Undergraduate / My spiritual life strengthened because of this significant experience [4]

Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped you to define you as a person?

In our lives we all have something that will change the way on how we see things. Almost all of these that changes how a person sees things happens to be from lessons we learned from experiences.

As I grow up, I have experienced several challenges, trials, hardships, sorrows, and difficulties in life. These molded me to who I am today. Every of it, no matter how humongous or interminable they were, was significant to my life. I would not be the John Lloyd Matias I am today without these.

But what really helped me define myself as a person is this incident. It was dawn at around 2 AM. I was sleeping soundly at that time when suddenly a rumbling noise woke me up; it was my mother who ran across our bed to get her bag and purse. Out of curiosity I asked her why she was on the rush. She then answered hurriedly and told me that my father, who is suffering from mild stroke for more than years, was having a seizure at that very moment. So I got up and hurried downstairs where my father's bedroom is, then I saw his eyes in a state of delirium and his muscle shaking vigorously. I could not bear more to see it so I ran upstairs while having my tears rolled down my face. Then that was the time they sent my father in the hospital. But that was not the only problem, knowing the financial status of our family; I know that we won't be able to pay the would-be hospital bills. That is I was instructed to mail our other relatives abroad through the internet to ask for financial assistance in paying the hospital for our father.

I can't stay calm at that time. I was trembling in fear. Aside from the fact that my father is in the hospital for experiencing such incident, the money that we will use to pay the hospital bills is insufficient. I do not know where to ask for help, where to seek comfort, where to have peace in my mind. Then I remembered their so-called "God". His existence does not matter to me anymore, whether He really existed or not, all I want to happen that time is to let my father return to his consciousness and be alright again. So I thought of praying to Him, even if I am not sure of His existence, nothing will lose from praying anyway. After I prayed I then slept with tears. The next day, my mother informed me that my father is now fine and has to rest only for a few days in the hospital before going back home. In addition to that, I also got a mail from one of our relatives abroad that she sent money to help us pay the hospital bills for my father. Immediately I remembered God who I called upon when I sought comfort. I then got spiritually interested and started to come to Him closer and closer. I tried attending church and fellowships in our school. My spiritual life strengthened because of this incident.

God is real. God really does exist. Sometimes we just have to look for Him with sincerity to feel Him in our lives. I am forever changed with this incident that He gave me. I have become an improved man because of that. If you ask me if I would like to go back and erase what has happened at that moment, I don't. It is not because that I want my father to experience such incident, but because that incident has changed my life forever and has saved me from more possible sufferings in life if I still haven't believe in God. Now, I am a truly defined person in Christ proclaiming His awesome power and mighty deeds.

--------I would love advices and suggestions from you. Pleassseeeee. Thank you guys! :) Have a nice day.

Essays / Shalom fellow Gideonites. I won't be introducing myself like what the others did [4]

I would really appreciate receiving a complete revision of my essay. I need it tomorrow. Thank you very much and have a nice day to all of you. :)

Shalom fellow Gideonites. I won't be introducing myself like what the others did. They said their full names, but I, daring to be unique, will only say my pen name. I am Titanium. Oh, and I have some questions for you. Do you often wake up feeling unfresh due to lack of sleep? Do your yummy bacons, sweet milk, crunchy cereals, or any delicious breakfast have to bid good-bye from your growling stomachs just for you to not be late in your classes? Do you often get marked late because you consume a long time preparing for school? If your answers are yes, well I'll tell you what folks, it is because of the early start of school. Today, I will be trying to persuade you why making schools start later in the day will be beneficial for students.

First, sleep is an essential part of having a good health, and more of it gives better concentration and alertness. However, since school requires students to attend school as early as 7:00 AM, students wake up early and tend to feel under rested, then stressed, then unfresh. This may affect the performance of students in school. If students get more sleep, they have a better chance to go to school wide awake and more focused. After all, parents and teachers expect students to perform better in schools, and for students to do so, adequate sleep for better concentration is necessary.

Secondly, making school start earlier gives students no time to prepare and get ready for school. For instance, students skip breakfast to avoid being late to classes. We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so skipping it will definitely make a huge impact to students. Students will be lacking energy. As a result, concentration and alertness will be greatly affected. And lastly, late marks and haggard looking students will reduce. Students won't have to worry about making it up to school on time, since they know that school starts later already.

On the other hand, many may still not agree with my opinion. Perhaps they will think that it will only encourage students to go to bed later, be lazy, and irresponsible. I know that there are also negative effects to this one, but it would be nothing compared to the positive effects in case it was implemented.

In conclusion, the idea of starting school later in the morning would indeed benefit the students. It would give students enough time to get ready to school. With extra hours in the morning, students won't have to hurry and panic anymore. With extra hours of sleep, students will have better concentration and alertness. What is the use of trying to teach kids that can't learn? Sending students to school before they have had ample time to wake up and prepare will only result in them not learning to their full potential.

Letters / Letter of Appeal - Being a part of the community! [3]

Dear Father,

Last January 11, 2014, I saw the results of the __________ online and ascertained that I was in the waitlisted status. Though I'm downcast upon seeing my status, I am still writing to inform you of my unceasing hopes of being accepted in ______________ as it remains my top choice.

The best thing I can offer to __________, I think, is my competence in my sport, table tennis. I may not be the best, but I assure you that I will be an asset in the ___________ table tennis team.

I know that the number of passers this year increased and you had competitive students to choose from, and that my scores might not have impressed you, or at least pass your criterion. I've done my very best to be a deserving applicant. And, I'd like to think that my grades from my report cards, my performance in class, and my competence in table tennis will offset those who were accepted and persuade you that I, myself, is a deserving to be a part of the ____________ community.

