On every visage, a black veil

By Rafael Lorenzo G. Conejos
 

“I can see from the look in your eyes that each and every one of you has a demon lurking deep inside your soul,” my new ethics professor said in his opening speech on the first day of classes. This quickly wiped off the smirks of my classmates and quickly dissipated my excitement for the new term. It had been barely an hour into the first day of classes and I had already found myself within the company of my familiar nightmares.

Final Exams

A Fitting Articel for June – Environment Month

I really enjoyed the article “Extreme Learning” about this time being our planet’s final exams. Foreboding as it sounds, you are correct in the analogy that this time is our “finals” and the question is whether we’re going to pass or flunk. Yes, our lives as well as the lives of our children depend on it.

Class reunion

By Athena P. Lavega

Fifteen out of 22 elementary classmates came to the reunion. Eight years after we parted, we met again as a group. A lot of things had happened during those eight years. For example, four of my classmates are now mothers; all together, they have seven babies (with ages of from less than a month to four years).

The “wholesome” party, unlike the ones we had in the past, was now a bit more spiced up. Lots of food, lots of drinking water and soft drinks—and liquor.

The beauty of ‘No’

By Michael Joseph B. Luistro

The human body is such a marvelous thing to look at. Once, my aunt who teaches at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts brought me to a nude painting session. A model was posing there surrounded by dozens of artists—including me, an artist-wanna-be—scribbling seriously at their sketch pads. I do not remember being aroused at the sight; rather, my attention was focused on how to accurately depict the proper curves and proportions to do justice to the model.

A letter

By Phoebe

“You are my sweetest downfall. I loved you first.” — “Samson,” Regina Spektor

Dear you,

You will always hold the distinction of being my first love. Unexpected though it was, someone like you taught someone like me how it is to be loved, to be cared for. It didn’t work out between us, but the whole experience taught me to love as well. And to think it all began when you needed help in your Spanish language class (or so you said).<!–more–>

Why the youth is silent and indifferent now

When faced with public issues involving truth and corruption, for example, they find themselves in a dilemma, an unlikely reaction because the youth are supposed to be pure and unsullied.

Battered and bored

By Irene Jo Arzadon

I was 14 years old when super-typhoon “Reming” hit our province of Albay, and I was right there amid all the devastation it wreaked. Tons of mud and huge boulders cascaded from Mayon Volcano, destroying numerous villages. Hundreds were killed and many families lost their homes and loved ones. For many hours, we cowered in our homes, praying for a miracle that would deliver us from harm.

City in crisis

By Alexis Marian Africa

It was a sunny morning—too sunny for January—when I heard the news. A young dentist was found dead in her clinic a few blocks from where I live. The same incident was news far away my hometown, coming out on the television sets of concerned parents whose sons and daughters work in our “blossoming little metropolis.”

Feeling the power

By Leiron Conrad T. Martija

I was watching the local news recently and for once I actually decided not to change channels when it got to the public service segment. You know, it’s the part where they feature some unfortunate soul who needs assistance from the well-off. There’s always some kid who was injured by firecrackers, some downtrodden family living in a shanty, some hardworking Juan or Juana suffering from an incurable sickness and having mounting hospital bills, or some community with a school a kilometer away.

‘Teleserye’

By Kristy Anne Abello

A couple of weeks ago, I was stuck in the airport because my flight was delayed. I had nothing to do so I watched the “teleserye” [TV soaps] being shown at the waiting lounge. I hadn’t watched those things for ages, and the first thing I noticed was that nothing had changed. The “bida” [lead character] was still the beautiful young girl who was both clueless (i.e., “tanga”) and a pushover—qualities redeemed by her kindness, purity and meekness. The “contrabida” [villain] was a rich and sophisticated woman, wielding control over everything and everyone. Haciendas were ruled by powerful families. Policemen and other law enforcers were incapable of solving crime. People got rich once they found out that they were the sons/daughters of a dying millionaire, not because of hard work or an entrepreneurial bent.