DLSU No Impact Experiment

DAY 1: Trash

(Me with my readings and our black printer)

 

As a CLA student, part of our daily lives is to print readings for our classes that sometimes consists of more than 100 pages (this is because of intllaw or international law) which is what I was holding at the time of my selfie. To think that those papers where only for one, and I repeat, for ONE meeting only. I actually have stacks of readings that were from my former classes just sitting in an envelope in my room. But today I wanted to make a difference and I decided that all those papers will be recycled. I’ll print on the back pages of the paper that wasn’t used, so that the back pages wouldn’t be wasted.

 

DAY 2: Transportation

(Me in the bus, with it’s red chairs and plastic wrap, it was very cold hence the scarf)

Normally, I would rather be driven to school by my Dad since he goes the same way when he goes to work, but today, I rode the bus in going to school. It was actually very comfortable since it was very cold inside the bus, I even fell asleep for awhile. It was cheaper too, because my only expense was P42. There was no gas nor toll fee to worry about, because if I were to be driven by my Dad, we would’ve paid P500 for the gas alone, then another P100+ for toll fee.

 

DAY 3: Food

 

(Me with a sandwich and chocolate milk, YUM!)

I don’t normally eat breakfast, ever since I was in highschool. I think its because when I wake up early, I’m still a bit groggy and the first thing my Mom wants me to do is eat, but my stomach is still asleep and not ready to digest anything yet. However, today I decided that I’ll eat a healthy breakfast which was a sandwich with some herb and garlic butter, and some chocolate milk (I’m a sucker for anything chocolate!). What I realized was my breakfast gave me a bit more energy and I wasn’t as sleepy when I went to DLSU for my morning classes.

 

DAY4: ENERGY

 

So today, even though it was a bit hot in my room I opted to just use my electric fan rather than my aircon to save energy. Also, from now on I will only try my best to open my aircon when it’s really hot because it emits CFCs that is very harmful to the environment. I also learned to never underestimate the power of a good electric fan because it really does it’s work! 🙂

 

 

DAY 5: Water

 

(Shower time! P.S. I WAS NOT NAKED DURING THIS SELFIE! I’m just too short, and my arm isn’t long enough to capture my torso, *sobs*)

 

Normally, I didn’t give much thought on how I spent water. I realized that when I’m brushing my teeth, I still kept the faucet on even when I’m not using it. Well today, I made a change. Instead of showering for 30 – 45 minutes, I showered for only 20 minutes. I know its not really a big change but atleast I know that by cutting down on a bit of time in showering, I waste less water. From now on, I will try to stay on my 20 minute mark when I shower in order to conserve more water.

 

DAY 6: Giving Back

(I washed the dishes!)

This was actually the best day of my week because normally, my Mom would be the one to cook the food, and then clean up afterwards. So today, I wanted to share the work and give back to her for all those days that she cared for us. And since she didn’t want me to cook our food, in fear of me burning it, she opted to make me wash the dishes which I gladly did. It was such a happy moment for me because I was able to show my Mom that I appreciated all the work that she has done for me and my Dad.

 

DAY 7: Rest

 

 

This was the second best day of my week because I’m a lazy ass gal. But this day was different because of finals week and all the projects here and there, I rarely got the time to rest and relax. For the past few days I only got 5 hours of sleep when normally I would sleep for about 7 – 8 hours, I blame all the term papers for it. So, because of this day, I was able to relax and not worry about anything at all.

 

This week helped me realize that I can help the environment, as well as the people close to me, and most importantly to remember that I should also be able to take proper care of myself. I’ll do my best to do this every week to be able to help our Mother Nature. We must all remember that our environment is our home and we must be able to care for it unless we want the next generations to live in a world where nature is extinct. And even someone like me can make a difference, because in our world where there are some people trying to stand up for what they believe is right, I know that I am one of those because I choose to be the change that I want to see in our world.

 

~Bianca Perez

11146931

Genders A52

Visayan Forum

This forum opened my eyes to the reality of how the people are trafficked here in our country. Those traffickers focus on those people who are in the province and do not know much about the city, especially the women and children.

Sex Slave

The sex slaves are treated as animals and are drugged so that no one can escape. Then, they are raped by the men who can pay their price. The traffickers don’t care about them or their health at all and are just seen as objects or toys to play with and get profit from.

Stop human trafficking!

This kind of business must be stopped because far too much people are getting hurt and traumatized because of this. I can’t imagine how people create a demand for this kind of business so that the traffickers will get more people in order to meet the demand.

When the victims are rescued, they are put into a shelter, but how can we shelter them from the memories that will haunt them forever? When this kind of experience happened to you, you will never be able to forget it, no matter how hard you try. Yes, victims can move past it, but the reality of the situation is, those victims, will live with those scars that not even time can make it fade. We can only help them move on by helping them create new memories in order to replace the old ones.

