my doctoral dream

phd in sociology or phd in development studies?

stay here or move abroad?

europe or the united stated states?

institute of social studies in the hague, netherlands or whatever universIty in the US?

university of the philippines or univesity of sto. tomas?

in a few more months i am finally going to complete my master of arts degree in development studies. i spent two years of unforgettable course work, a year doing nothing and a year's research coupled with thesis writing. i will hopefully defend my research work first semester of 2006. that leaves my MBA degree in tow.

so many things run in my mind, i've been asking my closest friends if it's worth finishing my MBA at UP when in fact i am really not very happy about it. pursuing a doctoral degree is not just an achievement, it is a dream. A, one of my closest friends, even asked me why would i even think about getting a phd. i didn't answer him back. he just doesn't know what that would mean to me. at least it's a dream that i know i can fulfill...it will just depend on me and how i will work on it...for it.

calling cards

it's funny how easy we call people names...the easy girl, the go-getter, the slutty, the player, the whine. others have names for either themselves or for others. one of my bestfriends and i call each other rosie dunne and alex stewart. this was inspired by the book rosie dunne. their funny story struck the two of us so much that we sometimes associate some of their dealings, and experiences with that of ours.

this new year brings better and heftier prospects for all of us, and although we may never instantly fathom why people call us names or why we call others certain things, we just have to contend ourselves with the fundamental fact that all of us reserve the right to whatever opinion we may have on others.

we are somehow like calling cards, our names and contact information stamped on a piece of paper. the details, concise and basic, best help us be discovered. be known. why people call us names is our own doings. we owe to ourselves how people should address us. WE build US ergo WE obliterate US.

people's perspectives on us, no matter how accurate or false, are clear manifestations of how we demonstrate ourselves to others. it is us who have established the notions that we get from others.

though we cannot alter the information printed in our callnig cards, we can always go and make a brand new set that reads the information that we want people to see. the truth is, in life we can afford to commit mistakes and rectify it. WE can change US. and it is YOU who can change YOU.