The Jealousy of One's Success

Photo retrieved from jcogtasquotes

             JUDGEMENT. This is the first word that emerged from my mind upon hearing this quote. We all cannot escape from judgment – in fact, our society is judgmental itself. Especially when we become successful, more and more people would try to extinguish your luminous light. I agree with this quote because when you try to downgrade somebody, it doesn’t make you more successful than them just because you’re doing bad things to them. Even if you try to take their castle down, even if it hits its walls, it doesn’t crumble down as a whole because those rocks that you threw are nothing as large as the size of the castle. Even so, your criticisms can become their strategies as a way of proving you wrong because it can be the fuel to improve and even become more successful. It is evidenced clearly in the celebrity world – especially in the music industry; stemming back into our experiences because it is inevitable to receive criticism; and of course, stemming back into the reason why we try to sabotage them.

To analyze this saying, we must also analyze our behavior in treating successful people. I always believe that hating someone for their success is a problem within the one who hates, not the one being hated; and that there will always be consequences from one’s actions. Inside of themselves lie the doubts and dilemmas of self-esteem about them not succeeding.  

As people discover other successful people and the achievement that they hold, there are usually two types of envy in this. The first having jealousy of their success as admiration. Sometimes, when you look at them, you might say “I envy their success. I wish I could be as successful as them.” This jealousy is the reason why you’re inspired to work hard to also experience what success they have; hence this is the ‘good’ kind of jealousy. The second having jealousy of their success as a threat and this leads to hating them. This kind of jealousy will not take you anywhere because as you hate them, you always would want to find a loophole that they could hate on. This means you’re getting too invested in obsessing over their actions and therefore could not focus on your own goals and aspirations.

The second type of jealousy being discussed is the reason why your lights would never shine. Not only that, this jealousy is also self-hate turned outward. You hating someone because of their success is a sign of weakness and fear. You hate successful people because you are afraid that you could not replicate the level of their success. Meaning, instead of working hard to get on their level, you try to pull them down to your level. Which does not happen that easily because who are they to give up their kingdom just because of someone’s criticism?

Sometimes it's you who's doubting yourself during the darkest
of times. Photo retrieved from Thought Catalog.

Since high school, I realized and admitted that I was academically gifted. Not to brag, getting high grades were kind of my expertise, and of course, my endeavors and prayers were the prices to pay, but sometimes, there will always be misery to experience throughout the journey. At one point, downfall came, some people doubted that I was not the ‘one that I used to be’ during the past. To the point when I took it too seriously and even became my own enemy. I had become my own doubter. I then realized first that the doubters would always hit harder once you show and feel that you’re in a vulnerable state. With all these qualms, I conditioned myself to live up to everyone’s expectations, but it seems like it’s forced and it doesn’t fit in the right shoe. I then realized second that the doubters are always the ones who expect so much from you because when you don’t, you become easier to shoot as a target. After some devastating moments, it seems like I had reached the end of the tunnel because all of these had prompted me into realizing “What did they accomplish while throwing their doubts at me?” because I knew that I was still perfectly maintaining my grades despite my emotional turmoil. I then realized third that I must not let my light fade to satisfy someone. If I did, would the doubters be receiving some kind of success coming from me? No. They may be satisfied, but what’s next? If I did, would I lose something so important in my life? Yes. Then, I lastly realized that it’s always YOU in the end that gets to decide your fate – your downfall.

“Your light will not shine brighter by snuffing the light of others.” In literal meaning, try burning two candles. Don’t take too much to consider their appearance or how strong the fire is. You wanted to blow off one candle. You blew a candle, but it did not affect the other candle. It’s just the way it is – it’s just the same, same fire, same appearance.

