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First Task

Name: Liezl Agunday Age: 18 years old Address: Gardenville Subdivision Carsadang Bago 2 Imus Cavite Work experiences:  Accounting office clerk Interests: Financial literacy, the theory of time, economy and culture. Previous School: University of the East Mother's Name: Analyn F. Agunday Father's Name: Hussein Khan V. Derico Guardian: Helen V. Derico

Conflict Internal: Struggle to move beyond my past so that I could become a better person. External: Struggle to get along with certain people.

Character type: Flat Character I consider myself a flat character because I have tendencies of being extremely secretive. I firmly believe that what people don't know they can't destroy, besides not everything needs to be said out loud.

Perspective

Based on another's perspective of me,  I say logical things with conviction. From this, it revealed that I think I can accomplish a goal once I have constructed a solid plan. They also said that my behavior and feelings may have hurt some people. But, some find it as support and help.  Another also said that I  do what I think is right for me and that I am firm with my decision. Lastly, they described me as brave and visionary.

One turning point in life

Recalling my past experiences I can say that the major turning point in my life is that I did not pass UPCAT. To be a physician was my lifelong dream, I knew that it's my calling. From this experience, I learned the value of 'real' smart work. For months I got sidetracked, chose a completely different path. Even today I still carry this regret to constantly remind me of three important lessons. One, do not take anything for granted. Two no matter how good a person is, without effort nothing will be accomplished. And third, nobody wants to know why you couldn't make it.

Foreshadowing: I envision myself to be financially free, a professional and an advocate to help others raise themselves.

Theme: Above everything, time and hard work are all I need.

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Book Review: Noli Me Tángere

Upon hearing the title 'Noli me Tangere' I immediately remembered the literary works of Dr. Jose Rizal. It is common knowledge that Rizal used his brilliant intelligence to refute from the satirical government of Spain, it fueled my curiosity to know how this text revolutionized the Filipino thought.

In terms of social trends present in the novel, the community is categorized based on their status. Those who belong in the higher status quo are often literate people, priests, merchants or politicians. While the less fortunate, illiterate Filipinos belong to the lower status quo. Now, this practice may have rooted because the Philippines has been governed by western culture. Based on western ethics, individuals from these cultures are independent and usually tend to value their career or status. The Americans and Spaniards have influenced Philippine culture. This may explain why in our present society, an individual that has finished his education is favored rather than an individual that didn't complete his academic journey. Another instance showed in the story is that an individual literate in the English language is automatically branded by society as a person belonging in the higher strata. Even in the present, this is still a common mistake that discriminates against the people who lacked the opportunity to learn. The loss of nationalism of the many also motivates this unseen discrimination existing in the past society as well as to the present.

Now viewing this from a technological viewpoint, the story showed advancements of the Filipino community. One great example is the pluma that is used by Dr. Jose Rizal to write his literary works. The exchange of information is not as fast compared to modern times. In the book, information escalated through newspapers. Through time, the demand for the speed of information became an opportunity for capitalists that also benefited each country by boosting its economic standing.

The state of the economy in the story tells us that the Philippines is a rich country. After-all Noli me Tángere is supposed to depict the current events when it was written so this means that the purchasing power of peso is very high. Dr. Jose Rizal can finance his publishing with only three hundred pesos. However, in the story, there are a great number of people enduring poverty. One reason why this happened is because of the extreme taxes, unnecessary church contributions mandated and also national restrictions that might have hindered a Filipino to flourish financially. This tells us that the government established by the Spaniards is corrupt, cruel and unjust. In comparison, every Filipino as of today has the opportunity to strive for financial freedom, education and also entitled to own properties.

Noli me Tángere beautifully described the places of old manila, from this we can infer that our ancestors preserved the environment. Sadly, the environment that we have today is not even comparable to what they had. The lands, seas as part of the environment has been exhausted for profit. On a brighter note, there are advocates, institutions that encourage volunteers to preserve our environment today.

The novel showed that Spain established a colonial government in the Philippines. It is divided into two structures, the national and local government. The national government is responsible to maintain peace and order, infrastructures as well as the collection of taxes. While the local council administered towns and municipalities. Comparing it to the present political structure tells us that we adopted this structure. Although we have a democratic government today, these two share a common denominator. That is, the past and the present politics is motivated by self-gratification. Relating this to ethics, the priests unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of every Filipino, which is legally, ethically wrong. Noli me Tángere showed deceitful acts, oppression to the lower strata, bribery and even corruption by the officials.  

Another case is the legal system in the story, Mr. Ibarra who has become a fugitive without due process is enough to pinpoint the state of the legal system in Dr. Rizal's time. It's very easy to blame, to oppress the smaller person because they don't almost usually have the upper hand in these situations. Often, its the one that has come bearing money that will walk free.  Noli Me Tangere also showed that our fellow countrymen took advantage of the weak and deprived. Although some can be considered ethically good, their small number is overpowered by those people who don't know integrity.  This has become a norm in our society, not because of these power-hungry people, but because most of us lead them to be where they are right now. If this is the ethics, legal processes and politics depicted in Rizal's time then the present state of the Philippines tells us that our countrymen have not learned anything from history.

The novel Noli Me Tangere is filled with characters with colorful personalities. Father Damaso, Maria Clara, Dona Consolacion, Crispin, Elias, Father Salvi, Crisostomo Ibarra, and Captain Tiago are some of the characters portrayed in the novel. But among these characters, Crisostomo Ibarra stood out the most. In my life, I can see my father as Crisostomo Ibarra. Our family-like anyone else's experienced plenty of sufferings, unjust treatments, and oppression to name a few. My father like Ibarra is rational, cautious and a good person. In the novel, we know that Ibarra tried to change the systems to fully reform the government, instead of rebellion. Although our family is not like the government, I can say that my father did the same thing. He fixed the troublesome issues and later reconfigured our family.  

The major conflict of the novel is the war of Ibarra against society, its virtues, and prejudices present at those times. Ignorance of the Filipino is another major conflict in the text. Conflicts in personal relationships are also evident in the case of Ibarra and Father Damaso. Whenever I face these kinds of situations I do my best in resolving it silently. I follow platonic ethics, that is happiness lies in reason. That's why I take a step back and re-assess the situation. Instead of letting emotion cloud my judgment, I always choose to be rational so that I can think of a solution that is just and reasonable.