Boracay: A Paradise in Distress

The immaculate white sands that line the seashores of the island of Boracay are like tiny stars lifted down from the sky and laid down perfectly on where they are right now. It is a true gift of nature that awes if not mystifies its observers. Considered as one of the most stunning beaches in the world, Boracay Island is the Philippines’ number one summer get-away. It not only converge people of all races, it also provides calm to a stressed spirit.

Humble Beginnings

The name ‘Boracay’ has many origins, depending on whom you are to ask. But the most famous among all the legends is that the name ‘Boracay’ came from a local dialect ‘Borac’ which means ‘cotton.’ The name of the island is a fitting description to the beauty of its unrivaled white sands.

Unknown to most people, the blinding whiteness of Boracay Island’s white sand beaches were once home to the “Ati’s” - a tribe native to the Philippines having black skin and curly hair. They are considered as the ancestors of the Filipinos. The color of an “Ati” provides a perfect contrast to the glistening white sands of Boracay.

A Peace Disrupted

The native inhabitants of Boracay Island once lived there in peace and in accordance with nature. The accord was disrupted, however, when an enterprising wealthy couple started acquiring large chunks of the island, turning them into a private property. They cultivated the land lining them with coconuts and other fruit-bearing trees. Other people with the same interests further divided the island into themselves. This event made the natives a stranger to their own land.

Paradise Discovered

A few decades later, in 1970, the island was introduced into the world when it was made into a location of an international film. This caught the attention of backpackers from all over the world. Tourism slowly started to alter the island’s landscape from a tranquil abode into a place teeming with people of different colors. The island became a favorite venue for vacationers and businessmen alike. Its beachfront is not only dotted with trees, but also with prominent structures such as hotels, restaurants, and cottages. Its waters are filled with almost all kinds of water sport facilities providing vacationers the thrill of their lives. The fun never seems to stop in the while-lined island of Boracay.

Paradise Lost?

As time goes by, Boracay Island’s reputation as a world-class tourist destination is cemented anywhere in the world. An endless flood of tourists can be seen enjoying the beauty of Boracay beaches round the clock. As people come to the island to enjoy, however, not all of them seem to care for it. A variety of garbage thrown by whoever is guilty is now slowly ruining the beauty of the once shining shores of the island. The island’s wildlife is also slowly suffering from the disturbance brought about by the inquisitive activities of many tourists.

As quickly as it became famous, it is not far from the truth that the island’s beaches will also quickly become one of the most awful and most polluted beaches in the world in no time. Surely, a time will come for the island to become just part of history. A time when people can only visit the once stunning island in a book, a paradise lost.

The Human Body: A Great Masterpiece

Our human body is still one of the greatest mysteries in this world. Countless number of hours has already been spent in studying it but a lot of our body parts are still a mystery until now. Their mysterious existence still eludes explanation even with the help of the most advanced technology available to humans right now.

From the moment a baby is conceived until its birth, a number of changes are constantly happening inside the womb. And, as the baby develops into a grown up man, still a lot of mysterious events happen inside its body. One of the most obvious is the fusion of a baby’s bone. A baby has more than 300 bones at birth but only 206 of them are left at the time that baby turns into an adult.

The objective of this article is to let you know some interesting and awesome parts of the human body.

The Body’s Window

The human eye is said to be the window of the human body. It enables us to see the beauty of things around us. As simple as it looks, yet our eyes is one of the most unique parts of our body. First, as the rest of our body parts grow either in length, weight, or in width, our eyes are the only parts of our body that don’t change. The size of our eyes will remain unchanged from birth to death. Also, the cornea, a transparent part of the eye covering the pupil and the iris is the only body part that doesn’t have blood circulating in it. Next, the eyes are so amazing that it can see a candle light at a distance of 14 miles. The eye also blinks by its own if it sees something about to hit it. Lastly, our eyes blink at an average of 27,397 times each day. Now beat that!

The Body’s Engine

Our body will die if its ultimate machine – the heart, stops working. To have an idea of how big your heart is, imagine how big your fist was when you were still a child. Your fist during your childhood days is just as big as your heart. But as we grow older, our heart grows to almost the size of our two fists folded together. It may be relatively small compared to our body's size, yet it can do great things. First, our heart beats approximately 100,000 times each day. That is a whooping 35,000,000 heartbeats in one year. In a lifetime, an average person will have 2.5 billion heart beats! What a feat!

