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The term 'amalgamation' pertains to a combination of two or more. This is a personal blog which is a combination of musings of my activities, thoughts, inspirations, ideas, and everything that happens around me.
As a personal blog, there are articles written not just for the sole intention of writing but are also directed to share experiences to uplift and inspire the downtrodden.
Life won't have meaning if everyone turns blind and start to see no hope. There is always hope, just waiting to be lit. Read through articles filled with hope.
This is Jonah Mowry. You'd want to know his story.
I was deeply moved by his video. At 14 years old, he showed bravery in sharing his story to the world, recounting how difficult bullying was for him and revealing his struggles with it. I was watching his eyes all throughout the video and saw pain and loneliness.
I did not have to see exactly how he was bullied, what I saw was far worse. I saw how broken he was. No one ever deserves to be treated like that. It's sad. The fact that he couldn't use his voice, and had to come up with flashcards, could the message be any clearer?
I did a little research and was relieved to find out the amount of support Jonah has been getting is overwhelming.
It's a great message of hope for the down-trodden. I can only imagine someone who's going through the same thing he did, taking comfort in the fact that they're not alone. Oppression doesn't have to be an option. One can put his/her voice out there. There's no reason to be alone if only one reaches out, just like Jonah did. Suicide is not the answer.
Jonah is doing very well and is happy.
He's also getting some counseling.
Share Jonah's video with your friends and spread the inspiration.
Life gets better for everyone. You just have to stick to it, and believe.
On a very strong recommendation from a good friend, I was curious to watch this one. This was my first time to watch an Indian film in full length, so I didn't want to have any expectations. But from what I heard, it broke all box-office records in India in its release.
The 3 Idiots is a 2009 Indian comedy film directed by Rajkumar Hirani, with a screenplay by Abhijat Joshi, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It was a loose adaptation of a novel called Five Point Someone, by Chetan Bhagat. 3 Idiots stars Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Omi Vaidya, Parikshit Sahni and Boman Irani.
“School is not pressure cooker.”
Is a quote from Ranchoddas Chanchad, played by Aamir Khan, who enrolled in one of India’s finest engineering college called the Imperial College of Engineering (ICE), and challenged the traditional learning system of the institution.
His direct-to-the-point character pushed off most of his teachers who always saw things in one dimension.
Viru Sahastrabuddhe, played by Boman Irani, runs the school like a factory and treats learning as a competition.
His view was that “Life is a race. If you don’t run fast, you’ll get trampled.” In order not to get trampled on, students need to run fast. Those who cannot endure the pressure, either quit or lose and some even go as far as commit suicide.
Rancho's view and passion for learning made him see things in different perspectives. And since day one, he had become a pain in the ass not only to the director, but his teachers as well who disliked his idealogies that contradicted their traditional ways of teaching.
If Rancho wanted to pass his subject, he must stick to what the books say. These are situations easily observed in learning institutions we also have in the Philippines. This style of teaching will teach the students to “cram blindly” as the character of Ramalingam shows in the movie.
Students memorize the book without understanding what it means for the sake of getting “good grades" which defiles the purpose of learning. You can top your class yet end up unable to apply what you've learned, to the real world.
The movie also showed how the two courses namely, Engineering and Medicine were the only courses considered to be acceptable and that the “other” courses didn't matter if you wanted to be viewed as socially successful.
In the later parts, I thought it was fascinating and interesting how the movie came out emotionally strong to bring out the message that there are other courses out there, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can make one tremendously successful and live a happily fulfilled life.
“Do not chase success, be good in your field and success will chase you.” And the first step to do that I think, is to realize what you are most passionate about. That way you never get pushed into any negative pressure of doing things because you love what you’re doing.
The 3 Idiots is a movie worth watching not just for students, but the parents as well. It provides a perspective that not all professions that are considered “big” are what's going to necessarily give happiness to a person, that it must ultimately be giving in to one's interests and passions that one can live a happily successful and fulfilled life.
