in my first semester in Devcom that you should have the discipline and perseverance in accomplishing the tasks that are needed to be done. Sometimes, when everything feels burdensome and tiring, I’d like to remind myself that these hardships will eventually pay-off in the end. I realized that all these data gathering, interviews from different people, actual news coverage and AV production are just basic fundamental skills that we have to be really equipped with to be able to survive the higher Devcom courses. You have to push yourself to break your limits or else you’ll lose the chance to grow.

I also learned how to work well with other people. Some of the Weekly Writes entries are required to be done in groups. I was thankful that I was grouped to my superclassmates who are all very responsible and diligent in finishing the tasks. We had an organized division of labor and we were able to effectively create online news in the assigned topics.

I learned to accept my weaknesses and to just trust in the process. I was nowhere near to being an ‘excellent’ media writer. I knew in myself that I am not as good as the others. In the first semester, I am humbly grateful for my professors’ constructive criticisms of my works and performance. If not because of them, I would not be able to see my big room for improvement.

Of course, I know that I still have a lot to go as a development communicator in training. But at this point, I am proud of myself for surviving this preliminary step of the ladder. I am proud of myself for being better than who I am before.

Thank you, Ma’am, for a wonderful and fruitful semester!:)

For this week, the Devcom Explorers searched the whole college for students who competed in the recently concluded Southern Tagalog Regional Association of State Universities and Colleges (STRASUC) Olympics and asked them the question, “How do they balance academics and extra curricular activities?”. They also shared some tips for student-athletes like them!

Recorded during the opening day of the 101st Loyalty Day, We, the Devcom Explorers joined the Loyalty Parade to interview alumni and students regarding the said event. We asked for their key lessons from their stay in the campus and how were they able to prepare in the making of their college’s float (in the case of the students).