In my young adult years, I chanced upon my voice. And from then on, I have been in search of an inspiring mentor. I fortunately met great people along the way and learned much. Many of them inspired me to be the person that I am today.

However, it was only recently that I came to ponder upon pleasant childhood memories when, as a diffident grade three student, I was touched by an English teacher who believed in me and convinced me that my poetry collection was worth sharing. From then on, I have always written in my journal. Her name is Sr. Elizabeth, the Salesian nun who helped me find my voice.

When I first learned to respect my writing, I wrote about my dreams, then about my family, then about society. Overtime, writing about all the externals improved my writing. After my bachelor, masters, and international studies, and more writings about everything around, I went back to talking to myself and ended up writing a book.

Now, on the third chapter of my dissertation in the hope of making it in the 2010 roster of graduates, I once again look inside and try to find the answers. ASI’s Applied Cosmic Anthropology is indeed a blessing. The readings and tasks of this program made me a better artist, even a healer. As a language teacher, I became more creative and empowered. As a human being, I became more of myself. However, one truly amazing eureka moment was a recent conversation with the President, Dr. Mina Ramirez. At that moment of talking about an ideal teaching situation, I remembered Sr. Elizabeth, the mentor I almost forgot. The first teacher who inspired me to love language for the beauty it represents and the difference it can make.

Why Teach Language?

To me teaching language is a vocation that has allowed me to live each day as a moment of thanksgiving and realization. Communication is a powerful way to teach goodness, kindness, the soul’s enrichment. I think teachers of language have the privilege of speaking the truth, uncovering the good, pursuing the right –sometimes, all in the name of good grammar.

Language teaching is a means and an excuse to make a difference. Because of this tool to negotiate meaning as we teach communicative discourse, we have the wonderful opportunity of letting another person find his voice and heal. Language teaching brings about healing transformation. It is a lesson in self-expression, acceptance, mental processing. The tools are language mastery and sensibility.

I will continue to teach language because doing so makes me more committed to becoming a better human being. Every day, I learn to accept, to love, to lead. My exposure to language teaching made me realize that language can definitely be very effective even in the hands of an ill-intentioned individual. This thought makes me more persistent to teach people to write and speak from the kindest core of their being. Evil, like goodness is inherent, but it can also be learned. Being good is a choice one makes. And the choice is made clear when the person hears and reads his own words that can feel the greatness of his humanity.

Sr. Elizabeth, FMA made me join all the Marian contests that required speaking and writing. When in grade 6, she volunteered me to be a lector/commentator because of my “angelic” voice, which to me was simply high-pitched and consistently trembling. I have been serving in Sunday and weekday masses since then.

CREATIVE BREAKTHROUGHS

As a grade school student, I did not think my sentences were good enough. And yet at grade 6, the nuns made me editor-in-chief of the elementary newsletter. Up until recently, I did not think I was a good enough dancer, and yet I have had opportunities to work with a great teacher and stage one-woman dance numbers. I also never knew how to paint, until I came across a seasoned painter who sees life as a never ending rainbow of positivism. And I ended up teaching my students to paint.

Never have I imagined that public speaking was going to be my bread and butter. But more than that, I started teaching professionals even while I was still in college, all because a mentor gave me the task and believed enough that I could do it. The skills that barely manifested became my strengths, because one inspiration served as the Sr. Elizabeth who told me that I can. And that my smallest efforts matter.

And so this is my constant challenge and joy as a language teacher: to bring out the goodness that is already there. To use language as a tool to light up one’s journey as he pursues his calling. My principle is to teach language so that students will find their voice and use words to set the world right.

Creativity is a spiritual endeavour. It is involves and transcends the intellect. And in alignment with all creations, it is meant to be communicated. Language is a way to touch the Divine. And the Divine is creative. It is a daily call to be in alignment with this wonderful facet of being.

In my young adult years, I chanced upon my voice. And from then on, I have been in search of an inspiring mentor. I fortunately met great people along the way and learned much. Many of them inspired me to be the person that I am today.

However, it was only recently that I came to ponder upon pleasant childhood memories when, as a diffident grade three student, I was touched by an English teacher who believed in me and convinced me that my poetry collection was worth sharing. From then on, I have always written in my journal. Her name is Sr. Elizabeth, the Salesian nun who helped me find my voice.

When I first learned to respect my writing, I wrote about my dreams, then about my family, then about society. Overtime, writing about all the externals improved my writing. After my bachelor, masters, and international studies, and more writings about everything around, I went back to talking to myself and ended up writing a book.

Now, on the third chapter of my dissertation in the hope of making it in the 2010 roster of graduates, I once again look inside and try to find the answers. ASI’s Applied Cosmic Anthropology is indeed a blessing. The readings and tasks of this program made me a better artist, even a healer. As a language teacher, I became more creative and empowered. As a human being, I became more of myself. However, one truly amazing eureka moment was a recent conversation with the President, Dr. Mina Ramirez. At that moment of talking about an ideal teaching situation, I remembered Sr. Elizabeth, the mentor I almost forgot. The first teacher who inspired me to love language for the beauty it represents and the difference it can make.