 

~Bianca Perez

11146931

 

Sources:

http://mirrorgirlblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/sex-trafficking.jpg

http://humantraffickingsearch.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Stop-Human-Trafficking-e1312364567119.jpg

 

Swords and Scales

I only had the privilege of watching the first two speakers for this talk and I can say that I was very enlightened by what they have said regarding their topics.

Here’s my selfie with my friend Sheila Delariarte 🙂

Sheila (left) and Me (right)

The first speaker, Mr. Dacela discussed about Epistemic Justice and its all about how information or knowledge is not really properly given to the people. He gave a couple of examples but what stuck to me the most was when he made the missing Malaysian aircraft as an example. From what I understood, he pointed out that it was wrong to withhold any information from anyone since it is a form of injustice and the people have a right to know.

Also, the speaker mentioned a quote from Plato which stated that:

For me this quote means that all of us have knowledge, all of us know something the other does not, but when something bad happens and a person withholds important information and maybe that person sells what he knows to make a profit, then that is called cunning. Real wisdom is when you are able to freely share what you truly know is right and not ask for anything in return. That is true justice and that is, atleast for me, Epistemic Justice.

The second speaker was actually a former professor of mine in Intfilo, Ms. Laureen Velasco and even though I passed her subject by the skin of my teeth, I still like her style of teaching and how she gives examples. Anyway, she talked about the culture and the society of the Japanese and I could say that in that short time she said her lecture, I came to love Japan and the Japanese more because of the situation that she gave, which was when the tsunami hit Japan  last 2011.

It was very devastating for Japan, many lost their lives and their homes, however despite all of the chaos the tsunami has created, the Japanese people were still united. They had respect, and most of all discipline. Respect, since the Japanese people still lined up in public transportations even though everything around them was in chaos. Discipline, since even though stores were totally destroyed and all the products can be picked up from the ground without anybody knowing, the Japanese people didn’t take anything, except for this one woman who stole an infant formula to feed her child but left a note stating her name and address and said that she will pay what she owes to the store when the ATM machines are functioning.

That simple example left me wondering, what if all the people in the world were like the Japanese? The world would probably be a much better place than it is right now. People will respect each other, and will be united against any situation. Crime rates will be much lower, and government officials would step down and resign when they know that they cannot be trusted by their people anymore. However, the Japanese society is not a utopia. It still has crimes now and then just like any normal society, but that is overshadowed by the fact that the Japanese society is much more peaceful than any other society in the world.

And their map is cute too! 🙂

SOURCES:

http://www.trbimg.com/img-531b962a/turbine/la-fg-malaysia-plane-missing-20140307-pictures-005

http://meetville.com/images/quotes/Quotation-Plato-justice-knowledge-wisdom-Meetville-Quotes-237143.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foxww-tMoNg

http://www.cg-dreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/japanmap2-02.jpg

~ Bianca Perez 11146931

Genders A52

Journal #2

Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned. – William Congreve

We are all familiar with this saying wherein a woman’s anger is worse than a lifetime in hell. However, what are hidden from us are the reasons why a woman can do something like that. As a female, I also get angry at people because of jokes that are sometimes disrespectful for us women or because some people are chauvinist pigs that think they have a higher status than us women.

In some ways, Insiang was like the women in the article, I Am Angry Because You Are Unjust: A Filipino Woman’s Awakening to Feminism. She worked in order to make ends meet and to feed both herself and her mother, and eventually her mother’s boyfriend, Dado. She was never even appreciated for the work that she did and her mom even scolds her when she doesn’t give enough money. Like the women in the article, she just endures it because there would be no use crying about it.

Women are brave, they can take whatever you throw at them. Their scars may be there forever, but those scars serve as a remembrance of how much they fought to get what they want. We can see that before Insiang was raped by Dado, and left by her boyfriend Bebot, she tolerated her mom and how she treated her. She was actually contented with her relationship with Bebot.

However, after she was abused, something in her snapped just like the woman in the rally. She wanted her revenge and she was willing to do anything to have it. I’m not saying that I approve of what she did, I’m just saying that you cannot predict what a woman can really do.

In our country, there are still hints here and there that men are more superior that us women. However, that notion was broken since we had our first ever Filipina president, the late Mrs. Corazon Aquino. She paved the way for Filipinas in every corner of our country and even outside of it. She proved that women can handle the work of men and can do an even better job of it. In my opinion, feminism is very good, not only in our country, but also all over the world. Also, in our country, women are respected not because we are weaker, but because we also wield power, so much so that at times, even men bow to us. Some of us may even change the view of an entire continent.

What I’m really trying to point out is that in our country, people have learned to respect women for their strengths and not treat them as the second gender because we are learning to fight for it. Filipinas have a better chance of finding jobs and other opportunities that benefit them, and that is ultimately the best news that we can ever have. But, just remember if you piss off a woman always watch your back, because she may be the death of you.

