Echoes March 2017

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Ecosoc News

The Spirit of EDSA

by Carlos Cabaero

Staff Picks

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Cover Story: Scoutmaster

by Dom Carreon

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The Art of Lowkey Landi

O/bitch/uary

by Anna Pagdanganan

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Scholar’s Corner

by Nikki Liu

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Welcome to the Rut

by Bianca Ranola

E C H O E S

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A Rather Poor Guide to Some Sort of SelfDiscovery

by Ken Recasta

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Tweetable Tweets

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ECHOE S 59A PUBLICATION E DITOR-IN-CH IEF AS S OCIATE EDITOR MAN AGING EDITOR FE ATURES EDITOR CULTURE EDITOR NEWS EDITOR CR EATIVES TEAM

Echoes is the official publication of the UP Economics Society (UP Ecosoc), a nonstock, non-profit, student organization based in the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics.

Echoes is released four times a semester and eight times in a year on the months of February, March, April, May, August, September, October, and November.

It draws its funding from a subsidy from UP Ecosoc, subscription revenue, and small fundraisers. For this semester, 35 subscription copies, one tambayan copy, one archive copy, and a complimentary copy each for our featured member and one lucky winner are produced.

WEB EDITOR E DITORIAL STAF F

upecosoc.org echoes.ph issuu.com/echoes

All errors are corrected when uploaded on issuu.com/echoes. If you spot an error, please email us.

NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

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Ali Balindong III Anna Pagdanganan Renzo Aguillo Bea Lejano Nikki Liu Micaela Que

EVENTS DIRECTORS

STAF F

contact us

for more information, visit:

Cyril Cornelio Carlo Albay

TV P RODUCER DIRECTOR STAF F

This publication is printed by Yza Copy Systems and Trading, located at Stall 22 at the Shopping Center, UP Diliman, Quezon City. upecosoc@gmail.com ecosoc.echoes@gmail.com

Dominic Carreon Maxine Capili Bianca Ranola Patricia Isabelle Perez Javi Vilchez Kelsey Mariano Maria Pilar Ochave Carlos Cabaero Rio Dayao Vilmar Gayutin III Jeremy Gemzontan Faulene Manzanilla Roland Oliquino Alfonso Panis Maya Paraguya

Danielle Gonzales S e l e n a Ya o Ryan Jacob Bea Balbacal Emil Apostol Tr y s h B a n s o n Miguel Juico Ryan Jacob Maxinne Mendiola Chino Vitriolo

CONT RIBUTORS Bea Arroyo Rella Gloria LA Manlangit Nicole Benitez Camille Gregorio Nikki Liu Sophia Padilla Carlos Cabaero Bianca Ranola Javi Vilchez K a r l a Tu p l a n o

Dom Carreon Fau Manzanilla Anton Castillo Rio Dayao RD Lagos Anna Pagdanganan Ram Bonsol Jeremy Gemzontan Pita Ochave Ken Recasata

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M E SSAGE FR O M T H E EDI TOR

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Oh. My. God. Here it is, friends. The first Echoes issue of 2017. I swear to God (or whoever is listening) I really didn’t think this day would come. It felt like a week ago, our editorial team was just sitting in the back parking lot brainstorming and think about ideas for the issue and pegs for the cover shoot and what have you. This entire issue is a product of a few sleepless nights, many revisions, and a bottle of two of beer to help me stay sane.

I would like to give a special thank you to my VCs for helping me out this entire month. I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the help you’ve given me this month.

This month’s issue is centered around discovery. A lot of us in the org feel a bit lost in the sense that we don’t have a clear image of what our identity is, and now is the perfect time for us as an org to explore and discover who we are. In the main feature article, our President Thirdy Santos talks about his journey with Ecosoc and discovering his passion for the organization.

Another huge thanks goes out to Maya and Fau for taking the time to shoot Thirdy all the way in the south. On a more personal level, this is the time for us to discover ourselves. It isn’t the easiest of journeys. There are times when you wake up and the world just feels like it’s on your side and there are days when the world decides that it might be fun to shit on your face for a little bit. The most important thing is to keep your head up and keep exploring. Your 20s are the most exciting time of your life. Live it to the fullest. Go skydiving, climb a mountain, get a Tinder account. Youth is a fleeting thing; make sure you make the most out of it.

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T H I R DY S A N TO S TASK FORCE HEY ECOSOC!!!!! TY FOR GETTING THE FIRST ISSUE OF ECHOES THIS SEMESTER!!! Shoutout to the team who put this together! I hope all of you enjoyed the first two months of the semester. It’s been a crazy two months for the execomm and we hope it gets even better from here on out. I also wanna thank everyone who supported Roots!!!!

To those who went and helped out despite not being part of the team, thank you so much! Seeing ecosocers who came to enjoy but ended up helping out pushed us even more to make sure the event was a success. To the roots team, LOVE YOU ALL!!!! Shet ang galing ninyo! Hands down. Sana lahat kayo nagkaroon ng magandang #kwentongroots HAHAHA. Hope you guys enjoy the rest of the issue!

B E A A R R OYO TASK FORCE Hello Ecosoc!

Last February 18, the Task Force Committee, in partnership with the UP Underground Music Community successfully held the fifth installment of Roots. After weeks of grueling stress and seemingly endless challenges, we were able to pull through. It was overwhelming to witness that heavy rains on the day of the event did not stop the fair-goers from braving the mud just to hear our bands perform and to enjoy the show we were to offer. Thank you to my ever-so-efficient and reliable Board of Directors – Thirdy (TY FOR EVERYTHING PARTNER!!!), Benju, Nikki, Aina, Katie, Faye, Ian, Jecs and Kelsey --- YOU GUYS WERE AMAZING! Thank you for handling your teams very well. Congratulations to all of us! <3 To all the Task Force officers, volunteers and marshals, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your hard work and dedication to your respective tasks. I hope you all learned a thing or two from this experience. We made it, team!!! We were successful in ROOTing for each other throughout this entire process and I am so proud of what we have achieved.Lastly, to all you awesome Ecosocers, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Thank you everyone for supporting our sales efforts and pub releases, for helping us sell tickets (YAY SOLD-OUT!!!) and for going to Roots even if it was really muddy in the fair grounds. Shout out to Execomm 59 and all the last minute volunteers for Roots! Again, thank you so much for supporting our ESSF beneficiaries, Ecosoc! I’m happy to report that we were able to earn a significant amount for our scholars and other beneficiaries through this event. We’ve had a great start this year, and we’re not slowing down anytime soon.

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MONIQUE ESPINO ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

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Acad’s Team Services has successfully completed three of it’s plan projects, with two more underway. First, Book-a-likes did really well, with over 150 orders in 1 month. Second, our team was able to design, print and distribute the ACAD shirts to the committee members. Next, we got to launch and publish our newly updated ACAD resources drives, and have begun accepting new submissions. Finally, ACAD tutorials has started last week in cooperation with the SESC EdRes Core with more to come in the coming months. February marks a fruitful month for Symposia, as the department organized this sem’s Recognition Day (Spellbound), released a digest on apps that boost productivity (5 Apps To Help You Study), and released advisories on what conference and competitions Ecosoc mems can join. For Team Special Projects, ACDC sessions for the kids of Pook Ricarte this sem focused on grammar and reading comprehension.

Three ACDCs are now done and the last two sessions, as well as recognition day, are already in plan. The Acad Box designed to cater to the mems’ need for acad supplies is already in the tambayan and midsem goodies will be soon be distributed in preparation for midterms week.

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MARIANNE BARTOLOME COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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Hallooo ECOSOC! We’re down to our last 2 ACDC tutorials (March 4 and March 18) for this semester. It has been both a blast and an honor to see you guys dedicate so much time and effort in teaching English to the kids this semester. Shout out to the Academic Affairs committee for coming up with a strategy in ensuring that the tutorials are tailor fit to the needs of the kids! Congratulations also to everyone who participated in Vendors elective. It’s very hot and pressuring inside the kiosks but you guys are still able to deliver a job well done. Thank you for preparing our fishballs and pancit canton! Our visit to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center was both an eyeopening and heartwarming experience. To all those who were able to join us, I hope you learned a lot through that experience. Lastly, a big salute to everyone who joined us for the Sunken Garden cleanup! Despite the sun, the smell and the (well you guys know how bad it was), you guys were very diligent in cleaning the garden. And to all those who participated in other socio-civic activities outside the organization, I hope you guys don’t get tired of volunteering!

We’re doing our best to come up with more diverse projects so that you will find an advocacy that you’ll be passionate about. We really hope that you will find your niche so give our projects a chance!

Take the day off! Make a person smile! You never know who much difference you can make unless you try!

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DOMINIC CARREON ECHOES Hello Ecosoc! Thank you for supporting Echoes with all our endeavors so far this semester - sandwiches, makeup, Echoes TV, workshops (we’ve got Photography and Creative Writing coming soon), AND FLIPTOP!!! We’ve got loads of content lined up for you all and we hope you support those as well. Big shout out to Max C, Bianca, Cyril, Dani, Maya, Fau, Anna P, Mix, Jem, Kelsey, Pita, Sel, Bea B, and Ryan for all the time and effort they’ve put into making this issue (and this month) so amazing! I don’t know if I say this enough, but to Echoes, thank you all so much for keeping me sane this year. I love you all <3 Enjoy the issue!

MARTIN SUAREZ EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Halloooooo Ecosoc!

Hope you’re all still keeping it real and going strong throughout your journey this sem! Thank you for going to Mini DG Week!

We had discussions on controversial and relevant topics that were facilitated by speakers who were more than willing to share what they know and hear from you! Expect more news to be shared directly to you over the month as Exte relays news from the UP, national, and international scene via our X-Updates. We’ll also be releasing photo updates about the various projects and endeavours that our org has been up to for the past week or two.

While you’re at it, watch our scholar story video: Have Ya Met Derrick? It’s featured on the page along with a photo encapsulating the entire experience! If you’ve already seen it great! Expect more photos and videos of our beloved beneficiaries to be released very soon! Save March 30 in your calendars. UPFront 2017, our yearly USC elections forum is scheduled on that day! When one knows, one is better equipped to make a decision. Knowledge is power, and it should be used wisely. Don’t be afraid to question, but always keep an ear open to listen. It’s like a partnership in a way because you both benefit from keeping yourselves informed and engaging in healthy discussion! #LifeLessons Although the journey may be rough, it gets easier knowing that you’ve got friends you can rely on and family you can turn to. That’s why I’m looking forward to this sem cuz I know I’ve got my supah skilled VCs Gelie, Jad, and Mari, my Externals Fam (I LOVE YOU MY BABIES), and all you peepz in my Ecosoc fam to embark on this unforgettable adventure!!! Safe travels friends!

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PAU LO S O L L E R FINANCE

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Hello Ecosoc! Eventology 101, our first staple event, was held last February 4. Congrats to Team Alumni Relations for handling such a successful event! Not only did the Explorer apps learn LIAISON about the basics of event planning, they also had to create one and present it to our distinguished Ecosoc members. I would like to congratulate the winners of the simulation, great job girls! Next, we launched again the Ecosoc Opportunities Portal care of Team Career Services. We recently had some solid opportunities and internships posted in the group so if you haven’t joined, now is a really good time. Lastly, Team Marketing and Brand Activation (MBA) deeply apologizes to our former Zing privcard holders. We are extremely sorry for not being able to fix the partnership; they are not replying to us and we already exhausted all our best efforts.