Now, when you try to hate/do something awful to someone or ‘snuff on their light’, it doesn’t get you anywhere. You’re still the same troll who favors hating them, and they’ll still be successful people who have fulfilled their lives. It’s not like you’d instantly become the first person to walk on the sun when you’d cast your hate on them, right? Just to remind that it’s entirely OK to hate a person as long as it’s reasonable and justifiable. You can’t just tell us we’re jealous of Adolf Hitler just because we hate him. Who would even aspire to mass murder millions of people in extermination camps and gas chambers? As sympathetic as I am for the victims, I’ll be glad to pass on that one. Anyways, many people do say to not criticize because you’re showing off your jealousy, but sometimes jealousy – the ‘good’ one we’re talking about, as I’ve said, could be the fuel of your rocket to reach the galaxy of ambitions.

I’ll be introducing to you a Taylor Swift song relating to this quote, which is also the ideal person who we’ll be talking about. She’s had a huge number of anti-fans, and she hasn’t even done something controversial (Well, if you do consider dating many guys as controversy) and problematic.

The song is called ‘Mean.’ This is the chorus:

“Someday, I'll be living in a big old city

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean?”

This song is an anthem for those people who had experienced being doubted at or even being bullied, and Swift wrote the song as a response for some critics slamming and doubting her for her vocal performances during 2010. These lines meant that someday, she will prove them wrong; that she will become more successful; that she will become strong enough to take harsh words; and that those who wronged her will still be talking nonsense and unprofessional comments about her. That was just from 2010, and now it’s 2019. From an unbiased perspective, she now received the award for being the Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards, seven multi-platinum albums, five Billboard Hot-100 number ones, becoming the top-paid artist in 2019 with $185 million, grossed $345.7 million on her recent tour, and the list goes on. And now, we can say she’s really living in her big, old city.

A snake pouring Taylor Swift's cup with tea. (Taken from
the music video of Look What You Made Me Do.)

But, despite all the success that she had, she’s never had it easy during 2016. This was when everybody hopped on the hate train. It stemmed back from her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (which is a different and lengthy story to talk about), and when Kardashian started calling her a ‘snake’, many people started to ride on the ‘snake’ narrative about her. She realized that after her 5^th album called 1989, which had a happy and bubbly image, she can’t go on doing the same image after knowing her reputation was tarnished. She needed to put on a dark, strong and edgy front because everybody will try to snuff her light more once she tries the ‘girl-next-door’ image once again. And this is where her 6^th album, Reputation was born. It had a darker sound that would accompany her dark image, and her song Look What You Made Me Do entranced this new sound and new era.

 It is such a fascinating thing to see Swift’s ability as a businesswoman and at the same time, an artist. She used Kardashian’s ‘snake’ narratives and used it as the brand of Reputation as a way to market the album and capitalize on something from the hate that she’s getting. Just as you’d thought she was going downwards, she started to build something big out from the rocks that people have thrown at her.

She also learned something so important, and that is to cut herself off from the media – which means less interviews and more privacy. She learned that if she were to expose her thoughts to the people and the media, the more ways the people will find just to hate on her. Reputation is more than just her tarnished character, it was all about finding who she really was amidst this mess and it was all about finding her true love who stayed bona fide to her, who supported her when everyone hated on her. Because as according to her: “In the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive.” From all the people who tried to snuff her light, she came back brighter than ever, because not only she succeeded commercially, but because she also succeeded personally.

From just one quote, it is such an enthralling experience to write all about these because I have learned and realized so much from this. I had many realizations from these, and it helped me become a stronger person. I realized that there is so much more in life when you won’t let them try to rust your shine. That sometimes, we all need to be jealous so that we could have that inspiration to work harder. I learned the reason why successful people want to put on a strong façade and it’s because they do not want to become easy targets of hatred, but sometimes we need to be vulnerable to the ones we trust because achieving success emotionally and mentally is also a priority in order to succeed financially and materially. As long as you won’t let anyone take you down, as long as you feel happiness, joy, and fervor, that passionate light of yours will shine brighter than ever.

