Social Contracts

My whole life is one big compromise. I tiptoe around everyone like they're made of china. I spend all my time analyzing what the effect will be if I say this. Then there's you, you're a reality junkie. If I offered you a comforting lie, you'd smack me over the head with it. Let's not change that.                                                                                 -Dr. Wilson, House MD

         After watching the episode "The Social Contract" from the TV series House MD, many thing occurred to me. First of all, I want to declare that I myself HATE social contracts at some point. However, I admit that, sometimes, we benefit from these contracts. I hate it because it advocates indirectness. I hate it because it is a contract, and contracts are designed to be restraining. For example, you can't go out or do lots of things when you're still not 18 yrs old. Gender wise, girls are not allowed to go out more than boys. Age wise, at all cost, you should give respect to people older than you. To be more relevant, yesterday, lots of shops and businesses were temporarily closed because of the belief that spending money during the first day of the year will give you bad luck, or your money will somehow be unwittingly out of your control. The list goes on and on and on.  Social contracts causes lots of compromises and irrationality.

          No matter how much I rant and complain about these social contacts, I will have no choice but to live with it. After all, it exists as well because of its evolutionary importance. Social contracts are like allegories and metaphors. They exist for a deeper cause and meaning. Let's just deal with this whole one big compromise of life. Respect the contracts created by the norms. Although I often choose to disobey, I always try to respect and avoid putting bad faith to other's beliefs.

        We are in the matrix. We are living around contracts; Religion, Science, School, Work, Marriage, and even Life itself. We are in a contract. We don't get to choose how others act towards us. We don't get to choose how the outside world will act upon us. We don't get to choose where and when we are born. The same thing goes when and where we die.

       I want to believe that there are two contracts. The contract from the society which is the Social contract, and the contract for yourself which is your Personal Contract. Your  dreams, personal decisions, your actions towards others, perception or the way you see the world, life, music, art and how you want things to be.

                                        You don't have to be like everyone else.

Just sign the damn social contract. Hustle around it and write your life with your own pen and paper.

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vincee

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Goodbyes

 
"No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again."
                                                                                  -John Green       

                                          

       GOODBYEs. For some, it could mean, an escape from a problem. Surrendering from a situation. A word used by people that couldn't face their fears and dragons. But for me, its like a sun amidst a storm. The sun hides not because it gives up on you, or because it decided to be concealed by the dark clouds. The sun is always there, hot and bright, but it appears to vanish because it just patiently waits for the cloud to pass by. Saying goodbye is somewhat just like that. There are things that you go away from, or you depart from because you just have to let it be. A goodbye is like a leaf of a tree growing high and away from the ground where it came from. A goodbye is a symbol of growth. Moving on from something bad or something good. Goodbyes are as wonderful as hellos. Actually, it could be even more meaningful than "hellos". You only say good-bye to something or someone when they are important for you. 

So today, January 01, 2018, I say good-bye to 2017. Not because I want to forget what happened that year, or because I want to move on from something. Actually, it is the other way around. I say good-bye to 2017 for being a wonderful year. For bringing amazing people into my life. For surprising me with different challenges. Good-bye to 2017. For bringing unforgettable experiences. Heartaches, excitements, faced dragons, and risks. One thing is for sure, I learned a lot from last year. I say good-bye to 2017, and I will always remember and will see you again to guide my present and my upcoming triumphs in life.

I say a goodbye like saying a goodbye to the bright sun of past that is momentarily enclosed by the upcoming clouds and darkness of future. Knowing that after the clouds pass by, you are still there to shine and guide me through the dark.  

I say goodbye like a young leaf departing away from the experiences of the past where it came from. But like a leaf depending on the nutrients from the ground, I will never fail to look back to help me move forward. As the leaf depart meters away from the ground, it grows stronger. I will grow stronger, stronger. stronger every day.

Goodbye. 

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vincee

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The Shadow Guy of Life

             

A sunshine is a symbol that will always be there everyday to remind us that in every darkness there will always be light. In every cold heartless breeze there will be a warm soothing wind.

             We had an individual project from our communication class that requires us to present a poem - any type of poem - in front of the class. So looked it up in the internet and searched for something that gets into me. Something that somehow connected me at that moment.And I found this spoken poetry by a guy named Harry Baker. Harry Baker is a professional spoken poet. This piece of his was presented in his TedEx talk in youtube. Here it goes:

So this one is called “ The Sunshine Kid.”