However, on the bright side, we’re working on a new privcard for you guys. Also, we have some companies lined-up asking for potential partnerships. I really want to commend my hardworking VCs, Meeka, Karen, and Koleen (MKK). I also want to thank my Liai members and apps. Congrats to Rizel and Abby, my January MOMs. I also want to thank my sizzums, Ysa, and Derrick for being so active this past month. Lastly, super thank you to everyone who bought cookies from us! A friendly reminder to our members to already apply for internships and jobs. Dreams don’t work unless you do. If you have any career-related inquiries, please don’t hesitate to approach me or any Liai member.

I’m sure we can provide you with insights and such. #ConnectWithLiai

HARRIET GUILLEN

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“Money makes the world go ‘round.” I don’t believe that money is everything, and I know most (if not all) of us in Ecosoc don’t feel that way either. At the same time, though, it’s a reality we have to face that if we want to live up to the “Excellence” in “Service, Excellence, and Tradition”, it can sometimes take a LOT of resources. We’re barely a couple of months into Ecosoc 59, but I’m proud to say we’re making good progress towards being more sustainable as an org! Fin is still doing its part when it comes to the fundraising, but one of our goals has been to engage the rest of the org in helping us. It’s gonna take a lot of Ecosoc-as-a-whole’s efforts, but we’re on the right track. Let’s do our best to support each other! Just telling your friends or family about some of our fundraisers you think they might be interested in is always appreciated! We won’t stop you, though, if you wanna buy red velvet crinkles, revel bars, Papa Johns, or grilled cheese sandwiches. Please continue to support Fin’s actual events as well; we’ve got a couple of bazaars coming up (“Zest” for FP and “Sibol” for Fundraisers in cooperation with UP Bike Share), as well as brand revamps of Back to Basics and our miscellaneous merch store.

We won’t be having Foodgasm anymore this semester, as Harriet and I announced during the first genmeet, but we’ve still got more than enough lined up to keep us going. Special shoutout to my super bibo VCs (Shaleena Cheng, Aleeza Francisco, Meara Chan, and Cenon Bernardo) as well as the rest of the amazing Finance Committee. Shoutout as well to Execomm 59! Keep on keepin’ on, Ecosoc!

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KARLA TUPLANO Wuz good Ecosoc!! Firstly, I’d like to thank all members who have chosen to reaff this semester, it means a great deal to me and the rest of the Execomm to have you with us. We have a few dinners lined up so I hope you can all come. Also don’t forget that Game Night is on March 22, so ya’ll better be ready! Get ready to get wild CHZ. To all the applicants, welcome to your newest home in UP! Thank you for sticking with us so far, and I guarantee it’ll only get better from this point onwards. Don’t be afraid to make tambay and play Bridge, Egyptian Pokpok, Pusoy Dos, Mao, etc. The members can get hella competititve, but it’s all in good fun. Now that you have your GW Families and your sigsheets, I hope you can learn more about this organization and what Ecosoc is really all about. Don’t hesitate to go up to the members and introduce yourselves, but never forget Sigsheet Etiquette! Remember, first impressions last so make the best one you can. I, together with Team Apps, are here for you should you need any advice/help, so come to us whenever, wherever. Lastly, I’d like to give my biggest thanks to Memcomm and especially my VCs, Miggy and LawChu. Thank you all for working so diligently and tirelessly, I know that it can get tedious but I’m so grateful for you all anyway. Hope to see you around, Ecosoc!

MEMBERSHIP

A R L E N E DA R O SECRETARIAT Hi Ecosoc! MAKINIG! I hope the monthly release of tips have helped you in one way or another. What could be the next topic for the coming months? Do you have a suggestion? Let us know.

Hello Explorers! Please take care of your sigsheets. It would mean a lot to me and my committee if you handle them with tender love and care! A big thank you to those who attended the Typography workshop (thank you Ana!) and made the event a success. Watch out for the next workshops by SeccomXEchoes!

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TREAT OUR TAMBAYAN LIKE YOUR HOME. Please keep it clean and organized. Bear with us if makulit kami because we don’t want any pests (cockroaches, rats, etc.) in our tambayan. Support our fundraisers! Bili kayo ng stickers, books, and wicked oreos. All made with love <3 Thank you for giving your utmost support to Seccom’s projects for the past 2 months. Continue to support us, it really means a lot. <3 Last! SHOUTOUT TO MY SECCOM FAM! Rella, Sam and Tricia, you have been great. Thank you for always being there, for working to the best of your abilities, and supporting me despite my kasabawan every meeting. To my daughters, Gail and Bel, thank you for staying and supporting your mom. Ivana, Nika, Faye, Alba, Trix, Shai, Sheena, Tin, Alyssa, Mia, and Rowell, thank you for trusting me and choosing Seccom. I’ll never get tired of you guys. I gotchu fam! To my apps, Renz, Gianne, and Kate, I hope you get to find a home in Ecosoc and love Seccom as much as I love it. #SeccomInom soon, pramis mgabes! #SecComeAndGetIt

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J U L I A L AG M A N SPECIAL EVENTS

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GABE JAPLOS SPORTS

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The Sports Committee has accomplished so much the past few months. Team Workshop has succeeded in having our street dance workshop with at least 15 attendees; they plan to have at least two more workshops for March so you better watch out. Team Micro, on the other hand, has succeeded in our weekly ECOSOC Fitness. Participants of ECOSOC Fitness had positive comments about it saying it was really fun, tiring and really helpful. Team Micro also succeeded in having our very first SPEVORTS event for this semester.

We had our ECOSOC Paintball last February 11, 2017. It was held in “Gotcha” and we had more than 20 attendees. It was a one of a kind experience that we plan to continue providing ECOSOC with more SPEVORTS events like this. Lastly, Team Macro has succeeded in gathering participants for our new initiative called Biggest Loser. As a whole, the Sports Committee also succeeded in our very first fundraiser. Our sandwich food sale turned out really well and we profited from our first fundraiser for this Sem. We would like to thank all those people who supported our events and fundraisers.

We hope that you keep supporting and us and we promise to help you reach and exceed perfection. One rep at a time #EXCEEDYOURSELF

E C H O E S

Welcome aboard, Ecosoc! It’s only been two months but we’ve already been to so many destinations (LOL). And I hope you agree with me that it’s been a pretty great start, eh? Thank you to everyone who went and supported Spev’s first two events this semester— Take Off (Sem Starter x Apps Acquaintance Party) and Spevorts 1: Paintball! These events wouldn’t have been successful if not for the efforts of Sofia, Jade, Aimee and Trina, who organized Take Off, and Stef, Kyles, Bella and Pat, who were all behind Paintball! Thank you and congratulations, team! Of course, thank you to my VCs, Ann & Cel. I’m so grateful to have you two with me in this flight (lol). Seriously though, I’m so glad to have you as my VCs and to have found friends in you. I hope you are all excited for Game Night on March 24 and Ecosoc Dinner on March 31. Both fall on Fridays, so why not spend the last day of the (presumably tiring) week with the people who keep you sane and happy (aka Ecosoc, duhhh??)? Anyway, watch out for what Spev has in store for you for the rest of the semester. In case you don’t know yet, we also released the Challenge Week teams this month, so better get ready! Who knows, you might earn points or incentives even before the game proper. *wink*

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Spevorts Paintball x Scholars Bonding. Sechoes: Adobe Workshop. New Horizons: Apps Orsem. Eventology 101: Exploring New Horizons. A Visit to the Philippine Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medical Center. #KwentongRoots.

Take Off!.

The Spirit of EDSA. Scholarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner.

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S P E VO R T S PA I N T B A L L SCHOLARS BONDING

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by BEA ARROYO

Last Feb 11, around 30 members and 3 Ecosoc scholars went to Gotcha! Paintball Center in Tomas Morato, Quezon City and had an intense paintball session. Empty barrels, stacked sandbags, and several other obstacles in the playing field made us feel like we were in Counter Strike, but with colourful and nonlethal bullets. Members and scholars were divided into teams and the 5 rounds of paintball battles brought out the competitive spirits of everyone there.

Evidently, the activity strengthened the camaraderie between the members and our scholars. Both Black and Green team members developed critical strategies and fostered teamwork. We made sure that each shot counted, and more importantly, that we tried our best to protect our teammates from the opponents.

The best part about this action-packed activity is that Ecosocers got to know our scholars more. Micha Borromeo, Andrea Suizo and UPSE’s very own, Derrick Quejada joined us and enjoyed themselves very much.

“My paintball experience with Ecosoc made

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me realize further the love and the support that the organization has for its scholars.

It was really a day full of happiness and enjoyment together with my co-scholars and fellow members. It was my first time to do such an exhilarating activity for which I am very thankful to Ecosoc for making me experience bondings of those kinds.

Simply seeing all the smiles and blissful impressions of the participants after the game gave me more reasons to love Ecosoc even more,” Derrick said about the event.

Events like these stress the importance of our scholars’ holistic development and they serve as great avenues to fulfill the organization’s commitment of effecting positive changes to society. Thank you very much to Spev and Sports for this opportunity for Ecosocers to be involved in the process of achieving the organization’s socio-civic goals, while also giving them the chance to strengthen bonds with other members and exceed themselves physically, all at the same time.

SECHOES: ADOBE W O R K S H O P by RELLA GLORIA

E C H O E S | M A R C H

Last February 23, the Secretariat Committee together with Echoes held their first workshop. The platform used was Adobe Photoshop. The said workshop was led by Ana Buban. This was not the first time of the speaker to share her skills in a workshop. It just goes to show how deserving she is of her title as the Ecosoc’s Pub Queen.

Before the workshop, the participants were asked to download a photo and a bold sans serif font to be used during the exercise later on. The participants were first introduced to the importance of colors to a pub’s identity.

They were then taught what swatches are, where to find them, and how to make their own swatches using one of their own photos. The participants were also familiarized with the basic tools in Photoshop. Afterwards, they were tasked in an exercise to make a publicity material using a photo with colorful flowers, the word “Grow”, as well as using the countless photoshop tools. They had to make parts of the photo peek out from the text. The participants were carefully helped by the speaker herself all throughout the session, repeating the steps if someone

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was not able to follow. And upon looking at their final outputs, one can say that the participants were able to create simple yet beautiful pubs.

This was just the first of the workshops Echoes and Seccom are going to hold.

So better watch out for the next ones in the future!

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N EW H O R I ZO N S : A P P S O R S E M

by LA MANLANGIT

On January 28, 2017, in SE 105, the UP Economics Society held its Applicants’ Orientation for App Batch 59A. Granted, the mood was a bit different compared to past Apps’ Orientations. With the new K-12 system being implemented, a limited number of freshmen entered UPSE, and with that came a limited number of applicants. “Thank you guys for coming and applying despite the circumstances!” said Ecosoc President Thirdy Santos during his Opening Remarks. Only 16 of the 26 applicants showed up, but what we lacked in numbers, we made up for in spirit. The present members welcomed the applicants with cheers and laughter, proving that even with limited numbers, we were still capable of having a good time.

The limited number of applicants wasn’t the only reason why this Apps’ Or was different.

If you’ve ever been to an Apps’ Or, you probably know the program by now: app process 16

introduction, icebreakers and ad libs from the hosts, committee videos and spiels, presentations, speeches and testimonies. But to spice things up, Ecosoc Alumni Mark Buenaventura, Jude Geron and Ayi Dave all paid a visit, with the latter even giving a speech convincing the applicants of her love for Ecosoc, and telling them that it would be worth it not to defer.

