Matthew

 As we approach the first few months of the year, we also come closer to experiencing another week of repentance, fasting and alms giving. A week where we purify ourselves from the troubles and deeds that stacked up the past year. This is called "Lent" or Lenten season and it is usually concluded with the most sacred church year of Christians/Roman Catholics "The Holy Week". As the name suggests this season of Lent is worth celebrating. As previously stated in this season, some Christians practice what's called as fasting, they fast not only for self-control, but they fast for physical and spiritual purification and it helps them participate more fully in the cross of Christ. They also practice what's known as "alms giving" this season, where people donate food, clothes, money and even their knowledge to the unfortunate, Christians do alms giving, because they believe that one of the central lessons of the cross is compassion, and helping others ca...

  As the final week of January comes into action, Biguenos and other Ilocos Surians all gather in the Tamag Grounds to celebrate one of the events that would set the bar for the year, the Kannawidan. This celebration is very special to the hearts ilocanos, because these are days filled with joy in different activities, and not only that there is also a marketplace that consists of food courts, botanical shops, furniture stores, bonsai displays and an art gallery all located in the main venue. Kannawidan Ylocos Festival 2019 was the last time the event got big, because of the onset of quarantines and lockdowns caused by the virus, the celebration of Kannawidan 2022 was constricted with strict protocols just like requiring a vaccination card and ID and not letting anyone under the age of 16, especially without a face mask. Despite these, it was still a major improvement over the past 2 years.  Headed by Gov. Ryan Luis Singson, together with Vice Governor Jeremias C. Singson...

  Every now and then it’s really exciting to realize that Christmas is just on the horizon, most especially when there are only a few days left and if you’re wondering how biguenos like me celebrate Christmas, there isn’t really anything that sets it aside from the pack. A festive Christmas in Vigan isn’t as distinct as you may think, its just as heart-warming and special as how other towns or municipalities celebrate it. With vibrant Christmas lights, children roaming around the nightly streets caroling, Christmas trees with various colorful Christmas balls decorated around the famous tourist spots of Vigan, filled with people taking pictures and selfies, this was the mandatory and typical Bigueno Christmas pre-pandemic, now with COVID thriving in Vigan, we Biguenos still try to celebrate the festivities as safely as possible, now with little to no caroling, the limiting of tourists in scenic spots, the mandatory wearing of facemasks and faceshields, the common usage of hand s...

  Time flies since the last quarter ended and now we are nearing another dawn, and there hasn’t been much that changed compared to the 1 st quarter, but the detailed learnings and topics we discussed and understood.   From HTML editing to adding hyperlinks in HTML (ICT), from convex and concave lenses to simple motors and generators (Science), from the introduction to Ohm’s law to parallel to series circuits (Basic Electronics), from creating the background of the study to the making a statement of the problem (Research), from stories in Norse mythology to ways on how to expand the idea of a sentence (Filipino), from self-advocacy to the reintroduction of modal verbs (English) and many more, the second quarter definitely has engraved meaningful topics in my mind and these will definitely help me throughout my journey.   In this second quarter, I am incredibly thankful to have these talented and experienced teachers, enlighten these topics for me, even amid the ...

  As a graduated Paulinian from St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur, I have stock knowledge on the backstory of this Apostle, he was once named “Saul”, a non-believer, an atheist that hated the beliefs of Christianity, one day while riding on a horse in the desert, he was blinded by great light, being stunned he fell from the horse and he could hardly see, and a voice influenced him, that voice was believed to be Lord Jesus, after talking with the voice, Saul started spreading the word of god and changed his name into the Saint we know now, “Paul”.   I recently saw on Facebook that the Longganisa Festival that was supposedly going to happen on the fiesta of Vigan on the 25 th of January was postponed, mainly because of the rising of the cases of the virus in the locality of Vigan, hearing this I was devasted, not only since I’ve been looking forward to this occasion, but also because this is where the whole city of Vigan gets to rejoice, but keep in mind that we do not need pa...

  Almost every New Year celebration, we brace and prepare ourselves for what’s to come, with this we also say promises that we hope to alter in the coming year, in my experiences it hasn’t been the most consistent, but with motivation it could be quite effective in righting our wrongs, and the best source of motivation are our shortcomings or our loved ones   The most common things we tend to improve about ourselves are our weaknesses and mistake in the past years, for me it was the procrastinations of school activities leading to some sleepless and coffee-fueled nights, and of course, this year I attended two contests that assigned me to edit videos, I didn’t do bad and not that well either, the final outputs were rough around the edges but as a beginner, I gave pats on my back knowing that I would definitely get better in time. and of course, I could’ve said or did better to my friends and family this year. When we do great and new things, we wouldn’t even dare to forget...

  In the Philippines, as we enter September we already feel the cold breeze of December, and as we near the final month of 2021, we feel the warm welcome of our towns people begin to decorate and chant Christmas songs to signify the beginning of the holiday seasons   Hearing the word "Christmas", the first thing that comes to my mind is a festive pine tree decorated with shining balls, artificial stars and with presents filled below it, well this must be the thought of most people, but we should remember that we celebrate Christmas on the 25 th of December because it was the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, he   is worshipped as the “Messiah” and he saved the entire world from our sins. Even though it is mainly celebrated by Christians throughout the world, it is still one of the most enjoyed festivities in the world.   Christmas has always been an occasion I’ve always been looking forward to every year, and it’s not because of the gifts but because it is o...