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Not Yet: A Story About Wings, Roots, and the Space In Between
Dumating ako sa puntong punô ng galit ang aking dibdib sa labis na paghihigpit ng aking mga magulang. Pakiramdam ko noon, ako’y isang ibong ikinulong sa hawla—may pakpak ngunit hindi makalipad, may pangarap ngunit hindi matupad. Sigurado ako sa sarili ko, hindi ako magkakamali, hindi ko sisirain ang aking kinabukasan. Ngunit sa kabila ng lahat,… Read more
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Small Hands, Big Lessons: Why Elementary Teachers Are the Bravest of Us All
“Teacher, natatae po ako…hindi ko po kayang maghugas!” I did it! I washed that child’s bottom. It seems that he ate a lot. I am somehow happy knowing he is feeling well. And in that moment, crouched in a fluorescent-lit comfort room, I understood something fundamental about elementary education: it is not merely a profession.… Read more
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The Empty Seat: The Slice of Mother’s Journey Through Tears and Hope
Tinitigan ko siya nang may luha sa aking mga mata. Siya ang aking anak. Isang marka ang nabuo sa aking kamay—maitim, pangit, at hindi mabubura. Isang sugat ng kawalang-galang. Hanggang ngayon, minsan ko pa rin itong hinahaplos, binabalikan ang sandaling unang itinaas niya ang kanyang kamay laban sa akin. Ang unang pagkakataong ang pagmamahal ay… Read more
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Living With the Unseen Battle: Loving My Son’s Twin Brother
In the movie Venom, Eddie Brock is an ordinary man who one day becomes host to an alien creature called a symbiote. From that moment forward, they share a single body. Eddie is himself most of the time — thinking his own thoughts, making his own choices — but Venom lives inside him. The alien… Read more
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THE THIRD TIME: Reckoning with Rage, Relapse, and the Quiet Weight of Being Loved
This is the third time I have entered the rehabilitation center. I thought I was done. I thought I had finally made it out. After eight long months inside these walls, I walked out those doors — and for two weeks, I breathed free air. Two weeks. That was all I got before everything fell… Read more
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What the Body Has Always Known: A Woman’s Desire, Pleasure, and the Silence We Must Break
Do women ejaculate like men—or is that a truth we were never meant to hear? Opppsss… Consider yourself warned! This is not a comfortable conversation— but comfort has long been the enemy of truth. Read more
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Human Chemistry: Built Into My Biology
What if love isn’t just about butterflies… but actual biochemistry working overtime? This poem turns romance into a full-blown laboratory experiment—where dopamine sparks the kilig, serotonin keeps the peace, oxytocin seals the bond, and endorphins make everything feel magically bearable (even heartbreak… theoretically). Blending science and sentiment, this piece argues that falling in love isn’t… Read more
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A Stranger Wearing My Son’s Face
“May isang tao na nagnanais na makuha ang ulo mo” Sinabi niya ito na nakangisi. Ang uri ng ngising nakikita ko lamang sa mga mukha ng mga mamamatay-tao sa mga anime na minahal niya noon. Labintatlo siya nang mapansin ko ang ngising iyon sa unang pagkakataon. Nang panahon na makilala ko na ang kahulugan nito,… Read more
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What the Empty Gun Taught Me
I remember the day I desperately looked for my father’s gun. I was 16 back then. Read more
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Thou Shalt Not Use AI (Until Day Three)
Whenever I spoke to Victor about AI, he would respond with visible discomfort. His objections were not uninformed. In academic circles, AI had already become synonymous with shortcuts, with intellectual laziness. Students were submitting reports written by machines. Some had grown dependent, surrendering thought for convenience. Victor took pride in declaring that he had never… Read more
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The Lot Lady’s Daughter: How My Mother’s Land Obsession Taught Me About Real Freedom
