A Unity of All the Treasures and Hidden Gems of Ilocos Sur

        The Kannawidan Festival is an important event and celebration in Ilocos Sur. It emphasizes the rich traditions and culture of the province. The Kannawidan Festival happens every year and it celebrates the establishment of the separation of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte in 1818. The festival features different events such as art exhibits and culinary fairs, where the people or locals confidently display their skills and workmanship. It is a time when Ilocano people honor their ancestry and culture and pass it on to the next generations. By maintaining these traditions, the festival itself strengthens the essence of the Ilocano community as it attracts tourists who wants to experience and see the beauty of their tradition.

        Cultural performances was one of the most  awaited event in Kannawidan Festival, these performances represents the roots of the Iloano people. Folk music and street dancing brings the past to life, it allows the locals and even the tourists enjoy themselves while watching the colorful past of the province. This festival also emphasizes some indigenous games that directly focused on Ilocanos’ unique skills like the bamboo dance.Furthermore, this festival also includes trade fairs wherein some craftsman sells their work. Through these events, craftsman will maintain and will continue to share their talents.

        The Kannawidan Festival has a strong and wide impact social impact on Ilocos Sur. The festival nurtures the sense of unity among the locals in Ilocos Sur as they unite to celebrate their culture and tradition. This time, the government take this opportunity to endorse the local industries and encourage the people in preserving the historic sites. This festival is not just a mere celebration, it is an evidence of the creativity and unity of the Ilocano people 

REFERENCES:

MIS Ilocos Sur. (2023a). The Ilocos Sur Kannawidan Festival 2023 Street Dance Competition. Retrieved        from https://mis.ilocossur.gov.ph/2023/02/12/the-ilocos-sur-kannawidan-festival-2023-street-dance-          competition/

MIS Ilocos Sur. (2023b). The Ilocos Sur Kannawidan Festival 2023 Street Dance Competition. Retrieved        from https://mis.ilocossur.gov.ph/2023/02/12/the-ilocos-sur-kannawidan-festival-2023-street-dance-          competition/

Facebook. (2024). [Image of Kannawidan Festival]. Retrieved from https://scontent.fcrk2-                                  2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/475571636_1048338064002062_6036429893567425456_n.jpg?                 _nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=f727a1&_nc_eui2=AeECcnqAhns68-jTK_Lq3ZVakkYc7-                      nRMPaSRhzv6dEw9tz1NB_KUdcoxjuW8eAJAf5i3ZcYQw5roRj3IxwGD2XT&_nc_ohc=2UopHoL       o9WEQ7kNvgGwBMkj&_nc_oc=AdgjzozeCZ0FlAlYUdMRtGpfvK4Y6g_Yvw273QQmZ8VWZrG         Dp9LEi8GqKWQoV0mWBN4&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fcrk2-2.fna&_nc_gid=A8ML-                     iVUQuFe71pbywn6xl5&oh=00_AYC8S4PMw02ZSgDmR24f1sZCDf-                                                     ROfmsVurFnA48W9EjTA&oe=67B8ECAD

A Special Day to Spend with Someone Special

        Valentine's Day is a special day when people spend their time with their loved ones. It is annually celebrated on February 14, it is commonly associated with romantic relationships but also with friends, family and even ourselves. Valentine's Day is a like a tradition where people express their love and affection in different ways, such as giving flowers, making a letter, and spending a lot of time for your special someone. It doesn't matter how you express your love for someone, what important is you're giving your efforts just to make them special. Valentine's Day is more than just a holiday, it reminds us how to show our love and how thankful we are for them every single day, not just once a year. The real essence of Valentine's Day is that making our loved ones feel that they matter in all ways. Furthermore, this day emphasizes how important love is in our lives.

         We celebrate Valentine's Day to show how much we love and how much we appreciate someone important to us. This is also a way of recognizing how important love and appreciation are. This originated with St. Valentine, who was known for his kindness and devotion, specifically in supporting love even if you face challenges. It became a special day for showing our love and affection for someone close to us through spending time with them, giving gifts, and making efforts to make a gift for them. It encourages people to take a short time to appreciate someone and give them their efforts. In this era, Valentine's Day is a time when people pause and give their focus on their relationship. Celebrating this day is another way to reconnect and make each and everyone feel special. Even though love should be shown every single day, February 14 or Valentine's Day, gives us a specific time and moment to highlight the importance of the bonds we share with each other.

