XVIII

Hi everyone !! I just wanna share with you guys how my 18th birthday was celebrated with my friends here in APC.

It was 6th of July when we celebrated my birthday and unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs that's why the local officials suspended the classes in the afternoon. But me and  my friends went to the nearest bar to play billiards after the class and that's when my other friends showed up. I thought it was a simple celebration because I never thought that they would come in the first place. Well, actually, they said that my boyfriend invited them here and so, he showed up and surprised me with a cake and flowers. It was really special for me because it was my first time to celebrate with the people I love asides from my family. Ofcourse some of them were drunk but I did manage myself because I needed to go home at 9pm. It was a only a couple of hours we spent together but that night was really special and I know that I'll never forget this highlight of my life as a young lady who formally turned into an adult or legal age.

According to Hubpages.com, celebrating 18th birthday for young women in the Philippines is a very special event every family looks forward to. The "debutante", as she is called, is a French word meaning a "female beginner", an adult now, who is being prepared to be introduced into society and into a world of civic responsibility and social awareness. Originally, she is being exposed due to her legal age, that she will be eligible for marriage and to be formally introduced to all eligible bachelors as well.

It was just a simple birthday celebration but it means a lot to me, I was not after the special event that everyone was waiting to happen which was the debutante ball because I wanted to have a celebration with my family and friends which is not in a formal way.

Get to Know Me Well

Hi everyone :) thanks for stopping by at my blog. 

Well my first blog for September is about me, myself and I. (hahahaha)

So, my name is Jamilah Pecayo and Im already 18 years old (ugh getting older),  for my security purposes I won't state my address because you might stalk me outside... (ahahaha) 

Im studying BS Tourism Management at Asia Pacific College, a member of TM Society and APC Flickers (both organizations).  My hobbies are watching English movies, Korean/ Japanese/ Taiwanese dramas, surfing the internet, shopping with my mom and sister and lastly is hanging out with my squad(friends).  When it comes to food, Im so picky like seriously I don't eat any food that is color white and black like for example, carbonnara and dinuguan but, I like spicy foods like bicol express, binagoongan baboy, papaitan and etc. When it comes to fashion, sometimes I go for chic style, but mostly something that looks elegant in colors like black and white. I also go for something comfy like t-shirt, shorts and then sneakers. 

So I think that's all for now... 

Connections between Money and Happiness

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Money is not only an instrument of commerce and a medium of exchange for products and services, but also a powerful tool that can cause happiness or dependency. Money is also a multidimensional construct; it is instrumental as well as symbolic in and of itself. There are many dimensions associated with money: power and prestige, retention-time, and good and bad.

According to Mr. Christopher's article entitled "Money Can't Buy Happiness", money is a short term way of happiness. Money can only buy the things that people want like cars, houses, shoes and clothes in which the newness wears off and gets old after a while. But it cannot buy their needs like friendship and time with their family. Money can't make people love you for who you are.

"Having the power to get whatever and whenever you want something is not part how it should be," Christopher said.

Another article was written by Sonal Daga entitled "Is Too Much Money a Bad Thing?" He said that too much money is considered bad because many people forgets who to respect and be grateful in life. They take everything in life for granted and feel superior. They forget what is right and wrong and do not follow any rule and act the way they feel is right.

"Money does not make everything good or bad, but the thinking does it," Sonal said.

As for Rodney Chrisman, in his article "Is Money Evil?", people with strong lust for money can develop an insensible disposition. In the discipline of psychology, there exists a correlation between happy feelings and money which has already been discovered. Those who have a strong love of money constantly feel the urge to money as if they have a lack of it, these individuals have a bad disposition and are impatient when confronted with those whom they believe are seeking to prevent them from gaining money. Many people with an excessive passion for gaining money tend to identify themselves with their financial well-being, thus being afraid to lose their capital.

Rodney said, "In their fear, they lose the greatest of all values, a sense of peace."

