Apple's GenMath Portfolio

Apple's Notebook

I think my strongest point that helped me (barely) get through this quarter, this year even, is not my ability to puyat and cram, surprisingly. It is my mindset. This quarter, being the last of the school year, was bound to be both painfully slow as we waited for summer to come, but also alarmingly fast when it came to playing catch up with deadlines. Each day came and went, and although I know that logically, there are always 24 hours in a day, some days felt longer than most, while others went by too quickly. This quarter, I took things one day at a time, counting down the days til summer would come, but here we are: a few days from summer vacation, and yet I am at a loss as to how I’ve allowed time to pass me by so quickly.

I am a firm believer that mindset is half the battle of anything. When I was younger, my mom made me memorize a poem.

One of its stanzas read: "If you think you are beaten, you are If you think you dare not, you don't, If you like to win, but you think you can't It is almost certain you won’t" To this day, I carry this poem close to my heart.

Along the course of this year, I have learned the hard lesson of consistency. Missing one day of work could cost you your entire ethic; and though I am an advocate for a work-life balance, I feel that it is way too easy to give yourself an excuse not to do something. As a result of this, I’ve learned to be grounded to what my goals are, and to take every day one task at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time, so on and so forth until I am at the point that I only dreamed of being at.

Hypothetically, this could be a strength when dealing with crisis situations at any level because staying grounded really allows you to see what you want to accomplish clearly and thus prioritize what needs most attention in order tackle tasks efficiently.

In my case, I would like to serve at the Department of Interior and Local Governent (DILG) because I believe in the saying that a tree is only as strong as its roots. Regardless of the shiny, applaudable things the government as a whole may have done, if there is corruption or bad governance at a local level, then it is basically moot point. Should I be assigned to the DILG, I would definitely prioritize stricter enforcement of the laws and regulations that minimize these problems.

One quality that I believe I should improve is my patience. I’ve always been the type that jumps to the conclusion that “if you want something done right, do it yourself”. This is exactly why I love choose-your-owngroupmates groups; I get to group myself with people that I know and trust are competent and compatible enough with me that we can give a great output.

Realistically though, I know that the world does not work this way: we usually do not get to pick and choose who we work with, nor do we get a say in how things turn out. The best we can do is to make the most out of what we’re given and work with what we’re handed.

When we were assigned our groupings in the first quarter, I was skeptical. Not really having any friends in the class, I had no measure for who was a good person/groupmate or not. But because of this random grouping, I was able to find people that I now depend on and confide in!

There have been many instances wherein I doubted how well someone would work with me, or even worse: if they would work at all (mygwad andaming pabigat sa world). But for as many times I’ve been paired or grouped with someone I thought incompetent, a good amount of those people have proven me wrong.

This just proves that if given a chance to prove themselves, if shown a bit of patience, people can and will come through.

I remember the victims and honor their sacrifices by continually bringing them up in relevant conversations, especially with the elections fast approaching. They say that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, and I think that this has never been more true. To turn a blind eye to the travesty that was martial law in favor of the minor progress it made is a crime in of itself. I think that in the current time, the best way to pay tribute to those who were victims of martial law in the Philippines is by exercising our right to vote and casting our votes for the right candidates to lead our country. For people like me, who are still ineligible to vote, right we can exercise is the right to freedom of speech- we can use our voices to speak up against the wrongdoings and bad governance we see in our day to day lives and hold the people in charge accountable for their actions. We must demand change.

For me, the most challenging lesson was modules 2 and 3-- rational and exponential functions. I had always disliked graphing and making tables (of signs), even when I was in Kumon, but oh man I really FELT that weakness this quarter. I honestly have no idea how I passed OFQ 1.

I actually didn’t realize exactly how detrimental not understanding the basics of would be until I started studying for the finals.

The days following the mining of slots was just a blur of me trying to cram all the information into my head. You see, I’m the type to learn, take the test on the topic, and immediately discard of the knowledge; so at that point, I had completely forgotten (or chosen to forget, you decide) the first few modules, or what little I knew about it. I stayed up every night and woke up early in the morning to get more time in studying, but I just couldn’t get the first two modules... at least I couldn’t, until I consulted my best friend, the person to whom I attribute about 90 percent of my academic success to: Organic Chemistry Tutor and Khan Academy on Youtube.

I think that something I could do well to remember is that there is self studying, then there is self researching. The information given to us can only get us so far, but it is up to us to really comprehend the topic at hand by doing complementary readings, further research, and the like.

This is something I think is greatly relevant in our lives today, especially given our current political climate. With election season coming up, I believe that one way (and honestly, the only way if you’re using common sense) is to not simply take the information or news given to us at face basis, but also do our own digging and research, fact check and train ourselves to be more literate when it comes to consuming media.

I think that my most significant achievement in math this quarter was our finals. My final score was a 10 out of 12, but regardless of this, it still fills me with pride. We were taking a gamble by volunteering on the first day as opposed to the second which would have given us an extra week to prepare.

None of us felt entirely prepared for the finals, but we pushed through anyways.

However despite our shortcomings, I am proud to say that our group did well. Fun fact, our group chat name on Messenger is “superior math group”. Not because we think we’re the smartest group, we’re well aware there are other, smarter groups. No, it’s because we are comfortable in the fact that had we had another set of group mates, things would have been way harder than it already is.

Taking the finals with my group, as well as the preparation leading up to it was truly a humbling experience. Because we needed to study and prepare for six modules, we needed to accept that we couldn’t master all the lessons and topics in the four days we had to prepare. Thus, as we were practicing, we talked about who was well versed in what topic, and identified which parts each member was struggling with. This quality of ours, our ability to identify and compensate for each other’s shortcomings is important.

