“Discovering Myself Through Autobiography”

by: Monna Grace B. Pardico 

My name is Monna Grace B. Pardico. I was raised in a small town at the end of the Province of Aklan where land and sea meet and the breeze is cold, Buruanga. I am the third and the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roelito C. Pardico. Since I am the third and the youngest daughter, I have my manong and my manang. My manong, Arjay, is currently working in a crew ship but now spends his vacation at our hometown. Also, he is the eldest among us three and my manang, Jenifer, is currently working at a hotel at the island of Boracay and every week end, she come home and spends her free time watching movies and K-dramas.

When I was little, I was the one who caught all the tasks that my nanay, nanay Josephine told to my manong and manang because I am the youngest and being the underdog among the three of us, I would finish those tasks as expected from their pretty and obedient bunso. Growing up having that kind of set-up is a very annoying yet a very good experience to cherish. As I aged, I then started elementary at my hometown, not far from our house and there I met new faces and new people with different personalities I didn’t expect that some of those people would become my friends as of now. During my elementary years, I was actively participating in different events at our school, from camping to academic competitions. At a young age, I learned how to be independent and to use my resources to earn extra money to buy things that I wanted. I remember when I tried to sell watery rose apples or in our term “tambis” to my classmates and the profit that I had earned from selling “tambis”, I bought it with unicorn stuff which I loved to play with then when I was a kid. As time passed by, I soon entered high school in our hometown and there I continued my journey and stayed on track to achieve my goals in life. During my junior years, I still had to deal with different people with different personalities but still I had fun and enjoyed my years there. Fast forward to my senior year, it was the first time I was far from my home and my family for the reason that my school is in Kalibo. I felt homesick and pressured because I was the only one who was going to manage myself for the entire school year. At first, it was hard because all of the chores were done by myself. From cooking breakfasts to washing my clothes, it was new to me although I have a little experience doing chores at home still, it is hard because I have no one to help me in case I need a helping hand. There were times that I could not sleep since I was away from my family and also, I was afraid because it was too quiet and there might be ghosts lurking out there. One thing that I was afraid of was frogs. At my former boarding house, there were a lot of frogs there and whenever I went out to the comfort room, there were frogs and I was afraid that they would jump on to me. I also had this experience when we dissected a frog for our final output for our biology subject but luckily it was groupings.

As time passed by, I could manage to do things by myself and I felt like it was one of my biggest achievements aside from commuting from Buruangga to Kalibo. Now, entering my first year in college, a lot of things were normal for me since I was boarding when I was in my senior year. I could manage myself way even better than before my previous experiences. Still, the struggle of being a freshman is a new experience for me and I need to adjust myself to what I used to do. Now, I am still looking forward to the things that my college life would give to me. That’s all for my short life story.

“Surviving my Senior High School journey”

by: Monna Grace B. Pardico

When I was in elementary school, I wished to go to school far from my hometown because I wanted to experience new things. Yet, when the time came for me to leave my hometown and enroll somewhere else, I realized how hard it is to be separated from my family. I had virtual or online lessons in grade 11, which was really difficult because I was continually on my screen, which caused my eyes to hurt all the time, and the internet was quite slow.

Moving forward to my Grade 12 senior high school, we are back to face-to-face classes. I feel like I'm under a lot of pressure at school because we have a lot of homework and four research projects to complete, especially the capstone project in our second semester. We also have a lot of activities, most of which are related to our major subjects, such as general physics, general chemistry, and general biology. After my 7 p.m. class, since our teacher is about to end the class at exactly 6:59 p.m. I ate and went to sleep at my boarding house when I came home. I set an alarm for exactly 10 p.m. to study for my next-day quizzes and to do my pending activities and go back to sleep around 1 a.m.