Since October 2006, this story came under a variety of titles, including "Going Postal," "Angels at the Post Office," "Angels Turn Up In Unexpected Places," and "This is a US Postal Service Story."
Some of you may know that our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month (8/23). The day after she died, my 4 year-old-daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.
She dictated and I wrote:
Dear God,
Will you please take special care of our dog, Abbey? She died yesterday and is heaven. We miss her very much. We are happy that you let us have her as our dog even though she got sick. I hope that you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and swim before she got sick. I am sending some pictures of her so that when you see her in heaven you will know she is our special dog. But I really do miss her.
Love,
Meredith Claire
P.S.: Mommy wrote the words after Mer told them to her
We put that in an envelope with 2 pictures of Abbey, and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Mer stuck some stamps on the front (because, as she said, it may take lots of stamps to get a letter all the way to heaven) and that afternoon I let her drop it into the letter box at the post office.
For a few days, she would ask if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had. Yesterday, for Labor Day, we took the kids to Austin to a natural history museum. When we got back, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch. Curious, I went to look at it. It had a gold star card on the front and said "To: Mer" in an unfamiliar hand.
Meredith took it in and opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers, When a Pet Dies. Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God, in its opened envelope (which was marked 'Return to Sender: Insufficient address'). On the opposite page, one of the pictures of Abbey was taped under the words "For Meredith." We turned to the back cover, and there was the other picture of Abbey, and this handwritten note on pink paper:
Dear Mer,
I know that you will be happy to know that Abbey arrived safely and soundly in Heaven! Having the pictures you sent to me was such a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
You know, Meredith, she isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like she stays in your heart young and running and playing. Abbey loved being your dog, you know. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets! So I can't keep your beautiful letter. I am sending it to you with the pictures so that you will have this book to keep and remember Abbey.
One of my angels is taking care of this for me. I hope the little book helps.
Thank you for the beautiful letter. Thank your mother for sending it. What a wonderful mother you have! I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I am in heaven and wherever there is love.
Love,
God, and the special angel who wrote this after God told her the words.
According to Cary Clack of the San Antonio Express News, the tale is real. In mid-August 2006, the San Antonio family of Greg and Joy Scrivener and their three children suffered the loss of Abbey, their 14-year-old black and white dog. Driven by concern for their pet's future welfare, 4-year-old Meredith, the Scriveners' middle child, dictated the note quoted above to her mother, then enclosed it and two photos of the family dog in an envelope addressed "To: God in Heaven." This envelope, bearing the family's return address, was dropped into a mailbox at the Brook Hollow post office.
Two weeks later, the Scriveners found on their front porch a package wrapped in gold-colored paper and addressed "To: Mer." In the parcel, along with the letter from "God" quoted above, was a book by Fred Rogers (of TV's Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood fame), When a Pet Dies (a book that "helps children share feelings of the loss of a pet while offering reassurance that grieving is a natural, healing thing to do").
According to her mother, Meredith was comforted by the book and letter and was unastounded that God saw fit to write back. "She wasn't surprised because she had such faith that her letter was going to get to God." (The oldest of the Scrivener children, 6-year-old Andy, was impressed. He "thought it was pretty special his sister got a book from the angel," says his mom.
While Mrs. Scrivener considered asking at the post office about the package, she decided against it. "I kind of like not knowing," she said. "I don't know who took the time to do it, but it was an angel. We all think about doing these things, but no one takes the time to do it."
This one I dedicate to a man who made such a huge difference in our lives.
The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse. In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet. All of which changed how we consume content in the digital age.
"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives," Apple said in a statement. "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."
"Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism," New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. "His intuition has been phenomenal over the years."
Steve left behind his wife of 20 years, Laurene, and four children, including one from a prior relationship.
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he told the Stanford grads in 2005.
"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."
Thank you, Steve for all the great things you created making our lives easier, you truly are an inspiration. Rest in peace.