According to Professor Afrikadzata Deku's article entitled "Positive Money to Have and Negative Money to Avoid", negative money is crumbs-based and oriented, the more you have it, the more you want it, the more drained you become and the less time you have to enjoy it.

"To treat money as your friend and not as your master is to enjoy the blessing of positive money and be free from the curse of negative money," Professor Afrikadzata quoted. 

The researcher believes that money is evil however, an experiment proved that thinking about money may drive us toward using our financial resources to benefit ourselves, but spending money on others can provide more effective route to increase our own happiness.

Therefore, the researcher seeks to find out and have a knowledge why money is associated to happiness knowing its negativity.

Since there has been an experiment, the purpose of this research paper is to explain the connection between money and happiness.

B. Statement of the Problem 

The study seeks to answer the question: What is the connection between money and happiness?

C. Significance of the Study

Workaholic. The prior knowledge of this study would surely help the people who are obsessed in work believing that more money is going to make them and their family happier. This belief sets someone on an endless treadmill of working harder and harder to make more and more money to achieve happiness. However, this is a fool’s errand. In this case, they could make use of the information written in the research paper and basing their life off working too hard for money might succeed in becoming lonely and miserable.

Teenagers. Even though teens may think they know it all, new research has found that money matters are one area where teens are most assuredly lacking knowledge.  Proof of that fact comes from the 17 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 who said they knew how to manage their money. So in a long twisted jumble of facts, they think that money really does make the world go round and round.

Politicians. This research paper would benefit the politicians to know and reflect what negative reputation money can bring into their lives once they they misuse their governmental power for personal gain.

Future Researchers. There are many researchers who have studied about money and happiness. Previous studies have been published and are used by other researchers to examine how to achieve happiness. Aside from the other studies, this study will also be helpful for other researchers in order to know the effect of money in life behaviour and happiness.

D. Scope and Delimitation

This research paper focuses on the connections between money and happiness. Having money is one of the most important things in life, but happiness is even more important. Many people believe that becoming rich is the path to happiness, but pursuing wealth may be an ineffective means of pursuing well-being.

E. Materials and Methods

This study evaluates pieces of information based on the article found and the researcher’s observation. The study is also after the defining money and happiness. All the related articles and studies were gathered through the World Wide Web.

F. Definition of Terms

Money. Is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a particular country or socio-economic context.

Happiness. Is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

Psychologists. A psychologist evaluates, diagnoses, treats, and studies behavior and mental processes.

Positive Psychology. It is the study of what actions, pursuits and motivations best contribute to the good life.

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

What is the connection between money and happiness?

I. Definition of Money and Happiness

Money is primarily a medium of exchange or means of exchange. It is a way for a person to trade what he has for what he wants. Ideal money has three critical characteristics: it acts as a medium of exchange; it is an economic good; and it is a means of economic calculation. To properly understand money as a medium of exchange one must first go back to the first methods of trade. Before money was invented one would have to engage in direct barter. Over time, different commodities served as medium of exchange but the problem of marketability and durability came into play. A necessary and highly exchangeable commodity was food. The problem is that it was perishable. One had to either use it or trade it before it went bad. Over time, the most marketable and durable commodities came to be used as medium of exchange – commodities such as gold and silver. Money is an expression of exchange value (the exchange values placed on goods by traders in the marketplace).

Happiness is not about smiling all of the time. It's not about eliminating bad moods, or trading your Tolstoy-inspired nuance and ambivalence toward people and situations for cheery pronouncements devoid of critical judgment. While the veritable experts lie in different camps and sometimes challenge one another, over the past decade they've together assembled big chunks of the happiness puzzle.

What is happiness? The most useful definition and it's one agreed upon by neuroscientists, psychiatrists, behavioral economists and positive psychologists is more like satisfied or content than "happy" in its strict bursting-with-glee sense. It has depth and deliberation to it. It encompasses living a meaningful life, utilizing your gifts and your time, living with thought and purpose.