I am a strong believer in the idea that one’s weakness is another person’s strength, and we really seem to have found that balance as a group. As an individual, both a student and a member of society, I think that being open to conversation about my strengths and weaknesses as well as others’ is a great quality to have. This allows a vulnerability that in the end, only makes a group (or community) stronger.

As someone who is turning 18 this October, I am well aware that adulthood, and all its responsibilities, await me- one of which is the right to vote. I am not at all worried about whether or not I’ll make the right choice because I know that when the time comes, I will be able to see someone’s strengths and weaknesses as they are, and how this might contribute to and complement the members of society. Furthermore, I know that I will not only be voting with a gut feeling, but that I will be making an educated decision. As of right now though, I will settle for advocating for the BEST possible candidate.

I like to think that getting through life is just a simple math equation because its all about balance. For every stressful event, we need to stop and think rationally about what we are about to do and basically go through the stages of problem solving. How does this problem or issue make us feel? Do we feel equipped to tackle this problem? Why or why not? What can we do about it?

And when the comes, we need to execute our plan and learn from the experience. Simply add a bit of joy to your life to minus the stress.

In the segment below, I analyze BTS' song Zero O'Clock, that tackles the feeling of being burnt out and hopelessness. I have attached the lyrics and Spotify QR to the song and will be analyzing it in the next page. Enjoy!

You know those days sad for no reason Those days where you're body is heavy r you re whe Those days busy and ne else except you is And it looks like everyo rce fie though it seems like I'm My feet won't set off, already too late le world I'm hateful of the who ps click-clacking speed bum Yeah, here and there are my words lessen and ed mpl cru ws gro My heart hard Why the hell? I ran so Oh why to me Come home and lie in bed fault?

Thinking if it was my the clock Dizzy night, looking at ht Soon it will be midnig ent?

Will something be differ like that It won't be something r But this day will be ove hands overlap ond sec and ute min the When ath for a little while The world holds its bre Zero o’clock be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gonna be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gonna t settled down Like that snow that jus first time Let's breathe, like the be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gonna be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gonna Turn this all around , zero o' clock When everything is new tle by little The beat slips away lit y face eas an on put 't can I ar lyrics ili fam g tin get for I keep my way ng goi g hin not s There'

Yes, it's all in the past Even talking to mys elf, it's not easy Is it my fault? Is it my wrong?

Only my echo comes back with no answer Come home and lie in bed Thinking if it was my fault?

Dizzy night, lookin g at the clock Soon it will be mid night Will something be dif ferent?

It won't be something like that But this day will be over When the minute and second hands overla p The world holds its breath for a little while Zero o’clock (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy Like that snow that just settled down Let's breathe, like the first time (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy Turn this all around When everything is new, zero o' clock Put my hands togeth er to pray Hoping that tomorrow I'll laugh more, for me It'll be better, for me When this song ends May a new song begin Hoping that I'll be a little happier, yea h (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy Like that snow that just settled down Let's breathe, like the first time (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy (Ooh-ooh) And you gon na be happy Turn this all around When everything is new, zero o' clock

hashtag felt. the Magis culture in the Ateneo, although mostly encouraging, sometimes reaches the point of toxicity where we work ourselves to the ground

oks like And it lo pt else exce everyone rce y and fie you is bus

Will something be different?

It won't be something like that But this day will be over

commentary on how we like to romanticize our struggles... its not always iced coffee, study dates at a cafe, and organized tables with to-do lists. oftentimes, we pressure ourselves to do more just because we see other people going through tasks with ease, when in fact they are struggling just as much as we are.

we always hope that tomorrow will bring some drastic change that magically changes everything, but life doesn't work that way. this line simply says that no, things probably won't be that different, but it will be a brand new day, and that is reason enough to try again.

be happy u gonna And yo

manifest! this line uses the word "and" as if they are implying that you WILL be happy, and that truly is up to you. it is our choice how we perceive and handle situations, so are gonna be happy, we are gonna be alright, if we just will it into existence.

Is it my fault? Is it my wrong?

Only my echo comes back with no answer

holds its The world while a little r o f h t a e br ock Zero o’cl

Why the hell? I ran so hard

same q tbh The

beat slip s aw I ca ay l n't ittl I ke put e ep f on a orge n ea ttin Ther sy g fa e's mili noth ar ing goin g my

by l ittl e face lyri cs way

its so easy to fall out of habit, which is ironic because it takes so hard to build one. it is always frustrating when you start to struggle with something that used to come with such ease, and to pretend as if nothing is happening.

there is usually no way of knowing whether you were in the wrong or if it was your fault, there is only a downward spiral of blame and self hatred that often ends badly. this line of thinking and questioning is harmful and is a habit that we all need to break out of.

faith is important. regardless of religion Put my hands together to pray or beliefs, it is my opinion that to believe h Hoping that tomorrow I'll laug me for in a better tomorrow and wish for that , more is part of how one can attain it. to have and keep the faith that better days will come, whether that be tomorrow or months in the future; this is what is truly important.

this song is telling us to pause and take a moment to ourselves. who are we to be so harsh on ourselves, constantly berating for a tiny mistake, not allowing ourselves the courtesy nor kindness we show to others, when the world is "stopping" and waiting for us to catch up? and when the world holds its breath, for the 60 seconds that the minute and second hands overlap, we can allow ourselves to sigh and let down the weight we've been carrying around