Draft | Blueprint

This is my rough-draft feature submitted to my Editor-in-Chief Rey (well, he deserves to be mentioned in this site since he is and will always be, my personal grammarian). He's the big boss of our School Publication and will definitely self-destruct if he does not hand over the functions to the next batch properly.

And since the incumbent set of Officers have no plans to attend / arrange a Workshop yet, Rey is still the Big Boss (and getting bigger day by day, though I asked him to run whatever he eats, sigh.) 

I have no idea if he had made revisions to this write-up, but still, I am posting to fossilize this. In case my computer crashes, I know where I can pull this kind of composition (thank you, social network sites!)

Good thing that the technology of internet is catching up. We can store anything in the world-wide-web. [Ella, stop. This intro is getting badder and badder.] So there:

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BLUEPRINT

A High School Classmate of mine invited me to conduct a pep-talk to a class full of girls which is her advisory class. She mentioned to do the talk like a Homeroom discussion of an adviser, starting with an activity and ending with a catharsis. Needing an experience to hone my expertise as a Public Speaker, I accepted.

Inexperienced to an audience full of students, having the capacity to pique their thoughts and incept beliefs, I’d have a blessing and a challenge in one. What could be more fun than twist the minds of these young high-school girls, I initially thought. I planned to have a wonderful spiel when I introduced and a fun activity to start the discussion.

Awed as they were when the adviser mentioned having passed the Board Exams and underwent training in London. Excited they were when I started my activity. I told them to put two things in a little piece of paper – [1] what is their favourite superhero and [2] What profession they want in 5-10 years. No more, no less.

What’s fun to see is the sight of the girls thinking more intently on the first item rather than the second one. They even made revisions to the paper, some, throwing the fully-scribbled piece to get another one and re-write those two things.

And when I started to read in front of the class all their writings, some smiled and some laughed. All guffawed when I read a piece aloud, the number one item as Panday, and the number 2 item is to be an Architect.

As to why I conducted the activity – for everyone to have the catharsis later.

Stricken with Architect as the keyword, I shared that my father is no architect; he is rather, an economist worked in the Government. He would always say that every house’s design is unique – from the simplest box-type to a majestic glasshouse. And he would always add that building houses is like accomplishing dreams. Whether your dreams are simple or grand, it depends from your design – based from your blueprint. Let me share his three simple steps that my father developed in realizing the blueprint that you visualize. After all, it is every architect’s dream to see his design come into life.

Step 1: Build a foundation – Your Disposition

This is what you stand as a person. This is your disposition. Remember, every house should have its very good foundation for it not to fall down. “We are just like houses”, my father would always tell me. We need something to believe in and this “something” would define us. This is what makes or breaks you.

Step 2: Install perfect walls, windows, a door and a roof – Your Preparedness

These are what shelter you from bad weather. Whether the weather is better or not, we should be prepared. And yes, “preparedness” is the key here. If you have a bad day, just work out a smile. Expect for the worst, and hope for the best. Anticipate the storm, and look forward to the rainbow after it.

Being prepared is like being a soldier, ready for action in the middle of the war. If you want your aspirations to come true, you must strive hard, and you must face any kind of challenge. And remember, there’s a rainbow always after the rain.

Step 3: Paint it with colors – Your Creativeness!

The main idea in this step is “Reinforcement”. Reward yourself for every job well done. Celebrate! Every dream accomplished is worth compensation. For it is in reinforcement that you would create higher dreams, and inspire to do greater things. This is the time that you do one step closer to hitting the higher notch.

To end my discussion, I imparted my self-made motto to these girls, I wrote this in the board:

BE ACHIEVEMENT-ADDICT, BE FAILURE-FRIENDLY

This is for them to realize that no matter how ridiculous one’s dream is, be attached to it. Be addicted to achieve it – and when you fail, to not trash it away. Remain to be an addict.

And as my finale, I uttered Paulo Coehlo’s words from “The Winner Stands Alone”:

The young all have the same dream: to save the world. Some quickly forget this dream, convinced that there are more important things to do, like having a family, earning money, travelling, and learning a foreign language. Others, though, decide that it really is possible to make a difference in society and to shape the world we will hand on to future generations.

No matter how much you sharpen your samurai sword – you cannot be a superhero. You will never be. But you have the power to save the world, by saving yourself first.

Ella, a big fan of David Nicholls’ One Day, experienced “Lost at 25”. She believes that it is more fun to pursue Law and Legal Practice after getting her MBA extension, as she was inspired by the Retired Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas. She is not lonely; she is alone at the moment.