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A true Filipino-Christian is Family-Oriented.

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How To Improve Your Study Habits 101

There are actually a lot of things that we can do in order for us to improve our study habits. I made this mind map because I believe the it would help anyone just by reading these tips. It guides you to do what the most important things or the general idea of how each and everyone can improve our study habits. I am sharing this one because I believe that it can also help you to improve your own study habits just by reading them.

Now let me share to you the main branch of my mind map and their sub topics.

Be Responsible

Listen to discussions

Participate during class discussions 

Do your homework

Study ahead of time

Do not procrastinate

Take down notes

discipline yourself

Doing these may actually make you more responsible, make it a daily routine and you’ll eventually get used to it. Doing small things or starting small may actually help you with your study habits because you will no longer have to worry about the next things that you are going to do because you’re sure that you are already done with the things that you have to do, thus lessens the stress that you are feeling or it can actually lessen the burden that you are carrying rather than procrastinating and doing everything in one go.

Be Organized

Have a to-do-list

Plan when you are going to study

Organize the notes that you copied

Ready the things that you need 

manage your time

Organizing your stuffs beforehand helps you to do your work a lot faster, thus giving you more time and space to study. An organized paper works, study table, and things helps you manage your time. Being organized is an essential part of your study habits, if you are having some time organizing your stuffs, then you have to follow these tips because it might help you improve your study habits.

Have a Good Mindset

Never give up

Believe that you’ll eventually reach your goal

Be positive

How you perceive your work may actually change how you study. Staying positive can help you relax your mind and body. If you are able to relax by yourself then you’ll be able to have great momentum when studying. Setting up a mindset that you’ll eventually achieve something helps you avoid too much frustration when you yourself don’t understand what you are studying.

Have some Quality Time

Do what you love - Eat - Play - Cook

Of course having some quality time for yourself helps your mind and body relax, simply doing the things that make you happy every once in a while can improve your mental health and study habits, that’s why it is important to at least insert these things when you are aiming to improve your study habits.

Know the right place to Study

Keep away from distractions - T.V. - Noisy People - Gadgets

Have a study place

Knowing the right place to study is a great way to improve your study habits. Having a place where you can focus only to your session is the best way, but of course you can only achieve it when you recognize the things that distracts you from studying and abstain from using or being close with them when you are into studying.

Set Goals

Make studying a Priority

Aim to do what is important

Follow your schedule

Beat your previous records

Setting your own goal helps you to be guided in order to do stuffs accordingly. Having a goal in mind can actually boost your productivity since you are already aware on what are the things that you should do first. Goal setting helps you to challenge your own limitations.

Study for a Long Period of time

Have some break - Short break - Long break

Studying for a long period of time can actually help you improve your study habits because it makes you used to studying in that way. The only thing with studying for so long is that it can actually strain your back. You need to at least take a break, it doesn’t matter if it’s short or long break, what’s important is the you rest at least.

Find motivation

Your goals

Family

Friends

Your Inspiration 

motivation is always subjective, you have to learn appreciate even the smallest details. Because if you have high standards you tend to overlook the essentials. Having your concrete motivations in front of you actually helps you to study responsibly because you will find the motivation to do good with your study because that this is the only thing that you can do in order to repay to them.

Health is Wealth

Sleep at least 8 hrs a days

Drink enough water

Eat what is right

Doing the stuffs above can help you to improve your study habit, but most importantly you must consider that your wellness is important and you must not take it for granted

That’s all for this post! See yaaaaa~

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LEAD AND FOLLOW

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

A leader can be defined in many ways, yet true leadership is beyond mere definition. A leader for me is someone who is the foundation of your team, the one who motivates you to do your job well. A considerate person who understands the lapses but points it out in order for you to know where you overlooked something. Great leader creates more leaders, not followers. If you don’t have that many followers because you are not that popular, it’s okay. Leadership is not defined by how many followers you have, because I know that deep in my heart that quality is greater than quantity. You don’t have to find that many followers, you just need a few right ones who will be there for you.