        We can show our love through simple gestures, gifts, and many other things. Giving someone a handmade gift is also another way of expressing your love for them as it takes a lot of time and effort to make it. It doesn't matter how expensive and how many gifts you can give to someone, they will surely appreciate it if they know that it came from the bottom of your heart. Expressing your love with someone doesn't require buying expensive gifts or surprises—it's the little things that matter most. A simple phrase such as "I love you," a handwritten letter, or just simply spending quality time with them can make more impact than any expensive material gifts. Other people express their love through physical touch, such as holding hands and warm hugs. Some express their love through acts of service—like helping them with their task, cleaning, opening the door, and cooking for them. Every one of us has a way of expressing our own affection, and what's important is that it comes from the bottom of our hearts. True love is shown consistently, not just on a specific day like Valentine's Day, but every day of the year.

Our Adventure On Our Community-Based Research

     

    Community-based research is more than just discovering and gathering data, it is to learn and make an impact. Our CBR or Community-Based Research was a mix of struggles and discoveries. From brainstorming ideas to interviewing the locals, evaluating data, and presenting our results. Through this photoblog, I'd like to share the highlights of this journey.

____________________________________________________________________

We gathered as a team to discuss the potential topics under the category "Arts and Culture." We chose the topic "Festivals" and Vigan City was our chosen community.

 Interviewing the locals was a crucial part of our research, as it holds the data that we need. We gathered their insights through surveys and face-to-face interviews allowing us to understand their insights.

With the data gathered, we carefully analyze and organize it. In this phase we interpreted the given data.

Making our research paper: This was challenging but worth it, we ensured accuracy, clarity and the proper documentation of our findings.

After we finished, we shared our findings with the whole class using webpages. This journey was challenging but at the same time enjoyable. This taught me how to stand up as a leader and how valuable time is. 

____________________________________________________________________

Closing the Chapter Filled with Adventures: Opening a New One with Different Lessons

        

An adventure filled with mistakes and lessons—it is now about to close. This quarter has been a journey of discovery and growth as I dive into the lessons we have; HTML Coding—its attributes, elements, and different tags—together with Community-Based Research (CBR), and how to create webpages. Each topic has taught me a lot and it enhanced my skills with coding. Understanding the importance of CBR or Community-Based Research helped me see the value of each information we gathered, and how meaningful each community is. On the other hand, the HTML coding and creating of webpages taught me how important each tag is in the structure—if it's missing one tag, the HTML file could face some error problems. Throughout this journey, I learned a lot—both challenges and celebrations have a part in teaching me how important patience is, and to be able to adapt to a new environment. 

I have learned a lot from the lessons—the CBR or Community-Based Research, on how to use the HTML tags, and on how to create your own webpage. First, Community-Based Research; this taught me how to address real-life problems and issues. It also opened my eyes on the different treasures of what our Communities’ been hiding during this years. Through CBR, we can see the meaningful treasures that wasn’t discovered and appreciated by everyone. I also gained knowledge about HTML Coding, we explored how HTML tags work together and how to develop a webpage. I learned how to use attributes, tags, and elements to create a organized webpage. With the knowledge I have for HTML Coding, I saw a clearer view of how each tag functions with each tag in the structure. Despite having these knowledge, I still encountered challenges and problems while learning those lessons. In Community-Based Research, one of the problems I faced was the interactions with locals in the community we chose. In terms of HTML Coding, the problems I faced was fixing the error coding, and making sure that the webpage functions correctly. Learning these lessons wasn’t easy, it was overwhelming but having these knowledge can be powerful as it acts like a tool for you to use when the time comes. To overcome these challenges, I encouraged myself to overcome the fear that I’m feeling as it can lead to nothing

but more problems. For the CBR, I practice myself—I talked to myself in the mirror while saying the questions that I’m going to ask on the Interview day so that I would feel less nervous when it comes to the actual interview. I also asked for advices that I could use to further improve myself. For the HTML Coding and webpage development, I addressed the errors by watching tutorials and trial-and-error method. If I encounter an issue with the code that I’m making—I would rely to my knowledge about it. Breaking it down to smaller portions helped me address the issues in much faster way. Additionally, approaching an acquaintances and asking for help from a person who’s more skilled can improve your skills and ability to work. Moving on, I will continue to enhance my skills and ability so that I can use my knowledge to different life situations. Through this, I can use my knowledge into real-life situations.

The Vibrant and Meaningful Influence of Chinese

     Every year, before January ends—some streets in the Philippines are filled with bright red lanterns, and the energy of every Filipino is felt as they join the countdown with the people on television. Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year, is a very significant event that is celebrated in the Philippines. The celebration of Chinese New Year is vibrant and is observed by Filipino citizens—it is filled with joy, and hope making it special for Filipinos.

