Learning It the Hard Way ("Confessions" Series)

When you're young, you are in love with the idea of love. People love love. And that impression has been left by a childhood's worth of reruns of Disney animated Princesses movies, constant exposure to afternoon-to-late-night soap operas and to love songs, reading love stories/romance novels (Nicholas Sparks said there's a difference!), and most significantly by the people around you who've been married or have had long-time partners, whose  relationships started waaaay before you were conceived.

I've had lots of crushes during my formative years. But since this is published work, I'm not going to completely incriminate myself and dig out all the details for y'all ol' gossips to consume. (This is not The Buzz or Startalk, anyway, where people are required to tell all.)

Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Stacey: Not to Be Taken Too Seriously

No, I'm not going to talk about the band with the same name (yes, there's a band named Boy Crazy Stacey, but I didn't know that until I googled it).  This is not an entry about the blonde sophisticated girl from New York from The Baby-Sitters Club, either. And no, I'm not going to talk about my heartbreaks.

Or maybe I am.

Love Ain't All That Matters [A Pre-Hearts Day Post]

There comes a certain point in a person's life when he realizes that there are more important things in life than love--romance, to be exact. (Like when you're 21 and had just denounced your old-time, all-time stupid crush. Harr.)

Ah, Young Love!

I had a humorous but rather distressing encounter with teens and their concept of love a few weeks ago. I was talking to a bunch of girls about 1 Corinthians 13, which is commonly known as the Love chapter of the Bible. I decided to discuss it because, well... let's just say that I kinda wanted to know how much they really understood love, since they were so into it. You know, "in" love.

Kids these days. :/

Is Your Love Right?

Last Sunday, our youth group had a forum about love. The whole discussion stemmed from this question: "Is your love right?"

Single: Sincerely, Seriously.

During a discussion on relationships in our college Sunday school class a month ago, our teacher (and my mentor) Ate Jen asked us to state our relationship status. She said, if I remember right, that there were 5 classifications under the "SINGLE" status:

Your Basic D.I.D. = Discipler in Denial

Is having the superhero complex a bad thing? I'd been wondering about it for some time now...

Superhero complex means, in my own words, the tendency (or urgency?) to save a seemingly helpless person from impending harm.

Last sem, in Social Psychology class, we had a discussion about helping. One of the points that I discussed was that people usually tend to help those whom they think need help. The implication of that is, when we don't think that a person is helpless, and/or when we think that his being in a tight situation can be attributed to his own...well, stupidity (i.e. poor choices, lack of foresight, little sense of responsibility),then we won't help.I think that's logical, yeah. But how about helping people whom we only think need help but actually don't?

In an earlier blog, I wrote some thoughts as to why I wanted to be a psychologist. I read it again earlier today, and it hit me that maybe I am guilty of having the superhero complex.

Simply saying, it's just that sometimes I feel that there's too many people who are too helpless or innocent to be exposed to, and even to experience, the wickedness of the world.

As Christians, we may call it empathy. We may see it as just genuine concern. We may look at it as goodwill.
But is it possible to maybe, just maybe, overdo being "God's special agents on earth," to the point that we become overzealous in saving other people from the snares of evil?

No, I'm not really talking about evangelism. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of discipleship.

I just realized that it is possible for mentors to "baby" their disciples. To spoon-feed them with bite-sized Bible bits instead of letting them cut up the chunks for themselves. To strap them in a stroller and take them wherever. To keep them in a walker and let them explore, but only to a certain distance. Stuff like that. You could prolly read between and within the lines. Superhero complex in action.

Maybe it's the reason why kids nowadays are either too rash or too reserved.

:)

Nonetheless, I do recognize that mentors are there to guide and help mold us. Admittedly,I wasn't actually discipled by anybody, except, of course, my parents. But now as a discipler, I find myself wondering, "Am I doing this right? How long am I gonna let this person be dependent on me? How will I know if s/he's ready to stand on his/her own?" I'm not really looking for immediate answers, because obviously, this isn't something I can rush. (The discussion in Lead 4 class also made me think about this some more.)

I don't know if any of this makes sense. (Actually, I'm really sleepy already. LOL.) But this I say: No, I can't be a superhero. I can't even save myself from the bad things. And I'm not sure I am even worthy of being a discipler. But this I know: I want to be in the business of changing lives. For the better. With my best.

On Idols

I really don't understand why some people want to meddle with the affairs of others.

Bye, Summer. Hello, Tomorrow

In a matter of days, my summer vacation will be officially over.

I could confidently say it was a much productive summer vacation compared to the two others I've had since I went into college, although this year, my cousins and I weren't able to go swimming. AT ALL. Ha ha! And add to that, I wasn't able to join the Cross-cultural Trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. Yes, I missed out on a lot of great stuff, like PASSION MANILA (hmph!), BUT! I believe that GOD had other things in mind for me, and the "great stuff" weren't part of the itinerary He had mapped out. Instead, He let me be heavy with burden for the music ministry at church and let the Worship Workshop happen. With that, there was revival for our youth. There had been discoveries of new passions, acquisition of new skills, a new anointing so great and amazing, and overall, an awesome worship experience. In other words, God let His fire fall down on us, and He let me see His face. It was like He was saying, "I could have done this a long time ago, if you had asked Me to. I'm so glad you finally did. Thank you for answering My call. Welcome back, kid. I love you." God is wonderful.

So now, here I am, after almost three months of vacation, ready to face the future--and the start of my 4th and final year in college--armed with renewed hope, a revived heart, an unburdened spirit, more love, a burning passion. It won't be easy. And I won't always feel like this. I'll drift away. I'll get tired. People won't get me. But He always will. He won't let me fall. He holds all my tomorrows. And the best part? He's also holding my hand.

On Knowing What Matters: POLITICS

Bernard Crick defines politics as the consiliation of powers between organizations/groups with differing interests faced with a predicament, and are thus given the right to formulate and execute mutually exclusive policies, or go for a common policy for all parties.

Before you wipe the blood off your nose, here's a simpler definition.
Simply put, it is fighting for the welfare of society as a whole--what benefits the majority, if not all. Politics, in practical terms, is simply the oil or grease that keeps the system, which is the government, running. Politics is much more than the issue of government officials being paid more than what they ought. It is much, much more than the scandals, the drama, and the dilemma. This is merely one side to it. Politics is a way of life, and we cannot avoid it.

So many people are indignant about politics because we have been given the impression that it is bad. Actually, it's not. There is the existence of bad politics, and that is what we have been accustomed to. We believe the government is corrupt, we cannot deny that, but how and when and WHY did it start? Perhaps it has been that way for as long as politics ever was. And the exercise of good politics should have taken us--the Philippines--into a somewhat better state, for we should have been pursuing common good and national interest, instead of selfish ambition and greed.

I'm saying that this is worth knowing because I know that today's youth will not involve themselves in anything they do not know a thing about. I know because i am one. And i had been ignoring politics for the past, what, 3 years? Taking up PolGov this sem has opened my eyes to a lot of things, especially to what's up in the Phil these days and how i can influence it for the better. Read the newspaper. Watch the news. If you can, watch until the late-night docus and specials come on. Comment. Process. Discuss. React. Think. Evaluate. Investigate.

We may not be able to run for government positions, but we can VOTE! Thus, we should do so wisely. And we can do that by becoming well-informed. Let's not be ignorant about whatever concerns our present and will eventually affect our future. Take advantage of technology, of youth, of life.

Know what matters.