Why Teach Language?

To me teaching language is a vocation that has allowed me to live each day as a moment of thanksgiving and realization. Communication is a powerful way to teach goodness, kindness, the soul’s enrichment. I think teachers of language have the privilege of speaking the truth, uncovering the good, pursuing the right –sometimes, all in the name of good grammar.

Language teaching is a means and an excuse to make a difference. Because of this tool to negotiate meaning as we teach communicative discourse, we have the wonderful opportunity of letting another person find his voice and heal. Language teaching brings about healing transformation. It is a lesson in self-expression, acceptance, mental processing. The tools are language mastery and sensibility.

I will continue to teach language because doing so makes me more committed to becoming a better human being. Every day, I learn to accept, to love, to lead. My exposure to language teaching made me realize that language can definitely be very effective even in the hands of an ill-intentioned individual. This thought makes me more persistent to teach people to write and speak from the kindest core of their being. Evil, like goodness is inherent, but it can also be learned. Being good is a choice one makes. And the choice is made clear when the person hears and reads his own words that can feel the greatness of his humanity.

Sr. Elizabeth, FMA made me join all the Marian contests that required speaking and writing. When in grade 6, she volunteered me to be a lector/commentator because of my “angelic” voice, which to me was simply high-pitched and consistently trembling. I have been serving in Sunday and weekday masses since then.

CREATIVE BREAKTHROUGHS

As a grade school student, I did not think my sentences were good enough. And yet at grade 6, the nuns made me editor-in-chief of the elementary newsletter. Up until recently, I did not think I was a good enough dancer, and yet I have had opportunities to work with a great teacher and stage one-woman dance numbers. I also never knew how to paint, until I came across a seasoned painter who sees life as a never ending rainbow of positivism. And I ended up teaching my students to paint.

Never have I imagined that public speaking was going to be my bread and butter. But more than that, I started teaching professionals even while I was still in college, all because a mentor gave me the task and believed enough that I could do it. The skills that barely manifested became my strengths, because one inspiration served as the Sr. Elizabeth who told me that I can. And that my smallest efforts matter.

And so this is my constant challenge and joy as a language teacher: to bring out the goodness that is already there. To use language as a tool to light up one’s journey as he pursues his calling. My principle is to teach language so that students will find their voice and use words to set the world right.

Creativity is a spiritual endeavour. It is involves and transcends the intellect. And in alignment with all creations, it is meant to be communicated. Language is a way to touch the Divine. And the Divine is creative. It is a daily call to be in alignment with this wonderful facet of being.

You gradually learn that God’s wisdom and creativity is present in many life events. Do not undermine the playfulness and magnanimity of God in seemingly questionable life events. Never take for granted your inherent gift to sense the miracles in all your moments.

You can draw great strength from those parts of your journey that are somehow superfluous. You can still call them trivial for that is how you have branded them through the years. Just always recognize that in trivialities, you discover yourself. Eventually, because of them, you learn to appreciate the more profound points and definitions in life.

Whenever you make the decision to do something, give it your best effort.  It is not necessary to ponder endlessly on the why and why-me questions.

Just accept that you have been blessed enough to be in the middle of relevant experiences that were designed primarily to enrich your psyche and add meaning your existence.

The moment you give yourself enough push to write down what your life has been all about, you will smile more regularly as you ponder on the recurring cliché that everything does happen for a reason.

God works in mysterious ways just so we could learn to laugh at most things we normally take too seriously. Funny how He would let you learn by going on a search for the meaning of a life that you are already living.

These realities are not so clear in the beginning, but once we learn to live with them and accept God’s hand in all situations, we can breeze through life more smoothly. No, this acceptance does not necessarily lead to things getting easier.

The guarantee is that every action that we take becomes an accomplishment. And every accomplishment begins to make sense.

The same reasons that prod some to ponder on jumping off a bridge are the same energy that inspires others to keep going.  No one who achieves anything significant in life gives up at times when he is supposed to stretch.  Claim your birthright to become a better person with every event that comes your way.  In those moments when things seem too complicated to understand, be thankful.

That is God asking for your time and commitment. Be convinced that your mission is worth discovering. Your dreams are worth living. Your talent is worth sharing. Your situations are worth mastering. And most importantly, that you are worth so much more than you could possibly comprehend.  God made sure that every moment of your days brings about mastery of your purpose as you immerse in the craft of living.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to accept your Divine gift to turn your life around and make something of yourself. You are an alchemist whether you like it or not. Having been made in the image and likeness of God, you have the capacity to turn nothing into something. Acknowledge the gift to transform irrelevance to essential learning, trivialities to meaningful inspiration.

This is your daily call.