REFERENCES

• Bierly, M. (n.d.). Taylor Swift takes on a bully (and John Mayer?) on new album. Retrieved from https://ew.com/article/2010/10/19/taylor-swift-john-mayer-mean/.
• Taylor Swift. (2019, December 5). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swift.
• Thibodeaux, W. (2017, January 23). 5 Reasons People Rain on Your Parade When You're Successful. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/wanda-thibodeaux/why-others-cant-handle-your-success-according-to-psychology.html.

Incidents in Mythology

     Mythology has always picked up people’s attention due to its bizarre stories and of course, its gods. Although it might not be real, the stories written have, in a way, reflected the attitude of the people then, of what they used to do. Mythology, just like any other form of literature, has also some incidents that serve as a lesson to the readers. Specifically in Greek mythology, we will tackle different incidents and if it does correlate in the present-day setting.

INCIDENT 1: JUDGEMENT OF PARIS

The Judgement of Paris. Painting by
Jose Camaron y Bononat.

     In Homer’s The Iliad, Peleus, the father of Achilles, fell in love with the sea nymph Thetis and decided to marry each other. During the celebration, all gods were invited, except by a deliberate oversight named Eris, the goddess of strife. Despite that, she still came and brought a golden apple, where written upon is the phrase “For the fairest.” Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena claimed for the apple, and they appealed to Zeus for the decision. He refused to decide and gave the role to Paris. The three goddesses vowed to give Paris a prize once he would pick them. Hera offered power, Athena promised him military glory and wisdom, and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. As he judged and decided, he gave the apple to Aphrodite since he was not interested in war and power at first.
      Eris was livid upon discovering that she was not invited to the wedding and that was the reason why she handed out a golden apple to determine the fairest and most beautiful amongst the goddesses. As Paris chose Aphrodite, she - as promised, presented Helen, but she was married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta. As Paris went to Sparta, he then sets his eyes on Helen and they fell in love. Their love for each other made them leave Sparta, taking a huge amount of the city’s treasure. Because of their escape, this sparked a war between the Spartans and the Trojans.

A classic act of bribery - through money. Photo retrieved
from Rosenblum Law

     The most prominent thing that I have noticed is how the three goddesses were bribing Paris into choosing them with their gifts. To define (from Merriam Webster), bribing someone is to influence the judgment or conduct of (someone) with or as if with offers of money or favor. The reason why Paris chose Aphrodite was because of her gift – a beautiful woman who would be his wife. His judgment wasn’t based on the goddesses’ beauty, but on their gifts instead, which defeats the purpose of the golden apple. Aphrodite’s gift influenced Paris into choosing her, which is a great example of bribery. 

   Bribery certainly does happen in present, from ordinary individuals to the government. For example, someone can bribe a huge amount of money just for the other person to get out of jail. You also bribe someone with money or with gifts to do something or to do their jobs better in their benefit. In a 2016 case, a businessman filed an administrative complaint in the country’s Supreme Court against a Makati City judge for allegedly asking for a PHP 15 million bribe in exchange for a favorable ruling in an insurance claim. Some laws also criminalize the act of bribery. The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act criminalizes active and passive bribery, embezzlement, extortion, abuse of office and conflict of interest in the public sector. Bribery of public officials and trading in influence are also criminalized in the Anti-Red Tape Act, where government officials or employees are forbidden to accept gifts in exchange for any government permit or license. Bribery and these types of corruption hinder the development and progress of our country.

INCIDENT 2: THE ‘COMFORT WOMEN’ OF THE TROJAN WAR

Two Greek troops leading Briseis to Agamemnon.
Photo by Leemage/Getty Images

     In the tenth year of the Trojan War, Agamemnon insulted Apollo by taking his slave-hostage Chryseis and refusing to return her when her father demanded her and compensation. In revenge due to Agamemnon’s disrespect to Apollo’s prophet (which was Chryseis’ father), Apollo sent nine days of plague upon the Greek army. Achilles gathered everyone in a meeting on what would they do. In that meeting, he and Agamemnon fought, confiscating Achilles’ slave girl Briseis, leading to Achilles and his troop’s withdrawal from the war.