It's maximized when you also feel part of a community. And when you confront annoyances and crises with grace. It involves a willingness to learn and stretch and grow, which sometimes involves discomfort. It requires acting on life, not merely taking it in. It's not joy, a temporary exhilaration, or even pleasure, that sensual rush though a steady supply of those feelings course through those who seize each day.

II. Connections between Money and Happiness

A. How much Money do we Need to make us Happy?

People desires to have more money just like I do. Money can provide our needs and wants. It can take us wherever we want. Nowadays, it's like money can make the world go round. People would  do everything just to have money, in illegal or not. They will do whatever it takes to give happiness to the people they love by giving them money or by buying anything they want. Nevertheless, can money buy happiness?


According to the article entitled "Does Money Buy Happiness? Apparently, it does" written by Sara Miller, when we're introduced to the lifestyle of rich, we witness the majestic money can achieve. They mentioned that according to the Time Magazine article "Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Make Us Happy? money can buy happiness in a certain point. A study held by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School surveying 450,000 people, the happiness limits is around $75,000. This wage allows the average American to live comfortably and a little fancy. Economists Angus Deaton and Daniel Kahneman tested two different types of happiness. The first being the daily up and down of mood swings and the second focused on a deeper and long lasting fulfillment. $75,000 or above helps people to feel the deep satisfaction of happiness and gives them a positive outlook on their future.  Once under the $75.000 mark, dissatisfaction starts to arise and the worries of life.

Sara quoted, "Does money buy us happiness? It does, and it can.  In the modern world, money (be it $75,000 or 1 million) can bring us happiness to a certain degree, optimism about our futures, and leave a little extra for indulgence."

I strongly disagree with the author. How can she measure the money that we need just to ensure our happiness? For me, her thoughts are mainly focused on tangible things that can make us even happier. However, she never thought of the things that absolutely money can't buy and those are the intangible just like love, friends, family, talents and so on. Surely we can live without material possession just like how our ancestors lived in simplicity.

B. Can Money Buy Happiness?

For people with very little money, it turns out that money can actually make you happy because it can provide you with things that you need for survival. However, once, you gain a foothold on these basic survival related needs, the relationship between money and happiness decreases.

In the article written by Michael Kraus and titled "The Happy Chronicles II," for instance, self-determination theory suggests that happiness is about self-improvement, finding meaning in the things you do, and personal growth. Thus, people tend to be happiest when they satisfy intrinsic goals that have to do with finding personal meaning. Extrinsic goals like making money and becoming famous won't necessarily improve one's happiness. In a study that examined this effect, Niemiec and colleagues examined well-being among college students who just graduated from a four year university that were now heading out into the work force. They found that the students who set intrinsic goals, goals for self-improvement and personal growth tended to achieve those goals 1-year post graduation, and also tended to be happier than did students who set extrinsic goals, goals to make money and be famous. It's also possible that increases in a select group of people's income can be detrimental to happiness in society as a whole. Recently researchers, led by Ed Diener of the University of Illinois published evidence from a large scale national survey asking if inequality that is, large wealth differences between the richest and poorest people in society might decrease happiness. The researchers found that wealth inequality is correlated with lower trust toward others. Thus, wealth inequality may reduce happiness by straining the normal trusting relationships between people.

The author said,"Beyond fulfilling your basic needs, money doesn't seem to be a pathway to happiness. In fact, at a certain point, people may find more happiness in sharing their wealth with others, forming lasting relationships, and pursuing goals for personal growth."

Happiness is a choice. Whatever life throws at you, happiness will always be your choice. It is in this simple matter than one can find happiness, though money plays a role, there are other factors that can affect one's happiness, relationships, personal needs, however nothing can compete against one's own belief, one's own idea that they are happy. It is when one can appreciate what they have will they truly find happiness.