Old man sunshine was proud of his sun.

And it brightened his day to see his little boy run.

Not because of what he’d done, nor the problems overcome.

But that despite that is disposition remained a sunny one.

It hadn’t always been like this.

There’d been times when he’d tried to hide his brightness.

You see, every star hits periods of hardship

It takes a brighter light to inspire them through the darkness

If we go back to when he was born in nebula,

We knew that he never was thought of as regular,

Because he had a flair about him,

To say that midas touch is wrong

But all he went near seemed to turn a little bronze

Yes this sun was loved by some more than others,

It was a case of joseph and his dream coat and his brothers

Because standing out from the crowd had its pros and cons,

And jealousy created enemies in those he outshone

Such as the shadow people

Now the shadow people didn’t like the sunshine kid,

Because he showed the dark things the shadow people did,

And when he shone he showed places where the shadow people hid,

So the shadow people had an evil plan to get rid of him,

First up—they made fun of his sunspots

Shooting his dreams from the sky, their words were gunshots,

Designed to remind him he wasn’t very cool

And he didn’t fit in with any popular kids at school,

They said his head was up in space and they would bring him down to earth,

Essentially he came from nothing and that is what he was worth,

He’d never get to go to university to learn,

Only degrees he’d ever show would be the first degree burns

From those that came too close, they told him he was too bright,

That’s why no one ever looked him in the eyes,

His judgement became clouded

So did the sky, with evaporated tears

As the sun started to cry

Because the sunshine kid was bright, with warm personality,

And inside he burned savagely

Hurt by the words and curses of the shadowy folk

Who spoke holes in his souls and left cavities,

And his heart was hardened, his spark darkened,

Every time they called him names it cooled his flames,

He thought they might like him if he kept his light dim

But they were busy telling lightning she had terrible aim,

He couldn’t quite get to grips with what the said,

So he left his light be eclipsed with what they said

He fell into a lone star state like texas

And felt like he’d been punched in his solar plexus

But that’s when little miss sunshine came along

Singing her favourite song about how we’re made to be strong

And you don’t have to be wrong to belong. Just be true to who you are,

Because we are all stars at heart

Little miss sunshine was hot stuff,

The kind of girl when you looked at her

You forget stuff

But for him, there was no forgetting her,

The minute he saw her, her image burned in his retina

She was out if this world, and she accepted him,

Something about this girl meant he knew whenever she was next to him,

Things weren’t as dark as they seemed, and he dared to dream

Shadows were nowhere to be seen, when she was there he beamed,

His eyes would light up in ways that can’t be faked

When she grinned her rays erased the razor- tipped word of hate

They gave each other nicknames, they were “ cool star” and “fun sun”

And gradually the shadowy damage became undone,

She was one in a septillion, and she was brilliant,

Could turn the coldest blooded reptilians vermillion,

Loved by billions, from Chileans to brazileans,

And taught the sinshine kid the meaning of resilience,

She said: “ all the darkness in the world cannot put out the light from a single candle

So how the hell can they handle your light?

Only you can choose to dim it, and the sky is the limit, so silence the critics by burning”

And if eyes are windows to the soul then she drew back the curtains

And left the sun shine through the hurting

In a universe of adversity these stars stuck together

And though days became nights the memories would last forever,

Whether the weatherman said it or not, it would be fine

Cause even behind the clouds the kid could still shine

Yes, the sunshine kid was bright, with warm personality,

And inside he burned savagely

Fuelled by the fire inspired across galaxies

By the girl who showed him belief

So that's The Sunshine Kid. It was a poem about how hard it is to be different and peculiar inside a community or society. Common tendency is that discrimination will be thrown against the weird one. The so- called abnormalities of the society. It was emphasized in the poem that no matter how much people lets you down or belittle you because you are just simply different from the majority, we can still rise up in our own feet. Shine in our own light. Walk in our own pace. After all, we don't have to fight, cause this is not a race.

Inspired by that poem, I decided to make my own poem that tries to answer and gives my personal insight in relation to what Mr. Baker had created. It is entitled The Shadow Guy. It includes analogies or my early life in a nutshell as a realization from The Sunshine Kid poem.