A Lot of puzzles

Each and every part of our body is unique. They are placed perfectly on their specific places so that they can do their part. Each one does amazing things we could never have imagined. Although our body is made up of various parts, yet all of them functions as one. From our head to our toe, countless amazing things are taking place in a synchronized manner. In fact, we don't really know that those things are actually happening.

The more we know about our body, the more it becomes mysterious to us. It seems that no genius is capable of solving the greatest puzzle of all time - the human body. Truly, our body is one of the greatest works of art, a  masterpiece.

Filipino Traditions: A Mix of Footprints

The Philippines is one of the many unique countries in the world. Aside from its more or less 3,107 astounding islands, the country is also home to a collection of divergent cultural practices. History tells us that Filipinos were no stranger to foreign influences. They have suffered and endured a myriad of treachery, hardships, and deception during several previous attempts aimed at dislodging their sovereignty. Although several colonizers did not succeed in their campaigns, those who did left indelible footprints for the later generation of Filipinos to follow.

To start with, early Chinese merchants regularly crossed a vast expanse of the sea dividing China and the Philippines at the height of trading between the two countries. Later, this mere trading of goods resulted into an exodus, which brought a considerable number of Chinese settlers to the Philippines. Along with this movement came new cultural practices that would later prove significant to the lives of the early Filipinos.

Next, the Philippines had also been under the Spanish rule for more than three centuries, not to mention the short but significant Japanese invasion of the Philippines at the height of World War II. These events, great and small, have somehow helped shape a nation.

A Cultural Imprint

It is undeniable that each time the Philippines is under foreign control, Filipinos were not only forced to follow ‘unfamiliar paths’, but new traditions and cultural practices as well. It is apparent, however, that Filipinos, instead of repelling those paths as anybody would have thought of doing (i.e. Aztecs vs the Spanish colonizers), have indeed embraced a substantial amount of their colonizers' way of life. Many traditions have been deeply assimilated in the Filipino lifestyle as a result.

An Unseen Truth

If there is one thing Filipinos are popular of in other parts of the world, it is their hospitality. It seems that Filipinos are born with it. Contrary to popular beliefs, though, the tradition that the Filipinos are known for is purely not Filipino at all. Hospitality is a thing of the Chinese. Strong family ties are not uncommon to traditional Chinese. As time passes by, this tradition did not go unnoticed by the Filipinos. The practice that bonds family members together was later extended by the Filipinos to the people outside the family as well.

There are still other practices attributed to the Filipinos that are simply not Filipino. The Christmas celebration, debt of gratitude, and the (slowly dying) practice called “bayanihan” are but a few examples. These traditions that have found their way into the heart of the Filipinos were not practiced in the country until somebody brought them in.

The Lingering Shadow of the Past

After a long history of being under the influence of different cultures, the Philippines has become a melting pot of many traditions. These traditions helped shape the country and the Filipino people in general. Some traditions have evolved while some remain unchanged. Nevertheless, majority of the Filipinos have practiced these traditions faithfully that it already became part of their lives. Lastly, these traditions have anchored the Filipinos to the ground they are standing at right now.

Steel-hearted Lady

She’s the one that I can’t be without
I’m shattered, broken, torn and crushed
My life has been so empty since she took my heart away
Buried dreams kept haunting me
“Why?” is the question I can’t flee

Staring at the dead-black night
Searching for some glittering sight
But even if I open my eyes wide, the stars up there seems to hide
Why can’t it be, you and me?
It’s still hard to set you free

On this cold, dark night I’m begging you
Come back to me, my soul to renew
I don’t want to let you go
My heart is longing for you
My love belongs to you

I love you so, that’s all I know
Loneliness hovers wherever I go
My heart was torn in two
And my soul’s gripped by sorrow
Why don’t you come back to me?
My steel-hearted lady


(Natty Dread)

Nocturnal Beauty

In the stillness of the night
Where the moon is the only light
I gazed out my window to change the lonely view
Shades of green and blue
Creates an impression of dark hue
Then something made my heart glow
As I saw a silhouette of you

My mind is so mystified
As I stared at the figure outside
There’s something so unique that captured me so quick
You bring inner sense
Hardly seen in brighter scenes
I’m stricken by your presence
Praying for your immortal existence

Stay with me tonight
No one came to me throughout all those lonely times
I’ll be forever free if you’ll only stay with me
Stay with me all the time

You touched me with your magic hand
I breathed you in and smelled your scent
You took me out of control, followed all of your oracles
I can’t go on without you
Please help me make it through
And I promise I’ll care for you
Until my life is thru


(Natty Dread)