According to Manasa Gopakumar's article entitled "The Happiness Quotient, the Relationship between Happiness and Wealth",  a person’s conception of the relationship between money and happiness also depends on how he spends his money. If he uses it for the time spent with family, friends or for doing charity, the happiness is bound to last longer as the memories of those experience are long-lasting, as opposed to spending the money on say, gadgets that will bring a momentary pleasure which will die out soon.

There is a correlation between money and happiness, but correlation always does not mean causation. It is not always the case that more wealth means more happiness. Money helps reduce stress and worry in one’s life and hence provides contentment. Although money is extremely important for one’s survival, there are factors other than a high-paying job that contributes towards a person’s overall happiness. The thought of being independent, getting respected, having a loving family and a fulfilling job can be more meaningful and rewarding to someone than a fat pay cheque.

"Wealth should not pursued for its own sake, as this would make one subservient to it."

One should not get possessed by or get affected by pleasures like wealth, which comes in the way of one’s journey towards a virtuous life. But in a more pragmatic sense, for someone to even say that they are not affected by wealth, they need to be at a certain privileged position. The horrifying feeling of an empty wallet will never let anyone say that they are not affected by money at all.

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

This research paper is meant to find out the connections between money and happiness.

The researcher evaluates pieces of information based on the related articles and studied found online. With that, the researcher was able to answer the statement of the problem. The results, outcomes and findings of the study are as follows:

1.  There is no correlation to the wealth and happiness in one’s life. As long as one is leading a comfortable life with access to basic amenities and good education, he can be happy. However, since words like “comfortable” and “needs” are subjective, it depends on the individual what his idea of a satisfactory life would be. 

2. Doubling your salary won't necessarily give you more joy, day-to-day. It won't make you more excited by your work or help you feel closer to your friends and family.”

3. The happiness quotient is bound to be higher when one moves from a state of abject poverty to a state of being comfortable and having their needs met; as compared to a transition from an already comfortable life to a little more sophisticated lifestyle.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the outcomes and results produced by the study done, the researcher concluded that:

1. People tend to compare their wealth to that of others. Many a time, their happiness depends on how well they are keeping up with their colleagues or neighbors. The happiness, in this case, is due to relative wealth. 
2. Beyond fulfilling your basic needs, money doesn't seem to be a pathway to happiness. In fact, at a certain point, people may find more happiness in sharing their wealth with others, forming lasting relationships, and pursuing goals for personal growth.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After drawing the conclusion of the study, the researcher hereby makes the following recommendations:

1. Spending money on tangible objects for self-centered means fails to offer a route to sustainable happiness.

2. Spending money on well-chosen experiences is a useful route to sustainable happiness.

3. Communal motives for spending money is an effective strategy for increasing happiness in other people as well as the self.

REFERENCES

Manasa Gopakumar (April 26, 2013) "The Happiness Quotient… the Relationship between Happiness and Wealth" Retrieved April 7, 2015 from http://ssla.edu.in/blog/entry/humanities-social/the-happiness-quotient-the-relationship-between-happiness-and-wealth

Todd B Kashdan Ph.D. (May 25, 2010) "Does Money Influence Happiness? Depends on How You Spend Your Cash" Retrieved April 7, 2015 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/curious/201005/does-money-influence-happiness-depends-how-you-spend-your-cash

 Michael W Kraus Ph.D. (April 3, 2012) "The Happiness Chronicles II: Does Money Buy Happiness?" Retrieved April 7, 2015 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/under-the-influence/201204/the-happiness-chronicles-ii-does-money-buy-happiness

A. Freeman "Economics and Liberty" Retrieved April 7, 2015 from https://economicsandliberty.wordpress.com/what-is-money/

Sara Miller "Does Money Buy Happiness? Apparently, it Does" Retrieved April 7, 2015 from http://examinedexistence.com/does-money-buy-happiness-apparently-it-does/

Blogpost 8: No Regrets

Life is so precious. Life can change in a blink of an eye. One minute you’re on top and then the next moment you’re on the bottom thinking can things get any worse? When moments in life like that occur you shouldn't give up because the next day you’re going to wake up and regret it.