     During the war, two maidens named Briseis and Chryseis were Trojans who were captured and became Achilles and Agamemnon’s ‘war prizes’ respectively. They were given as war prizes to Achilles and Agamemnon and were sex slaves to the two men. 

     On the other side of the Trojan battle were innocent lives full of misery and tragedy they have to endure for many years. Overshadowing the pride and glory of the men involved in the war lies behind women and children suffering. The story of Chryseis deals with a tragic subplot involving her desperate love for Troilus, the prince of Troy; the prophecy against him; her capture and release from the Greek camp. Briseis was the princess of Pedasus, married to Mynes of Lyrnessus. But, during the war, her husband, father and three brothers were killed by Achilles, and she was captured as his sex slave.

    Although the story tells us very little details about them, we still know that they were sexually abused by the two men because they were taken in as sex slaves. We all know that sexual abuse within women is still happening today. According to a survey conducted by the Women Safety Module in the Philippines, 1 in 25 women aged 15-49 have experienced being forced into sexual intercourse at least once. But, Briseis and Chryseis’ situation bears a resemblance to what the comfort women of World War II experienced.  

Korean comfort women, including a pregnant one (leftmost)
together with a Japanese soldier.
Photo retrieved from University of California Irvine (UCI)

   During the Japanese occupation of WWII (1942-1945), women from occupied areas by the Japanese were forced into being sex slaves. Women were used for military “comfort stations” and most of them were Koreans, Chinese and Filipinos. In the Philippines, Filipino women were threatened and forced to labor as comfort women. As the Japanese arrived, they built houses of relaxation or comfort stations where different women from occupied areas were brought and forced to provide soldiers all kinds of sexual services. Thousands of Filipino women were taken from their homes and they were defenseless because most of the men were at war. Even young girls, as young as six years old, were forced into service. Even worse, women were starved and maltreated by the Japanese, and even killing those who fought back or escaped.
     It seems so horrendous to discover what women back then had to experience during the wars. Many of them were taken in and forced to experience sexual abuse and many more types and still haven't gotten a proper closure since then. Not only these, but many of us know how women lived back then, with no gender equality in the workplace and at home. Fortunately, society is opening up to matters like these, but the double standard is still very evident in our everyday life, and it frustrates me to know that some women are still being abused by their husbands/men and that they still experience injustice in their lives.

INCIDENT 3: ODYSSEUS AND THE CYCLOPS

Polyphemus accepting the drink from Odysseus. Painting by John Flaxman.

     In one of the famous myths from Homer’s Odyssey, the story starts with Odysseus’ shipmates coming back to their home, celebrating victory from the Trojan War. After encountering many problems and perils during their trip, they found an island where the sound of the bleating goats interested Oddyseus and his growling stomach. Outside the cave lies a goat pen, and inside is where all the meat and cheese are that could accompany their starvation. But, as they went in, they encountered Polyphemus, a cyclops. Polyphemus then trapped the men by blocking the cave with a huge boulder the men could not even bear to move, and then the cyclops ate two of Odysseus’ men. Coming up with a plan, Odysseus and his men made strong wine offered to the cyclops. Convinced, Polyphemus consumed the wine and got drunk. Polyphemus asked for Odysseus' name, to which he replies with “nobody”, and when the Greeks were able to impale Polyphemus’ eye with a large stick, he screams and the cyclops replies with “nobody” when the other cyclops asked whose fault was it. The Greeks were then able to escape, clinging onto the rams’ bellies, tricking Polyphemus into removing the boulder, and they were able to escape successfully in their ship.

A man handing out a drink to a woman. 
Photo retrieved from Cosmopolitan.