I am hoping for your kind consideration. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Letters / DORMITORY SCHOLARSHIP REQUEST - HOW TO CONVINCE THE DIRECTOR? [2]

ADDRESS

Dear _________,

I am writing this to request for a dormitory scholarship in _SCHOOL_. I would like to urge you to accept my request for a slot in the dormitory of the school.

I am from a middle class family. My father is already bedridden, while my mother is only a housewife. The only source of our family income is my father's pension from Canada, for he worked there before. It goes without saying that we cannot afford to pay for the dormitory fee.

Given that we cannot afford to pay for the dormitory fee, it therefore leaves me no choice but to commute everyday from my house, which is in ____ City, to school. Our schedule for training has been set to 5PM-8PM and may extend until 9PM. And it takes at least an hour and a half for me to reach there. Adding the travelling time going to school and coming back home will sum up to three hours. Needless to say, the three hour-long travel time each day will cut my studying and sleeping time, which can surely affect my academic and athletic performance.

I will fully respect whatever decision you make, but I do hope that you would be able to take me as one of the dormitory scholars as it will be a great help and relief for me.

Sincerely,
_________

Writing Feedback / How is energy wasted in school? [2]

Based on the results of the 2011 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS), the most common source of energy is still electricity. About eighty-seven percent (87%) of twenty-one (21) million households in the Philippines used electricity from March to August 2011. Electricity, indeed, is a necessity and essential to modern life. Without electricity nowadays, it is almost impossible to live a life not being behind socially, or in many other aspects. It is expected to power machines and computers that humans use may it be for a living, easier work, socializing, or merely convenience. But when there is usage, wastage is inevitable. Energy wastage in *school*, an issue that demands proactive addressing as soon as possible, is caused by man-made causes such as inability to turn off appliances after use, unnecessary usage of lights, and increased amount of gadgets needed to be charged inside the campus, resulting to increased electricity bill thus increasing energy fee, but can be lessened by each one's conservation operations, and replacement of old light bulbs to more technological advanced ones.

To further confer about the energy wastage of *name of school*, according to Engr. Ronald V. Navarrete of Facilities Management Office (FMO), the approximate monetary value of energy wasted due to technical losses and excluding the man-made causes, for it is immeasurable, inside the campus monthly/annually amounts to ___________. From the total amount of energy consumption of the campus, fkafafdlkfla percent (XX%) of it, together with the human intervention wastage, is dissipated.

To deal with energy wastage, energy conversation strategies must be taken into action. Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. It may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced consumption of energy services. It drops to two main reasons as to why we need to be energy efficient: to lessen the electricity bill and to lower pressure to the environment by consuming less energy.

But before we proceed on to energy conservation, we must first understand what are the causes and effects of energy wastage in the *school*. It is often associated with man-made causes. Inability of students or teachers to turn off used appliances after classes due to failure of noticing it is the main reason for wastage, as they remain on without there being anyone to make use of them. This is commonly because of personal reasons, may it be to avoid traffic and arrive home early, to avoid students congestion along the hallways, or in rush to go to next class.

Another instance as to how energy is wasted is using of lights to more than what is required to light up the whole room and not taking advantage of the natural light. Upon my observation among classrooms in the campus, many students and teachers who use their respective classrooms tend to open the lights even if there is evidently enough natural light to sustain the whole classroom, enough to see what is written on the blackboard and flashed on visual presentations.

Third instance is excessive usage of gadgets, particularly smartphones and laptops, in campus resulting to more in need of charging their gadgets. We tend to bring our own laptops to either just browse the social networking sites for new updates, or finish requirements and paper works, which could have been done in our respective homes.

To quote from the famous saying: "What goes around comes around," causes of energy wastage have effects as well. The effects of energy wastage are of no choice but to reflect back to what caused it. Apparently, running appliances without anyone using, continuously using of old lights bulbs which consumes a lot more energy than the technologically-advanced ones, and increasing amount of gadgets inside the campus will lead to increase in electricity bill. And as a result of increased electricity bill, there will be also an increase in energy fees that students have to pay semi-annually. Energy wastage mostly caused by students in the *school name* will cause an increase in energy fees; who have caused most of the wastage will, in return, have to pay for all of it.

In order to help lessen the energy wastage in *school* and the further increase in electricity bill and energy fees, students and teachers can contribute by consciously turning off appliances when not in use. To achieve this, as most *students* tend to forget to turn off the appliances after classes for some reasons, putting visual reminders indicating to turn off appliances after use and unplug switches is the solution. While the offices handling energy sustainability can shift to replacing old lighting system to energy efficient lighting and equipment, and establish architectural designs maximizing air and light ventilation. In this manner, not only will the electricity bill and energy fee decrease but also damage to the environment brought by Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from air-conditioners if air ventilation were properly installed. After all, using energy-efficient appliances and reducing energy consumption define what energy conservation is.

The fast growth of civilization may lead to exhaustion of energy due to the increasing rate man is using it. Various conservation methods have been suggested such as power cut periodically, modernization of equipment, and decreased usage of electronics. Moreover, energy on transport and industry can be saved by commuting and using of materials requiring lower energy. In order to have continuous sustenance of energy to our fast growing civilization, despite of increasing demand for energy, actions addressing energy wastage must be done to eliminate or at least alleviate the causes and minimize the effects of the problem. We, *students*, can contribute even in small scales, by starting to deliberately turn off appliances after class use and to avoid bringing of gadgets to school if unnecessary. As the saying goes: "Big things come from small beginnings."

-any revisions please please please thanks