A Progression of a New World: The Bright Side of Immigration

For years and years, migration has been a global issue, it is a the movement of people that transfers from one area to another. A lot of people argue that migration should be banned because it provides negative effects on the world but migration, has both positive and negative effects on both the host and the losing country and migrants, just like every other person, also has rights.

There are various of reasons why people move from one place to another. Sometimes it is because they want to and sometimes it is because they have to. 

Around the world, there are an estimated 230 million migrants, making up about 3% of the global population. This share has not changed much in the past 100 years. But as the world’s population has quadrupled, so too has the number of migrants. Immigrants play such a vital role globally. Immigration boosts economic growth, meets skill shortages, and helps create a more dynamic society. The immigrants help assist their country’s businesses, which become more agile, adaptive and profitable in the war for talent. Governments in turn receive more revenue and citizens thrive on the dynamism that highly-skilled migrants bring. Yet it is not only higher-skilled migrants who are vital. In the USA and elsewhere, unskilled immigrants are an essential part of the construction, agriculture and services sector.

In addition, migration also brings cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is important because our country, workplaces, and schools increasingly consist of various cultural, racial and ethnic groups. We can learn from one another, but first we must have a level of understanding about each other in order to facilitate collaboration and cooperation. In the world in which we live in, learning about other cultures helps us to understand different perspectives and helps to dispel negative stereotypes and personal biases about different groups. 

Furthermore, cultural diversity helps us recognize and respect "ways of being" that are not necessarily our own so that we can build bridges to trust, respect and understanding across cultures as we interact with others. In addition, this diversity makes our country a more interesting place to live, because language skills, new ways of thinking, new knowledge and different experiences are contributed by people from diverse cultures.

There has been countless of doubts and questions regarding migration but it is undeniable that in the near future, the numbers will just continue to grow. There are legitimate concerns about large-scale migration. The possibility of social dislocation is real but just like globalization – a strong force for good in the world – the positive aspects are diffuse and often intangible, while the negative aspects bite hard for a small group of people.

Although there are also obstacles that migrants have to overcome, migration has brought millions of people seek a better life. From war zone, poor, and violent countries, people had the opportunity to relocate to a better place with more and better opportunities awaiting for them.

The negative aspects of migration must also be managed but that management must come with the recognition that migration has always been one of the most important drivers of human progress and dynamism. Immigration is good. And in the age of globalization, barriers to migration pose a threat to economic growth and sustainability. 

As John Stuart Mill forcefully argued, we need to ensure that the local and short-term social costs of immigration do not detract from their role “as one of the primary sources of progress”.

Source: 

How immigration has changed the world – for the better  

Link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/how-immigration-has-changed-the-world-for-the-better/

Migration brings cultural diversity, but is it beneficial or detrimental to the host country?

Link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/immigration-beneficial-or-detrimental-to-the-host-country

Discussions surrounding migration deem it everything from a human rights issue to an inaccessible privilege, and is often labelled a 'crisis' and a catalyst for political turmoil. But even as a force that is so hotly debated, few understand its main drivers.

Link: https://www.kylinprime.com/news/107/International-Migration-10-reasons-people-embark-on-a-journey.html

What is Cultural Diversity?

Link: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/social-behavioral-sciences/what-is-cultural-diversity/

PHOTOGRAPHY

 When we hear the word "photography", we all have different meanings or words that popped up in our minds. There are lots of types of photography. Photography is like art. It holds so much value in life. It allows us to share our life in the form of photos or videos. Although it isn't as much, as what the naked eye have seen, but it allows us to record life events, people, places and experience. It is like capturing a piece of your life that you can look back on in the future. 

Landscape

For me, I am not really into pro type photography but I value photos a lot because when I look back on it, it reminds of certain things. This photo was taken by me in our subdivision. It shows the beautiful sunset skies.

Pet

My pet, well technically not anymore. We gave it away because of its attitude but it was with us for 2 months. From the day he was born to when we gave it to his next owner. There were 5 of them but sadly 1 died but out of the 4 puppies, he was my favorite because of his attitude. Strong, really playful and beautiful puppy.

Macro

I grew up loving toys and sports, until now I still kept some of my toys especially legos because I want to make a collection of legos. The name of the vehicle is Ghost. It is from Halo 4 and used by the covenants from the game.

