A teenager's thoughts on P-Noy's SONA

By Hezekiah Kit Sales Canlas

These past few days, a lot of people were busy criticizing our President’s State of the Nation Address which was delivered on July 25th. From what I have heard from the people around me, the President’s SONA concentrated only on the wrongdoings and the pitfalls of the past government led by the infamous ex-President (now Pampanga Congresswoman) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. They said that if the current leadership would only focus on looking for the past sins of the former government and not on the current situation of the nation, our country would not improve. But because I haven’t heard nor read the address, I remained silent and just listened to their comments.

Because I did not catch the SONA on television, I surfed the internet and looked for the exact copy of the piece. From what I have read, the address somehow focused on the anomalies of the past government and how the current leadership is creating solutions to solve these. Most people also said that the SONA of President Aquino was somehow weak and does not have a vision for the Philippines.

At first I was disagreeing on what most people were saying. In my mind, I support the idea of solving these issues first. If we were to rise up as a nation, we should correct the past errors so that we can learn from it, and evade it in the future, and then concentrate on the current status of the country.

But after reading a blog on the internet about the SONA, my views somehow changed. “Yes, solve these issues. What next?” like what my mother always says. Instead of focusing on the faults of the previous government, the President and his team should focus on the things this country needs in order to progress. The President has honest subordinates. That’s why recently, more lapses of the past administration rose from the graveyard.

I think that the government should simultaneously work on the development of our country and on solving the issues of the previous administration. If our government now is strong just like what P-Noy said, and the people are actively working hand in hand with the government, then we can handle both of these challenges with ease.

It’s still a year after his inauguration; let’s give him a chance to prove his worth to lead us.

We should also prove ourselves as responsible and empowered citizens of our country by not waiting for the government’s assistance to help us clear and clean our garbage-stuffed canals and rivers. Instead, we should find the solutions to these common community problems and solve them ourselves.

Chicken by the kitchen door

I was having cereal breakfast this morning, cool breeze blowing from the river disturbing the otherwise quiet leaves and branches of the trees adjacent the see-through fence of the staff house which has become my temporary home since I arrived here, when I noticed a fat chicken picking food on the ground outside the kitchen door.

An interesting thought crossed my mind. I thought how simple, bare and primitive a chicken’s life is. It is satisfied with eating crumbs, worms, seeds and anything edible it finds on the ground, grass, plants and even pools of water. A chicken sleeps on tree branches or any nook and cranny of an existing structure, the more dilapidated, the more secure for them.

Humans just let them be. After all, chickens are harmless and quite delicious when cooked.

What if chickens have the capacity to think? Would they ever exchange places with us humans? They probably would. After all, when they get to be human; they don’t get butchered, cooked, chewed and swallowed.

If chickens were human, ah they would probably explore the same kind of curious thought I am having right now.

What a thought.

People

What is it with people?

You love them, hate them, admire them, despise them, need them, ignore them.

What is it with a special person in one’s life?

You love him, hate him, admire him, despise him, need him, ignore him.
You love her, hate her, admire her, despise her, need her, ignore her and worst, deliberately hurt her.

Some people come to you to express a need; some come to ventilate frustrations and life issues; some come just for comfort.

But hey, let’s also stop and pause for a while and think about how we can make other people happy; feel important and special.

I tell you, everyone needs to feel special; cared for and most importantly loved.

Like I always say, “Life is not always about you; it’s also about me”.

Life is not always about him; it’s also about her.

Life is not always about your need; it’s also about my need.

Learn to give; learn to release; learn to love.

Learn to be human; learn to ache; learn to cry.

People have the greatest capacity to hurt other people; but they also have the greatest capacity to love.

Makati weekend (",)

I was in Makati over the weekend. A totally unexpected experience.

I stayed in this condo unit which was huge by condo size. It had a large sala, a spacious dining room, four bedrooms with a toilet each, kitchen and even stock room.

That Sunday night, I had the entire place to myself. Nice. Don’t ask me about ghosts huh! I am quite comfortable being alone and I’m not afraid of ghosts really. Really. (“,)

By late Sunday afternoon, I decided to steel myself and walk the Makati streets. Whew that’s scary. Now, that’s scarier than ghosts!

The traffic in Manila, Makati included intimidates me no end. Here I was a provinciana courageously walking with the throng to cross huge streets! The first two streets were fine; it was a Sunday and traffic was light. Then I had to cross the main street Puyat where I would meet a friend and now I’m really scared haha. I searched for people and guess what I did? You will never guess. I asked the silly question: “Are you crossing?” Aha! The three men just looked at me strangely. One said, no. Then a bus stopped and they hopped in. Great! Now I’m going to deal with this crisis on my own. But alas when I looked towards my left, I saw another group of people who were waiting for the traffic light to change. It was a corner street, easy to cross. I hastily walked towards them and asked the silly question again. When the red light blinked for motorists, I joined the crowd. What a relief! I lived.

I met my friend and we went to a nearby mall which by all intents and purposes looked familiar. It was so like Ayala in Cebu City. Hmmm the structure, architecture, and even the shops and restaurants. I felt transported back in time. Not bad. And surprise, like Ayala in Cebu City, the mall had plenty of huge Christmas trees, and all sorts of “pictorial” corners with huge stuffed bears, tigers, and other animals for shoppers. The ubiquitous pictorial haha. We took our photos, too. Grand. I loved the three huge Christmas Trees where I playfully stood in the middle for the shots. Hey Bonits, when will you upload the photos? I’m excited to see them.

After exploring the area, taking photos, and dining in this Mediterranean-type restaurant, we headed back to my impressive condo building. We took a cab. I requested my friend to drop me at Malugay Street first where the condo building stands because it was scary to return on my own. Haha no more crossing streets for the night.

I slept soundly that night. No ghosts appeared.

The following day was THE day!

It was another experience worth writing. I’m still thinking if I should write it. We will see.

P.S. The photos I used here are inspired by what I saw. (“,)

1000

Call me a kid but I’m just totally delighted today haha. (“,)

My Unexpected Blessings blog site has reached its 1000th reader today. Boy that made me happy!

It’s not easy keeping a blog site. You need to keep the inspiration going to churn out good material. By good, I mean the stuff that I produce. It could be a lonely, sentimental, joyous, victorious topic or something that totally sucks.

Thank you, thank you for consistently reading.

Reaching 1000 pageviews today totally made my day!

A toast to blogging and my wonderful readers all over the world!

You are my inspiration. (“,)