14TH DAY OF FEBRUARY

        February has been associated with the word "love" because we celebrated Valentine's Day on February 14th. Valentine's Day is an annual celebration of romantic love, friendship, and admiration. On this day, people send messages of love and affection to their partners, family, and friends. Couples honor their love for each other by sending Valentine's Day cards and flowers and spending special time together.

But how did I spend Valentine's Day as a single? Of course, I go to school wearing a white shirt with a flower design, pants, and a pair of shoes, but why did I choose a white shirt over a red shirt? Because In school they give us a color coding about the clothes we'll use and the shirt I choose had code "I can buy myself flowers". As I enter our classroom, I notice that some of my classmates are wearing white shirts, others are wearing other colors, and some are wearing their uniform. During our period in different subjects, we give our teachers simple gifts such as earrings and flower, then we read our messages and sing them a song. After the last period, I went home. And I had assumed that we would not go on a family date, but my father invited us to a dinner outside. I had fun and enjoyed our dinner because I was bored and sad at school that day.

Being single at my age was the best decision I've ever made because it allows me to do whatever I want. Maybe I'm jealous of other people having a romantic and sweet dates that I see in social media or in public places, but I always tell myself, “No boyfriends for now, focus on your study, and focus on your goal," as my lola always told me. At this age, just being with my family and friends is sufficient. My family was my most valuable possession! We may not be perfect, but I love them with all of my heart.

 

Valentine’s Day is not only for lovers, but also for everybody.

KANNAWIDAN FESTIVAL 2023

    Kannawidan is a variant of the Ilocano word "tawid" meaning heritage or inheritance. Kannawidan Festival is a weeklong festival from January 28 - February 14, 2023. This festival designed to highlight the province's rich culture in various fields such as arts, agriculture, dance and music, food and province-based products, also known as OTOP (One Town One Product).

    This event was also held every year to commemorate the Province official separation from other neighboring provinces on February 2, 1818. This year, we celebrated the 205th year anniversary.

    To commemorate the event, a mass was held at the Provincial Farmers Livelihood Center to express gratitude for a fruitful celebration as well as for providing the province with a rich culture and heritage of which its people can be proud and well-known. It is then followed by a procession of all Pateron Saints of the Province's Parishes. The first day of the event concluded with a Dancing Fountain Show and a Fireworks Display.

    This festival will feature traditional games, yearly excellence awards in service and education, various art and food contests, carnivals, pageants, variety shows, an education day celebration, and booths where all of the Province's OTOP will be displayed and sold to visitors and tourists.

    Kannawidan Festival has gone many years, and the Ilocano people are still active in participating in all of its activities. Being a part of this historical festival is already a lot of fun! So, if I were you, I would come and see the beauty that Kannawidan Festival holds.

VIGAN FIESTA 2023

    Vigan City Fiesta is held every 25th of January, dubbed as Vigan Longganisa Festival. It is celebrated during the feast day of the conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle, wherein he is the Patron Saint of the city. Before his conversion, St. Paul was known as Saul from Tarsus, a zealous persecutor of Christians. After he was touched by a personal encounter with Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus, his name was changed to Paul and he endured a lot of hardships and danger to spread the word of God to far places. He is believed to be the most influential among the missionaries of God.

    This year, Vigan City Fiesta is now on full blast after two years lockdown due to COVID 19. There is already a trade fairs and carnival ground. This is a week-long festival from January 18-28, 2023 with a parade, street dancing, cookfest, musical performances, beauty contests, cultural shows and among others. 

    The different activities are crowd-puller especially the street dancing and showdown competition and the main highlight of the event is the Vigan City Fiesta Grand Parade which was participated by different offices and agencies located in the city. There are many spectators trooping the parade route, waiting for the candies and other goodies toss by the parade participants.

2nd Quarter

   

    As the second quarter begin, it is again new to me. New seatmate, and new lessons. When the new lesson begins, if I compare the second and the first quarter, I discover that the second quarter is more difficult than first quarter.

     I believed I learned a lot this quarter. I learned about new lessons that I was previously unaware of. I learned about HTML files in ICT, and I find that this lesson is interesting and enjoyable. We also continue doing our blogs. 

     This quarter is a little difficult for me. It is not because of the new lessons, but because I can't focus during the discussion. I'm always sleepy and bored. I have also struggled in understanding the new lessons in other subjects, resulting stress that has negatively impacted my mental health.

     Moving forward, I'm hoping to figure out how to deal with the problems that have plagued me for the past two quarters. I'm hoping that I won't be bored and sleepy in class during the third quarter. And I'm hoping that I can maintain a positive mental attitude.