Love Stories in Mythology

 

Love works in mysterious ways. They say if you are meant to be, then you will be, but in my point of view, you can't last long with someone if you don't put out your sacrifices and effort. Two of the most popular love stories in mythology. The story of Cupid & Psyche and Pygmalion & Galatea. Both stories and couples had their own differences. A mortal Psyche loved by a god, Cupid and a statue, Galatea, created by a sculptor, Pygmalion. A love story brought to reality by the Goddess of love from two different mythologies.

Blood and sweat, sacrificed by the other significant person. Love is crazy. Despite their differences and being in two different worlds, they still made it possible to be with one another. One Goddess of love gave life, while the other Goddess of love gave problems. In life, there will always be barriers and sometimes, despite of it being hard and painful, we have to take that little push. A little push that could lead to another stage of life, and that is what they did. Because of the love that they had, Psyche took that little push, Cupid took that little push and Pygmalion took that little push. Psyche took the steps Venus had told her, Cupid made Psyche immortal, Pygmalion sacrificed a bull. The things they did just to be with their significant other. This world is full of surprises and unexpected things but sometimes, we must be a risk taker. 

3 C's

 Choice - Prince Sususco

Siya ang taong gusto kong malapit sa aking buhay dahil sa kanyang ginagawang kabutihan. Siya ang tipong kaibigang kasama mong lumaki. Yung hanggang elementary days until you reach adult life. Yung through thick or thin na kaibigan, yung kahit nag-aaway kayo or marami ang mga pagkakamali na iyong nagawa pero nandiyan parin siya at tumulong upang maitama ang mga mali.

Chance - Johnny Orlando

Kung magkakaroon ako ng pagkakataong maging kaibigan niya, magiging masaya talaga ako dahil alam kong nakatulong siya ng maraming tao kasama ako sa pamamagitan ng kanyang musika. At ako ay tagahanga niya mula pa noon, at siya ay tila isang napakalamig at masayang lalaki na makakasama.

Change - Kristine Angel

Tinulungan niya akong magbago at mapabuti ang aking sarili.Mula sa mga pinakapangit na araw hanggang sa mga araw kung saan ito nagiging mas mahusay. Siya ang taong tumanggap sa iyo sa kabila ng kabiguan ng iyong pagkatao.

POPULAR MUSIC FEATURE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5i-UnuUKUI

Jarad Anthony Higgins known professionally as Juice Wrld, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He was born on  December 2, 1998 and he learned to play instruments at four years old. He released his first track, "Forever' on SoundCloud in 2015 under the name JuicetheKidd. Inspired by his affection for rapper Tupac Shakur, he changed his artist name to Juice Wrld  because it "represents taking over the world".

 

Higgins died on December 8, 2019 at Chicago's Midway International Airport due to drug related seizure. His first posthumous album, Legends Never Die (2020), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. 

"Wishing Well" is one of the emotional songs from his latest album. The song details struggling with mental health and addiction. Juice sums up the issues that he carries in his mind; an anvil on his shoulders and that he is aware that the drugs he consumes to rid him of his pain is actually killing him slowly. The overall tracks on his album displays the issues Juice battled in his life like enemies such as anxiety, depression, stress, and pain.

Thumbnail of his music video from "Righteous"

Since the beginning of his career, he always carried with him the "999", he stated in one of the interviews he had that the number was an inversion of 666, also known as "the mark of the beast", a biblical term indicating Satan. "999 represents taking whatever bad situation or whatever struggle you're going through and turning it into something positive and using it to push yourself forward."

                    First album (2018)                            Latest album (2020)

AFRICAN MUSIC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig91Z0-rBfo

African music is filled with interesting melodies and exciting rhythms and it is very diverse because of how huge its place is. African musicians aim to express life, in all its aspects, through the medium of sound. Each instrument or part may represent a particular aspect of life, or a different character; the through-line of each instrument/part matters more than how the different instruments and parts fit together. Their music is insanely beautiful and even if we may not understand a single word, the vibe, melodies, and beats is an art. They make music wholeheartedly with their soul and it is very soothing and relaxing yet at the same time, also fun. The purpose of African music is to offer something to their gods, to communicate important sentiments and messages, to mark occasions such as birth, marriage, puberty and death, to protest against a rules, a relative or a tax collector, to educate their young, to provide entertainment, to cure the sick, and to lighten the load of hard work. The video's purpose is to provide entertainment, to lighten the load of hard work and to communicate important sentiments and messages. 

