Chance for A New Beginning

As a parent, the major core of my existence now is to make sure that I do everything I can to raise my child properly and give him everything he needs to grow up not lacking in love and care. I'm a full time mother to a six-year old diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. He was only able to attend a SPED school for one year then we had to move to a regular school because his former school is expensive. Thankfully, my son Ian adjusted well and finished kindergarten as second honor. I am still very much worried about expenses since I'm only a single parent and we live with my family. To add to that, my father is still bedridden after suffering a second stroke with major complications to the lungs and stomach. His hospitalization last year almost drained our funds.

It had always bothered me that I could not work because there is nobody available to look after my son. Then again, I suppose it is better this way than entrusting him to a stranger. I needed to make some income for my son's expenses, which is mostly shouldered by my mother who is a government employee. I obsessed for some time about where to get the capital for a business. Then one day, my brothers decided to subscribe to the internet, since they needed it for gaming and downloading programs. They chose Globe DSL because it is the strongest here in our area. I was very excited because this would mean that I'll never had to go outside to rent a computer for internet use. From then on, thanks to social media, I became familiar with the perks of having internet in my own home. One in particular is earning money through online money-making programs as a contractor. 

The internet world harbors numerous ways to get income the legit way through advertising, marketing, blogging, and so much more. Globe Internet opened up a whole new world of possibilities for someone like me looking for other ways to help my family financially. My brothers pay for the subscription for now since I'm only staring to earn from it but with Globe's fast and reliable connection, I'm able to meet deadlines for article submissions and promote other legit money-making programs to other online users. I'm very sure that with hard work, dedication, and heart plus Globe Internet's assistance, I will be able to earn as much as I want like professional online workers do.  Today, I've just been accepted for another online job and I cannot wait to start!

Life may not always be in one's favor. Doors will close but that would give one a chance to find other ways to meet a challenge. Globe Internet opened a window of opportunities for me, my son and my family and for that, I am glad to be Globe:)

What is my dream?

Most children already knew what they're going to be when they grow up. Some wanted to be engineers or architects. Some wanted to be ballerinas and once I've heard, a majorette. I wanted to be a painter, at least that's what I told people and what I believed I wanted. I loved to draw and I thought it was something that I'd be doing for the rest of my life. What I really wanted to be, however, is a singer, a recording artist if you will. Aside from drawing, singing is another one of my loves in life. While my love in drawing stemmed from competing with my brother for the attention that I wanted, singing is my very own. It was my father's influence on me. I remember having duets with him singing "Please Be Careful With My Heart" by Jose Mari Chan. 

Sometimes, when you wanted something more, you forget about the things you're actually good at try to compete with your older brother for that feeling of being appreciated and liked by people who surround you. What I can do seemed nothing compared to what my older brother can do. He's the family's Golden Boy, the one who is more likely to be successful. Daniel's the elementary and high school valedictorian and Journalist of the Year. People know me as Daniel's fat sister and make fun of me when they have nothing else better to say to me. Even strangers call me names.

I also remember the time when I was in second grade. I got a 97% in Math and I was disappointed because I didn't get a perfect score like my brother who always had better grades. From that moment on, I never got another 97% or even 90%. My grades flopped down to 80's and graduated high school with a 75% on my report card. My parents tried talking to me about what was happening. I just told them nothing was wrong. I heard from a classmate about what the others are saying about me, wondering why I wasn't smart like my brother. I have very few friends because I have a temper and I hardly relate to anybody. They say high school is suppose to be the best time of anybody's life. Mine was a prison cell with inmates who got out after serving time. It was a moment in my life when, if a person asks me "what do you want to do now?', I won't be able to answer directly. People would answer 'Go to college' but I spent one year at home doing nothing because my parents couldn't afford to send me to any of the universities I actually applied into and luckily passed. 

The next year,  my younger brother and I took the entrance exam to a polytechnic university. Needless to say, he passed and I didn't but got in anyway as a waiver. A "waiver" is a student on probation. If we do great the first grading, we get to be regular students. I took psychology half-heart because the other courses have quotas on what grade point average to accept. After a year and a half, I left school to work. Failing me in English for no clear reason proved way too much and I got discouraged. Besides, my mother couldn't handle all three of her four children in college. It was way beyond our means.

So I worked my butt of, giving half of what I make to my father until I got knocked up by an ex boyfriend and gave birth to a handsome little boy who's already five and doing great in school. I suppose if it's over for me, my dream could always be for my boy. I just want to be able to provide for him and give him the best. Before I could do that though, I need to work. I'm unemployed because nobody else would take care of my son. My mother said I could enroll into college again when my son is a bit older. I'd love to do that but first, DPA has to start paying.