I am the Shadow guy

Years ago When I was still in early elementary years,

Picture this, But shorter and more skinny

wibbly wobbly, feeble and sickly

As a result, “Normally” there wouldn’t be a day that no one would tease me. Yes, Tease.

Call me names that would hurtfully describe my physique as long as they please.

Of course I get pissed

But the hell out of it, I couldn’t stand for myself I couldn’t even clench a fist.

When I start to talk back,

Instead of words coming out from my mouth, I tremble. My tears wouldn’t hold back

I always end up crying, or shouting my arguments - but mostly crying.

I am not like every other kids at school,

Who have incredible talents, win games, win girls YES I am not particularly cool.

I lived in a world that wakes up when the sun goes down.

Every day going down, down, down. Asking myself “ What is my Worth?

There came a moment when I thought I have nothing to lean on.

But that’s when this bright young lad named "Sunshine Kid" came along,

He was not yet that bright unlike the others

He was also bullied and treated as an outlier

But we are perfect for each other

We became best friends

We do stuffs together, 

play together,

laugh together and face against all odds together.

Oh,I wished that I could hold on to those wonderful moments forever

But one day,

I made him go away......

His light dimmed me cause he started to shine sooo bright,

So I started to envy sunshine kid, and bullied him

I am a green eyed monster easily tamed by its brightly lit master.

I envy sunshine kid, so I bullied him

To what he's capable of doing what he've done and what he did.

Oh I can't ignore what beauty he holds.

The stars, the candlelight and every great person's spotlight.

Now I am the Yin and he is the Yang.

I am the song that was never been sang.

I made him go away

NOW I started to realize, that I can make my imperfections my strengths 

Similar to the story of Daedalus and his son.

Instead of letting myself be imprisoned to the labyrinth of my jealousy.

I started to gather wax and feathers

To make myself wings and I started to fly

But unlike Icarus who didn’t listened to his father 

I didn’t went too high.

Cuz I know my limits

I am not the star of the night.

nor the main character of this wonderful theatre 

I am a black pepper

garlic powder, Vinegar, or any seasoning that can make the soup of your life JUST better.

GUYS!

Let us ALWAYS REMEMBER

Without a shadow,

A candlelight in a romantic dinner date u cannot appreciate.

Couples doing love scene, in their bedroom wouldn’t be that intimate.

Without darkness,

Stars... would be just stars Hidden and concealed behind each other's brightness.

Without shade,

There wouldn’t be Fifty shades of gray .

Every person would be just like every other person.

Cuz every minute shade of darkness makes a hanging portrait a wonderful picture.

Again

I am the Shadow guy, if being a shadow is what it takes to make you stay.

"Then let me be the Shadow of your life".

          It was a poem that talked about my childhood as someone being bullied. Someone that learned life in a hard way. As someone that cannot fight back or someone that prefers to cry instead of talking back, I had a life where I am always in the background. I didn't have a chance to grow my own skills in a pace appropriate for me because people around me is holding me down. Holding me from moving forward.

            As a child, I taught myself to appreciate every little thing that life can offer. How amazing things work. Most people see many things as awful when they are lesser good and important than the others. It is somehow comparative to the society - similar to darkness. Darkness is no good for many people because it brings sadness, evil, and blindness. In the other hand, Light is seen as the good thing as it can bring joy, hope and prosperity in terms of our society's growth. Yes, Light does bring good along with all its benefits. But there are things many people had overlooked. Darkness does not bring sadness, instead, it embraces it. It does not judge the gloomy. It will openly let the sadness air out from all of us. It does not bring evil, it is simply infested by evil because of the openness and freedom it provides. It does not blind people, it brings out the sight of imagination from each and everyone. The vast mind of every peoples' temple can fly without limits. That is Darkness for me. To be frank and honest, I think everyone should admit that Darkness is everyone's friend.
         
         If we deeply ponder about it, nowadays, light hasn't always been that good of a guy. Depression level begins to steep higher. Why? Because the light does not accommodate. The light judges. People in our society always forget that life should not be comprised by happiness alone. Sadness, anxiety, and fear becomes a stigma. We should be reminded that these other emotions are key for what we have achieved all throughout humanity. The light is always equated to happiness, wealth, joy, and freedom. What about the TRUTH? The truth that utopia is near to impossible. The truth that our society is in grave danger. The truth that many people is starving and striving to survive. The truth that not all is privileged to do what they bid to do. The light hasn't always been accommodating about this. As a result, many people take refuge in the dark to save their selves, and that is where crime shows up - and that is the truth.



