WATCH YOUR WORDS

Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.

Or so they say. But in this age of text messaging and Internet blogging, gossiping that once-harmless pastime enjoyed by miserly spinsters on lazy afternoons over cups of tea has ridden the wave of the future and taken a turn for the worse. Hushed speculations that used to be kept within the confines of sets of friends are now widely publicized fodder for everyone. And in this viral age, you dont have to be a celebrity to be gossiped about on the Internet. It could happen to anyone, as it happened to me.

The worst thing about it is that it is so public. When before, the gossipee could live her whole life not knowing that everyone thought she was a (insert derogatory comment here), now its broadcasted for the whole world, and even the gossipee, to see. That the population thinks youre fat/nerdy/uncool/unpretty could all just be a click of a mouse away. The second worst thing about it is that it is so permanent. At least in the past, gossip, however terrible, was just passed from mouth to ear to mouth to ear. Now, if you're branded on the Internet, you're branded for life. Your only hope would be that the blogger or forum-administrator who comfortably hides under a pseudonym would delete the entry entirely. Then again, if he/she was malicious enough to namecall or start a rumor about you in the first place, it would be foolish to expect any concessions from that person that would reverse the damage done.

And so you try and do what you can but there aren't a lot of options. You can ignore it, with no effect; or you can try and fight back, in vain. The most you can do, really, is blog about the truth yourself but you must understand that the one who draws first blood calls the shots. She has the shock factor on her side while your feeble attempts are easily misconstrued as damage control a way to make the sordid claims a little less embarrassing, a lot more palatable.

-----> by: Frances Nica

You must really watch your words. Many of the people are just simply bidding words. Some people aren’t even thinking if what they are talking about. Some people are already hurting other people. Some of the things that they are talking are no longer true. We call that “gossip”. Gossip can destroy reputation and life. Gossip is bad not just to the 3rd person, but also to the speaker and listener. As they say, “watch your words.” Instead on spreading gossip, why don’t spread the word of God? Sounds corny right? But even though it’s corny, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s not a sin. Actually, it’s a good deed. We are blessed with the ability to say what we want to say(freedom of speech), the gift of hearing, the knowledge about God, and the power to spread it. We are so blessed for having all of these, but there are some who don’t know God yet. Let’s share our gift with them.

Catechism

I can still remember when Ma’am Haidee told me that I’m going to be one of the highschool catechists. When I heard that, the first thing that came to my mind is that this is really what I want. I knew that I’ll be enjoying giving catechism to the children of Dalumpinas Este. To prepare us, we had a camping, the SWAP or Summer With A Purpose. We also had some meetings and briefing for the preparation. My partner catechist is Ate Harlyn. Ate Harlyn is kind and intelligent. When we were about to start the catechism, some questions and uncertainties had risen in my mind. Question like, “who will be the people that I’ll be meeting there?”, “will they like us?”, “will they appreciate us?”, “will they listen to us?”, “am I really ready?”. Then when were already there, I was surprised because there are many kids inside the health center. I’m also thankful because of their very warm welcome to us. Then I was so happy that when were already teaching, all the kids are so active and attentive. But one of the kids terribly surprised me with his lizard, hehehe! After my first experience of teaching those kids, I really felt happy. I’m happy that I somehow touched the lives of those children, happy that I helped those children to be closer to God, happy to know that I brought a big smile on their lips, and lastly, I’m happy because I experienced to be a teacher for a while. Also, I shared the gift that God has given to me.

-----> by: Karen Abbie

“Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”