After the talk from our alumni was the announcement that this semesters’ app batch would be called the Explorers. Why were they called the Explorers? Well, because with Ecosoc, they would be taken to new frontiers and be able to expand their horizons.

They would discover new things and meet new friends, and hopefully find a home in UPSE. And on the note of finding a home, one last thing was different. Instead of choosing their home committees right then and there, the applicants were given a night to think about what committee they wanted to

join, as a committee preference form was posted on the apps’ group after.

Instead of choosing their home committees right then and there, the applicants were given a night to think about what committee they wanted to join, as a committee preference form was posted on the apps’ group after.

To the 16 Explorers who went to the Apps’ Or, thanks for coming! I hope you’re reading this article in the tambayan when you’re sitting in one of our benches, trying to finish your tambay hours. Good luck!

E V E N TO LO GY 1 0 1 : E X P LO R I N G N E W H O R I ZO N S

by NICOLE BENITEZ

E C H O E S | M A R C H

Eventology 101 isn’t just an ordinary events workshop. It is a way for the applicants and members to communicate and learn something new from each other. Hopefully, imbued with the knowledge they gained from the event, these new batch of applicants can make Ecosoc events soar even further.

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Every app batch has gone through this process. Every app batch has learned from the Ecosoc’s best. Last February 4, 2017, the Liaison Committee once again organized Eventology 101. Eventology 101 is held every semester to teach the applicants the basics of event organizing. And this semester, it was held at SE 104 from 1 to 5 PM. The event was graced by its energetic hosts Eryel Benitez and Jackie Commendador. In relation to the theme of travelling, Jackie and I asked the applicants, about things that had to do with their travel plans just to lighten up the atmosphere. The main program featured five Ecosoc alumni: Josh Siat, former Vice President of Ecosoc; Ayi Dave, former Special Events Chairperson; Jude Geron, former editor-in-chief of Echoes, Erwin Mate, EM 57 Director for Advertising and Public Relations; and lastly, Sam Cinco, Taskforce Committee’s Creatives and Programs Officer.

They discussed ideation, event planning, advertising, public relations, and crisis management respectively. Each one of the speakers taught the applicants different tips and techniques they can use in creating and handling an Ecosoc event.

To test the application of what they learned, the simulation happens right after the series of talks in Eventology. The applicants were divided into groups were each had to organize their own unique event within a limited time.

The event must be thoroughly thought of and planned.

Some of the ideas that were presented varied from rummage sales to movie screenings. They presented their ideas to the Ecosoc members in the following stations: ideation, event planning, Advertising and Public Relations, and crisis management. The group with the most number of overall points wins. In the end, Celebrate Love, a 3-day movie festival benefiting people suffering with heart conditions won the simulation.

Hope to see you in the next Eventology 101!

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A VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINE CHILDREN’S M E D I C A L C E N T E R by CAMILLE GREGORIO A watermelon-shaped desk and colourful murals that filled the walls welcomed the volunteers at the lobby of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, where the hospital visit organized by the Community Development Committee was held last February 11, 2017. When we went upstairs, we were divided into two groups because at that time, we were only allowed to visit two rooms. Furthermore, only a limited number of people can enter each room at a time, so the volunteers took turns in visiting the children. Luckily, we were eventually granted more rooms that we can visit.

Among the children we were able to meet were Sam, Yuan, and Gerold. Sam had eye cancer, and was the child who kept on giving high-fives and hand waves to the people she sees. Gerold had a problem with his lungs and was operated, while Yuan had a condition where his veins pump too much blood to the point that he expels blood from his mouth and anus.

There was also one kid we weren’t able to talk to, since she was feeling sleepy that time.

After some time of getting to know the kids and their parents, some volunteers read storybooks to the children while the others, led by Liam Jasarino and Carlos Jacinto, performed songs for the audience.

These songs were not just to entertain them, but also to give them hope, and encourage not only the children, but more so their parents. We then gave them CDC plushies which other members found themselves wanting one too. Afterwards, we bid them our goodbyes. Yuan even asked me and Angel Gando if we were coming back tomorrow, a question which was kind of hard to answer.

Veering away from the specifics, the hospital visit gave the volunteers a chance to become more aware of the things being

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experienced by our fellow Filipinos, especially in terms of healthcare. We were able to personally witness the struggles being faced by the kids at young age. Both the guardians and kids were inspiring, and even in the small things such as what we did, means so much to them already.

Entering the hospital, one can easily see the art in the lobby. From the mural paintings, lots of stories can already be imagined. Inside the rooms, however, the stories we’ve come to know of were not only what we observed from the walls, but from the parents and kids who we got to know a little more, even for just a short time. And I’m definitely sure, their stories will be kept in our hearts for a lifetime.

#KWENTONGROOTS

by NIKKI LIU

| M A R C H 2 0 1 7

Last February 4 2017, Ecosoc had its first ever sem starter event called “Take Off”! The theme was focused on starting the year and reaching whatever pursuits Ecosoc has for the semester, held in the Xavierville clubhouse.

It consisted of the GW family bidding, where the new apps were able to pick their guardians, a bunch of some of the most active members in the organization.

The night was capped off with drinks, card games, beer pong and lots and lots of dancing!

The Sem Starter was definitely a success, with everyone was getting along, from apps to mems and it was definitely a good bonding experience. More than the drinking and the games, the stories and memories made were invaluable as the apps kick off what hopes to be an exciting semester.

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Who would’ve thought that good music and a little mud would make such an interesting #KwentongRoots?

Roots Music Festival, the culmination of the week-long UP Fair (and arguably the best night of it), was full of surprises. On the day of the event, rain poured from morning to afternoon.

When 5pm rolled around, the entrance resembled an intense game of Langit-Lupa between the attendees and the mud.

However, the line-up certainly made up for the sole-sucking sludge. All of the bands brought their A-game (and then some) to the show, making sure that everyone had a great time despite the weather.

Some highlights of the night include the chemistry of Parokya ni Edgar’s Vinci and Chito, especially during their performances of “Picha Pie” and “Yes Yes Show”, as well as their banter in between songs.

Not only that, the collaborations between acts, like gloc-9 and Ebe Dancel for “Sirena” and Parokya Ni Edgar and gloc-9 for “Bagsakan”, had the crowd going wild. The mud was a thing of the past as everyone sang and danced their heart out to the music.

With the 12,000 attendees, 12,000 new stories made, and 12,000 pairs of shoes that needed to be cleaned after that night, the fifth instalment of Roots was an astounding success #ForTheScholars.

TA K E O F F !

by SOPHIA PADILLA

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N E W S

THE SPIRIT OF EDSA Last Saturday, February 25, was the 31s Anniversary of the culmination of the EDSA People Power Revolution. The EDSA revolution is historic, being widely hailed as the first bloodless revolution that was able to set a paradigm shift in a countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political landscape in the entire world. For the Filipino people, it is a remembering of the value of democracy, and the steep price that was paid for its attainment.

This year also marked the first year of the People Power celebration under the new administration headed by President Rodrigo Duterte. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebration comes with a sense of cognitive dissonance as some groups would argue that the extra judicial killings and strongman style of the current President are the very things that EDSA stood against.

Celebrations this year were much less grandiose, with the official ceremony being refocused to be a day of reflection rather than celebration.

The official government ceremony was done in Camp Aguinaldo last February 24, attended by some of the key figures during the revolution, like Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos. Reactions to this were divided, as some questioned why the celebration was relatively being given less emphasis than in the past.

This, however, was not the only EDSA revolution commemoration that occurred.

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by CARLOS CABAERO

Over in Luneta, the administration sponsored a prayer rally for the Duterte administration, which was a call for solidarity under the current regime. Supporters were given food and other freebies, as well as transportation to the venue by public utility vehicles.

There were two other commemorations of EDSA as well.

The first started in the EDSA People Power Monument and ended in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, organized by various groups like Anakbayan, Bayan Muna and other sectoral representatives.

Another protests was hed on the monument itself, being organized by Akbayan, secotr leaders and educational institutions.

Though these two protests, called for the remembering of People Power and the vigilance of the masses against any threat to democracy, each protest in itself had different tones and promoted sub-agendas.

In the end, the final message is that the revolution belongs to the people and only the people, that there is the need to continue to fight for, uphold and improve freedom and democracy towards development.

SCHOLAR’S CORNER – MEET MICHA E C H O E S

by NIKKI LIU

| M A R C H

Micha Borromeo is a Grade 11 student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Senior High School. She’s taking up STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics –since her dream is to become a math teacher someday. She strives for this goal, not just through her impeccable grades, but also in the way that she relates to other people. Her warmth and genuineness makes her approachable, and she has plenty of friends to prove it.

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Aside from being a student, Micha also dedicates her time to her family. Her parents have been separated for a while now, and she and her two younger brothers live with their mother. She helps out by caring for her siblings while their mother works abroad.

With all that, Micha’s just like any other teen. She has a sweet tooth and indulges on it with chocolate, cake, and ice cream. She watches those 30-second FoodPorn videos on Facebook. She fangirls about Nash Aguas or just about anyone with dimples and dance moves.

And to add to the list, she takes a lot of selfies.

These things cannot be summed up in a brief sentence in the sigsheet, or be known from a single “hi” during a genmeet. Micha Borromeo’s much more than a name to memorize, she’s someone worth getting to know and befriending and learning from. She’s just like anyone of us, and she’s awesome.

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F F E AT U R E S

The Art of Lowkey Landi. When Karla Met Tinder.

Scoutmaster. The Art of Highkey Landi. Heartbreak. How to Begin. Understanding Others. Welcome to the Rut

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THE ART OF LOWKEY LANDI ANONYMOUS R ANOLA

First off, let’s get technical. For the disorganized mind, lowkey landi isn’t even a thing. You either flirt or you don’t, right? But this fine, subtle art is no joke and can only be mastered by true vicars of vengeance.

There must be determination. There must be hunger. Nay, there must be thirst.

There must be bloodlust. And there must be the willingness to disguise these as acts significant enough for your target to notice but small enough for you to brush them off once caught. My first love once told me, “You must be swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon.” You have to put yourself in the right mindset: You are a flight risk. You are a wanted criminal on the loose. You are neither in nor out.

Put these sentences on loop in your head.

There are several ways in which you may proceed from there. After stepping into the right state of mind, you must identify your goal. What do you want to get out of this?

Do you want to secure a spot on their radar or in their heart? The trick here is to start small. Aim for a top spot on their Messenger list or a constant place beside them in the tambs. Next, it’s time to get to work. Being creative is a must, lest you give yourself a way and sacrifice your branding. As boring as it may seem, school is the best topic to resort to when you don’t know how to start the conversation. One, because there’s so much you can talk about. Two, because your bae will always have something to reply with, unless they’re really not into you, in which case it’s time to find a new target.

Three, because they will never be able to see through you—I mean, it’s school. Nothing flirty about that at all. Or so they think.

If you’re already friends or at the very least saying hi to each other in the hallway, it’s time to up the ante ( just the right amount, mind you—this is lowkey landi after all).

Ask them about their lives, and then bring

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up things they’ve told you about online in person. Now that you’re on their radar, your goal is to stay on it, to the point that they want to stay on yours too. And so, because this is lowkey landi, this is where it ends.

Because at its core, lowkey landi is basically trying to be friends with someone, with playful punches and subtle lash-batting here and there. It’s dipping your toe in the water to see if you’re ready to swim (swimming being either full-on landi or leveling up the relationship, depending on how you see it). It’s flirting with the purest intentions in mind, so that when they begin to second guess you, you can be like, “What are you talking about?” and act innocent. The best part about it is you’ll be quiet enough about it so that your object of affection won’t have the chance to develop feelings for you, which is good if you’re not quite there yet.