          This is life. This is reality. Imperfection is what is real. Being open minded through seeing both the ugliness of the world and its stunning beauty at the same time, by then we are truly free. Free from the imprisonment of the worlds polarity. Sadness is as true as Happiness can be. Darkness is as important as light has ever been. ... Everything in life comes together.

           That thin kid has his dreams truer than yours. That black guy has capabilities similar or even better than yours. even you. YOU are as you as everyone can be.

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vincee

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"DFTBA"

July 5, 2017.

         Over a year now, I kept on dreaming on having myself my own active and functioning blog. Now, I can fairly say that this blog is functioning and pretty active. Although, it doesn't have as much as viewers as other "Active" blogs have. I am satisfied by the status of this blog. I am satisfied that finally I have this medium to express and share my thoughts, ideas and experiences in the society. Which, I guess, is important for me for both having the sense of fulfillment and having this blog as somewhat like a journal.

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vincee

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No Disappointment Day

July 2, 2017

I had a bad start of the morning as my mother woke me up from my deep slumber. She woke me up just because, simply, she wanted me to join my father in sending my sister somewhere. I grumbled at the same time helpless. I stood up, immediately ate my breakfast and got ready.

The next thing, I knew we were heading to Minglanillia, Cebu. My sister had to take some test about English. This test serves as simply just to assess teacher's (my sister is a teacher) english skills and at the same time will serve as a boost in their teaching rankings.

So I rode inside the car, I was in the backseat. I ended up doing nothing during the whole ride. But, my companionship towards Minglanillia was not that bad. It turned out that my sister is going to take the exam at the same place where the Division Presson was held years ago. It was kinda nostalgic to see the place once again. By the way, it was their Central School.


For about 10 o' clock in the morning, we packed up ready to depart to our hometown Argao.
I was the driver. Ever since I knew how to drive a car, I suddenly became the family's official driver. It's not that bad though. I enjoy driving, having the sense of control and to simply feed my adventurous soul.

During the ride, me and my dad were all chatters. We talked about many random things. Most of which were jokes. We like to joke.

(FAST FORWARD)


We arrived home SAFE and SOUND.
I directly went to my room and did my usual do around. checked my facebook and google account. While checking my gmail, I found out that my lazada order arrived. So I excitedly and hurriedly rushed outside and told dad the news. He then said that we can pick it up from the LBC directly instead of waiting from the delivery man to deliver it.

As we travelled towards the LBC branch, we observed packs of people gathering to certain places. We remembered that it was Pacquiao vs. Horn boxing game. No wonder the streets were not too busy. But the hell I care, we are not too much of a fan of boxing. I am jus ttoo damn excited about my Gaming Headphones and Keyboard that just arrived. So we headed straight and I GOT IT!
I was so happy that I sprinted to a different shop instead of heading towards the LBC branch. (that was laugh-worthy) HAHA.

After we arrived home, I automatically headed to my room and checked out my new set of gaming stuffs. Gladly, LAZADA did not dissapoint my first order from them. So I promised to myself that this order was not the last. I did not waste a minute and I tried it by playing DOTA 2.
I played with my college friend and classmate Karl. We won the game plus the quality of the sound and the touch of my new head phones and keyboard made it possible. ;)

I played 2 straight games. I lost track of time and I ended up being late from my jogging schedule. But still, I jogged even if it was late. One round of jogging and walking around don gil street. The walk and jog was not very pleasing because along the way many couples were dating in the dark and I found it disturbing and at the same time caused me to miss my bermuda more.

Today was not a more of Dalee bonding day though. She was busy from morning until late evening. I can't possibly be selfish to disturb her. She, after all, desrves to bond with her family and as well do stuffs she wants. So all we did the whole day was just short updates, checking up, and time- to- time expression of our affection with each other.

And now, it's  10:56 in the evening. I am sleepy and my mabel is still busy. But still, this day was all fine. I love how we both coped up with each other. AND LAZADA did not disappoint me.




Best wishes,
Vince

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