    One reason why Filipinos observe the celebration of Chinese New Year is that many Filipinos believe in luck and good fortune.  Many people likes to follow traditional practices; placing round fruits in a prosperity bowl, and wearing red clothes to attract luck and happiness. Some Filipino family also prepare meals and give “ampao” or the red envelope that has money, to kids. These practices are often accomplished by Filipinos. The celebration of the Chinese New Year have a more meaningful when you celebrate it with your family.

    Furthermore, a lot of Chinese people settled in the Philippines and took their tradition with them. Influencing us, Filipinos, with beliefs about luck and many other. Because of this,the Filipinos learned how to embraced a part of the Chinese tradition.

  

 Schools sometimes hold activities related to Chinese New Year, let us take for example—the parade that was held in Ilocos Sur National High School as a celebration of the Lunar New year, as they take each step, you can feel and see how vibrant Chines New Year is.

    Lastly, Filipinos celebrate Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year because of influence and belief in luck and prosperity. This particular event has become an important part of Filipino. Celebrating this gives you hope and happiness, making it vibrant and meaningful.

The Journey of Vigan: From a Municipality to a City with Vibrant Culture and Full of Treasure

     Walking through the streets of  Vigan is like having a small glimpse of the hidden treasure of what the City went through all the years before. Vigan, as a municipality before, thrived as a vibrant and filled with treasure. A municipality with its Spanish Colonial houses, horse-drawn carriages, and its cobblestone streets: a feature that can capture the attention of many locals and even tourists' attention. There were times when Vigan struggled and faced challenges in terms of preserving its culture due to globalization and technological advancement. Even with these challenges, Vigan as a municipality remained steadfast and kept moving forward. These features of Vigan earned a spot as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    Moving forward, through the Republic Act 8988, Vigan became a City in 2001. Some locals came up with programs to protect the features and treasures of Vigan: the Ancestral houses and many others. Though the advancement of technology is currently taking place, Vigan still managed to preserve its culture and treasures: traditional crafts, weaving, and pottery. Vigan proved that even with hard challenges and big problems, there's still a way to solve them and make your way out, leading you to the right path with you carrying the lessons you've learned.  Today, Vigan City is thriving with life, the taste of the history blends smoothly with modernization. Calle Crisologo, donning its old-world charm, attracts tourists from all walks of life, while the city's developed facilities and eco-friendly activities show that the community is forward-looking. Festivals, local delicacies, and industries now make Vigan not only a tourist destination but a proud, progressive city with deep roots in its culture. It was because of the resilience and dedication of its people that all of these were possible. 

    The story of Vigan made us remember that growing doesn't mean abandoning and forgetting our roots. It simply teaches us to cherish the history while stepping into the future that holds uncertainty. Let us take some inspiration from the journey of Vigan—an event wherein balance is important.

REFERENCES:

1. Pinimg. (n.d.). Image of Vigan City. Pinterest. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/94/61/af/9461af4377bf123b4c19ed569dec5d29.jpg

2. Pinimg. (n.d.). Image of Vigan City. Pinterest. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2f/86/32/2f8632d009e22393905c9c7235dc2588.jpg

3. Philippine Tourism USA. (2017, September). Vigan City. Philippine Tourism USA. https://www.philippinetourismusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/vigan-slider-3.jpg

A Glimpse of My Journey

         A lot happened in a year, I faced problems, challenges, bumpy roads, and even people who wanted to pull me down. As the chapter for 2024 closes, I look back and say "I made it again", after those never-ending challenges that I faced during this year of mine, I can say that I learned a lot. My journey of ups and downs, it's amusing that a lot can happen in just a year. I've grown and learned a lot in that chapter of my story, both success and failure have prepared me for what might happen this year 2025. 

        The year 2024 was epic, there were times when I felt like I was on top of the world, achieving the goals I'd set for myself. There were also times when I tripped, I failed, and when I asked myself if my decision was right. But those moments taught me how to be strong—how to get back up and keep moving forward. As the days passed, I said to myself that whatever challenges or problems I may face in 2025, I will not give up as I have prepared myself for whatever war I may face in this chapter. I have the lessons I learned in the last chapter of my story as a weapon and a gear. I also want to be kinder to myself and not push myself too hard, to love myself like I love others, I realized that change isn't going to happen in just a night, it is a little-by-little step we take daily. I wanted to take care of myself—not only physically but mentally too. This year, I don't want to enter a relationship but I am currently admiring someone, I just want to appreciate them, and I will treat myself right this time. Lastly, I plan to embrace new hobbies and journeys, keeping this chapter exciting. 

        Some things have changed but this is still "Me", I will not forget who I was in my last chapter because I gained a lot of lessons when I was in that chapter. This version of myself is now ready as 2025 begins. I am now ready to embrace new opportunities that lie ahead, ready to face challenges, and ready to continue this journey.