Another thing you have to know how to do is how to abort the mission. If your bae isn’t as interested as you are, it’s time to quit.

If you’re coming off as too invested, pretend you didn’t see them when they pass you in the hallway the next day and then smile as if nothing happened the day after that. It’s all about being chill even when your insides are raging and your brain is on panic mode— yet another amazing thing about this art.

But at the end of the day, the art of lowkey landi is not for everyone. You may think you’re doing it but others misinterpret your actions and people get hurt along the way, which is why you have to be extremely careful. On the other hand, you must make sure you yourself are detached, because chances are you won’t be their #1 favorite on Messenger for long.

It’s a fast-paced world out there, and as experts of the art, we must also be experts of moving on. But that’s a whole other story.

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the “demure” all-boys/girls school graduates who felt liberated as they “leftTotheir cages yet didn’t know what to do with their freedom. To the shy/ torpe/halaman types who yearn to enter this very competitive industry. To the hoe with an identity crisis. To the self-proclaimed innocent bystander who couldn’t help but laugh at the title. This one’s for you.

”

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F E A T U R E S

WHEN KARLA MET TINDER What started out as a casual curiosity turned into one of the most enlightening experiences of my life. From finding out that my crushes on older celebrities extended to older men (like, quite older) and that I’m more gay than I thought, I’ve gone through it all on Tinder.

Everything except actually meeting someone for a date/ hooking up in a condo/getting a boyfriend. But, dear reader, I remain hopeful. Armed with my multitude of dating apps (I have about 5, at this point) I soldier on in the name of love. You must be wondering, why the hell was she chosen to write an article if she’s never had any ‘real’ experience? Most times, half of 26

KARLA TUPLANO

me wonders that as well but the other part says Suck It And See. In line with this month’s theme of Discovery, the following is a list of 10 insights I have gained through this damn app:

3. My age range is set from 1829 but honestly I could go all the way up to 40. The philosophy behind this is “If you have no problem with my age, then I have no problem with yours.”

1. Holy shite it feels good to be Superliked. Pwera nalang kung pangit yung nag-Superlike, but it is what it is. Also, instant matches are the single best self-esteem boosters out there.

4.

Mas nakakakilig pa when I match with a girl sometimes because omg??

A pretty girl thought I was decent enough to swipe right??

2. I am elitist af. 95% of people I swipe right come from either Ateneo, UP, and DLSU (in that order). Grad school is another story, but usually same rules apply.

5. I must be either a) super shit at flirting or b) really not girlfriend material because the first guy I thought I could get somewhere with ended up becoming my best fucking friend?? Like bruh?? He owes me ramen for getting with his crush

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10. Tinder is a great way to meet new people with

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7. Even if you like the idea of matching with fratboys (especially if they’re all from the same one) don’t do it.

The paranoia will take over.

9. It gets unnerving to walk around in public sometimes because you’re never sure if a person is staring bec he/ she has seen you before, you look like someone they know, or they swiped you left. The worst cause would probably be remembering they swiped you right but you never matched… #awks

minimum effort. I can’t express how much I value the friendships I have formed on this app, and the range of acquaintances I have made. Though for most Tinder is simply for hooking up, it’s so much more than that and can offer a myriad of experiences depending on what you’re looking for.

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6.WAG MAGPAKATANGA SA GWAPO PERO MUKHANG ~RELATABLE~ NA FUCKBOY!! He will become your friend first and make you laugh all night, but eventually he’ll reveal his intentions and he’s not as great as you originally thought he was. You’ll talk for a while but when he sees you won’t give him what he wants, he will ghost you and you will be left feeling mildly confused and ashamed. Just remember to tread lightly, friends. Also, learn to hold back and not invest so much in someone you barely know.

8. Don’t give your name or your number to someone who seems too interested in you because then you’ll have to recruit an orgmate to pretend to be your exboyfriend who the person mistakenly ended up texting.

Harsh, but effective.

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though (I made that happen!!) so we’re all good in the hood.

Hopefully I haven’t permanently scared you off dating apps, and that you can in the future message me about how to Tinder. Just remember to stay vigilant and safe, and you’ll be alright. When used correctly, dating apps are a great way to expand your network and explore new opportunities. I recommend just trying it out, copping a feel, but don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.

Cheers, and I hope to swipe you around! ;)

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8:45 pm. Our dinner arrives as Thirdy gets more comfortable in his chair. I ask him about his hobbies to break the ice. His passion for music is something that still stays with him today. “High school was when I discovered indie music – Passion Pit, Phoenix – and rap. That’s when I got into rap.” His sister is a big influence in many aspects of his life, music more so than others; she’s been his supplier for artists since he was a kid. “[The] first artist na naging fan talaga ako was Mac Miller. Blue Slide Park in 2010, then I discovered his old shit. I still follow MGMT, I like how their music evolved.” Thirdy was also a swimmer in high school before he evolved to being a debater as a ploy to impress girls. “At that time, I had a sport na so I thought, ‘What else could I do?’ I couldn’t form a band; I didn’t know rapping could get me girls, and debate sounded pretty sexy at the time. Eventually I left swimming for debate and I thought it was something that would carry over into college – and it did for a while – pero, Ecosoc eh.”

A long time ago (read: 2014), Thirdy didn’t even consider applying for Ecosoc. His first impression of the org wasn’t exactly a positive one; he was intimidated by the members “kasi maingay”. It wasn’t his first interaction with Ecosoc, though; he joined Musikapella while he was at Southridge. He admits that peer pressure got him to give Ecosoc a try. “At first I was very hesitant to app. Nung una, akala ko DebSoc lang at JMA. But Ryan wanted to app for Ecosoc, and at that time I was already friends with you guys so, ayon, nag-app ako.” Thirdy decided to app for Externals because he wanted to meet new people and fell in love with the committee. Being the Externals chair was on his mind once he found out he passed the application process. He found a different path to take thanks to Zo Canaria.

Thirdy was already considering running for president in 2nd year because of the influence that Zo had on him. He admired the way Zo was able to inspire and motivate everyone he worked with. His path to the presidency was bumpy, to say the least. One of the shortcomings he had as a member was being selectively active. “Adhoc teams talaga yung inaatupag ko dati.” His experience with Roots helped him rekindle his love

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While his plans seemed to unravel, Thirdy at least found his footing and purpose within Ecosoc through EM. “At that time, EM was already very dear to my heart. But I figured out at that time that EM was more than just LIV. Being a director, you have to worry not just about LIV but also all the events for the whole month.” His experience as a director also inspired him to try and change the

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Being a VC for Memcomm and the Speaker of the House for the ELC helped him find his footing within the org. His experiences helped him see the inner workings of the organization – something he was a bit oblivious to at that

point – and he learned to appreciate the structures and intricacies of each committee.

Towards the end of his term as Speaker, though, Thirdy had second thoughts about his plans for presidency. He was considering running for Memcomm instead because he wanted to change some things within the committee. “Eventually, I felt like I was capable of doing more for Ecosoc. Not just help Memcomm, but help Ecosoc as a whole.”

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for OPM and left him with a few star-struck moments while he was a peacekeeper. Being an Operations officer for Angela Mantes in EM57 made him love Ecosoc month (outside of Execomm, this was the best team he’s ever worked with in Ecosoc). “My problem then was, after my event, yun na. Ok na ako. The only time I was really active was when I was a VC for apps. At that time, I still wasn’t sure of my place in the org. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to run for president. I asked advice from Zo – should I stay in one committee or move around? He told me to move around and be active. The moving around part, I did. The being active, not so much.”

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F E A T U R E S

culture within Ecosoc when he became president. “That’s when I felt that Service Project should be bigger than LIV. Yeah, LIV is fun and a lot of people go to it but there’s an intangible aspect that we aren’t fixing. That’s why I ran my campaign on focusing the sociocivic-ness of Ecosoc. That’s why we had an identity crisis.

And until now, that’s what our Execomm is trying to do with the new system that Mar is doing.”

Talking about the elections is something Thirdy and I don’t usually do, mainly because I feel uncomfortable talking about the subject matter. When I did ask him about losing once and having to run twice for the presidency, Thirdy was candid about reflecting on everything that had happened. He recalls how his first campaign went with a slight smile on his face. “I admit naman that I had a problem with connecting with the rest of Ecosoc. Yeah, I had a lot of friends in Ecosoc but it wasn’t the whole Ecosoc and my problem was approaching people because I didn’t want to seem fake.” Even as an app, that was his attitude; talk to people and get to know them personally before anything else. Losing the first time was tough on him. He recalls most of what happened that day. We had come from Katipunan after joining the rally with the rest of Econ against Marcos’ burial; in Econ, Comelec was busy counting the votes from the elections. The walk back was slow and nerve-wracking, but that pales in comparison to sitting there and watching JP and Miggy count the votes while Meeka said them out loud.

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“I still get flashbacks of Meeka’s voice going ‘president: abstain’”, he jokes. “It was pretty hard, man.

That night we went to Uncle Moe’s to have dinner and I tried not to get drunk – I didn’t get drunk, actually. That night I messaged Zo, asking him for advice and thanking him for everything. That day, actually, Carmel (Ecosoc 56 President) messaged me saying, ‘Good luck! Kaya mo yan!’ So I messaged Carmel and Zo that night, apologizing to them for letting them down. More than just that, most of the people who supported me talaga – I really felt like I let them down.” While everyone was encouraging him to continue and run for special elections, Thirdy was having doubts on having another go at it.

He was mentally and physically exhausted from campaigning at this point. He gave himself a few days to recollect and consider his options. Zo messaged him over that weekend to give him some encouragement. “You’re doing this for something bigger than yourself,” Thirdy says as he recalls the conversation. That moment helped him remember why he ran in the first place: to expand the idea of being socio-civic and help Ecosoc improve with it.

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“Fulfilling,” Thirdy says when I ask him how being president has felt like. “What I wasn’t properly able to gauge is how tired I would be!

But it’s not the tired na ayaw mo na, it’s just ‘Shit, I’m tired.’ The fulfilling part that I expected has gone beyond my expectations. I definitely enjoy doing the work, especially in Roots. From being an officer to co-chairperson and seeing how everything works and how everything came together, that was so fun. But what I enjoyed more is seeing each and every committee work – their inner workings. You can see it through the lens of every Execomm member.” Attending all the events has given him a new perspective on the organization. He appreciates, he says, how Ecosoc has many different activities that cater to many different people and help our members

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Waiting a week before the special elections was difficult (he thought he would lose his momentum) but the wait gave him time to reflect on his plans and recharge for what came next. He would practice what to say in front of a mirror and listed down everything he wanted to put across to people. The shortened campaign period was challenging, he said, so he messaged everyone he hadn’t been able to campaign to online. He recalls his campaign experiences (he almost lost his voice after an hour of talking with Kazel) and being candid and leaving everything out there during Convocation.

There’s a spark in his eyes that looks back on everything with gratitude and a sense of purpose.

“I think I needed to lose, honestly, to put things into perspective. That’s how I realized that there was a disjoint between me and the members and I realized that if I wanted to make Ecosoc better, you needed to make each individual better and to start doing that you need to get to know the person first.”

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develop. “There isn’t just one type of person in Ecosoc, and I love how we can cater to every single one of them. I just hope that I don’t encounter an Ecosocer that can’t tell me what their favorite event is. If there’s an Ecosocer that can’t tell me what their favorite event is, then that’s when something’s wrong talaga. That’s when Ecosoc’s not being Ecosoc.”