I saw an article entitled "Living in the No Regrets Zone” by Caroline Adams Miller. She said regrets are defined as unfulfilled intentions or goals that a person wishes they had the courage or time to pursue at a previous time in their life.  It’s natural for everyone to experience regrets, and these regrets often begin to build during the college years over passed-up educational opportunities. There are many connections on how regrets fit with the science of Positive Psychology, including Ryff’s work about how one’s well-being is increased when progress is made toward meaningful, challenging goals in the present, and that are correlated with one’s best possible future self. It has also been found that attained and unattained goals are key predictors of rumination, which is an indication of psychological adjustment. Regrets carry a certain type of energy that can be used in positive or negative ways, and that will impact your well-being. In fact, researchers have found that the incidence and intensity of regretful ruminations are minimized through the active pursuit of goals and that greater well-being can occur through a carefully structured plan of daily goal pursuit that is married to pursuit of meaningful life goals.

"If you are living with regrets today about roads not taken, old decisions made in haste, or things you have longed to attempt but been afraid to try, declare this to be your “No Regrets Zone” year. Take a risk — try it out. And take another risk — live today without regrets," Caroline said.

Life is full of great things that you should never miss out. Live life to the fullest and embrace the challenges you face with no regret because in the end it’s all worth it. We tend to focus more on what might go wrong, what we might lose or sacrifice when taking risks. They are pointing us to a brighter future that we can only create when we commit to taking bolder, more decisive and courageous actions.

Another good article I've read entitled "No Regrets: Why 'Letting Go' May Be Key to Happy Aging" by Charles Q. Choi. He said rain scans can now reveal that living a life without regrets may be one key to aging well. The brain scans revealed that activity in a brain region called the ventral striatum, which is linked with feeling regret and also addiction, and in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in regulating emotions, was similar between the young adults and the depressed older adults. In contrast, the healthy older adults showed different patterns in brain activity that suggested they experienced less regret and regulated their emotions more effectively. They suggest that healthy older adults may employ helpful mental strategies to avoid regret, such as reminding themselves that the results of the game were up to chance. In contrast, depressed older adults may blame themselves for the outcome. It might be possible to train people to use these mental strategies to help preserve their emotional health in old age.

"Given that unsuccessfully aged people demonstrated a more youth-like behavior, it seems to be essential for our emotional well-being to adapt to changing life demands when we are older that is, to not look back in anger and to focus on the positive," Charles said.

I have always heard people say, “Don’t have any regrets.” For some reason I believed it was true. We all do things in life that we regret. We also do things in life that make us proud of the people that we are. Still, there are things in life that we hope that someday be able to do. All of these things make up who we are and how we've come to be ourselves. 

Blogpost 7: The Power Of Your Smile

I believe in the power that a simple smile can bring. Living in a chaotic world where crime rates are on the rise, people are abused, innocent loved once are being killed and anything can happen in the blink of an eye. I believe that a simple smile can remind others that the world is still full of kind people and still full of hope.

According to "There's Magic In Your Smile" an article written  by Sarah Stevenson, the act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits our health and happiness. Neuropeptides are tiny molecules that allow neurons to communicate. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, excited. The feel good neurotransmitters dopamine, endorphins and serotonin are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well. Finally, the serotonin release brought on by our smile serves as an anti-depressant/mood lifter. Many of today’s pharmaceutical anti-depressants also influence the levels of serotonin in your brain, but with a smile, we don’t have to worry about negative side effects and we don’t need a prescription from our doctor. When we smile, people treat us differently. We're viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed and sincere. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that seeing an attractive smiling face activates our orbitofrontal cortex, the region in our brain that process sensory rewards. It also explains the 2011 findings by researchers at the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Subjects were asked to rate smiling and attractiveness. They found that both men and women were more attracted to images of people who made eye contact and smiled than those who did not. 

