1. Give some "striking" or "significant" points which you think is interesting to you.

Give
around 3 points and then explain why you chose it.

1st Point: "Human beings are not in control of most of what happens to them."
We cannot control or choose the problems we encounter; therefore, we should learn how
to utilize them as an opportunity or a lesson. Last Tuesday, my mom was admitted to the hospital
to get rid of her breast cancer. I always believed that we were like any regular family where the
parents die when their children are old enough to live on their own. I can't help myself but think
about why did it happen to her and what will happen to us if something happened during her
operation or her recovery. Even now I'm crying because I can't stop thinking of negative questions
and scenarios since there is a stigma about people having cancer and they do not live that long
once they start having it. To us Filipinos, mothers have a special place in our lives, and thinking
that if ever they were gone, it is like there is a missing piece in our hearts. I'm trying to keep myself
sane during classes and activities because I don't want my brothers to see that I'm troubled because
of the ailment of our mother. At times like these, I always like to think that going through adversity
is what makes us stronger because that is all we are able to do. We cannot always get what we
want and that’s the painful truth of reality. We just got to accept them rather than dwell on them.

2nd Point: "His decision to think his way philosophically out of his sorrows."
In connection with my first point, when we are faced with a certainty where we have
nothing to do or give solutions to our problems, all we can do is to constantly think of the reason
why this kind of negative event transpired because I think that it is the most practical thing to do.
Although we have free will to do anything we want, our liberty over the circumstances of our own
lives is still limited. We cannot avoid them physically but rather we let our minds be flexible to
those circumstances because once we let the thoughts imprison the only thing that gives us purpose,
motivation, and possibilities, it will be hard to escape them since it is all we will ever see. Just like
Lady Philosophy also reminds Boethius in the reading, we have to stop putting our decisions into
thinking that it will give us positive chances but are, in fact doubtful.

3rd Point: ‘If you are in possession of yourself you will possess something you would never wish
to lose and something Fortune could never take away…. Happiness cannot consist in things
governed by chance.’
At some point in our lives, we want to be happy, have a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction,
and also excitement. But what most people believe is that happiness only comes from the outside.
Society taught us that we can only be happy and pleased with what the world offers us. Like a
better pay grade, a better house, a new car, or winning the lottery. Although all of that makes us
happy, that is a lie or an illusion made by society because we can also find happiness within
ourselves. By understanding ourselves, finding our flaws, accepting the negative troubles, and
eventually loving them and is gratified that we are alive can make us truly happy without anyone
or anything in this world that can stop us from being happy. Because in reality, all we have is
ourselves to rely on, and losing that also means losing everything.

2. What do you think (personally) is the significance of studying Philosophy?

Having a bit of a background in philosophy during my senior high year, I know that
philosophy is one of the ways that can help me visualize the world as not as it is but as definitions
under more definitions made by others and I see it. Debating over simple topics like what came
first the egg or chicken, gave rise to my mindset that everything is not what it appears to be and
that we must discern things to broaden or change our perspectives. Having the ability to think over
and over about certain things that can evoke burning sensations to us and gives us space to grow
is what philosophy does to most of us. When we reach for new heights and go beyond our
limitations, we always create new solutions and opportunities to ponder upon. Having that in mind,
I'd like to think that philosophy is prestigious for one reason above all others: because it helps us
live and dies with a little bit more goodness, wisdom, and sanity.