It’s almost 10 pm and we’re wrapping up the interview when I ask him what the most challenging part of being a member is. Immediately there’s that spark of passion in his eyes again as he tells me that it’s finding why you wanted to join Ecosoc. “Even after you become a member (unless you’ve known what you wanted since before) you still don’t know why you joined Ecosoc. I never had a set path for myself, but when I figured out why I became an Ecosoc member was when I realized that I wanted people to see what makes them socio-civic, not as an Ecosocer but as a person. I realized that I wanted to be an Ecosoc member because I realized that Ecosoc can do so many things to help so many people, and being president was the best way I thought I could help members realize that.” In a sense, that’s the legacy Thirdy wants to leave in Ecosoc. Great events can come and go, but leaving a culture of wanting to develop the community holistically is something he wants to org to be long after he’s gone. Thirdy then gives me a quote from Mark Twain that reminds me of how introspective he can be and properly exemplifies his mission as president. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. For an Ecosocer, it’s the day you’re inducted and the day you find out why.”

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THE ART OF HIGHKEY LANDI ANONYMOUS VILCHEZ

a

This one’s for all the fools who sought spark but couldn’t take the burn.

First off, let’s get technical. For the casual reader, this may seem like the opposing perspective of Anonymous’ article on The Art of Lowkey Landi. Make no mistake, it is. But by no means is this article a mere parody. Rather, the purpose of this article is to highlight another slice of the “landi” spectrum. While there are those who patronize the art of lowkey landi—the silent craft of subtly jabbing the person of your desire with guerilla-like flirty tactics almost indiscernible to the casual observer—there are many who utilize more blatant strategies.

Let me be very clear. By “highkey landi,” I am not referring to the “hook-up” culture that is so prevalent in this postmodern generation. Rather, I am suggesting an alternative, not-so-subtle, “subtle” technique of winning the heart of the one you long for. Instead of hiding behind fragile veils of platonicity—from the safehaven that is the friendzone—why not declare your desires from the very start?

Yeah,

like

it’s

that

easy,

right?

Oh, but it is, soldier of love. It is. That is, if you follow these specific guidelines to mastering the art of high-key landi.

I think we’re all burnt enough by now to know that love doesn’t work the way Hollywood has portrayed it does. There is no first glance that causes star-crossed lovers to realize that the planets have aligned in their favor and that their time is now and their love will be eternally perfect. We all know love is a lot more raw than that. There is no one obstacle that gets in the way of a prince and his princess—rather a plethora of factors will all chip away at their romance, testing if their flame will be snuffed out or

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not. The one fuel that can keep a fire of love burning is trust. And the best way to get trust? Establishing a firm friendship.

Friendship is a beautiful thing. Here, we find laughter, memories, fun experiences, and a whole lot of inside jokes. This small aspect of friendship—joking around—is the key to unlocking the very mysteries of the rosary that is love. When two people are locked in the wonderful commitment that is friendship, there is enough trust to make jokes and jests about love—once a certain degree of “closeness” is established.

These jokes must be made often, loudly, and glaringly obvious—but always with step-backs right into the friendzone from whence they supposedly originate. While different people react in different ways depending on their own life experiences, I leave it to the discretion of the potential lovers to decide when the right time is to start these “humorous” suggestions.

Statements like “Tayo nalang dapat eh” or “Mas bagay kaya ako sayo,” followed by swift take-backs, fits of raucous laughter, and just the tiniest malandi glance of longing right after are basic ways to start planting the idea of romance into your crush’s head.

You see, with lowkey landi, you have to chip away like Michelangelo at a two-ton slab of marble. There are so many factors (like time and other people) that can cause your feelings and her susceptibility to wane.

Lowkey landi utilizes subtle hints of longing a lot. And while subtle hinting is a cute way to start a fling, it may not be effective to crushes who are not immediately looking for love. Subtle hints can be misinterpreted, taken as a red flag, and blown way out of context. Jokes, however, give both of you a good laugh and cause the other person to wonder, “Is he being serious with me?

Was that a sign? Or am I just overthinking this way too much?” This is why the

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establishment of a sound and solid friendship is paramount to the pursuit of your potential paramour. Never forget that we operate from the friend-zone for a reason! We do this because it is important to think about yourself as much as you think about the other person when it comes to the great chase of courtship. If, while you’re making “ligaw”, you see things in her that are your own non-negotiables in potential romantic partners—it makes things easier to retreat into the comfort of friendship without having to lose a relationship that is of notable value to you.

Be moderate and prudent with the sowing of your seeds of landi. If you plan to use this method, be frequent but not too frequent, be loud enough for others to laugh about but not loud enough for them to roll their eyes in disgust, and—most of all—never assume you’re out of the friendzone until you see or hear clear signs of reciprocation. Assumptions are the most dangerous mistakes of all—thousands of friendships are lost every day because of miscommunicated feelings and words left unsaid. If and only if you have trustworthy evidence of potential mutual feelings do you go in for the lay-up. Otherwise, be prepared for a monstrous rejection.

The art of highkey landi doesn’t work out for everyone—there is no one method that does. In the the 2013 hit film The Imitation Game, British mathematicians are faced with decoding the Nazi’s cryptic messages which with every passing day and military operation. And while they were able to invent a computer that found the specific pattern that revealed the secrets they desired, there is no magic formula to computing the metaphysics of love. These mechanics change with every new day, person, and situation.

The only way to find the answer is by putting yourself out there, risking everything you are, utilizing the appropriate method, and hoping for the best. Godspeed, soldiers of love.

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HEARTBREAK

by FAU MANZANILLA

PEOPLE USUALLY EQUATE FIRST HEARTBREAKS TO FIRST BREAK UPS. However, my first heartbreak is a little different. I didn’t feel it when my first boyfriend and I broke up, and I do recognize now that I really wasn’t mature enough to feel anything back then, let alone to be in a relationship. Still, coming from a past relationship, I thought I could get it right the next time. Fast forward to college, I found myself in a 3-year-going-strong kind of relationship. We met in a GE class and became best friends since then. We both enjoyed the peace while looking at the sky from CS Amphitheater or Quezon Hall. We counted airplanes and gave each other kisses every time one passes by.

We had this connection that just felt so natural.

We can make each other laugh so hard by telling each other jokes that aren’t even funny for others. We can talk about literally everything: about how I hate group works and how he hates public speaking, about how we both love Mexican food, about the right president to vote for, about how I feel like I don’t belong anywhere and how he doesn’t think we need to belong, about how I hate cheese and how he loves them. We can talk about the future with a degree of certainty that we’re going to spend it together. We became each other’s support in every endeavor, played the same sport, joined the same orgs. We became this team that each one could always count on no matter what happens. For us, life can never get hard enough as long as we’re together. We learned to love each other, not through a romantic courting process, but by building a solid friendship as the foundation of our relationship. That way, it wouldn’t collapse.

But who are we to know what the future holds? Who are we to think that we can beat the game of love? My first heartbreak came last December, and to be honest with you, I’m still going through it.

And so, I may not be able to give you the perfect advice on how to deal with it, but I can tell you how it feels.

It felt surreal. I didn’t know that I was capable of feeling such pain. The night before it happened, I was very happy enjoying myself in a party. We were still texting each other, I was still getting “take care” and “I love you”. The next day, he broke up with me, for reasons I’ve only heard for the first

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would bump into each other and I would go home with fresh wounds until I reached my lowest point. It was February 1 when I saw him with another girl sitting on the AS steps, and then they ran away as soon as they saw me. I went home that night, and I just had to talk to God, “Lord, pwede pong tama na? Tama na po, please.

Hindi ko na talaga kaya.”

In my 20 years of existence, that was my ugliest cry. I wanted to rip off my chest and take my heart out and burn it until there was nothing left. I was screaming with so much pain. I was shouting, begging for my own heart to stop. In the words of Tauriel (The Hobbit), “If this is love, I don’t want it. Take it away, please!

Why does it hurt so much?”

Because it was real. My first heartbreak taught me that I loved him with all my heart, because if I didn’t, it wouldn’t hurt. And it took me time, but I got myself convinced that I didn’t lose the game. I loved someone with all my heart, and risked that I might get hurt in the end. I got hurt in the end, but my heart is able to endure every single day of pain. I discovered how strong our hearts could be. It’s beautiful: the fact that our hearts could feel real love and real pain at the same time.

Even if I painted a picture of how painful my first heartbreak is, I hope you won’t fear it. It’s inevitable, and it will happen while you’re caught unprepared. But after your first heartbreak, one thing’s for sure: you can only be a stronger version of yourself. You will be surprised that days have passed and you are no longer crying. You will be excited about how much stronger you could even become tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. When your first heartbreak comes, remember how it feels, endure it, bring the pain with you, and use it as your fuel to be stronger.

Never forget.

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time.

He said he was feeling trapped, for quite a while already. And he didn’t tell me because he thought it was a problem that he had to deal with himself.

But I guess what hit me the most was when he told me, “I can no longer pretend that I’m still happy,” and of course, when he told me he doesn’t love me anymore. There were no warnings, no clues, no signs. All I had were questions.

Why didn’t I notice that he was feeling trapped?

Why didn’t I feel that he was just faking his happiness?

Why can’t I have one chance to fix it, to fix us?

After everything that we’ve been through, are we not worth fighting for?

Is it really possible for someone to unlove someone whom you already considered your true love?

These questions came to me, but remained unanswered. The first two days of our break up, not crying for five minutes was already a big achievement. Everything I saw on TV made me cry. Every song I heard made me cry. I couldn’t feel hunger or thirst, all I wanted to do was lie in bed or sit on the floor and cry. Finals week followed. I had to pretend everything was fine in front of my friends because I couldn’t tell anyone about what happened. Back then, I thought telling people would make it seem like I already accepted what had happened, and I just wasn’t capable of accepting what happened for quite a while. I didn’t tell anyone about it. I only broke down in front of my parents because they know me too well, but besides them, no one else. I couldn’t tell people because doing so would make the breakup real, and I just wasn’t capable of accepting it yet. I told myself, “This is just phase.” We would get back together and come out as a stronger couple. We would get back together and we’d be unbreakable this time. Obviously, that didn’t happen. 2017 started—my last sem as a college student and my first sem without him. Every day is a wakeup call that it’s over. I remember him wherever I go, every corner of UP and of home reminds me of him. Eventually, I had to see him for real, and it was another great challenge to deal with. I had a phase when I would hit my chest while walking around the oval because it was just too heavy and tight. It was too much to deal with the fact that you shared three years of your life together, and all of a sudden, you’re strangers. Weeks passed that we

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F E A T U R E S

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HOW TO BEGIN ANTON CASTILLO

Say you’re me and you find yourself looking through a screen; to the possible readers of the article; to those who browse through the indelible, irrevocable words printed out. The scale at which you think of the task is exaggerated and unsettling.

It feels like wrestling with a colossus, but you’re no Hercules. The paradox is, in your tunnel vision, it feels as if the entire world is determined to bring you down.

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I’m convinced that this principle underlies how people begin to try something new.

When someone exerts enough effort at the beginning, the rest flows easily. A little tug in the right direction can set off a chain reaction that goes on and on. Proof of concept: scientists advocate the 5-minute rule as a productivity hack that tricks your brain into thinking it’ll only insert filler words here to see if anyone is proofreading exert power in five minutes’ worth of work. The human tendency, however, is to continue on now that the work’s been started. In Econspeak, it’s removing a psychological barrier to entry.