~ Bianca Perez 11146931

Genders A52

 

Sources & References:

http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=DALUMAT&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=507&path%5B%5D=540

http://www.clickthecity.com/img2/articles/CTC-4006-image5.jpg

https://bianxperez.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/c08d7-ex.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9psoaIFPx1qclwi7o1_500.jpg

http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1987/1101870105_400.jpg

http://31.media.tumblr.com/6a87cc04d367ab95022ccb1f579397aa/tumblr_mquhqf3lOd1qifq8yo1_400.jpg

Journal Entry #1

            Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders: why is it that these people are looked down upon in our society? Aren’t they also human beings with their own rights and their own feelings? It’s unfair that they have to be treated that way just because they dress and act differently than other people. Well, for me, I think they’re brave because in this world, you need courage to fight for yourself and what you believe in. People who are famous but are openly saying that they’re LGBTs are very admirable because they are saying to the world that they are proud to be LGBTs and they don’t care what other people say about them, because they know that people like them should not be scared of opening up to their families and friends.

Ellen Degeneres – Lesbian

 

Neil Patrick Harris – Gay

Megan Fox – Bisexual

Carmen Carrera – Transgender

These are only some of the celebrities to come out as LGBTs and yet we can see that they are happy and free because they have nothing to hide. But why do these people hide in the first place? It’s all because of us and all the labels that we give them, and once they are labelled as an LGBT people will start to judge them and tease them about it. These people are judged because they are acting differently than they should. We have this idea that if you’re male, then you should act like one and should be able to love the opposite sex. Aren’t we free to love who we want to love?

When we think about it, these labels, such as gays, lesbians, etc. are all just labels which mean that they are neutral, neither good nor bad. It’s how you use them that make them negative. People of the 21^st century are still close minded about these types of things and often dislike them, especially in our country. Yes I know some guy friends who have gay friends and have a nice friendship, but some of them still dislike the fact that there are LGBTs. I remember that there was this one time where me and some of my friends were asking each other about having a child that was gay. It was so disappointing that all of the guys who were asked said that they didn’t want to have a child that was gay. It was like they were ashamed that one day they might have a son who’s gay. However, when I asked my other guy friends I was surprised that one was able to say that he will not be ashamed if his son turns out to be gay because he had no right to change what his son’s personality will be and that answer made me respect him more as a person.

This kind of ideology intrigued me and I wanted to know if the people back then had the same ideology. I asked my Mom about how she acted back then and she said that the females at their time were expected to stay in the house and do the household chores like cooking, doing laundry, washing dishes, etc. and she said that she always conformed to it, not because she was forced to but because she knew that she wanted to do those things rather than go outside and have a brawl with other guys. She grew up in Cavite and back then, the males were always drunk and are brawling with each other. She told me that she even witnessed a man with a gun chasing another man, because back then her home was in a farm with wide open spaces, unlike today wherein different houses are already built.

For me, I have the same experiences as my Mom, because back then when we had some brownie mix, I was always the one who would bake it and I would put those colourful sprinkles on top. Even though sometimes it doesn’t go the way I want it, or it gets a bit burnt, for me it’s still fun.

Me – trying to bake when I was young, and sometimes this was the result.

 

I also realized that when I was young, I always wanted Barbie dolls as presents for my birthday and I will always brush their hair and put different outfits on them, especially the shoes and I still have them today. So, I think that in some way me and my Mom have the same experience we had as a child and what we are today is based on our own choices. No one had to force us to do those things and that is the same for the LGBTs. It’s their choice if they want to be a part of that group and we should not label or judge them for their own individual choices.

Sources:

http://blog.prashantgorule.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ellen-degeneres-profile.jpg

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2009/database/091123/neil-patrick-harris-300.jpg

http://www.stars-arena.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/megan_fox_11.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/fa6ee3d3a4af45cf954b26556c73252c/tumblr_mgf79uwZGt1qgb5p1o1_1280.gif

http://www.etonline.com/gallery/130714_Bisexual_Celebrities_10_Celebrities_To_Come_Out/index.html?page=MA==&itmCnt=MA==

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/030/4/4/Pretend_to_be_a_chef_by_NoA85.jpg

Bring it on WORLD!

This year, its gonna be a new me. No more lazy ass procrastinating! This is gonna be the best year of my life!

 

“Best Day Of My Life”

I had a dream so big and loud
I jumped so high I touched the clouds
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]
I stretched my hands out to the sky
We danced with monsters through the night
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]

I’m never gonna look back
Woah, never gonna give it up
No, please don’t wake me now

Oo-o-o-o-oo
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
Oo-o-o-o-oo
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife

I howled at the moon with friends
And then the sun came crashing in
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]
But all the possibilities
No limits just epiphanies
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]

I’m never gonna look back
Woah, never gonna give it up
No, just don’t wake me now

Oo-o-o-o-oo
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
Oo-o-o-o-oo
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife

I hear it calling outside my window
I feel it in my soul (soul)
The stars were burning so bright
The sun was out ’til midnight
I say we lose control (control)

This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
Oo-o-o-o-o
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
This is gonna be, this is gonna be, this is gonna be
The best day of my life
Everything is looking up, everybody up now
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife