NAPATINGIN ako sa iyong mga mata

At sa isang iglap, ako ay natulala

Puso ko ay muling tumibok

Ngunit, di kaya ako lamang ay mapusok?

NAGUSTUHAN ko ang iyong mga ngiti

Wala akong pinalalampas na sandali

Nais ko'y araw-araw kang masilayan

Sa bawat sandali, ika'y mahawakan

MINAHAL ko ang lahat sa iyo

Sa buhay kong ito, kuntento na ako

Salamat sa pagdating sa aking buhay

Dahil pinintahan mo ito ng kaygagandang mga kulay

Book review: She said YES: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall

Title: She said YES: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall

Author: Misty Bernall

Page count: 163

Rating: 4.5 stars

Book synopsis:

She Said Yes is a story of growing up in the '90s, of peer pressure, adolescent turmoil, and the tough choices parents make. It is the story of a mother's loss - of dreams and hopes dashed by the cruel reality of death at an early age. But it is also a story of redemption more enduring than the tragedy that cut a young life short.

When 17-year-old Cassie Bernall walked into the library of her suburban high school around 11:00 on the morning of April 20, 1999, she had little more on her mind than her latest assignment for English class: another act of Macbeth. How could she know that by the end of the hour, two classmates would storm the school, guns blazing, and kill as many people as they could, including her? 

As the wounded were carried from the bloody scene, several stories of bravery emerged, but one spread faster and farther than the rest. Confronted by her killers, Cassie was asked, "Do you believe in God?" She answered, "Yes."

Praises for the book:

"One of the most gripping stories to come out of the shooting at Columbine High School" is told in the acclaimed national bestseller that illuminates the most remarkable aspect of 17-year-old Cassie Bernall's tragic death: her life.

"She Said Yes" is an "intense and fascinating memoir" *(Publishers Weekly)* of an ordinary teenager growing up in suburban Colorado, and faced -- as all teenagers are -- with difficult choices and pressures. It is only now, when the world knows Cassie Bernall as one of the Columbine High students killed by two rampaging schoolmates, that the choices she made offer a profound relevance for us all. Once a rage-filled young woman who walked a path similar to that of her killers, Cassie found a way out of her personal snares and, through her faith and a family's love, chose to embrace life with courage and conviction.

Told with unflinching honesty by her mother, Misty Bernall, Cassie's story is "a profoundly human story that should be read by every parent and every teenager" *(New York Post)*.

Book review:

So this is the book that I'm telling you from my recent book review of the book Hey Nostradamus of Douglas Coupland got its inspiration. This story of Cassie is fascinating and it changed my life. I have witnessed teens doing drugs, smoking, drinking, then suddenly change their lives once they came to knew God spiritually. This book tells about the grief of a mother who lost her only daughter and how her family was able to move on. There are pictures of Cassie with her family and friends sited in the book, proving that once, there lived a girl named Cassie and she held onto her faith by saying YES until she died.

Book review: Hey Nostradamus!

Title: Hey Nostradamus

Author: Douglas Coupland

Page count: 244 + 15 (Ideas, interviews, features...)

Rating: 5 stars

Book synopsis:
The novel follows the stories of victims of a fictional school shooting in North Vancouver in 1988. Coupland has expressed his concern that the killers of the Columbine received more focus than the victims; this is his story about the victims of tragedy. The novel is told in four parts, each with a different narrator and focus.

Book review:
The book talks about how the four stories were connected, and Cheryl's doodle on her notes "God is nowhere, God is now here". It talks about love, pain, family, miracles, and God. My favorite story was that of Cheryl's, because I think it has the most interesting parts. She and Jason were secretly married, she's pregnant, and active in her religious group "Youth Alive!". Jason killed one of the killers, trying to save Cheryl but its too late. Then he's accused and found guilty in the incident. Many believed he's a hero, but his father (Reg) didn't so her mother breaks down and angrily attacked Reg. Because of this family issue, he was then introduced to a darker side of the world. He ran away from home. Later on Reg realized his fault and tried wrote letters for Jason to come home to him, and posted them on trees hoping that one day, Jason would be able to read one of them.

I really recommend reading this book, and it is listed in the 101 books you should read before you die. The book is filled with twists and excitements that it kept me up the whole night to finish reading it. It made me feel the events that happened, as well as the trauma felt by the characters because of the high school massacre. At the back pages of the book, there were some facts and interviews about the author and the book as well. I learned that this was inspired by the book  She said YES" which is about Cassie Bernall, written by her own mother Misty Bernall. It is the true story of Cassie, who's one of the victims in the Columbine high school massacre.

I found the book and I'll post a review about it later this month.

Disconnection

There is this feeling that always disconnects us from the things that we want. This feeling is called fear. And this fear somehow holds us back from being strong. This feeling of disconnection because of fear from the things we want or we need makes us sad.

Somehow, we need to fight this feeling. We need to be strong so that no matter what happens, our lives can still go on. We should never allow this fear to stop us from doing the things that we like, from loving someone unconditionally, from reaching our goals, from making wishes come true, and most all, from making our dreams into reality.