To Raise A Child

My son Adrian was born on July 6, 2007, seven years ahead of schedule and was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or ADD at three years old. I thought normalcy would be a challenge since I've hard that children with ADD would have a hard time focusing on learning aside from the burst of tantrums and hyper-acivity. I was only a bit surprised though, when the administrator of the special education school he attended last 2010 included him in the group education so that he'll get used to other kids around him. She said that my son is a very smart boy but he needed interaction with other children for so that his teacher will get to work on his social skills. My Adrian is the youngest child in our residential compound, the second youngest is my cousin who is already eleven years-old. Unfortunately, we also have no nearby parks where children can play and interact with one another, so school is the only place where he sees children around his age. Ian finished his school term with a certificate of recognition and a medal for Most Improved in Spelling.

                                                       

Two months of summer vacation passed and he was accepted at a nearby  private school called Smart Kids Montessori School. We've decided to enroll him there since we didn't have enough money to continue his studies and therapy at the special education. It was the same year that my Dad had to be confined three times. I was really worried because it's a mainstream school for normal kids and that my son might be bullied if the other kids found him too different. Although he passed an entrance exam for preparatory level, which is a level higher than kindergarten, I told the teachers I would be enrolling him for Kindergarten, since he hasn't experienced being taught with real school subjects like English and Math. I also thought that it would be difficult for him to learn but I was wrong. The day he took his entrance exam, the school principal also interviewed him alone. After a few minutes, the principal told me that Adrian is very good in reading and in writing and that we would be monitoring my son's behavior in school.
Months passed and the results for the first grading was posted. He had an 92.00 grade point average and ranked #4 for the honor roll competitors. His test scores range from 96%-100% among his five subjects. This second grading results which where released last January 8, 2013, my Adrian went from rank #4 to rank #2 with an average of 94.166 and test scores of three 100% (Science, Filipino and Computer subjects) and two 99% (Math and English).

Adrian is a smart little boy on his own. The ADD almost did not show during the time that he was in a normal school. People around him acknowledge his academic intelligence and he also made friends with the other kids in his class.
The fact is, I never treated my son as someone different from other kids. I disciplined him the same way everybody else disciplines their own children. People will label him differently but as a parent it is my job to make sure that he is my priority and that I teach him to prioritize also. I've never given my son any medication aside from his everyday vitamins. The teachers and administrator in that special school also did not recommend any drugs for him. No medication is needed for children who are lacking in attention but only their parents' love, understanding and guidance are definitely mandatory.  What they turn out to be when they grow up will show the future what kind of upbringing our sons and daughters had so love and cherish them always.

Welcoming 2013

Ever since I could remember, the New Year's celebrations throughout the years had always been an exciting event for me. Here in my country, people can light up fireworks on their own, purchased from malls, supermarkets, and dealers, then light them up even before the stroke of midnight. I remember being always so giddy with anticipation because it's not just about the fireworks. Our home is located along the highway and it becomes deserted every New Year's eve. We can play or dance on the road and nobody will care unless people start to set up the fireworks. I suppose it's when your neighborhood friends come out in the middle of the night with their parents to light up their own fireworks and watch other people's light shows as well. We also have these superstitions like wearing polka dotted clothes and setting a bowl or basket of round fruits like grapes and oranges on the table since dots and circles symbolizes coins or money. There's also this funny superstition like jumping as high as we can at the exact stroke of midnight so we'll grow taller. Of course, I've always known that a person's growth spurt is responsible for this. In my case, well...I never got past 4'11 after 6th grade no matter how high I jumped. You live, you learn:)

That was then when we were kids. This year, I'm in charge of the New Year feast or what we commonly call as Media Noche. We Filipino's believe that ending the year with a table full of delicious food is a must. So, as early as 3 in the afternoon, I'm already preparing some family-favorites and also, I thought of making something new for that night. I'm not trying to be master chef-like, just want to be able to give them the best our budget has to offer:) I made the usual Filipino version of spaghetti but with an unlikely twist that my friend at my son's school told me to try (you wouldn't believe how adding a bit of condensed milk to the sauce could give it a creamier and more mellow taste!). I also made breaded fish nuggets, fried chicken and graham cakes in mango cream and peaches and cream. My mom and aunt barbecued the marinated pork we ordered from mom's co-worker. Aside from these, we also have slices of ham, which is the Filipino staple during the holidays like turkey is to the Americans, a mocha cake roll mom bought that morning and the creamy fruit salad she made since Christmas that's been stored in the freezer for days and of course, the ever mandatory basket of fruit.

Personally, I do think that this year is going to be fruitful for my family. If not, we are still going to be prepared for anything. We've survived 2012 after my Dad succumbed to cardiovascular disease. In a way, our Media Noche is also a victory celebration for getting past the worst of what had happened this past year. On the upside, we are able to afford a feast for the New Year because Mom didn't have to give up her Christmas bonus to a certain someone with a gambling problem. For the past few years, all I could ever cook is plain and simple spaghetti and we'd be having that, plus the slices of ham (ham is a common holiday gift basket content from the employers to the employees along with groceries and sometimes sweets and red or white wine are also included), and fruit salad.

