"Thou art more animal than man"

Achilles, was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Illiad(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles). In my own perspective of Achilles, he is more of an animal than man,why you may ask? It's because of the horrible things Achilles did in the Illiad in which a person would normally think that it is very inhumane.

One for example is when Patroclus was killed by Hector, Achilles, enraged by the death of his cousin died, finally wore his armor and weapon then quickly flew to the field killing many men in his fearsome and terrible anger. 

 Another one is Achilles' butchering and selling of Priam's other sons, because before Hector faced Achilles outside the gates of Troy, his father begged him not to face Achilles and presented him many reasons why not to fight Achilles, "And then my heart might shed its dreadful sorrow, for he's taken from me many valiant sons. Some he's butchered. Others he's sold in island far away"(Book 22, 57-60).

Then there is the great and epic fight between Achilles and Hector in which a great and long chase took place before the fight in which Achilles chased and chased after Hector, but Hector who is very quick could not loose the very agile Achilles then Athena interfered with the chase with Zeus' blessing. Then Athena deceived Hector by taking the form of Deiphobus, Hector's brother, and with the form of Hector's brother, Athena urged Hector to fight Achilles with his help.

Then when Hector faced Achilles, Deiphobus was nowhere to be found when the fight took place, suddenly Hector realized that his death is drawing near because he knew that the gods have already decided on what Hector's fate will be.

 Just before they started, Hector asked Achilles that his body, be treated with respect and granted with the proper burial rites and the same would be done to Achilles, but Achilles with deadly anger in his heart refused with the proposal and said: "Hector, don't talk to me of our agreements. That's idiotic, like a faithful promise between men and lions." (Book 22, 336-338)

Both of them fought fiercely, but Achilles had the upper hand because he was more skillful in fighting than Hector ever was, then Achilles found a way through Hector's thick armor, which is the opening where the collar bone separates the neck and shoulder, stabbing it with his spear. Then with the remaining life within Hector, he used it to plead to Achilles that his body be allowed the proper burial rites, but cold-hearted Achilles replied: "So there's no one who'll keep the dogs from going at your head, not even if they bring here and weigh out a ransom ten or twenty times as much, with promises of more, or if Priam, son of Dardanus, says he'll pay your weight in gold. Not even then will your mother set you on a funeral bed and there lament the son she bore. Instead, the dogs and birds will eat you up completely."(Book 22, 450-459)

Then Achilles still not satisfied, cut through the tendons of Hector's body, tied a rope around then tied the other end to his chariot then sped off dragging his body behind, towards the Greek ships.

Therefore, here are the evidences of Achilles being more of a ruthless animal than of a man.

"From the silence we speak"

Women, are usually known as weak, fragile, very vulnerable and inferior,

I strongly disagree with the racism on women because it is downright wrong, I firmly believe that women has a right to be free to do anything she desires, have the same respect that a man can get have whatever she wants and most importantly,

be valued, protected and loved as she should be.

Women can do the same stuff as men do, they have the rights to do so and the ability to do so if they ever want to, but why is it that they are always hindered and prevented from doing it just because of their sexuality? They are not just like women from ancient Greece, who are just for entertainment and primary role as mothers, but they are as equal and as free as any man on earth.

It is also said that "We are all equal in God's eyes" but still many have taken it as a mere superstition or a senseless phrase, but women can be significant and do significant things to. Take Rosa Parks for example,

she was known as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement" because of that she took various roles and actions to fight for the rights of the African-American people.

She also did something very magnificent back in 1955 ,when racism was very much alive, that surprised me. When she was at the bus a white passenger also rode on the bus but there was no available seat to be found, the bus driver then, urged her to give seat to the white passenger because of that back then African-Americans are considered to be inferior. This is very remarkable because of that she is very courageous that she stood up for what she believes that everyone should be equal, she was as brave as the bravest of man back then because of what she did. She even organized and collaborated with several civil rights leaders back then thus making her significantly important.

Learning from one's mistakes

According to the dictionary, mistake means: "An error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness."  Everyone makes mistakes, and nobody is perfect.

We can benefit from mistakes too, for it teaches us never to commit the same mistake over and over again, it teaches us to correct our mistakes, and more importantly, it urges us to change to be a better person.

 Even those who are smart, powerful, and wise make mistakes. Take Sir Isaac Newton for example, he did not perform well during his grade school and was thought of unlikely to succeed, but eventually, Newton achieved many things in life and contributed greatly to Science because of his findings.

In order to achieve excellence, we must accept our mistakes and we must open up our mind to those who correct us so that we may correct the mistakes that we did. Like in improving our writing skills and grammar, we can read books , read and understand the works of famous poets,  and read other pieces of literature.

But in my opinion, excellence in writing can only be achieved if you take it seriously, if you have faith in yourself, if you focus all your attention in it, if you are willing to write, and most importantly, if you write with your heart.

Celebration of such a phenomenon

On February 14 - 18, 2011, our school, Taytay United Methodist Christian School, or just simply TUMCS, commemorated it's 26th foundation day.

 The students willingly participated in the activities during the school's foundation day such as the field demo, wherein students would exhibit their skills in dancing modern dance, cheering and ballroom.

 another one is the "Mr. and Ms. Intrams", this is where certain students would compete with each other and represent their own section, they would model sports attire and would be asked questions from the judges.

Students from each section also competed with each other according to the sports that they have joined. I for one have joined badminton, along with my classmate, and through our skills and epic teamwork, we won. We am very grateful for the blessing that the Lord has bestowed upon us.

 Most of the third year students won in most of the competitions and sports on the foundation day, because of that we used our talents wisely and we are very passionate when it comes to using our God-given talents. 

Honesty and fairness were observed during the competitions, there are no flaws regarding the officials nor the judges. I'd say that the officials and the judges are trustworthy because of that they did their job honestly.

Students developed camaraderie, a special bond that allowed them to execute their skills properly despite the weaknesses that one has. Friendship among students strengthened even more and are fortified because of the trust that they have in each other. 

After losing in the modern dance category, I learned to accept my mistakes and chose to correct it and strive harder so that someday, when another opportunity presents itself, I will be ready to face it head on. Another is that after winning in Badminton, I learned to be humble and lay low, and strive harder for a better performance. I am so glad that I have used my God-given talents properly to glorify the Almighty. :)

The toxicity of DISCRIMINATION

I have not experienced discrimination directly but, I have experienced it through my Filipino countrymen who are discriminated from certain countries. DISCRIMINATION is the cognitive and sensory capacity or ability to see fine distinctions and perceive differences between objects, subjects, concepts and patterns, or possess exceptional development of the senses and It saddens me to know that my fellow Filipinos are mistreated and are discriminated.

Others, judge as Filipinos harshly, to them we are like savages, dumb, witless, unethical and to others we are regarded or labeled as monkeys.

Like a poison, discrimination destroys our pride, our dignity and who we are. It is said that "We are equal in God's eyes", wherein others agree, but then there are others who act as if they are more superior than the others.

I pity those poor souls who are working abroad to support their families while they experience countless horrors from who they work for, from those people whose hearts know not of mercy and from those whose hearts are made of stone. I pray the day will come, where everyone will be connected by a special bond, where everyone will be equal, where there would be peace, I pray that the world will be a better place for everyone.