What Makes a Good Leader

1. Takes responsibility.      - A good is someone who is not afraid to take responsibility. 

2. Serves wholeheartedly      - A good leader works genuinely and not just for show. You prioritize your follower’s welfare more than what makes you happy

3. Open to suggestions      - Sometimes you are followed because they admire your ideas, but it doesn’t mean that you will neglect their ideas, tell them that you are open to suggestions because their suggestions may give you more idea and can change the current situation.

4. Creates more leaders      - A good leader is someone who inspires and motivates other to become a leader themselves. They are willing to share their best advice on how to be a great leader through their actions, and ideas.

A follower is someone who follows the person they admire, the one who changed their lives due to their ideas and shine can. A follower even apply it for themselves in order to lead others, and that’s the purpose of our leaders to create more leaders by inspiring followers to become leaders themselves because I believe that each and everyone of us are natural leaders though we still have to go through the process of being a clueless follower that is then molded by other people whom we followed. 

What makes a Good Follower

1. Suggests Ideas       - A good follower is willing to give ideas in order to help the team, because giving ideas is very important in order for the group to know your opinions that can be later used for your works.

2. Willing to work with the team       - A good follower collaborate with the team, doing what should be done and offer help to those who are in need.

3. Aware        - A good follower should be aware of their surrounding. Being observant is a very important aspect in our daily routine.

Being a leader and follower can go both ways, because nothing is permanent and everything will change. You just have to accept the fact about the changes in you lives but you have to be okay with it. To conclude, a leader should also be a follower at some point and a follower should take up the responsibility in order to become a leader, because for a follower, that’s just the first step in becoming the a great leader in the future and as a leader, you have to follow because this will be your eye opener in order for you to see what you overlooked before. Following others at some point will help you to connect with other people, thus refining your being leader because you are showered by ideas that are useful in our day to day life. If there’s some whom I truly admired, it would be Jesus, because He is a servant-leader who is true to His duty and responsibility.

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Emotional Management

               There are a lot of ways to handle one’s emotions, however not all of these ways are effective to all (or everyone) of us. Because each of these techniques’ effectiveness may vary on the given situation and how a certain person perceives each way. For me, these are the ways which are effective when I am handling with my own emotions.

1.       Try understanding yourself.

-          Because who else will, right? Firstly if you don’t recognize what you’re feeling then you will not be able to share it with other people who may understand you and can possibly help you. It is a great way in order for us to release the burden in our chest. It is also a great way to connect with other people who understand.

2.       Keep your cool

-          It is the best way in dealing with your emotion because how on earth are you going to solve what you are feeling if you don’t know how to calm yourself down. Instead of solving it, it may worsen the current situation since you are not able to completely control yourself. There are also tendencies that you make foolish decisions because you are swallowed by your own emotion. There’s also a saying that “don’t make any decision when you are angry or too happy because you’ll eventually regret it after” because I believe that when you are on top of your emotion, you don’t thoroughly think about your decisions anymore, you only tend to utter the words without proper comprehension. Whoa

3.       Talk to someone.

-          This way can be extremely difficult to do because you are not sure if you are to be judged by the person you are opening up. You really have to talk to the right person or else you will feel worse than before, because sometimes they can utter words that are extremely insensitive at some point. If you are able to find that one person, treasure them and never take them for granted.

photo source(s):  Google Images

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MMK

Dear Kuya Jaja,                

               I honestly don’t know what I am going to do with myself. I was once a hyper and motivated kid, I procrastinate less and every work that I do feels like I am not working, because I am enjoying it. Today, it seems like I am not interested in doing serious works anymore, I procrastinate a lot and it is seriously affecting me, it stresses me out. Yes, I sometimes say that “I work best under pressure” but I know that I can’t do it again and again forever, I need to be responsible, but my motivation is not that high that gives me boost of energy that will help me do my work and be able to cope up with this sad reality. There are also nights that I question myself, “am I really enough?” because it feels like everything that I do is not enough and it needs improvement, I will never be as confident as I am before. I also feel like that everything that I do has no value and is not that important. I really don’t know what to do and how on earth am I going to get through this when I can’t control my mind from thinking this kind of stuff? How am I going to do this when the people around me is also a part(or an influence) of why I am like this right now. But I guess it’s just normal “not to be sad” in this adolescent, right? Because that’s how everybody thinks nowadays. If there’s anything that I can do to solve this torture, please tell me how. Thank you, Kuya jaja.