"We can’t always control what happens to us, but I am 100% confident that gracing your face with a grin can seriously change your internal and external experience. Your smile is something that should be worn often, so make it a priority to surround yourself with people, places and things that brighten your day," Sarah said. 

I agree with what Sarah mentioned, we do not have the control in what will happen to us. But we should always smile to the people around us because maybe it will be the last. Through our smile, we gain friends and we also experience new happenings in our life. They said that we should start our day with a smile because it will be the start of a new productive day for all of us. 

Another good article I've read was written by Julia Layton entitled "Explanations for Why Smiling Causes Happiness". She said that the theory goes back to Darwin, who proposed in the 19th century that facial expressions didn't only reflect emotions, but also caused them however, there is a lack of good evidence. But in the 1980s, some interesting studies on the physiology of smiling brought it back into the consciousness of the psychology field. Dr. Zajonc's research took this observation further, into a full-fledged proposal for why a smile might trigger happiness. When facial muscles are activated in an expression, the biochemical processes associated with those areas of the face are altered according to their temperature change. And research suggests that a cooler brain creates good emotions, while a warmer brain produces negative emotions. Dr. Zajonc points to the part of the body called the internal carotid artery, which is the pipe that delivers the majority of blood to the brain. This artery flows through an opening called the cavernous sinus, which contains lots of facial veins. When someone smiles, causing certain facial muscles to stretch and tighten, veins are constricted. This would cut down on the blood flowing to the cavernous sinus, which in turn would reduce the amount of blood flowing through the carotid artery to the brain. Less blood volume means the temperature of that blood drops. When that cooler blood gets to the brain, brain temperature would drop too, triggering a happy feeling.    

Julia Layton said, "Even proponents of the theory don't suggest that smiling can make unhappiness go away. The theory basically states that in a state of emotional neutrality, putting a smile on your face can tip you in the direction of a positive feeling."

Smile is a beautiful thing. It's a symbol of happiness. I believe that a smile is one of the most powerful gift that we as humans, possess. It is our ability to create and express our infinite love. So today, smile often. Smile at yourself and smile at your loved one. And whatever that thing that we love to do, do it and share it with someone. And do it all with a smile, knowing that we are spreading love, joy and inspiration.

Blogpost 6: Can We Live Forever?

The longest journey that we as human beings will have to go through is the Journey of Life. From the moment we entered this world, we are faced with the most terrifying roller coaster ride. Life has its ups and downs. And as life goes on, things get more complicated. We are no longer a child, but an adult who faces reality. And the one thing that is real, we are all gonna die sooner or later. 

As per Molly Edmonds, the writer of "Can humans live forever?", the idea of living forever might seem like a fairy tale. Some researchers believe that there is a limit on how many years we can live, and the maximum is 125. Aging, dementia and heart disease are just one of the diseases that blocks us from reaching that point. Our body parts wear out from use that's why scientists are focused on how to stop aging occurring within the body. One method that has demonstrably increased the lifespan  is a calorie-restricted diet. To follow this diet, we must cut our caloric intake by 30 percent while still consuming all necessary nutrients. This eating plan has proven difficult for humans to maintain, so researchers are trying to figure out how, exactly, fewer calories lengthen life. Anti-aging pills could also be used to halt the production of free radicals, which are molecules that cause increasing damage within the body as we age. Researchers are also considering whether compounds like resveratrol, which is found in red wine, could be effective in pill form, as resveratrol might have the ability to interfere with the aging process at the genetic level. Some scientists think that telomerase, an enzyme that mends protective coverings on cells, is the answer, while some would-be centenarians have begun injections of human growth hormone, hoping they will stop the body from aging. There are many theories on why we age and how we can stop it, and an anti-aging pill may be decades away, if it ever appears at all.

Molly Edmond said, "We've been raised with the belief that death is inevitable, so we must consider the legacy of what we'll leave behind. But what if you had unlimited time to pursue your life's work? What if you didn't have to die?"