My family, relatives and neighbors are already outside to watch the fireworks even before 12 o'clock. There had been lots of light shows that evening and to me, that always means a bountiful New Year. I don't know what else is in store for us this 2013 but as a mother, a sister and a daughter, I could only hope for good health, good luck and all of God's goodies for everyone who needed them the most.

Fallen

The year of  2012  had presented itself to my family like any other year with feasting and fireworks. Like any other, I wondered what that year would bring to us, hoping that whatever challenge God presented to us would not be so bad.

Unfortunately, my father succumbed to not just a mere second stroke but a cardiovascular attack that brought complications to his lungs and stomach. He was brought into the ICU twice because of pneumonia at its worst stage. He was monitored by six doctors which would've been  such a relief if only our hospital bill didn't reach three-hundred thousand pesos, even after the fact that the president of C.P.Reyes Hospital was our municipal mayor and Dad's personal friend. If it weren't for my mother's begging, the administration of that hospital would've gotten the deed to our house as payment for our bill and we would be left homeless with a sick family member in tow. To pay for a fraction of what we owe, we asked help from a government-run charity institution and Mom asked relatives and friends for financial help. To this day, we still owe one-hundred and twenty-five thousand pesos of hospital bills. Aside from that, there are still medications that Dad needed to maintain and the most expensive of that is the can of Glucerna he had to take four to six times every four hours. My family was almost left penniless.

 

 

   3/13/2012-third confinement at C.P.Reyes Hospital

 

 

We thought the money problems were the only things we had to worry about. Taking care of my father had become a challenge also and we had to learn care giving  like tube-feeding, monitoring his diet, giving him a sponge bath, making sure he's comfortable, etc. Dad's been bedridden ever since he was hospitalized last March. Three consecutive hospital confinements in a year not only would depress a patient. It would also be enough for him to be stubborn, unreasonable and even contemplate suicide. I know. I've seen it. I would look at my father on his bed and think how a force of nature had fallen this hard after ten years of his first stroke. My Dad had paid his dues and he knows it.

Come what may, we are a family against all odds. We do not abandon our loved ones just because it became difficult to be under just one roof. To the rest of my family, we've become stronger and closer. We are proof that a family should be the one thing you can count on the most when things are at its worst. I could only hope that we will be able to pay for the rest of his hospital bills before the administration decided to go after our home for the second time. God is always good and he had never abandoned us when we needed him the most. Pray for us.

 

 

On A Journey As A Writer

As a child who often finds it rather difficult to speak her mind without being misunderstood, a pen and a paper are considered allies to battle with emotions I could not let out in fear of consequences I could never handle. A diary had always been a part of my life, a keepsake holding what raw catastrophe of thoughts and secrets harbored over the years 'til present. Reading a few entries I've made years ago, I could not help but be bewildered at how my own play with words had somehow transformed these written experiences into a continuous mesh of a novel and an anecdote, that would leave me scratching my head and sometimes laughing in spite of myself. Somehow, I turned my own life into a story that I enjoy reading every once in a while, a physical proof that I am my own adventure after all and a lead actor in my own little world.

Stories of people fascinate me  no matter how amusing, tragic, peculiar or gruesome they may be. All kinds of stories from word of mouth; books that I find at the fiction section of the school library; periodicals and tabloids and various magazines, all the way up to broadway and the silver screen had materialized from man's insatiable thirst to conjure an infinite cycle of human life put into writing to be read, to inspire people to live and maybe, write about it in turn. I'd like to think that this cycle has led to the creation of the moving pictures, otherwise known to many as movies.

Among the many forms of writing, one of the most revered is the transition of certain books into a movie script and the movie version of  that book, an art I'm particularly fond of and had tried doing as a high school project from years ago. Screenwriting, like a good book, takes time and careful creation especially when screen writers choose to stay true to the book itself. The trick is to satisfy one part of the audience that read the book and retelling the story without getting lost to another part of the audience who had not seen the pages of that particular book. The location of filming and the casting of award-winning Hollywood actors are carefully considered to give justice to the story. According to one of my favorite writers, Stephen King, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” This particularly refers to any type of writer's willingness to learn and absorb as much knowledge as one can and to work hard in achieving a goal. I am very much pleased with QuickStepsToScreenwriting.com for providing me with the basic elements I needed to learn to improve my knowledge in scriptwriting. Any aspiring writer should welcome constructive criticism from other fellow writers as well. 

Either true to life or imaginary, a good story is meant to capture the fascination of the audience and to bring out their emotions upon seeing and listening to it. All the award-giving bodies in the world could never replace an avid reader's enthusiastic embrace for a writer's well-written, entertaining and inspiring creation born from the depths of one's infinite imagination.