     In the part where the Greeks offered the cyclops wine, it is a sign of stranger danger in modern times. People are always advised to not accept drinks from strangers because they never know what’s in the drink that could make them unconscious and unaware of what’s happening, thus exposing them to great dangers. People are always told not to trust strangers of what they give and of what they ask (although not for some simple directions; but when it comes to the point that you have to guide and walk with them, it poses a great danger), hence the term stranger danger - strangers are dangerous for a person’s safety.         
     And specifically talking about drinks, drink spiking is the illegal act of placing a substance into a drink to cause harm to the drinker. The reasons behind drink spiking may include theft, rape, assault, etc. Any drug can be used to spike a drink, but the most common is flunitrazepam, also known as rohypnol. This drug has been reported frequently in the press as the date rape drug. Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and ketamine are also frequently used to spike drinks because of their anesthetic qualities when mixed with alcohol. These drugs are very hard to identify when placed in the drink, hence, many people use this so that the other person would be unaware of it. 

     Of course, there were no drugs placed in Polyphemus’ drink, just some strong, undiluted wine. And because of the cyclops’ curiosity (since the cyclops hadn’t tried drinking wine), Polyphemus trusted the Greeks and drank the wine given, making him unconscious, thus enabling the Greeks to stab his eye which was dangerous for the cyclops’ condition. Polyphemus did break the rule of stranger danger here, and it teaches him and the readers a lesson to never trust what strangers would give. This scene is certainly similar to the intentions of drink spiking, but just without drugs.

INCIDENT 4: THE THEOGONY: GREED FOR POWER

     The Greek story of creation, from the Theogony written by Hesiod, is full of greed and avarice involving power. The greed stems from Ouranous with his children. Apart from the twelve titans, he cast the Hecatonchires into Tartarus because not only he was disgusted, he was also fearful they might conquer him because of their power and strength through their strong stature. Through Gaia’s advice, Kronos, one of Ouranous’ children, castrated him and hence, Kronos replaced him and the Titan age started. 

"The Battle Between the Gods and the Titans" by Joachim Wtewael

      The greed continues as Kronos eats his children because of a prophecy that one of his children will overthrow him, but fortunately, Zeus, the youngest, was protected from him and was replaced instead with a rock decoy for Kronos to consume. Growing up, Zeus makes Kronos vomit his other five siblings, and waged on a war with the Titans. Zeus’ side won and the Greek age began. Zeus became the king of the Olympian gods, and the greed continues. In one part, Zeus devoured his wife, Metis because of a prophecy that their offspring would be greater than him. But, despite that, Athena, their offspring, still grew out of his head, fully armed.

     Today, greed still lives inside people who can’t just seem to be contented with what they have. Greed with a certain thing, with someone, with power and authority - you name it. This greed hampers our relationship with people and would lead to competition instead. This greed makes people selfish and egotistic to the point it blinds their conscience, hurting people without realizing it. 

Greed involving power, especially in politics, has caused politicians to venture into illegal actions involving graft and corruption. This has slowed down the progress of our country just because they don’t want to lose their power. And who are the ones affected by their greed? Of course, the citizens. A good politician is challenged to avoid the temptations of greed for power, authority and wealth - to focus on the service of the citizens, but it seems like many of them decided to run because of that greed instead.

The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. Photo retrieved
from The Bohol Chronicle.

     An iconic example in Filipino politics that has been etched onto the history books was former president Ferdinand Marcos. In the first term, Marcos was successful in bringing the Philippines into development, thus improving the quality of life of Filipinos. During the second term, everything went downhill from there. In his second term, economic growth slowed, optimism faded, and the crime rate increased. Also, a new communist insurgency, led by the new Communist Party of the Philippines-Marxist-Leninist and its military arm, the New People’s Army, was on the rise. In 1969 the Moro National Liberation Front was founded and conducted an insurgency in Muslim areas. Due to this political violence, he declared martial law. Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and did not lift it until January 17, 1981. When martial law was lifted in 1981 and a “New Republic” was proclaimed, little had actually changed, and Marcos easily won reelection.

     The situation went worse when his political rival, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who had been jailed by Marcos, was assassinated as ordered from the Marcos administration. It all stemmed from Marcos’ greed of political power that made him do this. His greed continues during the 1986 snap election where he won but was met with widespread allegations of fraud and illegal tampering. This sparked the iconic and non-violent People Power Revolution, where the citizens of the country were eager and determined to overthrow the greedy president, which was successful. The cause of his greed for power has since affected the Philippines especially economically.