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What a lot of people get wrong is that they confuse new experiences as inherently uncomfortable. From my experience, I’ve learned that trying new things isn’t uncomfortable in itself; people just feel uncomfortable trying new things.

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Apprehension comes from the Latin word for “seizing.” Like your muscles bunching up and binding you like a rope. You can’t even articulate, let alone express, the full breadth of the encroaching feeling. And nothing is more apprehension-inducing than the unfamiliar. You don’t know how it will strike.

You don’t know where to put your walls up.

And besides, it’s okay where you are. You’re settled down, cozy, in control. You’ve tried things before, and that time has passed. You’re better off having an easy time on the usual path. The grass seems just as green from the inside of your bubble. Why put yourself in a situation that makes you feel apprehensive?

Siphons are mysterious devices that cause liquid to flow uphill, against gravity, without being pumped, and yet powered only by gravity. They are shaped like inverted U’s, with one end submerged in a liquid. The generally accepted principle behind them for centuries was atmospheric pressure, the same way a straw might work, except gravity’s pull on one end reduced pressure in the other. A new theory put forth is that when pulled to one side, the strength of a liquid’s cohesion between molecules pulls each other on, like a chain.

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Or let’s try something a little more relatable. Say you want to be physically fitter: you have your workout clothes, your loose diet regimen, maybe even a gym membership. But when it’s time to do the daily grind, you suddenly can’t find an appropriate moment, or you waste time “trying” to get around to your routine. You don’t even know how to begin.

isn’t uncomfortable in itself; people just feel uncomfortable trying new things.

Ultimately, we have to convince ourselves that the same is lame. Staying in our safe zones is easy and comfortable because the life we’ve already carved out fits us well, but trying new things gives us more space and freedom, if we’re open to it.

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U N D E R S TA N D I N G OTHERS First Impressions They say that first impressions last. But I like to think otherwise.

I believe that these impressions can more often go wrong.

While internalizing for this article, I read an entry from the site Business Insider about the thirteen things people decide within seconds of meeting you. One basic example is how people who wear branded clothes would be perceived as of high status as compared to those who don’t. Another is how people would see you as more intelligent when you are able to talk to them while looking on their eyes. Furthermore, 46

another interesting example is how a study claims that persons who are bald are seen more dominant as opposed to those who aren’t. These examples are only few of the countless list of how people are able to generate their first impressions.

And if these examples prove one thing, it is that first impressions affect all of us.

I have to admit. I’m likewise guilty of having my impressions on the people I meet. In span of seconds, I would say whether I feel the vibes of a certain person, or if I think me and that person could go along well or not. But as I said earlier, not all the time are these impressions

RIO DAYAO of ours correct. And in this article, I would like to share one of which to prove my claim.

Personal Experience This is about a good friend of mine. Let’s hide the person with the name El. Of course, when I first met El, I had a different impression. I was in my freshman year when I first heard of this person. Some of my friends told me that El came from a well-known family. Well, I honestly didn’t care back then haha because I don’t even know the person. I just recall to always see El studying in lib alone. I thought to myself, maybe El

is a snob that’s why El’s always alone. But it’s really funny that even when we don’t know each other back then, El would always be the one sitting in front of me in the lib coincidentally. Aside from seeing El in the lib alone, I always see El with a naturally resting bitch face. Whenever we walk across each other, El would always have a blank staring face. Even when we are able to talk to each other already, I felt awkward at first because I was not sure if El is annoyed or agitated by what I tell because of El’s facial reactions, or if El is really interested with what I share. The thought of me being close with El didn’t cross the mind back then.

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But never was I so wrong. El turned out to be the opposite of what I thought of. I realized that El was always alone not because of being a snob, but because of being reserved. Like me, El observes the environment first before loosening up or being able to crack jokes.

But once El is already comfortable with the people El’s with, you get to see a different side of El. El is a uniquely weird friend (in a good way haha). El would randomly do stuff out of nowhere, which the people around El would often get surprised with. But despite all El’s weirdness, El is a down to earth type of a person. In the short span of time I knew El, I never heard of an instance that El boasted something intentionally (cos El does it for fun), even if El has all the right to do so. Even if El’s resting bitch face didn’t change even up to now, at least I got to know El beyond it – beyond my first impression.

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Lesson Learned

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Well, the point of this article is not really about El. Rather, it is about the lesson that I learned from my personal experience. Sure, you may prefer to have your assessments of the people you’re around with, but having an extra effort to go beyond that box of impression could go an extra mile. Sometimes, we just need to be a little more understanding.

We all wear our own masks every day. The happiest person that you know may be the most scarred inside. The most intimidating person that you think of might be someone who fights for the rights of those who are oppressed.The meanest person thatyou hate might be the most damaged and left alone person, and him being tough is his defense.

After all, we all have our own set of journeys we know nothing about.

From my personal experience that I shared, I would have not become good friends with El should I have chosen to box El in my impressions. It took me seconds to make my assumptions, but it took me weeks and countless experiences to fully know the person and see what El is really inside. And honestly, it’s one of the most fulfilling things that I did. At the end of the day, the world needs all the love it could get. I hope that we foster a culture that understands and not judges and establish a world that loves and not hates.

In the end, I hope that in the next time you meet someone, control yourself first from making assumptions. Instead, give that person a chance. Who knows, you might not only get to know the person better, but also gain a friend that you could keep in the same way that I did. Happy Mingling!

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WELCOME TO THE RUT BIANCA RANOLA

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Lucky for us, the worst thing about being in the Rut is it takes so long for you to realize you’re in it in the first place. For me, my divine revelation came when a friend complimented the way I dressed. “Dude,

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The Rut is characterized by its bleak monotonicity (NOT the Econ term, please give me a break). You start to live life as if you were a machine, merely going through the motions. In the words of my favorite teen pop superstar Hannah Montana, “Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.” Nothing wrong with that at all if that’s what you’re into. But we are young! Heartache to heartache, we stand.

No promises, no regrets. Love is… bs.

Upon further introspection, I realized that it wasn’t just in the way I dressed. My grades were suffering, my writing was mediocre, my life wasn’t really going anywhere. I couldn’t do anything right. But like I said, the worst thing about being in the Rut is the time it takes to realize it. Once you’ve come to terms with the fact that you’re simply not your best self, I find that it’s quite easy to construct a What Now? game plan.

For me, it was all a matter of reminding myself of my goal and digging deep into the parts of my wardrobe that weren’t black.

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And sure, as a handy checklist in your head of everything you have to do to keep your life in order, it’s foolproof. That is, until it’s not. Because it’s more or less inevitable that one day you’ll wake up and realize you’re a completely different person in a completely different place. Ladies and gents, welcome to my former home, the Rut. As Queen of the Rut, it is my duty to enlighten the newbies and the lucky ones who have never had the chance to explore my kingdom.

I have a uniform,” I said humbly, and then a few seconds later I realized, Wait, I have a uniform?? True enough, I was awakened to the realization that for a good part of the semester, I had transformed from H&M geek to Uniqlo trash, and not the good kind. It wasn’t an ode to normcore, it was just plain sloppy. Like, why the hell didn’t my friends inform me? effortless.

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Routine is a convenient system of what’s and how’s—a nice, simple way to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

As college students, we know this all too well. It’s wake up (or if you’re getting off of an all-nighter, come to terms with the fact that you wasted the night trying to memorize factoids you’ll probably forget right after that exam), drink coffee, shower, get dressed, go to school, survive school (optional), marvel at the latest Echoes issue (required), get home, do homework, sleep (also optional). Lather, rinse and repeat.

So now this is your friendly reminder to think about what’s been going on in your life, about whether you’ve been giving your 100% or you’ve been lacking motivation. This is your wake-up call/the sign you’re looking for/unsolicited advice from someone you might not even had a conversation with.

It’s time to reflect, man. Maranatha it out.

And if you find that you have indeed been thrown into my humble abode, welcome.

Have a drink. Maybe even kick back and relax for a while. You’ll be out in no time.

>> Bianca thankfully no longer resides in the Rut. She just visits it occasionally to make sure her people are okay.

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Forget Upbringings, Conquer the Climate. O/bitch/uary.

Why Not? Athlete-level Motivation for Non-Athletes.

Discovery Feed. Staff Picks. Stupid Advice. A Rather Poor Guide to Some Sort of Self-Discovery. Tweetable Tweets.

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C U L T U R E

FORGET UPBRINGINGS, CONQUER THE C L I M AT E

by RD LAGOS

While spacing out in my Math 17 large class, I pondered upon the thought of playing rugby. I’ve been raised to be gentle at sports all my life and to avoid injuries, but there I was, about to take my first few steps onto a scorching hot pitch where brute strength and the power to tackle another man (probably bigger and older than me) to the ground was demanded of me. To keep things short, the feeling was surreal.

I was asked by a good friend, Pita Ochave, to write an article for Echoes about something new I’ve tried and funny enough, Pita was also the same person I first shared my daydream to back in Math 17. She even joked around asking “to what extent would I go to get high” after seeing the words “ trying rugby” next to my name under the Things Ecosocers Have Just Tried Tracker. But this isn’t about me. It’s about the beautiful sport and the great experience I had playing it in the Philippines.

The sport of rugby started in approximately in the early 1800s. It is currently popular around much of New Zealand, Australia and Europe.

It`s not that big here in the Philippines yet. The game itself, as I’ve observed, is simple. Get the ball to the other side without being tackled to the ground. But to really play, it takes a lot of reflex and thinking because you have to score a goal with a wall of bodies chasing after you. And for those of you who wonder what the difference is between rugby and American football, according to the

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rules there is no padding in rugby, but according to the rich culture of the game it’s like comparing apples to oranges.

Prior to stepping up to the pitch, I had to meet my new team. A friend of mine named Norris shared a photo on Facebook with me the day before about there being free rugby training in Quirino Grandstand right next to Luneta Park.

Being the optimistic (and somewhat cheap) opportunist that I am, I quickly said yes to the invitation. Unfortunately, my friend Norris wasn’t in the right frame to play a.k.a. he was hungover out of his wits and could not stand up—let alone take a tackle a 6’0 ft. man from Papau New Guinea.

So there I was—alone and 30 minutes early, with no rugby players in sight. I decided to see the sights. Luneta and Quirino Grandstand on a Sunday morning is actually quite scenic. Although being mistakenly pulled into a tour group of travelling Koreans and stubbornly not being allowed to “wander off” (I’m not Korean), I was able Ato walk the periphery without any hang-ups until the clock struck 10am and I had to go back to the pitch because training was about to start.

From a distance, I could see a bunch of dudes tossing a large egg-shaped ball and I knew—that was them. I approach the head honcho of the group, he didn’t have a whistle but I was pretty damn sure he was the coach because of the matured look in his eye, the upright posture and the fact that he was the only Samoan/Polynesian there. I

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us and like most boys do, my teammates started throwing unflattering compliments into the wind.

Luckily, the women didn’t hear them but when it was my turn, I lost my poise. I told them that we treat each other as men, but as men we shouldn’t make women feel uncomfortable. Next thing I knew our manager and teammate, Sheedy, pulled me aside to tell me that everything we say on the pitch isn’t really meant and that the team just likes to joke around. He followed up soon after by saying pulling the “we as men” card was a cheap but effective move in jest. So that was over with.

I too could tell that judging by how everyone was acting, they probably had a Duterte mindset and just didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong. These were good people in my opinion.

A woman came hand-in-hand with a 2 year old just to watch and when asked whose sister it was, a teammate who didn’t look much older than me, said that she was his daughter. The team finally started to mesh.

