THE FORMIDABLE WARRIOR

A godlike warrior who fights with his own rules, he is none other than, the unmerciful Achilles. A famous figure of the novel "The Iliad", made known by Homer. He is a great warrior of the Achaeans. Honored by his comrades and feared by his enemies. Treaties and agreements are for coward hearts, this is his rule. Pity is nowhere in his vocabulary. For this man, battles and wars will define the winner.

His monstrous acts frightened the enemies. Many were afraid of his animal like way of killing people. An example is what he did to another honored warrior, the magnificent Hector in “THE ILIAD” Book 22. The fight showed how invincinble and merciless Achilles was. Without any doubt, he won the battle and achieved another glory.

Achilles finished. Then on noble Hector’s corpse
he carried out a monstrous act. He cut through
the tendons behind both feet, from heel to ankle,
threaded them with ox-hide thongs, and then tied these
onto his chariot, leaving the head to drag behind.
he climbed up his chariot, brought on the splendid armour,
then lashed his horses. They sped off eagerly (22.512-518.231).

These lines portrayed his monstrosity as he showed no mercy to a dead opponent. It only proves that Achilles is a man with a metal heart. He desired for glory, too much glory, to the point of longing to be a full blooded god with boundless strength and power. The following lines proved his thirst for achieving something a normal person is incapable of. Again, from “THE ILIAD” Book 22.

You’ve robbed me out of glory, saving them
with ease, since you don’t have to be afraid
of future retribution. I’d make you pay
if only I am powerful enough. (22.26-29.220

 Truly, Achilles is someone to be afraid of. His views and opinions about life and death reflect his brutality. A true digger of glory and power. For me, Achilles may be physically strong, but his perception about everything will lead him to be spiritually weak. 
However, we all know that every individual is fated to live and to die. No matter how strong a person is, once death approaches, the only thing to do  is accept the fact that nothing stays permanently. Just as how Achilles is fated to die in the hands of Paris and Apollo regardless of how powerful he is.

Ramirez, Veronica, E. English Across Continents. Makati City, Phils.
Diwa Learning Systems Inc. 2010 Print.

The True Hero. The Magic of Love.

From the early times up to present, the view about women evolved through time. The former naive impression about women was changed into a fierce yet loving image. Come to think of this, first there were SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN, BATMAN and CAPTAIN BARBELL. Then WONDER WOMAN, CAT WOMAN, SUPER GIRL, SAILOR MOON and DARNA suddenly appeared in the picture. What does that mean? Well, this only proves that there is also a hero in every woman’s heart. Yes that’s true and I know one special hero of true virtue.

A registered midwife, a mother of four, a wife and an amazing grandmother, she is Belia Pullante Medina. The wrinkles on her face reflect our stubbornness, her rough hands prove her full time commitment to our family and her beautiful smile shows love and continues to uplift our dull moments. She may be sensitive at times, usually forgetful, and emotional more often. But above all, the image she gave me was a friend with lots of stories, a mother with a warm hug and a grandmother with a gentle touch. At the age of 68, she’s still working to help in the family finances. She gives service to others even if there’s no guarantee that those people will pay her back. Every time someone shouted “Nanay Belia!” expect a sound of feet running from the second floor down to the location of the voice. With open arms and a bright smile, she welcomed every family member. Others may say, what’s so special about that? Well for me, she is the kind of hero that does not need to fight revolts, lead the rebels to fight for freedom, protect a princess from a witch, or save the world from UFOs. She is the hero who is willing to surrender herself for the sake of her family, give service to people she doesn’t know, and help others even without rewards.

For me she’s the symbol of a true strong woman. She proved herself to be a loving and strong mother, a loyal and honest wife, a reliable friend and a one of a kind grandmother. She’s a woman of great words for others. Truly, the best way to define hero is not based on the person’s physical and mental strengths. It’s on how BIG the heart is. 

I would like share this story from my mother about my grandparents’ love story. She said that grandmother was born in a wealthy clan while grandfather was from a poor family of a not so well off couple. We all know that there's a big boundary between the rich and poor citizen. Still, my grandmother didn’t mind what others might say. She gave her heart to this man of her dreams and they live a simple yet contented life. From this story, I could honestly say that she was truly a woman with a strong heart. She didn’t mind giving up her luxurious life for a simpler one.