KITE FLYING

Final Exam on Life and Works of Rizal

JUNE 9, 2017
TRABUCO, ROSEMARIE M.
2BSAC LSCA
Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life,
a new friend, a new love, or a new country.
~ Anais Nin
Rationale
Most people think of kites as toys, but there is more to kite than as a toy. It is an
instrument to reflect further in life and to the development of our country. In this paper, I
relate my analysis in kite flying to the lie and works of Rizal and as well as provide
reflection of kite flying to my chosen career path. But before all that, I now present the
materials I used and the reason why I chose them.

Before the kite flying day, I prepared the materials for my kite first. I chose plastic
over paper/newspaper kite because I considered the possibility of raining. My plastic was
transparent for I wish to still see the sky above when I fly the kite. I wish to see the kite
flying as well as see the horizon through the transparent kite. Next, I chose hard broom
sticks (walis tingting) over bamboo because of its availability and I believe the flexibility
of walis tingting was fitting for the making of kite. The other materials were scotch tape
and extra plastic (stripes of red and white) for the tails. As for the string, I chose a nylon
cord over a simple yarn because I thought yarns may get wet if it rains, their weight might
get heavy as normal which might be an element that must be considered especially
because it might add weight to the flying of the kite and would also be hard to handle
since there is a possibility for wet yarns to tangle themselves. Unlike for nylon cords, when
they get wet, they will still have the same weight and wouldnt be tangled easily.
Procedure

These are the procedures I made during the kite flying day. First, I took out all my
materials from my bag and tried to imagine what my kite would look like using those
materials. On my first try,
I ended up using three
sticks, a transparent
plastic for the body and
tapes to secure the form.
So, I folded the large
transparent rectangle
plastic into half and from
that half, I folded it again
into a half triangle to form
the square. In that way,
the kite will be balanced.
Next, I plotted the sticks
on the square
transparent plastic. I first
taped the ends of the first
stick to the ends of the
square. The first stick
served as the vertical line
on the kite. I did the same
thing to the second stick.
The second stick will serve as the horizontal line on the kite. I formed the third stick into
a semicircle (180) shape and put it on the vertical line, three inches from its end. I pasted
the ends of the third stick at the ends of the horizontal line. I made it sure that the sticks
on the north side of the kite will be the heavy side and the south side will be the lighter
side. This is because the part where the wind will first go is the north side and in that case,
it must be sturdier. I learned that from reading an article before about why cars were
designed to have a long front with a smooth curve on its front instead of having a square
flat front of car - it's for the wind to pass through the car without interfering or pushing it
back. And so, I applied it in kite flying. Then, after making the body and pasted its
skeleton, I now put a string based on the measure of the intersection of the third and first
stick, up to three inches before end of the other side of the first stick. I did the same to
the horizontal stick. I used a pencil to roll up the remaining nylon cords and for it be used
later in the kite flying phase.

Since it rained, I had to wait for it to stop. Although I know plastic can withstand
the rain, I didn't want to get sick. No. I didn't want my first kite flying experience to be wet.
When the rain stopped, I did my first attempt. The kite was flying, but, it keeps on swirling.
It was not stable. So, the professor told me to add some tail to make the kite balanced.
And so, I followed the instruction. Since I wanted to be sure that the kite would fly this
time, I put a tail on the three sides of the kite: south part and both ends of the horizontal
line. When I went back to the field and tried to fly my kite, it worked! My kite was flying
with ease, it was stable! It didn't circle just like it did before instead, it flew like it's the one
in charge of itself. I was a child back then. I would not forget that moment. It was my first
time to fly a kite.
Analysis Relate the entire process to the life, works and writings of Rizal

My analysis goes like this:

1. The transparent plastic that is the body of the kite represents racial discrimination to
Filipinos. That no matter how high we fly, as long as the Spaniards keep on ruining our
foundations we will feel crumpled, we could not soar. It's like not seeing ourselves fly,
since it is transparent, it feels like we blend to our environment. Without something to
make it stand out, the transparent plastic will fly, but cannot be seen. In the same way as
Filipinos become excellent, but will always be blinded by blending to the rules of
Spaniards. Even if Filipinos during that time, like illustrados, attain education and become
successful in their careers, we couldn't deny that their successes are just like the
transparent plastic - it couldn't be seen. And as long as there is nothing to make it stand
out, the only thing you will see is the environment. And the environment (Spaniards) will
always be dominant.

2. As I reflect further, upon putting the sticks, the sticks represent Rizal himself and his
works. His life and his works become the backbone of Philippine Revolution and the life
we have now - free and educated. And I realized that the backbone is what will make the
kite stand out, apart from its color being brown, it will make the kite stable against the
wind, the environment. Because of his life and works, the kite now will be seen through
its backbone (sticks), how little it may comprise the kite compared to the size of the
transparent plastic, likewise, because of this backbone (life and works of Rizal), the
abuses of the Spaniards are now seen, and even if Rizal is only one, compared to the
Spaniards, he and his works still stood out, gave light and made the kite stable against
the continued conflicts with the Spaniards (wind, environment).

3. The string that is connected to the kite represents the length of Spanish colonization.
Why? Because, for me, this is the most important aspect of the kite aside from its
backbone. It just illustrates how limited the kite will fly because of the string attached to it.
Likewise, it illustrates how Filipinos are chained and cannot be free to fly and soar in the
sky just like the kite.