The rest of the morning involved the big guys playing the real sport, tackling, dodging and passing until a much deserved water break. It was a real test of fitness. I didn’t know I could run so fast until a 6’0 ft. 200 or so pound Samoan told me “I will tackle you to the ground” in a deep accent.

I even broke my old right boot in the process, yet the lads cheered me on as they did everyone else to keep on playing, and so I did with socks. On the last scrimmage I remember Josh, Mr. Mammoth Legs who works at the British Embassy, grabbing my arm and locking it around his elbows before the play started. I asked him what it was for and he turned to me saying he was just trying to be annoying. That`s when I realized the reason people were having so much fun was because we trained seriously but deep down kept things lighthearted. Overall it was a very enriching and fun experience, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who can imagine themselves playing the beautiful sport and to those who dream of trying something else, I say go and try it because you never know!

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introduced myself, and from there on he either referred to me as RD or “new boy” as he would all the rest of the new sign-ups. Since the training was free, off the bat I got to meet a lot of new people. One was a Philippine dragon boat racer who said he also saw the Facebook ad and wanted something to do in the off-season. Another was a Brit who worked in the British embassy, squatted 400 lbs. and dissed San Miguel Beer. I would’ve contested that last part but seeing that he was 400 lbs. convinced me that he was just joking around.

Lastly, I met the rest of the Filipinos newbies and Samoan veterans who marched their way onto the pitch.

We all came from different backgrounds, yet when the coach clapped his hands, ordered us into a huddle and proceeded to call us “men”, we all seemed to focus in unison. It was as if being men and wanting to play rugby was all we needed to establish that feeling of rapport or common ground. We proceeded to warm-up and train from there. We would call each other men when we had to get serious and lads or boys when things were more casual. The captain—his name was Ram—would tell me and the rest of the new boys “hindi niyo pa magegets iyan, pero magsikap lang kayo makukuha niyo rin” all the time as we learned how to pass the ball and how to get in formation. It’s different when it’s not the coveted sport of basketball. There isn’t as much hounding involved because the competition is smaller and is less pressuring.

Aside from the fact that I broke a serious huddle into tears because I had some unrubbed sunblock near my mouth, things were going well.

I laughed and the rest of the team laughed. Some of these people whom I played with were actually just curious street kids who wanted to play, and yet when they stepped on the pitch I can say that they exuberated class and sportsmanship.

There was something about the way we treated each other and the words we used that brought up such class among everyone until this one moment. There was a group of Caucasian women touring the grounds about 50 meters away from

C U L T U R E

O/BITCH/UARY

by ANNA PAGDANGANAN

One word. Three syllables. Anuna!!

From the death of Harambe to the first few months of the Duterte administration, last year will go down in history as one of humanity’s lowest points. Without a doubt, 2016 was Joffrey Baratheon personified. Everything and anything that could possibly go wrong has happened all in 365 days. I think my high school friend says it best when she says that 2016 was like “being anally fisted without lube”. (Author’s note: I feel so sorry because she actually knows what that feel like.) !

You name it, 2016 had it all. From terrorist attacks to Brexit to catapulting oranged-faced idiots into power, humanity took a huge step back last year. It was also definitely an emotionally frustrating year for the country. It’s definitely a miracle that any Filipino could manage to feel any ounce of Pinoy pride after electing a loudmouth lunatic as President and after allowing historical revisionism to take place.

Looking back it was like the Planet Earth pressed its own self-destruct button. RIP to any progress made in the last few years. Say goodbye to democracy. And remember to pay your last respects to the hope of creating more inclusive and accepting communities.

A friend of mine once asked how it was possible for anyone to see any good out of the shit fest that was 2016.

Admittedly, I’m anything but a religious person. I don’t think things happen because God has this wonderful plan for us at the end of the line. I don’t believe challenges are given to teach us something. However, I do believe it’s possible

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to give strength to one another. Whether your source of strength is your god, yourself or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, I guess we have to remind ourselves that the human race is a resilient one.

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I’m not the best person to talk to when it comes to elaborating on these issues (You can talk to my best friend, Bea.), because I believe that my insights are far from eloquent. And as cheesy and as “We Are the World” as this may sound, I don’t think all hope is lost. I guess it’s easy for us to subscribe to the misconception that we are all doomed. Honestly, the media is the number one culprit for that kind of mindset. However, we cannot fault the media for what it was made to do. What you see is what you get. Despite its many faults and its tendency to sensationalize, at the heart of journalism is the desire to fight for the truth and serve the people. (Yes, I went there) These events aren’t hindrances, but our reactions could be. It’s fine to get mad at the state of the world we live in, and it’s good that we’re getting mad for all the right reasons. Because, my dear, if you’re taking the news as it is without the tiniest bit of reaction, then you should realize that the world is not the problem.

You are.

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W H Y N O T ? A T H L E T E - L E V E L M O T I VA T I O N F O R N O N - AT H L E T E S

BY RAM BONSOL

Not everyone likes sports.

Some people despise the feeling of physical taxation that stems from such activity, others fear the required level of skill or ability of some sports, while some people are turned o by the social relations that comes with interacting and playing with a team, while others are just down-right uninterested with the activity. Regardless of the reason, there is no denying that sports entails physical activity which eventually leads to rewards other than the o -stated health and fitness.

I was never an athletic person

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before entering UP. e closest thing I had to a sport was throwing away crumpled-up paper balls while channeling my inner Kobe. It wasn’t that I was disinterested with sports either, on the contrary, I loved watching football and basketball while secretly wishing I had the sheer power, the dexterity, and the nuclear athleticism to be able to participate in such activities.

It was just a belief that I was not strong or fast enough to be able to shoot a basket or kick a football. For most people, that’s what it boils down to, a fear of humiliation or failure, the false belief that the embarrassment

is not worth the possibility of learning a new sport and acquiring a new skill. is false dichotomy o en leads people to put- o trying out a new sport and while it is true that walking in blind into new territory could prove embarrassing, being in the university o ers us a prime opportunity into the long, complex journey into athletic greatness – or in our case, just looking for a sport that we can dabble in.

In my first semester in UP, I enlisted for my first PE class, volleyball. “Why not?”, I told myself. e university,

Now, on my (hopefully) last semester at UP, I find myself in a familiar position of cramming my last two required PE’s.

Wanting to maximize my potential for development, I chose Badminton and Running for Fitness, two sports that mirror the skills needed in the first two PE’s I took almost two years ago. Similar to all sports, challenging as they are in the beginning, I know that in the end I’ll come out better than when I started and will be proud at the fact that I’ve downed another one of my personal challenges and have come out on top.

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At the end of the day, the argument as to why you should like sports and what sports you should try is akin to the argument as to whether you like pineapples on your pizza; it is pointless, or rather, the full sonic range of possibilities makes for answers that are so varied for each person. One person may prefer team sports while others may opt for more individual sports where they can focus on mere skill without having to worry about di ering levels of social capabilities come into play; it doesn’t matter.

What matters is finding a sport that you love and that you can stick with. As with any new experience, trying out a new sport can be a clumsy, awkward and intimidating experience but o en we need only approach it with a single thought in mind: Why not?

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On my second semester, I soldiered on and continued my

quest for greatness by enlisting in ultimate frisbee. Ultimate frisbee is a sport that requires both blistering speed and explosive power and just coming o my successful campaign against volleyball, I felt like I could take on the world. What I failed to grasp before enlisting though was that ultimate frisbee was a very di erent beast from volleyball. is sport required a very di erent skill set. As opposed to volleyball’s crisp, controlling, and rigid nature where you plant yourself firmly like a tree to receive the ball, ultimate frisbee requires one to be fast, fluid, almost wind-like in the way you adjust your body midair for a catch or in the way you release the disc for a huck. A er a few sessions, I noticed that I was progressing faster than I ever did with volleyball and that I was actually excited to attend classes and was having a lot of fun.

Eventually, I was able to hone my skills to the level that I would get chosen for competitions and joined and eventually won hat tournaments (ultimate frisbee’s equivalent of a mini-league tournament). I had finally found a sport that I both excelled at and enjoyed. During this semester, I learned that developing one’s self and looking for things one can achieve should take a back seat to actually enjoying what you do. A er all, if we’re going to be engaging in this sport for a while, we might as well enjoy it. It was also through this sport, with a lot of perseverance and hard work, that I was able to find my niche and discovered my true potential when it came to sports.

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with its wide range of Physical Education classes to choose from is our best bet at developing the mental fortitude and physical prowess needed for sports. Now, I entered this class optimistic with the thought that I would be surrounded with other young and budding freshmen hoping to learn the sport. What actually happened in class was I was the only who didn’t know how to play and all my classmates were already long-time players and could aptly spike a ball faster than I could see it. To say that I was intimidated would be an understatement, I was scared out of my wits and I was dumbfounded at my inability to learn the skills fast enough to avoid becoming a burden to my teammates. “ is is going to be embarrassing”, I told myself.

It was during that semester that I learned an important value from my teammates: It’s alright to take your time in learning the sport. Volleyball is a team game and just like any other team game, you win and lose by your teamwork rather than the aggregated individual skill levels of each player. My classmates understood that I was having trouble keeping up and o ered to give me tips and play extra pickup games a er class so I could get in some much-needed practice.

By the end of the semester, I had mastered the basic, fundamental skills of volleyball and while I was still nowhere near the level of mastery of my classmates, I knew that I was successful in my quest to become a more active, more athletic version of myself.

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D I S C OV E RY F E E D

by JEREMY GEMZONTAN

Discovery is oftentimes associated with adventure, explorations and other wanderlust shenanigans. Well to us, discovery reminds us of instagram. Coincidentally, instagramâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discovery page is also filled with travel pictures and hipster quotes. Win-win?

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STAFF PICKS compiled by PITA OCHAVE

D I S C OV E RY Daft Punk

Well, aside from the album being a namesake of the theme, Discovery, Daft Punk’s sophomore record “Discovery” is truly a (pardon the pun) discovery of electronic music’s potential.

From the catchy hooks of “One More Time” and “Harder Better Faster Stronger,” to the robotic love songs “Digital Love” and “Something about us”, the album is truly something else for your ears to behold. Recommended.

- Emil Apostol

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is one of my favorite books. It’s the story of a kid with Aspergers’ who loses his father during 9/11 and seeks to discover the “treasure map” his dad left behind. Really highlights how most of our own investigations and journeys end up revealing more about ourselves than anything else.

- Javi Vilchez

E X T R E M E LY L O U D A N D I N C R E D I B LY C L O S E

by Jonathan Safran Foer

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It’s a sci-fi movie about the origin of our civilization.

A group of scientists discovers the origin of mankind and along the way, they struggle to survive as they unlock the secrets of why humans were created by our extra-terrestrial forefathers. It’s kind of controversial because it raises the issue of faith and religion.

- Rio Aquino-Dayao

PROMETHEUS (2012) directed by Ridley Scott

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by Markus Zusak

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The messenger is one of my top 3 books. It is a nice read about a cab driver who gets sucked into mini-quests all around the town he lives in. Nothing crazy or breathtaking about the plot/ characters, but the simple yet often forgotten lesson of the book is downright amazing and borderline inspirational.

- Jeremy Gemzontan

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The Twilight Zone is an anthology so every episode is something new, and there’s always an unexpected twist (or discovery) at the end. It may be unnerving to watch, but it leaves you with something to think about every time.

