21st Century Literature Outputs

            Marriage is something we don't need to rush. It is a big and important responsibility for us to take. And "Footnote to Youth" made me also realize that, really, history repeats itself.             The legal process of being married is not that easy. And marrying at an early age is harder. At some point, being married in your teen years won't make you a better individual. Marriage can wait. And building a family without proper knowledge can lead to a family without proper family planning, just like what happened to Dodong after marrying his wife. Their lives did not become happy because they both did not have a stable job, to the point that Teang came to a realization and had a few negative what-ifs.             And without any proper guidance from the parents who commit to an early marriage, some of the children can be the same as their parents are as well. like when Blas asked his father if he could marry his girlfriend, Tona. Repeating history again

             As a woman, "I Got Flowers Today" made me realize how important it is to have enough courage to walk away from a relationship that does not benefit you anymore. And also, a sorry without changes can't fix anything.             I learned how to value my worth as a woman even more when I heard this poem. that as women, we should still consider our own good, especially when we enter a serious relationship or if we get married someday. It gives me the realization that walking away from a relationship that does not give you value or what you deserve is not a sign of being weak or a coward; it is a sign of being an independent woman who can still stand alone even without a partner.             Simple saying "sorry" are not enough, especially when the person who committed the mistake can't even figure out a way to fix things or if they still repeat the same negative deeds that they did the first time. Sorry without improvement is not worth forgivin

            Starting a war is not a solution; it just makes things worse. War is the destroyer of all things. That is what the poem "A Poppy" made me realize.             The representation of war using flowers in this poem already shows that war is not a solution; otherwise, it makes the situation even worse. War does not fix anything, and we are all aware of that. It is the beginning of another difficulty in our lives as individuals.             War is obviously a destroyer. It does not only ruin a country; it also wrecks the bright future of children who are affected by it. It is the reason why many lives are being finished, it kills people, individuals who could change the world in a positive way. War is the reason why many of our fellow countrymen have already lost their hopes for having a peaceful country. War could destroy all of us, which we need to at least prevent. We can do it if we have unity and the same goal of not letting war happen in our beloved country.

          A Letter to Pedro also called Pete, made me learn one lesson: how Filipinos can easily move forward despite the hardships and challenges that they are facing.             Just like Pedro's friend jokingly wrote a postscript in the letter, we Filipinos are known for how easily we can adjust to the circumstances we tend to have in each of our lives. Despite of the ongoing problems we have, we can still laugh and smile in the end of the day, seems to be not minding the situation where we currently are. This story mirrored how gifted Filipinos are, especially when facing calamities and unexpected changes. That no problem in this world is created without a solution.

            What the story entitled, "The Visitation of the Gods" by Gilda Cordero Fernando thought me is, no matter how you chose and fight for what is right, if somebody don't want you to contradict them with the truths, you will still remain by their shadow.            Ms. Noel have been righteous, always choosing what she thinks is true yet her attitude of being like this did not help her. It is because, after the visitation of the superintendent and supervisors, Ms. Noel still takes her place on the lowest rung of the school's hierarchy. The lesson I learned from this story is, no matter how carefully you follow the process of something to get there, if someone does not want your way of making it to the end, you will always lose. It is in all aspects of our lives, especially because equality is hard to earn nowadays.

          True friends is determined in your darkest times. The story "The Last Leaf" proves that what Richard Paul Evans stated in his quote, "It is in the dark times that the light of friendship shines the brightest," is right. And it also serves as a reminder for me that we should never lose hope in this life given to us so early.             What Sue did for Johnsy proves that if you really have a true friend, he or she will willingly remain by your side, especially when you are in the midst of a challenge. The Last Leaf shows that it is your dark times that make the light of friendship shine the brightest. Sue did not lose her patience just to be with Johnsy so that she could give him words of encouragement. I learned that, no matter what happens, if you have a genuine friend by your side, you’ll always remain firmly standing because they'll always back you up. That friendship is considered true when they don’t leave you, even if you can’t return the favor

            What I learned in this story is that infatuation is far different from love. And before entering a relationship or committing to love, we have to make sure that we really understand our own feelings and emotions.             What Alfredo felt for Julia was just infatuation. The love he considers when he is with Julia is not what he thinks of. He thought he was truly in love with the lady, but when they see each other again after how many years, after he ends up marrying Esperanza, he realizes that the feelings he had for Julia are gone. And it is not really love that he feels for Julia; it is just an infatuation. In our lives, we also tend to think, at some point, that what we are feeling for someone is already love, yet the truth is, it is just infatuation. that it fades away and does not remain. different from what love is. Because love endures even when two people do not communicate for an extended period of time.             Before entering into a serious relationsh

            Patience and the determination to prove that we really love that special someone is what make the relationship's foundation even stronger. And the story entitled "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife" made me realize that. And the simple life of the province will not be a burden if we truly love the person to whom we commit our love.              In this society we have right now, patience when it comes to love is already precious. Not because it is worth gold, but because not everyone nowadays has patience with love. Some pursue love yet do not have enough patience to continue going after it. Maria has shown so much patience, just so she can prove how much she loves Leon. She kept being patient despite the hardship she faced when they went home to Leon's hometown, when Leon's father challenged her without vocally expressing it.             Maria used to live in the city, and even if Leon came from the province, she didn't hesitate or think

        Sinigang made me better understand the quote by Robin S. Sharma that states, "Forgiveness isn't just a blessing you deliver to another human being. Forgiveness is also a gift you give yourself." And I also realized that if we make mistakes or commit stupid acts, we can immediately expect that something negative will happen.        This story made me realized that if we forgive someone who made a mistake or caused us trouble, we should genuinely and wholeheartedly forgive them. Forgiveness makes us free from the things that cause us so much burden in our lives. At the end of the day, if we just forcefully say that we already forgive someone, we still can't get the real freedom we are aiming for. We can't honestly give ourselves the gift of being free. Just like what Liza felt when she forgave her father.       And when we make mistakes, just like Liza's father did, something is going to be ruined. When Liza's father made the mistake of having a

     Lumnay and Awiyao make me realize that, in this world, even the strongest love that has ever existed between two people who love each other can't win against the culture and tradition we respect in this society. In addition to , if you truly love someone, you are willing to make sacrifices in order for them to fill the gaps in their lives that we cannot contain and fill.        The wedding dance taught me that love can be easily wrecked in all aspects of our lives nowadays, most especially by the culture we tend to respect and follow for a long time. If we are truly determined to follow our culture, love can be easily abandoned, even if the other person in the relationship pushes to continue the love they had built together, to keep the love they share alive, and even if they beg the other to stay.       In this world, we also need to sacrifice some things. just like what Lumnay did when she chose to sacrifice her love for Awiyao. She sacrificed their marriage not because she