4. The kite flyer represents the Filipino nation itself. It is upon this flyer when he will let
the kite fly on its own. It is upon him if he would still like to be consumed by the limitations
of the string, or by the clarity of the sky seen through the transparent plastic. It is upon
him if he will let the backbone fight on its own to survive against the wind or it is upon him
if he will just let the kite be it.

5. And then finally, the flyer realized the spirit within him. Since he gave his heart to make
the kite, he now regards it as his own, he does not want his kite to suffer long. He wants
it to be free and known. No more, no less. So, he added a strong factor that will balance
the suffering of his kite. He will add the tails. The tails now represent the rise of Filipino
Nationalism. In this way, he will see the beauty of the kite. He will no longer be
preoccupied by the representation of the transparent plastic, but he will now be inspired
by the spirit of nationalism attached to every end of the kite. He will now see the beauty
of the colored (red and white tail) spirit of nationalism and the backbone (sticks-skeleton)
of Rizal's life and works overpowering the transparency of racial discrimination, he will
now see a new and strong country emerging as spirit in the kite. A spirit of a country that
endured many years of slavery and abuses of resources, many years of deprived
freedom, many years of discrimination finally gaining freedom and exploring the world on
its own, without someone to limit it or without someone to stop it to fly. He will now realize
that it is him who owns the kite and not the string, so he starts to control the string rather
than being controlled by the string.

In the end, the kite will fly and soar high in the sky and no matter what predicament
the kite may encounter, the flyer will be the one to find solution to it, and will always surely
go back to fix the backbone and tails of the kite. In a nutshell, all living beings are striving
to achieve freedom and upliftment. Thus, when one is liberated he rises up and flies like
the kites enjoying the freedom where no one is maneuvering the strings of the kite.
Reflection how do you relate it to your chosen career path

I loved kite flying but I never had the chance to fly a kite when I was a kid and now that I
finally experienced it, I cant wait to share everything I know and the life or career lessons
that I learned to go with it. Here are some of the lessons I learned from making and flying
kites:

1. The worthiness of my kite is my responsibility. I can choose to make a decorated

kite that will attract attention or a simple kite that will represent the message I want to
convey but I should be able to distinguish a good kite from a bad one. Im responsible for
every decision I make. Likewise, when I chose the career of being an Accountant, I cant
blame anyone for any consequence of choosing it. I equip myself to make the right
decisions. The decision to prepare in advance, put efforts, study day and night, empty
pockets or procrastinate in college, depends all on my decision alone and I should be
ready to accept whatever results I may receive.

2. It all depends in the balance. No matter how possibly good the kite is if I fail to balance
the string or the backbone of the kite, it wont fly well. Similarly, Accountancy is all about
balance. If I fail to balance the debits and the credits, Im doomed. Same goes for my
study habits. If I focus only my academics and ignore family time as well as my personal
time, I will surely get depressed and my health will be on the line. Life is all about balance
and if I fail to do it, I will eventually go crashing down and hit the ground just like the kite.

3. Helping each other in making or flying the kite is more motivational and fun. I felt
like a child when I was making the kite because my classmates were very supportive to
me like Kaya mo yan RM!, Ganito kasi yan, Ako magpipicture sayo ha. Its like having
ates and kuyas though I know were of the same age. They do not fail to offer help and
make you feel that you are not alone. Thats what I love in being an Accountancy student.
You always have someone to rely to, to motivate you. And I think thats just needed
because in our program, the problems and recitations in accounting and law subjects are
so much depressing and all we need is motivation and upliftment as well as unity and
family relation in our class, especially now that only 13 of us were left in our batch.

4. Making the kite is all about effort. It requires patience and diligence. The size,
materials, and the style of the kite shows the quality of the person behind the kite. In the
same way, of I am known as an achiever, it is because I made the best efforts in
everything I do. My mom would always say, Gagawa ka na rin lang, edi ibuhos mo na
lahat. Kung ayaw mong mag-effort, wag mo nang gawin. Sayang effort. In studying
Accountancy, too much effort is needed. But I know that after all these efforts, a better
future is awaiting us.

5. When the kite won't fly well, I just don't throw it away. I must try to do something
about it either by adjusting the strings or adding up tails depending on the kite's behavior
on air. These months have been rough to me, both in academics and family. I got my
first below 88 grade in one subject (85), a reason for me not to be included in second
sem's Dean's list plus final exams, review, battery exam, summer classes and maintaining
scholarship (acad), and a professor who always bullies me - they were all like burden to
me. It broke my heart and felt nothing to do, I got depressed and never wanted to talk to
my family and friends. It's as if I did everything but not enough. I felt like a failure, a kite
hitting the ground and not soaring high. But, later on I realized there's more to life. There's
always a chance to fly high and be better. I wont throw away my life just because things
are not going well. I figure out how to make it better and actually do something. I learned
that sometimes one should fight for what one loves and keep on trying to make things
work and never stop chasing it down.

6. If, for instance, I lose a kite, its glad to know that I can use what I learned from
the experience to make a better kite or how to fly a kite better. Nothing is really totally
lost or wasted. The mistakes I made on my first try doesn't mean I would do it the second
time. I must learn from that mistakes and get going. I should not atop just because
something is lost. Instead, I must try to create and build a new in order to still achieve and
continue the goal. There's more to life than what we can even imagine. Even when we
lose something or fail at something in our lives there is always something to be gained
the lesson on how to become better.

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Thank you for a wonderful summer class Doc D! -RM

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