SAT subject tests — One Last Time

It’s been quite a while since I last blog. A lot has happened since the fourth quarter has started yet central to everything I’ve been doing in the past few days and weeks is one thing — reviewing for the SATs, one last time.

And finally, this is it. Tomorrow is the day I take my SAT subject tests. Barring any craziness in the future, this will be the last time I’ll be taking the SATs.

It has honestly been a crazy adventure that has gotten me studying like I’ve never studied before. I’ve carried my biology and math books to places I’d never even think of studying in. I’ve poured almost every ounce of my energy and glucose in an attempt to master all the concepts I’ll be needing.

A Reminder that Life ain’t Perfect

 I miss playing basketball and that’s a fact.

Just last monday, as my friends rushed to the basketball court in my house, I simply couldn’t resist the temptation anymore, I just had to shoot some hoops.

Simply put, it had been so long since I played a pick-up game that when my friends brought up the idea of a half court 3 on 3, I said why not? I mean, I told myself, you don’t need to jump or anything, you just need to chill and have fun.

Yet, muscle memory got to me and I ended up soaring for a lay-up midway through the game and boom, my knee without an ACL anymore, which I haven’t had surgery on, gave out.

I fell to the ground remembering the first time I tore my ACL. The excruciating pain brought back so much memories of the day I tore my ACL and how all my basketball dreams were subsequently crushed. Yet at the same time, a few moments later I realized that tearing my ACL also brought about a lot of new memories and opened a lot of new doors.

Last Quarter of Senior Year – Let’s Make It Count

I sat there finishing my common application during New Year until the very next day, pulling off an all night-er after spending the previous week just working on several different drafts.

Then a few days later, the Christmas break is all over. Got to admit, time does fly by quickly. Freshman year seemed just like yesterday yet there I was finishing up my college applications then BOOM!

TOMORROW is finally the start of the final quarter of my senior year. First quarter was the warm-up, second quarter was the start of the race, third quarter was the mid way mark and finally, here it is, the trek to the finish line, the fourth quarter.

A Week in Preparation for the Entrep Weekend!!

The last two days have been two of the most hectic days of the quarter. It’s funny how all projects are now actually harder than taking tests.

The thing about group projects is that you’re forced to find ways to get everybody to work. You’re forced to work with every single person whether you like him or not. Furthermore, you have to be creative in finding ways to get everyone to contribute.

Unfortunately, the sad reality of life is that some people will just free load. Some people will just do the bare minimum. While the others who want to do their best goes the extra mile. It’s in these types of projects that you see who really cares and who you can count on.

Looking back however, I have to admit that these last two days have been extreme experiences. I had to force myself to adapt and stay focused on the task.

Group picture during the oral defense 🙂 Looking good fellas!

This 3rd quarter focus on creating our own social enterprise and learning about sustainable and authentic development has been an interesting journey so far. We haven’t reached the zenith of the adventure yet we’ve gone through so many abstruse and novel moments already.

Tired of School? Tired of all the responsibilities? Don’t stop, the Story Ain’t Over!

The last few days have been really tiring. After finally taking the SAT reasoning test for a second time last Saturday, I thought I’d finally be able to take a break. Guess what hits me? HELL WEEK. It’s the last two weeks of the Third Quarter already and everything is starting to pile up.

It’s crazy how you barely have time to breathe. There’s always something more to do. There’s always something that I should be doing. All the responsibilities, duties and tasks are really building up once again. Or am I just overwhelmed? How do I balance all these?

My Hong Kong Debate Open 2013 Experience – More Than Just Winning Debates

The HKDO cover photo from the HKDO facebook page shows just how diverse the teams were!

I’ve always dreamed of winning an international competition and although, I fell one step short last week during the Hong Kong Debate Open (HKDO), I’ve got to say that all the learnings, insights, memories and experiences I got from HKDO more than made up for the loss.

It’s been a week since HKDO but it’s only now that I’ve found time to look back at the experience and appreciate the entity of the event. It’s really amazing how I got to partner with one of the greatest Filipino debaters of the past decade, Kip, who is also my school team’s debate coach.

It’s not everyday that you get to partner with one of the most revered and prominent debaters in the Philippines. When the idea of partnering with Kip, my debate coach, for an open tournament presented itself, I knew that I just had to take the chance. Being that I’m just four months into debating, I still have a lot to learn and honestly, there’s no better way to get better at something than by learning from the best!

Making it to the Grand Finals actually looks just like a bonus when compared to everything I learned from this entire experience! 😀

How A Not So Ordinary Article Became The No. 1 Read

Hundreds of comments, thousands of shares, top reads for the last 7 days, top 5 reads in the last 30 days, who would’ve imagined that a simple story about a high school student’s experience bagging in a SM supermarket immersion would generate this much attention.

What started out as my friends just thanking me for using their picture quickly escalated in a matter of days into the talk of the down. I was honestly surprised as my parents were telling me how much shares it was generating. At the start, I was also shocked that my article was actually getting comments. Then, on one night, my friend just messaged me to check out the Carlos Celdran post and the rest is history. Suddenly, overnight, my article became the top reads of not only the day but also the week.

(The article is seen here: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/131783/my-stint-as-an-sm-grocery-bagger)

Was the number one read for quite some time!! Really shocking and surreal!

Social media has truly transformed the way we live our lives. In a matter of days, my SM immersion article had gotten so much attention that my friends would talk about comments that I never even heard of. For instance, just the other day, when we were debating about education, my friend found a way to use my SM immersion article as an example.

My stint as an SM grocery bagger

My SM immersion article taken from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/131783/my-stint-as-an-sm-grocery-bagger

My stint as an SM grocery bagger by David Ongchoco

 Every year, fourth-year high-school students of Xavier School embark on a four-day “adventure” where they get to experience what it’s like to be an SM employee. This is under the school’s SM Supermarket Immersion Program.

Entering our senior year, my classmates and I were really looking forward to the experience, as it’s not every day that you get these  opportunities.

On the first day, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. Just entering the employees’ workplace of the SM Marikina supermarket was already a completely novel experience for a lot of us. It was the start of an “insider” journey that many of us will surely look back on as a highlight of our senior year.

To start things off, we were greeted warmly by the SM supervisors and given a few guidelines and reminders. We then headed to the SM supermarket proper and learned about the different sections.

Then the fun finally began as we got to try out the different jobs in the supermarket.

From boxing and bagging items and goods to the chopping of  chicken, experiencing every work station for ourselves really showed us students what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence.

In Search of the Picture Perfect Moment

I couldn’t help but walk down memory lane as my classmates and I had our grad picture taking last Saturday. Thinking about what I would wear for my creative shot made me look back at my high school journey. I honestly didn’t know what to wear for my creative shot for I wanted to wear something that would encapsulate my high school experience.

My high school journey has been alien-like; no, it has been MARTIAN-like, unpredictable and capricious in the most abstruse of ways. A lot of people say I’m different but I’ve become a firm believer that it’s the choices that we make to be different that allows us to be who we are.

As I pondered upon how I could encapsulate my high school experience in my creative shot, it hit me that I wouldn’t be able to come up with a perfect costume or outfit to embody the diversity and uniqueness of the entity of my entire high school experience.

Just like my senior year, my creative costume couldn’t have been more eccentric, crazy or unique as wearing a Martian jersey with a Pikachu hat =))

Many times we wonder whether or not we could have done something better. At the end of the day, there’s no such thing as a perfect shot or moment. What makes a moment so picture perfect is how imperfect it is. The mistakes, the flaws, the craziness and all the imperfect moments is what makes high school, high school; In a much bigger scale, it’s what makes life, LIFE!

The closest thing to a picture perfect shot that I could come up with was by wearing my Martian Galaxy Jersey along with a Pikachu hat made by my mom.

Why the Martian Galaxy Jersey? Well, being a Martian is about being different and embracing all the unique individuals around you. It’s about not being afraid to look like an alien. It’s about doing something that nobody else would do. It’s about making every moment count!

Stop Over thinking, Just Do It, Just Blog It

The last few weeks, I’ve lost myself. The combination of finally taking the SAT subject tests, going through the SM immersion and the Fully Alive Retreat (an overnight school retreat), and then spending the long weekend trying to work on an out of school project has left me in a whirlwind, drained, confused and unsure of my priorities and goals.

It was only the last few days when we finally got back to school that reality finally hit me. I wasn’t use to sitting down in the classroom anymore because of all the holidays, extra-curricular activities and out of school disruptions. Right now, a few assessments are popping out here and there and I’m feeling so drained already.

I also haven’t been able to blog that much because I’ve ran out of words. Whenever I try to write or think of ideas, my brain either gives me no ideas or a messy scatter of ideas. Then, my subconscious starts to go, why should I write about that? Does that topic really matter? Somebody probably wrote about that already or people won’t care if I write about that.

The last few days, I’ve tried to muster up enough energy to write at least a few blogposts since I haven’t really posted one in more than a week already. Despite the fact that my writing assignments and ideas notebook has quite a few ideas in it already, whenever I try writing an article, I have an extremely hard time focusing and composing an article worthy of posting. But yes, I’ve finally found a blogpost worth posting and this is why I wrote this blogpost.