Sincerely, SJ

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Dearest SJ, 

                People tell you not to be sad because there are also other people who are suffering worse than you and they are not even sad right? That’s foolishness my dear! Because that’s the most inconsiderate thing that I have ever heard. Telling people not to be sad because that’s normal and everybody else has deeper problem than you have. It’s like you are so insensitive to how that person feels, honestly when you tell that to a certain person, you are lowering their self esteem. 

You need to be re-focus your priorities since procrastination and losing your motivation is when you get your priorities mixed up. Perhaps, maybe you always had your motivation, but you haven't payed attention to it that much that causes you to think that way. I'm not blaming you nor pin the blame on you, you just have to go back to square one, and re-asses and evaluate yourself again, ask these questions: "when did it start?" It's not too late to change the ways that you have right now, instead this is the turning point. Never lose hope SJ, remember it's a long road ahead, but it's better when you're together with people that motivates you, there maybe people who keeps on bringing you down but don't mind them. Instead, prove it to the people that have trusted you  since day 1, instead of those people who haven't. Don't be too hard on yourself, do it step by step, dear. Most people have failed on an epic scale, but they reached a goal that they have least expected. These are the people who wanted to reach out their message, that the pain and suffering that you are experiencing right now is nothing compared to the success that you'll have if you just learn to accept your vulnerabilities rather than ignoring it. Accept it, and you may be able to know yourself more and deal with it more accordingly.

Love, Kuya Jaja

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BALANAY - OLIVEROS

Genogram -  A genogram is a family diagram, which can be thought of as an elaboration of the family tree.

This is the genogram of my family. One big happy family right? Well, they the people who completes my life and my being Sergs Justine. They are the family whom I consider that I can not live without. My cousins also played and important role in my life, they are the one who taught me how to enjoy my life as a kid, I’m glad I was in a generation where playing outdoor games is prevalent, rather than today’s generation where children are most likely to be just staying in their homes playing with their gadgets.

Now let me tell you about main family, not the extended one. Our family is only composed of 4 people as you can see in my genogram. My mother, father and brother. 

though I can say that my life is not that perfect, at least there are things that I am lucky to have. I love my house, my family and most importantly, my family loves me

That’s all folks!! Dewa mata suguni ne

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How Do We Love

Are we going to find it in a shore? Well, no one is sure. We see that some people are blessed, with a love that we’re obsessed. While others are busy building a dam, In order to stop the river that is approaching its conclusion, the flow they  want to hinder

Some love to seek pleasure, but with great measure. We love for envy, some for money For me love is everything it inspires us to do something but it must not be fake because our lives are at stake But love, will you stay? After all those countless skirmishes would you not leave me astray and burn everything into ashes?

Well, suppose those are the things that we see in other people that we fail to realize. We appreciate people who have better love stories than us, especially those relationships that only happen in our dreams. While others are successful with their love, there are also people who are trying their best in order for their love to never reach its conclusion. There are also insensitive people who only value their own pleasure. I hope that all people will come to realize that we shouldn’t take the person who value us more than anything else for granted. Let’s start appreciating the people who are always there for us; The person who are ready to give you their genuine love.

LOVE. The only thing that I want is that it should be honest and forgiving, where you can love without the fear of losing. We are doomed to make mistakes, arguments will never cease but I know deep in our hearts, we love that person and we’ll never leave them no matter what because I believe that’s how it should be. In short, the kind of love that I seek is something that will never end, though simple as long as it is straightforward and true. Love that waits; love that’s sincere; love that ensures you that you are not alone. I can go on but I choose to share only these words that I want to see in the kind of love that I seek.