Because of the relaxed rules at my junior high school, the culture shock I had upon entering my senior high school. My previous school was strict when it came to performance tasks and activities, especially quizzes and exams. Yet, I was also taught how to be independent and very studious there. As per the school's policies and procedures, we are not allowed to move our heads from left to right when getting quizzes or exams. If we do, the teacher will mark it zero. Because of this experience, even if I doubt myself before exams, I'm really proud of myself when I received the test paper and got an excellent score. It has not been easy for me at first but I’m also happy to make new friends, especially when I met my inspiration. 

When I think back on this experience, I've learned a lot that has helped in my own development. It teaches me important things like discipline and responsibility, as well as what is expected in college. I also learned how to manage my time because of the tasks I have to finish by the deadline or before. And I'm happy that my efforts and sacrifices have paid off—because I graduated as an honor student. Now, that I'm already a college student, I can now handle situations and can manage the things or the situations. 

 

Discovering Manila: My Journey Through the Capital of the Philippines by: Monna Grace B. Pardico

Traveling has always been a challenging thing for me, yet I still want to go and explore. I hate traveling, especially early in the morning since I'm feeling sick. My mother always brings me wherever she goes so that I get used to it. I didn't get used to it until I was in my senior year of high school, when I transferred to Garcia College of Technology in Kalibo, Aklan. Because of my busy schedule at school, I had to travel from Buruanga to Kalibo every Sunday and return home on Saturday.

On November 2, 2023, my father's side of the family will gather in Manila for a reunion. I'm still unsure because of my exam schedule, which began on November 8, 2023, but my mother informed my sister and me that we would be traveling to Manila. But since I believed it would only last three days, I grabbed the opportunity to spend time with my family.

November 2, 2023: We have an early flight at 5 a.m. and an hour away from Buruanga to Caticlan, so I got up at 2 a.m. in order to prepare our things that are needed. I am excited to travel and see new places, so when we get on the plane to Manila, I am really happy. After arriving in Manila, we headed to my grandmother's house to eat for some typical Filipino food, such as adobo, sinigang, dinuguan, and menudo. After that, we went to Ayala Mall for some window shopping. The mall is so huge that it's easy to get lost, and there are also many people there.

On the next day, we visit the museum and try the arcade. It's a really unforgettable experience because of how amazing and interesting the paintings are. We visit places, such as cafes, MOA (Mall of Asia Arena) and Venice Grand Canal Mckinley Hill in Taguig, walking around and enjoying the sights of the city.

Our third day is spent at our family reunion. I get to see my aunts and uncles, who rarely go to the province. Our family has bonded and is happy together even in a short period of time, and it makes my heart so happy. We will always treasure that day because it was full of relaxation, love, and laughter.

Lastly, on the final day of the trip, we had to return to reality. Due to traffic, we had to get up early as well because our flight was at 2:00 p.m. As our time in Manila came to an end, we looked back on the memories we had created together. Our family's trip was simply amazing. From visiting beautiful places to eating delicious food, and we left with hearts full of joy and love.

Exploring the Science Quiz Bee by: Monna Grace B. Pardico

I grew up being very active in our school activities when I was in elementary school. When I was 9 years old, I was chosen to be one of the contestants in the Science Quiz Bee competition in our school. My mother back then always reviewed me, despite her full schedule on duty at the hospital. She always makes sure to make time to teach me and guide me in the topic or terminology that I don’t understand.

By the inter-barangay competition in our school, I’m so very nervous. As I enter the room where we are having a competition, I look around and I can see that I am not the only one who can feel the nervousness. When the competition has not yet started, I summarize my reviewer, and I read and read because I want to achieve the first place, which is the title of champion. When the contest started, I found myself loving the challenge despite the intense competition. Each question pushed me to think critically, and I was amazed by how much I remembered and how fast I could think of the answers.

In the end, I was the winner of the science quiz bee, and I’m also the one who represented our school in the Division of Science Quiz Bee, which was held at Kalibo Pilot Elementary School. More than the award or the recognition, this event gave me an additional boost of confidence in my skills. I learned to rely on my knowledge and abilities and overcome my fear of failure. My participation in the science quiz bee was an unforgettable experience that made me realize the importance of determination, sacrifices, and a love of learning.