     AND finally, to conclude, mythology has always provided people some life lessons, just like what I mentioned above. These stories are also still relevant and comparable in modern society, which is what makes it timeless. So, when you read something about mythology, don’t be only fascinated with its characters or its 'unusual' events, be fascinated with what lesson and information it gives you that you can apply in real life because that’s what the purpose of literature is.



References

• Assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. (2019, October 25). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Benigno_Aquino_Jr
• Briseis, Slave of Achilles. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.rwaag.org/briseis
• Crystal, G., & Foster, N. (2019, October 18). What is Drink Spiking? Retrieved from https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-drink-spiking.htm
• Hauser, E. (2016, May 19). Women of the Trojan War. Retrieved from http://www.historiamag.com/recovering-the-women-of-the-trojan-war/
• JUDGEMENT OF PARIS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/JudgementParis.html
• Nonato, V. F. (2016, August 24). Trader claims Makati judge sought P15M via middleman. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/809081/trader-claims-makati-judge-sought-p15m-via-middleman
• Philippine Commission on Women. (2014, May 13). Retrieved from https://www.pcw.gov.ph/statistics/201405/statistics-violence-against-filipino-women
• Stranger danger. (2019, October 15). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_danger
• The Era of Ferdinand Marcos - History of the Philippines. (2016, July 4). Retrieved from https://www.tagaloglang.com/the-era-of-ferdinand-marcos/.
• The Philippines Corruption Report. (2017, October). Retrieved from https://www.ganintegrity.com/portal/country-profiles/the-philippines/
• THEOGONY - HESIOD: SUMMARY & ANALYSIS: Classical Literature. (2019, August 6). Retrieved from https://www.ancient-literature.com/greece_hesiod_theogony.html
• Tucker, K. (2019, January 10). What Are the Roles of the Maidens Chryseis & Briseis in the Epic "The Iliad"? Retrieved from https://penandthepad.com/roles-maidens-chryseis-briseis-epic-the-iliad-22218.html
• Women made to be Comfort Women - Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.awf.or.jp/e1/philippine-00.html

Personal Essay: Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Max Ehrmann's Desiderata

     The definition of happiness is varied to all people. We have our own perspectives of what happiness is because we grew up in different environments and we grew up with different attitudes and mindsets. In a personal perspective, happiness is something we should cherish and not take for granted. For me, happiness is the fulfillment of your needs in life. With this fulfillment, you will feel satisfied and contented with what you have. Happiness is being able to do the good things that you want in your life freely. It is not forcing yourself to do things that you dislike just to please people because you know that you are capable with your talents and that it's okay to make mistakes. Happiness is letting your real self out, knowing that you are beautiful in every way despite of people's judgements. In short, happiness is that feeling when tranquility, liberation and contentment all settle down within yourself. 

     In the poem 'Desiderata', this hard-hitting quote made my admiration for this poem more significant: "If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time." This quote is an approach we all should learn to handle this load people put onto us. As we reside in this society where people would always expect something from us, the last thing that we would do is to compare ourselves to others. When we compare ourselves, it means we do not appreciate our self-worth and without knowing our self-worth, we cannot find happiness within us. If we have a mindset of thinking that it's acceptable for mistakes to be done, then we can easily handle this pressure. If we compare ourselves, we may encompass a hatred for these people we've compared to because we are afraid of their success. And always, do not expect to much when waiting for results because if it doesn't meet your expectations, these will lead us to doubt our efforts. Remember, strive for improvement, not perfection. As you achieve things, your achievements in life must not boost your ego - always remain in a humble state because there's always a time of success and a time of failure. There's always someone who would match or break your achievements. Of course, let us not do evil things for the benefit of our success because it serves no purpose if the efforts are fabricated and unauthentic.