Jobarteh, S. & Band. (2016, January 25). Sona Jobarteh & Band - Kora Music from West Africa [Video]. Youtbe.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig91Z0-rBfo

Department of Health response against Covid-19 crisis.

          The Covid-19 pandemic that started in Wuhan, China on December of 2019th spread throughout the world and as of October 2020 there has been 35 million cases.  The deadly virus caused a lot of deaths in the world and  also damaged countries economically. Countries are forced to lock down in order to contain and lessen the spread of the virus. 

          As a third world country, there has been major faults and mistakes made by the country’s leaders. Uncountable mistakes that led to the suffering and disappointments of many. There has also been a dispute within the Government because of senators wanting the great leader of health, Francisco Duque III to resign because of various reasons.

         After the first news of people from Wuhan being here on Philippines, the government still didn't ban the entry of travelers from China because they might "question" why them but also not other countries. They prioritized the interest of Chinese people over the welfare of the Filipinos. The Department of Health lacked transparency in their process in helping people and the frontliners. Ever since the first report of them not banning the travelers, people has been voicing out and bashing them for not prioritizing their own people.

        The lack of leadership from the leaders led to poor planning, delayed response and misguided policies. The country has been on lock down or quarantine for months yet cases still kept going up. Although we can't fully blame them because there are also citizens that has lack of discipline but the country also lacked leaders that are more pro active in defeating the virus with lesser casualties. 

          The government from the start doesn't also seem to be invested or caring in the situation, as, they didn't immediately act on this battle. The biggest problem is the delay of mass testing, the process of contact tracing and the shortage of gear. Everyday the front liners risk their lives just to serve and help the people but somehow the DOH haven't put their minds where it is supposed to be put, because of the lack of nurses or other medical people, they decided to set up a offering of P500.00 daily compensation for volunteer health workers. Imagine how big of an insult is that to the medical community. Risking their lives everyday. Putting their heart out and also risking their family's lives. 

         More than halfway on the year, there still hasn't been a concrete plan of the government on how will they fight this virus through the end. Not to mention, it seems that their focus is on other things like the Terror Bill, Manila Bay "beautification" that spent P389 million when that money could've been donated to the hospitals or people that is in very need of food or resources, and also online classes. Their focus could've been in other things that is much more important but they chose to prioritize the wrong stuffs. 

         People are starving and what they need right now is the basic needs and the support of the government. With lock down, many people lost their jobs that could lead to a family struggling because of hunger and day by day we still read or hear news of the government that still continue to upset and disappoint the people. This battle against the pandemic really showed their inefficiency in performing and being the nation's leaders.

"Ang mabuhay ng moral ay mabuhay ng malaya"

                 Ang kalayaan ay ang pagiging may kakayahang gawin ang mga bagay-bagay ng malaya. Pero tama ba iyon? Ligtas ba ito? Bilang isang tao, isinilang tayo upang maging  malaya at gawin ang mga bagay na gusto natin gawin ngunit ito ay dumating na may isang presyo.

                  Ang kalayaan ay walang anumang  kumokontrol sa atin sa kung ano ang ating mga gagawin pero hindi ibig sabihin na magagawa natin ang mga bagay na makapipinsala sa iba. Kaya napili ko ang sawikaing “Ang mabuhay na moral ay mabuhay ng maging malaya” dahil ang pagiging Malaya ay hindi lang sa mga bagay-bagay kundi ito rin ay tungkol sa sarili. Pagiging malaya at makaramdam sa pagiging malaya mula sa negatibo, kasalanan, at takot. Ang mabuhay ng moral ay namumuhay ng walang paglabag sa anumang batas, pagpapanatili ng katapatan, hindi paghawak ng mga grudges, pagkaroon ng mapagtawad na kalikasan at pagiging mabuhay sa iyong sarili.

                        Lahat ng tao ay malaya pero mayroon tayong mga responsibilidad at mga tungkulin na dapat nating gawin. Lahat ng tao ay responsable at palaging nanagot sa ating mga ikinikilos. Lahat ng buhay ay mayroong iba't ibang sitwasyong  kinakaharap maaring mabuti, masama o halo ng dalawang ito, pero lahat na ating mga gagawin ay ating mga desisyon. Ang kalayaan ay hindi para lamang sa iisang tao kundi para sa kapakanan ng lahat.