It’s really fun being a financially independent woman. Not just fun—liberating. It’s waking up and realizing that the choices you make today are truly yours. It’s knowing that the worst-case scenarios that keep other people up at night don’t have the same power over you. Read more
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The Three-Hour Sprint: How a Midnight Deadline Taught me what Success Really Looks Like
Think about it. Why would you keep your CV current? Because there are needs. Because people need your expertise. Because opportunities keep knocking and you want to be ready when they do. You update it for career improvement, for promotions, for that next big leap. These graduates—these head teachers and master teachers—weren’t just successful because… Read more
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Mga Sandaling Dati ay Sa’kin
Pero bakit ngayon… parang wala nang bigat ang boses ko? Bakit parang hangin lang ang mga pakiusap ko? Bakit hindi niya marinig ang iyak ko? Bakit nagbago siya? Read more
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The Quiet Forever
Sometimes I still pause and wonder how something so small —a shared seat,a random conversation,a museum walk —could grow into something this big. This deep. This life-changing. Read more
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Sa Gitna ng mga Maikling Sagot
Bawat sagot niya, umaasa ako— baka sa dulo may “Ikaw, kumusta ka?”baka may “Miss na kita.”baka may “Ingat ka ha.” Isang tanong lang sana. Isang pirasong pag-aalala. Isang patunay na mahalaga ako. Na hinahanap din niya ako. Na ang pananabik ko… may katumbas. Pero wala. Malamig siya. Maikli. Parang pader. Read more
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Unexpected Seatmate, Unexpected Feelings
For a second, I just stared at him. No one had ever offered something so small… and yet so intimate. Not because he had to.Not because I asked.But because he wanted to. Read more
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Sa Museo ng Antropolohiya
Biglang sumagi sa isip ko— “Crush ko ba siya?!” “Hindi!” mariing sigaw ng isip ko. “Palakaibigan lang siya. Magaan lang talaga siyang kasama.” Pero bakit ang bilis ng tibok ng puso ko? Habang nililibot namin ang museo, parang mga batang sabik matuto. Ipinagmalaki niya ang mga artifact mula sa Butuan—may ningning ang mata niya habang… Read more
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Ang Halik (ni Florentino Collantes)
Ang tulang “Ang Halik” ay malamang na naisulat noong unang bahagi ng dekada 1920, sa panahon ng Ginintuang Panahon ng Panitikang Tagalog (mga 1900–1930).Ito ang panahong namamayani ang: Ang estilo at tema ng Ang Halik—malalim na damdamin, simbolismo ng halik bilang pag-ibig o alaala—ay tugmang-tugma sa panahong ito, lalo na sa panahon ng Balagtasan na… Read more
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Beyond the Classroom: Financial Literacy as a Survival Skill for Teachers
Talaga bang ang mga guro ay kulang sa kaalaman sa pananalapi—o kulang lang ang mundong handang umunawa sa kanila? Masaya ako para sa kanya.Nangarap siya, nagsumikap, at sa wakas—naging ganap na guro. Isang tagumpay na tila liwanag matapos ang mahabang gabi ng paghihintay. Para bang lahat ng pagod at sakripisyo ay may katumbas ding gantimpala.… Read more
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Beyond the Medal: Rethinking the Real Value of Academic Honors in Teacher Education
“Dahil sa’yo, hindi na ako magiging Cum Laude!” Alam kong nais niya akong saktan. Bigla. Matalim. Subalit hindi ako natinag. Nakatitig siya sa akin, nanginginig ang boses, puno ng hinanakit ang mga mata. Para bang ako ang sumira sa mga pangarap na matagal niyang binuo. Tinanong niya ako kung saan siya nagkulang.Napatahimik ako. Sa dami… Read more
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The Grace of Unknown Callers: A Reflection on Smartphone Etiquette
This essay confronts the quiet arrogance of ignoring unfamiliar calls and reclaims grace as a powerful virtue in an age ruled by convenience and suspicion. This essay was first published in Sixir (Alpha): A Literary Folio under Pinagpala Publishing Services. Read more