     Reading and analyzing the theme that Ehrmann's Desiderata is trying to convey made me realize that it is opening a big part of our minds of wisdom and experience in this world. We are bound to grasp new lessons that are applicable to our lives and Desiderata makes it an easier task because it opens new doors to what the concept of life and happiness really is. Desiderata is this one big slap to our faces that the way we solve our problems is complicated and that the poem is actually the simplest way to solve our personal conflicts. We should week good or decent relationships with people, not evilness and vengeance. We should learn to dwell only on our business, not by comparing it to someone else's. We should be ourselves when we love, not by pretending or taking selfishness of it. We should be gentle and considerate to our well-being, not to be too hard on ourselves. And of course, no matter how many trials, failures, downfalls and negativity that life may present to us, always strive for happiness. As I pen these words in this essay, it has helped me express a great part of myself from the pressures I deal with to what happiness really feels like for me. Every word I write is essential for my expression of what I feel for I am never vocal about my problems in life, so writing and composing has always become my go-to's when I needed to steam off.

     Finding happiness in our lives is a simple yet difficult thing to achieve. We are easily let down by these judgements and comparisons by people. As I am on a journey to find who I really am and to feel what happiness is like, one day in my life, I can be able to feel these three things - contentment, liberation and tranquility, I can finally take the deepest breath and say "This is it. This is the prime of my life. This is the summit, the peak. All those material possessions and achievements can't even come closer to this." Remember, you don't always have to smile when you feel delightment, as long as you feel that inner peace, then you are happy.

Ecuador's Earthquake Preparedness Plan

Ecuador is a country located in the northwest part of South America and is one of the earthquake-prone countries in the world. The country sits on the edge of the South American Plate, beside with the Nazca Plate, which results in strong earthquakes in the country. Both plates converge with each other, resulting to the subduction of the Nazca Plate with the South American Plate. Ecuador’s infrastructures are usually built on soft soil, specifically alluvium. Alluvium soils are loose and incompact accumulation of sands, silts, clays, or gravels deposited in rivers. Many cities in Ecuador are built on soft soils because these are flat and easy to build. The country also suffers from soil liquefaction, where the soil turns into liquid in response to an earthquake’s sudden movement. With the type of soil Ecuador is built on, it would experience stronger shaking and more damage. The materials used in Ecuador’s infrastructures also have been of poor quality. They are built with unstable materials such as masonry infill walls and flexible reinforced concrete. With more and more people living in slums, it could be a higher risk since people do not have enough money to afford durable and long-lasting materials for their houses. But after the 7.8 Earthquake in Ecuador in 2016, people were appreciating bamboo as it was able to withstand earthquakes and they have realized it after they have seen houses built on bamboo unaffected in the earthquake. They would put a concrete foundation and put the bamboo as its pillars. They also have mixed modern construction materials to assure its durability. Ecuador also established the Earthquake Safety Advisory Board, which is used to monitor and update earthquake risks in the country. The Quito School Earthquake Safety Project was also created to evaluate the building of the schools if it is safe or not. This effects to the improvement of the building so that there will be lesser risk and they would be able to impose safety school measures. In earthquake preparedness, improvement must be made. Some provinces in Ecuador are accustomed to small tremors and the people were not prepared on what to do during an earthquake. Due to these, when powerful earthquakes would strike, this would send people in immediate panic, for they did not know how to deal with it. With weak construction and no awareness, it will produce vast amounts of damage in infrastructures and casualties. In a 2010 poll by El Universo newspaper, 85% of respondents in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main cities stated they were uninformed about instructions on what to do during emergencies, and 40% were completely unaware of what to do during earthquakes. Ecuador’s Red Cross also had helped raise awareness about these, but it was not enough because they do not have enough capacity to train people.