- Nikki Liu

T H E T W I L I G H T ZO N E

created by Rod Serling

HURRY UP WE’RE DREAMING M83

It’s the kind of music that would be playing in the background if you curl your soul inwards and explore the nonlinear halls of your mind. It expands and stretches you into an infinite, dreamlike expanse.

- Carlos Cabaero

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ST U P I D A DV I C E

by ANNA PAGDANGANAN

“Hi Anna! I still have feelings for my a stupid boy! How do I get rid of them fast?”

Excellent question, Anna.

I’d hate to break it to you, but moving on isn’t going to be a breeze. It’s a long and difficult process, but I’ll be here to guide you in every step of the way.

Before anything else, cry.

However, don’t cry to “let out your pent-up emotions”. No, cry because you want to look like a sad character straight out of a romantic comedy. As cliched as this may sound, make sure to play your really bad Spotify playlists while crying on your bathroom floor. Sing along if you have to! There’s a reason the runny mascara and tear-stained stereotype exists, and it’s so you could follow suit.

The goal is to make yourself look as stupid as possible. You’re not going to feel good if you address your heartbreak the mature way. Think of it this way:

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he’s already treated you like a joke, so take it up a notch! He made a fool out of you, so might as well look the part. Science has proven time and time again that over-sulking is the sure-fire way to deal with your broken heart. !

Do your very best to not cry in public. (But if you are going to, the best places to cry are in Savemore Berkeley and AS third floor) If people see how sad you are, then they might feel the need to comfort you. The last thing you need is a support group, because you have to learn how to deal with your heartbreak on your own.

After you’ve done your crying, turn to your best friend for guidance. During these trying times, remember that alcohol will never let you down. Alcohol is both an escape, and an extra push. It will help you forget painful details. You’ll no longer

remember the exact words he said when he broke your heart or what you were wearing when you last saw each other. Holding on to these little things make it so much more difficult to move on. Your heart is already messed up, so it wouldn’t hurt to fuck up your liver too.

Alcohol also gives you the guts to do something even stupider than your last relationship.

What’s stopping you from flirting with that random dude in the bar? What’s holding you back from looking a drunkass loser in that party? In order to feel better about previous mistakes, just make even more terrible decisions. It’s simple mathematics: when you add two negatives, you get a positive!

(Don’t me, I’m taking Math 11.

I know my shit) It’s not like you have a boyfriend to return to.

Do try to get into writing! I’m

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The author talking to herself in her Photobooth Diary, because she’s so freaking weird.

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And if you’re going to drunk message, at least make sure you’re using “your” and “you’re” correctly. Based on personal experience, grammatical errors are more humiliating than unexpected love confessions.

Wordy paragraphs about how “you’ll always care him no matter what” are fine, but loads of “omsf sory “ are pathetic.

Try to fill the void by making yourself busy. You won’t really feel anything once you’ve signed up for all the creatives teams you can think of. Sooner or later,

you’ll find yourself crying over Photoshop instead of a dumb boy. You never know, some of your best ideas can come from your heartache. (See Musikapella 2016 pubmats and videos for more details).

Lastly, you have to get rid of this notion that you don’t deserve another heartbreak.

To get over a boy, you have to remind yourself that other boys will hurt you too. And I guess you can see that as pessimism, but there’s something strangely wonderful and human about falling in and out of love just for the heck of it.

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Actually, it might even be

better if you wrote everything down in your online diary and just send him the PDF file.

Face-to-face conversation is so prehistoric.

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not talking about becoming a regular Echoes contributor (but that would be nice!). In relation to my last tip, make drunk texts and messages your official outlet.

Studies show that it’s possible to attain a hyperpersonal level of communication by exceeding face-to-face interaction through computer-mediated channels (Walthers, 1996). In addition to this, McLuhan’s Theory of Technological Determinism, the choice of medium has an effect on the way individuals communicate with one another (1962).

With that being said, forget about proper conversation. Just write all your feelings down in some text you could end up regretting.

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The Charnel House Pablo Picasso (1945)

A R AT H E R P O O R G U I D E T O S O M E S O R T O F S E L F - D I S C OV E RY

by KEN RECASATA

D I S C L A I M E R : I’m not really fond of talking about myself and most of the time Idon’t really know what I’m saying. Here’s a piece of me but not really. Tread carefully into the recesses of my seemingly functioning mind and note that any semblance to my character or anyone else’s is purely coincidental.

Once again, I am tasked to write about my view on some aspect of the world as if my previous article wasn’t exhausting enough to read. To be honest, I could more easily write an article about the many things that are more interesting to read about like: what would happen if all the animals could masturbate and they no longer need others to pleasure themselves? Would the females develop some form of emotional void that would eventually lead them to find companionship that resembles a human’s and after which evolve into more complex beings that will soon take over the world? Or maybe they’d all just grow extinct from too much masturbating, and too little populating.

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Well, enough of masturbation (aww) and let me get into the real point of this article (eww) which is to tell you about something that vaguely resembles self-discovery but would probably make more sense if it were about self-destruction. Have fun?

Oddly enough, there exists a feeling we all seem to be familiar with-- an uncompromising force that somehow leads us all to defeat, a force we create ourselves: inadequacy. Unfortunately, this pit is one that comes with many realizations that lead us into an exponential decay which can’t be remedied with any amount of whatever vice that can only truly serve as a momentary amnesia.

The sky is blue, and so are we. One fact about the world that not everyone really knows about is why the sky is blue (someday we’ll know!). Basically, in the shortest and simplest way possible, the smaller particles in the earth’s atmosphere allow blue light to reflect back and enter into our perceptions.

Much like the vast unknown that is the sky, so do we perceive what is reflected.

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think more about it and it seems most people fear death and by whatever logical reasoning (probably flawed), people who think about death are courageous? If a suicidal person were to die by martyrdom,is he brave or cowardly? I digress.

One thing I learned about experiences is that we need to feel them in their entirety; have the best and worst reactions. Only then--when we’ve exhausted our emotional supply-- can we move forward with no pent up residual emotions. So, by all means, cry it out, shout, and cry more. Then, never again.

S E L F P R E S E R V A T I O N I S N O T S E F L E S N E S S . As a bitter end to this poor guide, another truth that I’ve learned (and probably tell myself to justify whatever I do) is that thinking of yourself is not wrong. I feel like throughout history, we’ve been constantly told that living a life purely for others is the way to go.

Do religion and its teachings play a part in this motto? Or does capitalism with all its advertising and marketing profit from their exposition of goodwill? Whatever it is, I believe survival and self-preservation is the most basic instinct that we have and is the motto we should follow. It may sound a wee bit purist but hear me out. We don’t have any real obligation to make other people feel better. However, if other people’s happiness is directly proportional to your own, well then…. It’s not wrong to think about yourself. It’s not wrong not to worry about what other people think. It is wrong however,when the circumstances you are surrounded with constantly dismantles every fiber of your being. The point? Go and Tr e a t Y o S e l f !

Unquestionably, we seem to be constantly fazed by our own inadequacies. Everyday is a struggle to compete with ourselves, compete with others, compete with reality. In matters of the economy, competition is a driving force for innovation and balance in the market but no matter how closely tied we are to the economy,we are not it.There is only a certain point wherein which competition exists too much that we can no longer innovate ourselves, we lose balance, and at that point we are helpless.

Don’t be helpless. A m e n .

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I find myself often concerned about the dangers of the dreamscapes we build in our own mind. As children we dream fondly of fantastic, innocent wonders-- elations of our young psyches. However, unbeknownst to our maturing thoughts, these dreamscapes which we have grown accustomed to building, which we were never briefed about or transitioned into, suddenly takes an awful turn when we dream of alternate realities instead of elves, and giants and magical emporiums.

Suddenly, we believe in things that will never happen and disregard things that can happen.

When our perceptions are muddled by our own hopeless dreams, we tend to deny the realities which we do not control and then somehow deny ourselves pushing us further into the downward spiral of our inadequacies.

If self-deception were to ever meet its comeuppance, it will be because of the certain truths that we choose to accept. There is a limited amount of things we can learn given our short attention spans but when life hits you with it, it just sticks. Here are some of the truths that I have learned so far in my 20 years of existence (homaygad my pamily).

P E O P L E P R E F E R O T H E R P E O P L E . Of the many faces we meet, we seem to be drawn to the one whose presence unburdens us the most, whose bad habits and idiosyncrasies are categorized under our personal chart of endearing things. Sadly, we all have different charts; preference is one human assumption that might as well be solid fact. When the pang of self-doubt trickles down our being and puts us in a state of stagnan tmediocrity, it is no longer reality that is muddled, it’s that dreamscape we once thought possible and longed for. There is a piece of innocence lost in us with every ounce of harsh realization and whatever innocence lost, maturity replaces.

C A T H E R S E S A R E S I G N A L S O F C H A N G E .

One of the biggest fears we have as logical beings is the emerging of raw, honest, and undiluted thought processes and what conducts even more fear is if it were our own.

With this framework, I wonder about the people who contemplate death when faced with hardship.

The general consensus is that they are cowardly for automatically resorting to an end. Then, I

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T W E E TA B L E T W E E T S compiled by PITA OCHAVE @jandmagpantay: *15 mins after doc injects anesthesia into my head*

@lyonceknowles: OUI NA TAYONG LAHAT NANALO MISS FRANCE

doc: check ko if manhid ka na

@telenobella: prof requires a full body 2x2 photo but ur too tall

me (sabog from anesthesia): omgeee matagal na bessieee

@CARAchuchi: GOT TO TALK TO NEIL PATRICK HARRIS & HIS HUSBAND IN TIMES SQUARE BUT THE ONLY PHOTOS I GOT WERE OF ME RUNNING AFTER THEM & THEIR BACKS

@javiercrombie: Thanks for hanging out with my sister and I today @PiaWurtzbach

@bealejano: Kala ng tita ko nakipagsapakan ako kasi daw sobrang itim na ng eye bags ko punyeta ayoko na

@jemzontan: *playing ILYSB in the car* Dad: Ano yung “SB”? Since Birth?

@kencognito: Hoy pagod nako sa kaka-like ng vday photos niyo ah. pls like me back loljk @TinValeza: *fills out yearbook profile* message to future self: pls tell me u found a sugar daddy @marANNAthaa: sister: “but hes a musician!” me: “tangina doesnt mean hes the one” filed under lessons ive learned charot

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@jermracela: Yung na-punch mo na yung order tapos biglang magpapa-upgrade to pineapple juice

@julliaq_: “Puro conyo at maaarte na raw sa UP eh, hindi na marunong makinig ng OPM” HINDI ‘YAN TRUTOO, BUHAY AQ AT BUHAY ANG OPM!! #KuwentongRoots

@karlakooklano: kuya guy upon me exiting jollibee: thank you po, be happy!

KUYA I TRULY AM bec i’m taking home my one true love

@nikaespiritu: BAMBA??????

Charot ily ecosoc kahit nilamon na ako ng thesis

@chescaalba: kanina ko pa tintry hanapin to sa document na binabasa ko ang bo2 B W I S E T

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@theroyalspice: Guess who won the case competition!!!

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@_davidbass: When you wanna say goodbye to that subject but your prof is like

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@alfonso_roces: HUHU my first jackpot in Timezone

@ivanasnchz: I’m always tired but never of U.......P Economics Society........ @ralph__david: My tikoy brings all the kamag-anak to the yard @juliefrann: Feeling ko may masters degree na ako sa FB DP commenting potangina

@joaquinbumagat_: Mom: “Anak, you remind me of the guy sa Jollibee commercial.

Yung na-friendzone.”

Tnx mom happy Valentine’s to you too

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