Black Beauty

Nowadays, whiter and fairer skin tones are subjected as beings of prettiness and grandeur. In
fact, here in our own country, having a whiter skin tone can be viewed as the superior skin color and
darker ones are considered lesser. Many Filipinos aimed to have whiter and fairer skin tones, too many I
say. Evidenced by the amount of whitening products which are wildly sold in our country, this speaks
that there are many have the desire to have a lighter and whither skin tone. It’s saddening that there are
many people who do not like their own skin color but rather focused too much to the standard that
white is beautiful.

Zobini Tunzi, the crowned miss universe, an African black woman dominated the said pageant.
In one article, she said that she grew up reading magazines that contained beautiful women but did not
contain women looking like her. The 26-year old became the third African woman to win the prestigious
title, however she was the first to win having an afro-textured hair. This made a dramatic shift in the
international beauty pageants which were historically dominated by lighter-skinned contestants. Her
win made another representation of that beauty is not based on skin tone alone and that everyone can
be as beautiful like her and win the crown regardless of the color of their skin or even the way their hair
was textured.

However, despite her win, there were still people who called her a “downgrade” and even
“underwhelming” in some social platforms, though disheartening to see such comments, she
acknowledges the fact that there are people especially young women that will look up to her and will
feel represented. Her win will serve as a stepping stone that will paved a way to a much better future,
where everyone can embraced their own beauty and not based on some standard.

Living with Earthquakes

Mindanao, the land of promise, the place in the Philippines which is least likely to be hit by
typhoons and tropical storms unlike of that Luzon and Visayas. Before, terrorism was the trademark of
Mindanao, having an unending guerilla with some groups. However, in recent times the land started to
shake and multiple quakes were felt which put fear in the hearts of everyone. And on December 15,
2019 a powerful 6.9 magnitude shook the very land itself. The epicenter of the earthquake is located 9
kilometers northwest of Matanao, Davao del Sur at a depth of 3 kilometers. The Davao Region is one of
the seismically active regions in the country due to the presence of several active faults. This put the
region in a dire position, people are advised to be vigilant due to the fact that earthquakes are almost
impossible to predict and could hit anytime, with unpredictable intensity and force. Furthermore,
Philippines is within the region of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area with the most active volcanoes and
seismic activities, which only make it worse for us.

Duck, cover and hold are the things we are taught every time we had our earthquake drill,
having something to cover for your head and even hiding under the table during an earthquake would
suffice. Don’t panic, as always but realistically speaking, keeping yourself calm during an intense
earthquake is quite a feat in itself. When you are outdoors, it would be better to move away from
buildings, tall structures and even trees that can collapse anytime during an earthquake, putting yourself
in a clear area would be the safest thing one can do.
 Our schools have taught us the basics of what to do during an earthquake, would that be
enough during an actual one? We can only hope. It is up to us on how we will utilize these basics skills
on how to survive from any unprecedented disasters like this.