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TECHNIQUES ON HOW TO DEAL WITH STRESS

GET ENOUGH SLEEP - When you don’t know what to do, try sleeping. It relaxes your mind and body! It gives you time to recover from all the stressful things that happened. THINK POSITIVE - Be optimistic! Being positive towards your day gives you extra boost of energy, and yep! I do that most of the time, it’s like it magically lets you forget what your problem is. TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS/FAMILY - Travelling can be a stress reliever, especially to places where you’ve never been before. A new environment gives you time to appreciate the wonders of our world.

EAT - Of course! Tell me who’s not into eating? Everybody loves food right? But be careful! eating too much is not also good for your health. Be selective with your food that you are to munch before you feed that MUNCHster inside your stomach! 

BE WITH GREAT COMPANY - Being around with positive people is something that we should do often. A positive environment helps you forget what you’re stressed about. Treasure the people around you who understands you completely.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE - Being able to do what you love completes your day and keeps your stresses away Yep, in my case, cooking, eating, playing outdoor games, and computer games is what makes me happy.  Well, we all have our own ways on dealing with stress, but we must keep in mind that we must move forward no matter what the situation is. 

That’s all folks! See yaaaa~

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Responsibility, Goal and Achievements

“Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.” -Thomas A. Edison

What I am aiming for now is to pass all the subjects and solve the problems in front of me, well on the long run, what I really wanted is to become an engineer and to have a stable job that can sustain me and my future family(?). In order to reach success you need to face variety of failures, you need to experience every pain and suffering for you to be ready to go out and face the harsh reality of our world. 

“With great power comes great responsibility” - Spider-Man. I believe that each and everyone of us has the power to change our world, we have the power to decide for ourselves, we all have the power, but with that power, we are responsible for our actions and the consequences of it if we use our power inappropriately. As a student, I am obliged to study well, pass different requirements, do good in school and most importantly, to respect my teachers and fellow peers. As a son, I must obey my parents all the time. Doing household chores is a must and it is also my responsibility to avoid doing things that can ruin my relationship with them. As a friend, it’s my responsibility to be true to them all the time and to be someone who is always there when they need me the most. Lastly, as a teen, I must consider myself to follow all the rules and regulations and start doing things that will benefit my community, because as a teen, not only me but each and everyone of us are obliged to make a better place for ourselves and for the future generations.

Achievement - a thing done successfully, typically by effort, courage, or skill.

My achievements gave me confidence and I guess it is one of the many factor that motivated me to do good and to achieve more than what I have now. My achievement so far is that I’m listed as an honor student. I have number of friends whom I consider unique in their own way. When I was in 7th grade I was able to compete with other grade levels during the held “whiz challenge championship” considering that I am still on my 7th grade in La Salle, I know nothing or lack the knowledge to compete with them, but luckily finished 4th runner-up. I was an SC officer during my 9th grade, a sports moderator to be exact, and I believe that it is an achievement because I was given the chance to lead the High School department. During my 10th grade, I joined football and luckily got accepted to be one of the varsity member, I was given the chance to compete with my team twice. We received 3rd runner-up and 2nd runner-up, respectively and it was a great experience. I was also given the chance to be teacher during our SBMA sessions lead by Br. Dan Sanding, FSC. During our career month last yr, I applied and was accepted to become the brother president for one day, it was a nice feeling and I was able to understand why our school do this and that during the said meeting.

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Dear Sergs

"You are dying. Don’t panic. In this, we are equal. Regardless of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, political linen, preference of music, or favorite shape of animal cracker. We are dying. Don't panic, there is still time. You are only dying. You are not dead."

keep looking forward

life can be a mess

but you can still achieve success

wait and you’ll eventually receive your reward

-Le me-

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Hi Jajaa! You are very afraid of failing other people's expectations but your life shouldn't be revolved by that. You are so smart, friendly and helpful, continue to help others when they are in need & thank you for being one of that few people that encouraged me to keep on doing the things I love the most.

