Things Statistics Taught Me

Although I am such a loser in Mathematics, I always find it interesting even if many problems seem too difficult for me. In my entire college life, I’ve gone through five Mathematics courses: Math 1 (Fundamentals of Mathematics), Math 11 (College Algebra), Math 14 (Plane Trigonometry) and Math 100 (Introduction to Calculus) and, now, Political Science 199 (Quantitative Research in Political Science). I enjoyed them amid the headache brought about by solving. Except PolSci 199. As a spontaneous individual, subscribing to a stiff, patterned process (like those of Statistics) make me crazy.

I would just like to clear that I didn’t enjoy PolSci 199 only because of the nature of the subject. Other factors do not affect my feeling towards it.

Last Thursday, I retrieved a take home exam in PolSci 199, which I commonly refer to as PolSci Stat. We were asked to draft a research proposal regarding the perception of UP students to the Arroyo administration. Here, we are just required to explain the employment of statistical methods in research, and how do we intend to approach the topic qualitatively. Due to the lack of skill and my subjective feeling towards Statistics, there’s no chance to ace this exam unless I’ll seek help.

That same night, I messaged my girl to help me out. Yes, she’s brilliant in Math. At exactly ten in the evening, we stayed in Coffee Bean. It was a teacher-and-student type of relation, for I look like a student conducting a consulation with my professor. Due to the patience of the “professor”, understanding the concepts was a bit easy for me.

On that very same night, I find myself understanding not only Statistics.

Leap Second

It’s always hard to say goodbye.

On my October 12, 2007 post entitled “Why Goodbye?“, I laid down my thoughts on saying goodbye, and why I regard it as “the hardest, the most painful and the saddest (also according to Celine Dion’s song) word compiled by the lexicographers”. After that post, series of hellos and goodbyes happened up until the last moments of 2008.

New Year’s Eve became a short yet fulfilling period of reflecting for me, amid the relentless banging. Nostalgia sank into me upon reminiscing the events that happened all throughout the year. It then stirred mixed emotions inside, remembering my wide smiles, twinkling eyes, great laughs and most bitter ocean of tears.

What many people don’t know about me is my tendency to become highly sentimental over things, individuals and events I regard of high value. Looking back and realizing what those things did to me on my eighteenth year in this world, 2008 is indeed my most memorable year to date. That night, saying goodbye to my best year yet was a bit hard. I still don’t want to change 8 into 9. AS IF I CAN DO SOMETHING TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE. LOL. Am I just afraid to turn 19, gradually saying goodbye to my teen years? Presumably there’s something more to that.

I’M FRAGILE, maybe because of my youth, and being at legal age does not mean ample maturity and firmness towards things. Still, I can be provoked and be broken into pieces. Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of, after having reconstructed. Like a child starting to learn walking, a wall tested by time and circumstances would be vital to strengthen my knees.

Thanks for the leap second, I had a breather for 2009. Whatever life will bash on to me, it matters. But it won’t crush me anymore, I hope.

Welcome, 2009! Happy New Year!

Doors

Which door: the one already closed or the half-open one?

In this world, it’s always nice to have a home, where one could find his shelter in times of extreme weather conditions and fatigue. Your home will definitely remain as the stronghold of one’s emotions, a place where acceptance is a norm in spite of the innate human trait called imperfection.

What if you have to leave that home because they don’t want you to stay?

Unexpected

Impossible.

Let’s just accept the fact that some things cannot be achieved, even if we did our best. No matter how we try to make things favorable for us, it won’t work. Some things lie beyond our control, for we live in a world far from the ideal state.

I tried my best to get a whopping 1.0 in Math 17. Because I don’t do very well with numbers, I listened to the lectures while taking notes. Moreover, I tried answering the problem sets given by my professor. I even consulted him at some point. But yeah, getting a 1.0 is impossible due to my nature.

When we get something that seems impossible, we answer outright that it’s destined to happen. Filipinos have been believers of destiny. I don’t know, but sometimes this has been a cause of indolence. We expect something from virtually nothing, thus proliferating the Juan Tamad identity labeled to us.

Recently, the concept of destiny has lost its appeal to me. Although I must say that I’ve gotten a lot of lucky shots, those things were insufficient to prove that everything in my life is destined, even the people we meet as we lengthen our stay. We make our own lives. We write our respective stories. Whatever we have at hand now, it’s because of everything we did in the past.

I really don’t know why people keep on believing in destiny. For me, it should not be the practice.

Then something happened, something you never imagined or, at the very least, you imagined but its possibility never crossed your mind.

Resolution 101

SHINNEN OMEDETOU!

Because I couldn’t think of anything to post as of the moment, I decided to click my old blog and see the post that I had last year. Though the post’s concept is quite banal, it has become an inspiration to my post this year.

Now, I’m not going to lay down my resolutions. Instead, I’ll evaluate my last year’s resolutions.

Attending classes regularly. Check! I’ve minimized my absences, especially during the first semester of my sophomore year. I was able to stop my chronic vice of not attending classes if I don’t want to. Finally, the cutting-ero in me is now gone. Haha.

On Punctuality. A big X! Haha. I still come late even if the class starts at 1 P.M.

Loving Math 11. CHECK! I do love Math now! Really! Actually, I have taken more Math units this year, including Math 14 (Plane Trigonometry) and Math 100 (Introduction to Calculus). Fortunately, I didn’t fail these subjects! Hail!

Playing DotA less and saving money. I haven’t played DotA for quite sometime now. However, saving money is still a big problem. Bad money management.

More time for texting, more time for studying and being a Scholar. Only this year that I have realized that these two things [texting and studying] are actually contradictory. Haha. Anyway, it’s fortunate for me to find time for both things, although the effort for the first semester wasn’t enough to become a University Scholar or a College Scholar.

Frequency of making stands on issues and of blogging. This is a big check. Some of my posts tackle issues, specifically political issues, that bug the country. I hope I could continue the practice more often. In the first place, this page won’t be called “The Political Buzzerbeater” if I would remain complacent on things of national importance. Moreover, I’ve been an active blogger this year and it somehow instilled in me a sense of achievement.

I want to thank everyone who have crossed my way, especially those people who didn’t just cross but those who were able to create a quality friendship with me. I’m proud that most of my new confidants were my co-bloggers. I hope to befriend more bloggers.

This year, my resolution is that everyday will become a resolution day. Anyway, who said that resolution-making is only done during New Year?

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It seems that 2008 will be a great year for me.

I was able to complete the Rooster’s Mass. Most of my wishes were made, including the plain white Havaianas. Hehe. Now, I’m even happier that I started this year with a reconciliation to a person who made my 2007 damn unforgettable.

And my another set of wishlist? Hmm. It was a dream come true.