This tabblo was inspired by the song "Seasons of Love" from the hit musical Rent. Please click here for the music.

Best Composition

525,600 minutes, how do you measure...measure a year?

...in daylights, in sunsets...

LOVE OF NATURE

3rd Best Tabblo

Since I was little, I have always been fascinated by natural wonders and phenomena. Out of that interest spawed a tabblo, my 3rd best, as a matter of fact. Notice the color transition of the haiku as if the background was turning from night to day.

I kept this tabblo very simple because I have always believed that nature is very simple in her elegance, yet awes anyone who marvels in her wonder. In spite of our constant abuse which must immediately stop, she never ceases to amaze.

Morning Hues

...in inches, in miles...

LOVE OF TRAVEL

2nd Best Tabblo

Another "hobby" of mine is to travel. In this tabblo, I was fortunate enough to have been a participant of the XSI: Singapore Trip. Without the opportunity, I would have not taken some amazing shots of Mother Nature

One of the places I went while in Singapore was an island called Pulau Ubin. Untouched by modernization and urban development, the paradise boasts exotic wildlife and vegetation

The Virgin Island

As the title implies, the essay lists three traits every Filipino is "suppose" to have. Be warned, though, the funny is contagious.

3 Ways To Tell If You Are A Filipino

525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life?

NATURE OF LOVE

Best Tabblo

I used lines from Shakespeare's most famous play and lyrics from the song "A Love That Will Last" by Renee Olstead to convey one of the themes of Romeo and Juliet.

A Love That Will Last

Other Tabblos...

Love Eternal

525,600 minutes, how do measure

the life of a woman or a man?

...In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried? In bridges he burned, or the way that she died...

STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

     William Shakespeare's riveting tale of two young lovers, who from the start were doomed because of their love, can enthrall even the most anti-Shakespeare person in the world.

     Set in Verona, Italy, the play follows one Juliet Capulet and one Romeo Montague, who, because of their families' feud, had to keep their love a secret. With the help of the vulgar and naughty Nurse and a God-fearing and compassionate Friar Lawrence, the lovers' companions respectively, however, they are able to meet. Through despair, death, struggles, conflicts and delusion the lovers find themselves kicking the bucket because of their love for each other.

     No doubt that Shakespeare is a true genius when it comes to love stories. In his work, he perfectly delivers what the different faces of love are and how it can lead to death and destruction. However, the message is conveyed through use of puns, wit, satire, wordplay, and the like, which is where Shakespeare's creativity and brilliance lies. He makes the play so exciting and amusing that one would have to be mad to not finish reading the play.

     Truly nothing comes close to the towering grandeur that is Romeo and Juliet. It combines humor and drama in a tale that is memorable not only for its sad ending, but also for its hilarious beginning and middle. I strongly recommend reading this before you die. Just a reminder: the love is killer.

It's time now, to sing out, though the story never ends. Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends...

LOVE OF FRIENDS

Love. A very powerful word indeed. That is why I named by tabblo "Seasons of Love," because only that word can describe by whole year's affair with the High 2 English Advanced Class. It is "seasonal" because like winter, spring, summer and fall where the cycle goes on forever, the love I experienced throughout my whole year is eternal and will never fade.

I still remember my first day of High 2 English Advanced quite vividly. Everyone was chatting away about what would be in store for us this year given the "interesting" experiences we had during our first year. Some were anxious, some were scared, some were nervous, others were excited and cheerful. One thing was for sure: we were about to embark on a journey we would never forget for the rest of our lives.

Now, fast-forward to the present. As I look back at a year that has gone past, I am grateful to have become part of the High 2 English Advanced Class not only because of the wonderful classmates and teacher, but also because I got a chance to better myself in the English Language and Communicative Arts with the help of new and innovative methods of teaching, as well as some classic pieces of literature.

When I was first introduced to Tabblo by Mr. Nicolay, I first thought of it as another teaching strategy that was originally suppose to stimulate learning and creativity in students, only to hopelessly fail in its goal. How wrong I was! As time progressed, I fell in love with Tabblo's toolbox of commands and styles that helped me create, dare I say, gorgeous tabblos. Also, it was through Tabblo that made me instill in myself a sense of discipline, determination and passion. After I finished a tabblo, I felt so accomplished to have done such a work of art because I know that in each tabblo I do, I put my heart into doing it not only for the grade, but also to express myself as a person.

Overall, this year has made me aware of things about myself and others that I never knew before. I realized that if I believe in myself, I could achieve anything. Some strengths I discovered were the ability to master a piece of technology in just hours and creatively writing beautiful compositions of any kind, be it humourous or descriptive. However, I do still have my waterloos when it comes to English. One of them would be comprehension, especially poems and short stories. At the beginning of the year, I feared that my weakness in this aspect would be my ultimate downfall, but luckily I got lots of practice through reading various selections written by some of the world's most revered authors. In reading these, my comprehension skills improved tremendously as I now understand how to analyze and criticize a piece of work.

To my H2 English Advanced classmates,

     I feel very sad now that our year of fun, excitement and learning is coming to a close. Thank you very much for a wonderful and memorable experience throughout my stay in the class. Although I may not be an "original" of the English Advanced class, I have always considered all of you as my true classmates and friends. I felt that we have formed and bond of love and friendship so strong that neither time nor fate may break it. We may have had some bumps along the way, and sometimes we may have not gotten along, but it was through those events, as well as the good ones, that made this class one of my favorites for this school year.

Your classmate,

Markyn Kho

Until the next season of love...