 Your pal,  Aa 

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Jaja! Kol. Hehe stay positive and hardworking! You are a nice friend.. Keep facing life with a smile! Wish you all the best mah nigga 

-paopao

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Sergs, thank you for everything from grade 7 until now! Stay the same!

-Rhandy

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Be proton and enjoy life to the fullest! Take care and God bless

-B

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Sergs!!!! Hello you clingy potato!!! Thanks for always being there whenever i have rants and all hahaha! Remember that I am game to listen to your "realizations", no matter how sentimental they may be. Stay madasigon and be positive sergs! Godbless

-Iska

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Hi sergs! Always be helpful to others and be a good guy. Use your talents well and aim high.

-Nikki

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EXPECTATIONS OF ME

 Once I was 7 yrs old and was already aware of my surroundings and expectations of me were already crystal clear. I, as stupid as I am, tried best and their expectations went higher. High marks were very important to me, even 1 mistake in tests and exams made me cringe and blamed myself, I reacted that way because every time I have at least one mistake on my papers they will always ask why I made such mistake because it’s very simple, I perceive it as something that made them disappointed. Since then, every time I make mistakes on my paper, even if it's just one mistake, I will be sad and even cry about it and then proceed to hide the paper or any action that will help me to hide my paper be it by burning it or by throwing it away.

Now, mistakes still makes me sad but it is not something that will discourage me to do good, though it is still cringe-worthy to have low marks. On the course of my ongoing life, I realized that though we are measured by our grades, it will never define who we are and what we can possibly do.  In connection to the song “7 yrs”, since the beginning of time, we are already expected to do something and expectations of us will continue and it will be our decision to either be defined by it or not. We’ll also have our own expectations and what we want to happen in the future. Of course we want to be the happiest man/woman and that is by following what we love to do and to be with the person who will complete your life, the person who will accept you no matter what, the person whom you truly love. Some people also choose different paths like becoming priests/brothers/sisters/nuns because they see that person in God. 

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My Personal Mandala

“There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.”  (Jackie French Koller, 1948)

Sometimes you have to minimize what you have and what you desire in order to see what is essential in our lives. Having all things does not necessarily equate to happiness, sometimes you have to be minimal and that is the reason why I made this mandala. For me it is something that is unique and minimal, just like me. Actually each and everyone of us has their own uniqueness but shown at a different manner.  circle - because our lives will continue to roll no matter how easy or hard our life will become Blades outside - to symbolizes that as we roll we will be clearing out path for us us to open new opportunities

Unorganized Tiny Dots - symbolizes that our lives can be messy at times, but it is still a part of our existence which is essential for us to develop in the near future

Organized Dot with Interconnected Lines - symbolizes that we are can be someone who can be organized with the help of our connection with other people and our own.

Large Circle - symbolizes the things that we keep for ourselves, the burdens, the pain, the suffering, the things that defines us, in short the overview of our life. It also means that I am molded by my own story and it is the core of my very own existence. Black Ring - symbolizes the the different layers of our lives and how we are perceived by others

I intentionally made it minimal and simple because I believe that simplicity is beauty. 

That’s all for this post. See on the next one! 

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A Glimpse of Who I Am

a silly potato

Let me formally introduce myself, I am Sergs Justine O. Balanay and my potato people calls me “Sergs” while my family usually calls me “Justine” or “Jaja” and only a few that who actually calls me by my nickname. I was born on December 15, 1999. I am currently residing at Maria Cristina, Iligan City and studying at La Salle Academy as a Grade 11 student.   I love playing different sports, playing video games, cooking, talking with friends, and especially eating! Because food is life! Right? I am also someone who is easy to please as long as you’re funny and not annoying. Doing things that I hate is probably the worst, because not only I don’t know how to react, but when it gets on my nerves it can completely change my mood and how I see you as a person. I am someone who is more productive when pressured but at the same time easily gets irritated when things are not going on how I planned it to be. My description might not be that flashy, but I can say that I am already satisfied on what I am and I know what I really like and I think it is a good thing and that’s why I am happy and contented. That’s all for now folks and see you on the my next posts.  Sayoonara.