A house in Ecuador with a bamboo as its foundation

A building toppled down after the 2016 Ecuador earthquake

     With this information, Ecuador is alarmingly unprepared for another massive earthquake –from the building structure to the awareness of the citizens. They often do drills every year, but it failed to be maintained properly. As stated, the buildings are mostly made of unsafe materials that can be destroyed quickly. But after the 2016 earthquake, it has been an eye-opener to the citizens and government of Ecuador. Even though with these problems yet to be fixed, the citizens of Ecuador have also used their innovativeness to use bamboo as the foundation of their buildings and it is fascinating that albeit the impacts and effects of the 2016 earthquake, their resourcefulness was greatly used so that certain effects and destruction would not happen again.

In comparison, the Philippines established the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to ensure the protection of the people during an earthquake or calamity. They are also responsible for holding earthquake drills regularly in schools and buildings four times per year to boost preparedness in people. The government also implemented strong building codes that fit the standard to withstand an 8.4 earthquake. In Ecuador, they have the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR) to also ensure and monitor the citizen's safety. They also have emergency services to respond like the Ecuadorian Red Cross and ECU 911. They also do often hold earthquake drills. The raising of awareness in the country is poorly implemented, therefore making the citizens unprepared during an earthquake. But, they have emergency services to respond immediately to the victims to rescue quickly. As stated earlier, they have established the Earthquake Safety Advisory Board to ensure the safety of the people and buildings. During 2016, Ecuador also has included bamboo on its National Construction Code, making it the standard when people need to construct buildings. 

To conclude, Ecuador is somehow unprepared to these calamities due to unawareness of what to do during earthquakes. The Ecuadorian government should have clearer plans to raise awareness properly so that people would not panic. Ecuador is susceptible to earthquakes and it would need more preparation for the people and proper check-up of the buildings. These major earthquakes are signs that the government and the people should work together so that they can be able to reduce casualties. Earthquake preparedness is necessary because if people do not know any of these, it will be a great risk. If Ecuador would improve in terms of earthquake preparedness and building stability, then it would be a great benefit when another massive earthquake would strike anytime soon.

References

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Gatóo, A., Sharma, B., Bock, M., & Ramage, M. (2014). Sustainable structures: Bamboo standards and building codes.

GeoHazards International. (n.d.). Geohazard: The Quito School Earthquake Safety Proje. Retrieved from https://www.geohaz.org/the-quito-school-earthquake-safety-proje

GeoHazards International. (n.d.). Geohazard: Quito Earthquake Risk Management. Retrieved from https://www.geohaz.org/quito-earthquake-risk-management

Gibson, G. (2016, April 26). In Ecuador, a resort town torn apart by the earthquake. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/04/ecuador-resort-town-torn-earthquake-160426070349918.html

Gregorio, X. (2019, April 24). PH buildings should withstand magnitude 8.4 quake – expert. Retrieved from https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/4/24/PH-buildings-earthquake-safe.html

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Jacobson, D. (2017, May 02). Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia faults hint where large earthquakes could strike. Retrieved from http://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/ecuador-peru-and-colombia-faults-hint-where-large-earthquakes-could-strike-2128/

Lotto, G. (2017, May 02). Ecuador earthquakes: What happened and what's next? Retrieved from http://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/ecuador-earthquakes-what-happened-and-what-is-next-986/

Manta, E. L. (2019, April 16). Bamboo becomes go-to material for earthquake-proof buildings in Ecuador. Retrieved from https://www.efe.com/efe/english/technology/bamboo-becomes-go-to-material-for-earthquake-proof-buildings-in-ecuador/50000267-3953733

Mills, B. (2018, January 04). Soils of Ecuador: Characteristics, Types, Uses. Retrieved from https://www.lifepersona.com/soils-of-ecuador-characteristics-types-uses

Rappler.com. (2019, February 20). NDRRMC to hold 1st nationwide earthquake drill for 2019. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/223955-1st-nationwide-simultaneous-earthquake-drill-february-21-2019 

http://www.un-spider.org. (2019). Ecuadorian Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR). Retrieved from http://www.un-spider.org/links-and-resources/institutions/ecuadoran-secretariat-risk-management-sngr