EXPRESSIONISM ART

 

                 My art is nowhere near good but for me, what's important is it displayed what I wanted to be displayed. The message can be seen or read through the art that I've drawn/painted. This art takes inspiration from the artistic movement, Expressionism. I expressed my emotions about mental health through art, for me the black eyes of the girl resembled a state of emptiness. 

                   In our world, we seem to take mental health or mental issues as a joke or just a person overreacting because we have never experienced it ourselves. Being depressed, having anxiety, extreme mood swings, self-blame, excessive fears, having troubles of doing the most simple things, low energy and so much more, is a serious matter. The dirty hair of the girl showed that having issues or needing help can impact even the things that we usually do everyday, like combing our hair or having good hygiene. The girl also portrayed hiding her sadness behind a smile and that's what we usually see everyday. Everyday we see people happy or smiling but we don't know what they might be going through. We don't know what's in their heads, the struggle that they are trying to defeat. They are just pretending because they don't want to talk or they have no one to talk to and maybe that's because they also don't trust people or maybe they'll feel like they won't be accepted or no one can understand them. The doubts. Many doubts that they have. All I can say is, be kind. Be kind to everyone. Check on your friends, your family or even the people that is around you or even the happiest people. 

                  Everyone is going through every ups and downs of life and even getting crazy in the head and there is no guarantee that we will understand them but what's important is that they'll know that they are not alone. That you are there, and it's okay to feel that way. It's okay to be sad, or angry, or to have mood swings or to not understand yourself. We just have to take it, step by step, little by little. The pain might not be gone today or tomorrow or even the next month but someday it will. As time passes, we will learn how to value ourselves, our life and deal with stress. One day it will all make sense, and  we will have a perspective and a dream and we will learn to love.

The Little Prince

 

True Spirit of Christmas is Kindness

              Ang Pasko ay pagdiriwang ng kapanganakan ng ating tagapagligtas na si Jesus Christ. Ito ay ipinadiriwang sa ika-25 ng Disyembre taon-taon. Tayong mga Pilipino ay mayroong mga tradisyon kada Pasko, halimbawa ay ang pangangaroling, pagbigay o pagtanggap ng mga regalo at iba pa, pero ang pinakaimportante ay sa itong kaganapan, tayo'y magdiwang ng kagalakan. Kaya noong Disyembre 18, nagbigay kami nang regalo na makatulong sa janitor ng aming paaralan, Asian College of Technology. Ang mga janitor ay isa sa mga tao na nagtatrabaho kahit saan, sila ang dahilan na ang ating lipunan ay malinis at maayos. Katulad sa mga iba pang mga nagtatrabaho, sila rin ay nagsisikap para sa kanilang mga pamilya. Kaya sa aming project sa Araling Panlipunan ay kami'y pinag-ipon ng pera para makabigay ng regalo para sa kanila. Nakaipon kami nang pera galing sa aming mga pang araw-araw na baon. Sa aming grupo ay nakaipon kami nang P466 sa kabuuan. Kami ay itinalaga ni Kuya Carl, isang janitor sa aming paaralan habang ang ibang grupo ay nakatakda sa ibang janitor. Itong gawain ay napakamaganda dahil kada pasko na sanay kami na kami ang bibigyan pero maganda pala ang pakiramdam pag ikaw na ay magbigay at makita mong masaya ang iyong binibigyan.

  

Kami ay nagplano sa kung ano-ano ang aming bilhin gamit sa aming naipon na pera at dahil pumunta kami sa SM Seaside para bumili ng mga regalo para sa aming Christmas Party, doon rin kami bumili ng bigas at packed na spaghetti para pang nochebuena. Sa susunod na araw bago magsimula ang klase ay ibinigay namin ang aming nabili kay Kuya Carl. Hindi man ito malaki pero siya parin ay naging masaya. Sobrang saya niya nung pagkatanggap niya sa aming regalo at nagpasalamat siya, pero hindi naman siya ang dapat magpasalamat dahil pag hindi dahil sa kanya o sa ibang mga worker sa paaralan, hindi maging ganun ka linis o ka maganda ang aming paligid.  

   

Kahit na ang aming ginawa ay maliit lamang, malaki na ito para sa kanila. Hindi mahirap magbigay pag gusto mo talagang magbigay kaya kahit man, maliit o malaki, ang importante ay makatulong. 

"No act of kindness however small is ever wasted"