Conozco Pablo

It has been over a year I have focused working in the nursing home. I admit it was not fast-paced as I actually expected it would be. Within the last several months, I have tried to ask myself what really is the essence of nursing to find a deeper meaning of my job. That itself will provide a reason to continue and have the passion to pursue a career out of it. It was difficult to determine the core aspect of nursing homes. I felt that it was unnecessary in a society where everyone makes sure the family takes care of their older and vulnerable members. However, the change in the way families earn a living made it almost impossible to stretch one's time in taking care of family matters. This has resulted the emergence and the need for nursing homes and ever caregivers for elderly and even young children. I would understand that for some individuals with irreversible long-term diseases that creates immense workload, these institutions are necessary. On this category, patients with d...

Excellence is doing one's best beyond what one usually can achieve. This has been a point of interest since I was a child. What matters for me is motivating myself to excel in any endeavour to achieve the dream I desire to have. I could say I gave all my best and relatively got almost everything I wanted in life. From the period when food seems scarce to this particular time in my life is a great achievement, partly because of excellence but not entirely. Why? Excellence is supposed to cause this remarkable feat. This is the focus of this blogpost. This is not to underestimate excellence but it, in reality, does not guarantee success. In fact, not everyone who gave their best made some significant progress in life. This is frustrating for everyone seemed to have learned of doing their best. However, some would argue that at least excellence does something significant to their lives. But I argue what is that something? One must justify its worth versus the effort one exerted. More...

Perhaps there will be a point in one's life that one tries to reflect on his or her life, and attempts to make revisions thereafter to make goals realistic and attainable. At this time, that point is ongoing in my life. I remember at the age of 8, I already had an idea on how I am going to be in the future and what I will do to achieve it. After 20 years, how did I fair and was my previous plan the same still? Tough questions but this blogpost will enumerate my self-assessment, with the intention to inspire others to evaluate their own lives too. 1. Twenty years was not too long ago. In fact, I still have clear memories of my college days, which happened just ten years ago. This gives me the impression that 10 years from now, would I be able to realize most of my dreams at that time? In the Filipino perspective, when one turns 40, everything should be stable enough. This is the time one thinks on how one would retire at 60. I am growing old faster I think with this mindset, and l...

Bullying became a hot topic in Norway today after a young teenager died of emaciation due to eating disorder that was primarily linked to anxiety from bullying at school. This was quite taboo in this Scandinavian country, given the nation is very keen on respecting socio-cultural differences and on protection against any form of discrimination. Discussions have been made on how to handle and prevent bullying and who takes the responsibility in these cases, whether the family, school or the State. Personally, I was not reacting in anyway as my mind says the concept is remote and almost impossible to happen in the Philippines. Perhaps, I was referring it to death, but not to bullying. However, after several days I was quite uneasy on the topic and further asked myself if I was ever bullied before and what it has caused me in the long-term basis. To my surprise, bullying was a crucial point in my childhood. My coping skills allowed me to hide in my consciousness what had happened...

It took me four years before I decided to seek greener pastures outside my home country, the Philippines. I remember I was very hesitant and uncertain of what kind of future I would have, especially in Europe. I wanted to first test the waters and work in the Middle East like most Filipino nurses would do, but destiny has led me to the shores of a continent, where English as a language is not a priority and foreign education is considered less than its local counterparts. It pained and humbled me, because I gradually realized that I was literally nobody outside the Philippines. It is sad, because I sacrificed a lot to reach the status I had in the Philippines. I graduated with the highest possible recognition a student could have in a small town to the point that everyone somehow considers me a person to look for. My carreer soared higher and higher, while responsibilities were becoming more crucial and heavier. This has made me isolated from the rest given that I felt I had no leeway...

Accounting almost one-third of the entire GDP of the Swedish nation, Stockholm has became an important headquarters of major companies in the Scandinavian peninsula. This is the reason why immigrants have streamed in the Swedish metropolis in seek of better opportunities.  Due to this multicultural characteristic, Stockholm is unique in its own from other Nordic countries. This has led me to embark into a visit on the Swedish capital for two days. Click for the first day of the Stockholm visit. 1. Adolf Fredriks Kyrka This church is named after Adolf Frederick, who was controversial for failing to reacquire the Baltic provinces in favor of Sweden. The cemetery surrounding the church is where Rene Descartes, the mathematician who introduced the Cartesian coordinate system was buried. 2. St. Johannes kykogård This church is one of the two experiment parishes of the Swedish diocese of Stockholm. Interestingly, the aim of the church is lessen the number of peopl...

Being the cultural, economic and political center of Sweden, Stockholm has become the most populous metropolis in the Nordic Region. It has been inhabited since the Stone Age, when people lived on the several islands comprising the Stockholm archipelago, situated south of Lake Malaren. Personally, Stockholm has been one of the cities I would like to visit due to its proximity and resemblance with the Norwegian capital Oslo. I was particularly interested in making an indirect comparison on the two cities’ similarities and differences. The only way to do this, I thought was to explore the city by foot. Unfortunately, during my two-day visit, it was too cold at negative 8 degrees Celsius, such that I needed to cut my first day short.  Click here for the second day of the Stockholm visit. 1. Stockholm City Conference Centre Adjacent to the City Centrum, this conference center provides venue for important events.   2. Norra Bantorget This is an area f...