Yllana Marie Aduana Is Miss Earth Air 2023

Congratulations Yllana Marie Aduana for winning Miss Earth Air 2023 in Vietnam.

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If a picture paints a thousand words ... the reflection in the mirror paints only the TRUTH. 

Careful lady ... driving a bike and responding to a call is like oil and water. They should not mix.

Questions That Have Answers

 

Two baffling questions:

1. Why do people feign poverty ... or pretend they are poor even though they are self-sufficient?

2. And why do poor people pretend to be rich? What are their motivations?

It is not uncommon to feel envious of other people's wealth and money. It is the lowest of all feelings as jealousy eats you alive and how you resent your neighbor even a family member who was quite successful in their work.

In a materialistic society such as ours, having a lot of moolah is synonymous with high social and economic standing. It has become more like a status symbol. In a commercial society, having money or wealth and things that can be bought by wealth, such as cars, houses, or fine clothing are considered status symbols.

Poor people pretend to be rich ... and by doing so ... he is feeding a rescue mission to his hungry and fast-slipping self-worth.  His fantasies are a self-employed defense mechanism to satisfy his needs and wants ... giving him a place in the world even though it is just temporary.

People pretending to be rich are sometimes called the pseudo-rich ... the faux richer, a social gatecrasher, or worse a social climber.

On the other hand ... at the other end of the spectrum are the mooch - people with money pretending to be poor. The word's original definition, "pretend poverty," might stem from the Middle English word mucchen which means "to be stingy," or literally, "to keep coins in one's nightcap." 

I have a better term for them - FREELOADERS.

A mooch personality and a freeloader exploit the generosity of others. If one cheats his drinking buddies by writing them a check to avoid paying because he doesn't have cash, when one has the habit of getting a lift or hitchhiking his way to work to avoid bus fares, when one borrows cigarettes and asks for food or money in the streets or when one uses some people's cellphones in the name of saving because he doesn't want to buy a load ... or when one frequent his nocturnal visits in your house because he is always welcome to dine in with you -  moochers and a freeloader can push the limits of friendship by making a habit of manipulating others to avoid paying their fair share.

A Nation Of Moochers and Freeloaders?

Are we becoming a nation of moochers and freeloaders?

It seems like we are experiencing a new culture ... I can feel the shift in American or Filipino characters... we are fast becoming a society of freeloaders and moochers. 

I just went out of Walmart and somebody approached me if I had 3 quarters so he could buy a cigarette. The other day in the mall ... another person came and had the gall to ask for money for food. Do we have beggars in America ... I can almost smell the familiar aroma of mendicancy in Quiapo. It is deja vu 2.0 once again,

While driving in the street I saw another man ... sitting on the side of the street with a poster telling the whole wide world he was homeless and needed help. As we passed by the back of K-Mart ... we saw another woman scavenging for anything valuable in trash bins. And when we turn on The TV, news flashes millions of Americans are dependent on government aid and social welfare programs.

Are we as a nation teetering to the dangers of becoming dependent on somebody's generosity? Is the new moocher culture permeated and saturated across lines of class, race, and public sectors?

Not that I am complaining about somebody's goodness of helping somebody in need ... like in times of hurricanes and natural disasters in the Philippines everybody practices the bayanihan spirit to help out and be counted. I am not arguing about somebody's compassion - somebody's empathy to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. We are not here to question somebody's expression of love and solidarity - and his sense of charity.

I am here to argue about the moocher culture ... in which financial independence, personal responsibility, and economic reliance have given way to a mindset where everybody expects the government will be here to help anyway.

But what happens if the help you expect does not come? What happens if the help you need does not materialize? It is such a grim picture ... and this article is a rallying cry for Americans or Filipinos who are content in nurturing a defeatist attitude of "bahala na" ... leaving everything to fate as they say "We will cross the bridge when we get there."

Abraham's One Liner

 

Life Is What You Make It

 

A high school student was asking me in our break time the meaning of "Life is what you make it." It seemed that the subject was being asked of them in their literature class. And he was telling me that the meaning was too vague for him to understand. Or was it profound ... for a high school student to comprehend?

I tell you ... it was never vague nor profound.  All you have to do  ... is to take the literal meaning of the phrase and never consider any poetic mumbo jumbo lurking behind. It is self-explanatory and there is no sinister explanation waiting for the elusive key for it to be unlocked.

Life is uncomplicated ... but success and what happens in your life in the FUTURE are dependent on what you make of your life ... at PRESENT. The concept of life is SIMPLE ...  but the process of what you make of your life is COMPLEX ... had you known the result beforehand ... you should have corrected your choices right from the get-go.

So it is not baffling and it doesn't take rocket science why life for you is hard now. What you SOW ... is what you REAP. Your parents have given you the freedom to choose what you want to be in the future -from choosing a profession ... a lifetime partner ...  or friends to be with.

So hindi nakapagtataka kung bakit hirap ka ngayon - kasi mas nauna mong pinili ang mag-bolakbol o ang bisyo kaysa harapin mo ang pagaaral mo. Yon bang akala mo ay naglalaro ka lang at hindi iniisip na kung gaano kahirap ang buhay kung wala kang natapusan... not to mention ang hirap maghanap ng trabaho ... kung undergrad ka lang.

Maaga kang natuto magbarkada - katunayan niyan mas mahal mo pa ang mga kaibigan mo kaysa pamilya mo. You spent all your waking hours with them ... at umuuwi ka lang kung gutom at matulog ka na. Mas pinapakinggan mo sila ... kaysa makinig ka sa mga pangaral ng mga mas nakakatanda sa iyo. They were part of what you are today.

And most especially maaga kang nag-explore na mga bagay-bagay na hindi dapat pinakialaman ng mga bata. Maaga kang nag-asawa kahit hindi ka totally equipped ng maturity at pagiisip on how to raise a family or how to how to become a responsible mama or papa.

So ang sabi ko dito sa high school student na ito ... kung ano ang buhay mo ngayon ... malaging bahagi ang iyong nakaraan for making the person you are right now. Kung successful ka ... yon ay dahil nagpunyagi ka. Kung naghihirap ka naman ... alam mo na ang kasagutan diyan ... iyon ay dahil wala sa priority mo ang makatapos ... at nagmamadali kang sampolan ang mga bagay na hindi mo dapat pakialaman,

So there ... "Life is what you make it."  You can make it easy on yourself ,,, or you can make it hard. Your call!

To Mess Or Not To Mess

It is a known fact ... that when traveling in this life's journey ... you are going to mess up ... one way or another and that's for sure. The good news is ... you are in the driver's seat ... and you have to decide which part of your life you want to mess up.

You know what is good for you ... and which ones are bad (the ability to know their difference ... that's a gift given to us). When you feel you are into barkadas ... the thrill of being with them excites you more. But when liquor, drugs, women, vices or gambling becomes part and parcel of the shenanigans - you have to option to withdraw or stay away from the group ... if you care about your future and your life.

If you care more about what your barkada will say ... and you are unwilling to let go of your friendship ... then you have the choice to stay and continue what you are doing.

Your life is the result of the choices you make. if you don't like life as you see it right now ... this is a wake-up call for you to make the right choices.

Too bad ... sometimes the realization that you mess up comes only a little too late. The rude awakening of the unpleasant truth only started its toll when you have totally wasted yourself ... and the chance to live a new life zeroes down from nil to none.