We are all working so hard because when the time has come, we all want to leave a a good legacy. I actually don't agree with the anti-aging pill. Although these pills may slow the aging process, but still we should accept the fact that sooner or later these will no longer be effective anymore. And instead of these pills, why don't we intake vitamins that can make us healthier although we cannot avoid being sick. Death is inevitable therefore we should seize the remaining years to come. 

The second article was written by Chris Wood entitled "Can You Really Live Forever?". He said that a molecular biologist named Dr. William Andrews' company discovered a nutraceutical or knows as TA-65.  It supposedly slows down the aging process in humans by activating an enzyme called telomerase.Telomerase acts on telomeres—simple repeating sequences of nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) found at the tips of chromosomes that are important to cell division and replication. When telomeres erode away, parts of critical genes remain uncopied, eventually spelling death for the cell. Some scientists think that this telomere erosion is what imposes a limit on our lifespans and causes our health to decline as we age, they also think that an answer to this dilemma might be telomerase activation. Some scientists, like Dr. Andrews, think telomerase activation could be the cure for aging that his company is looking for, and he views TA-65 as a potential big first step in that direction. 

Chris Wood said, "Just keep on living until you meet with a fatal accident. Woo hoo! But… hold on. Turns out we shouldn’t get irrationally exuberant just yet. It might not be such a good idea to activate telomerase, after all—because of the role it seems to play in cancer."

I don't really think that we can live forever. Perhaps these new invented pills can actually slows down the aging process however, these may be cost too much. People who are rich and afraid to die old just like the celebrities and some politicians are willing to buy these kind of pills. There are also some people that are also afraid to die old however, they cannot afford to buy because they have their prioritize in life. While some people accept the fact that there's nothing we can do about aging. They just enjoy the life and they do not care about any matter regarding their lines in their forehead or whatever signs due to oldness. I think we should be satisfied on how long we can live in this earth and  just mind the legacy that we can leave behind. 

Blogpost 5 : Enjoy Life

I believe in living in the moment. We have been given only one life to live, and we need to live it to the fullest. I believe that the purpose of life is not only to fulfill God's purpose for us, but also to find joy along the journey that we have been given.

According to the article entitled"How to Enjoy Life" written by Peter Clemens, we should appreciate beauty. Everything in this world is beautiful and has its own uniqueness. Although some might find it ugly, still we should consider it as an art.  He also said that we should always laugh, and we should surround ourselves with fun people and don't get caught up in our own sense of importance. Connect with different people because in this life, it is our relationships with people that gives us the most happiness in life. It is also the best if we build good and strong relationships with the people we encounter everyday. He also added that we should celebrate our success. We love celebrating even the small matters is important. The compliments that we receive from them is also a part of our life that makes us even happier because they value our works. 

Peter said, "If you slow down for just a moment and take the time to appreciate these ordinary events, life becomes instantly more enjoyable."

What Peter said is actually true. Every moment is important. Take time to appreciate small things or any ordinary events. We are always in a hurry that sometimes we tend to forget those moment every second of our lives.

The second article is about "How to Enjoy Life Every Day"   which was also written by Peter Clemens. According to him, we should enjoy every day. Do what we love, make friends, take pride in our work and stop waiting for something to occur before we are happy. He also said that we should try to improve 1% each day by being 1% happier, healthier and productive than yesterday. 

It is not about recklessly living life as if there is no tomorrow. The future is important to plan for, but it is important not to obsess about it to the extent that you neglect the present. Remember, the only way to get to the future is through a series of todays," Peter said.

There is a saying that "Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift". This means that we don't actually know what will happen to us tomorrow. So why don't we think that it's like our last day here and so we should enjoy and treasure every moment. Remember that we only have one life and that's it. We all don't want to live in regrets in the future. So like I said, appreciate, cherish and enjoy every second of our lives.