AnimoAteneo

Miguel Antonio Lizada

“I was brainwashed by the Jesuits since Day One” he fondly mentions. After finishing Grade School and High School at the Ateneo de Davao University, Migoy went on and graduated Honorable Mention, with a degree of Bachelor of Arts Major in Literature in English, Minor in Filipino Literature last March 2007. He now teaches English and Literature at the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools. “It is now MY turn to brainwash kids” he jokes.

Entries

  • Why Sarap is "Masarap"

    Ang Sarap Maging Atenista / Bakit masarap maging Atenista
    30 Aug 2007

    Watching an Ateneo basketball game is an extremely physical endeavor. 

    Endurance is tested. The nerves never rest. The heart drums to the beat of the Blue Babble Battalion. From the feet which leaps for that three-point shot, to the arm permanently fisted in the air, to the mouth that cheers (or heckles, for some), to the eyes nearly in tears, every single faculty of the human body is engaged.

    But then again, being an Atenean itself can be highly physical.

    The exams test the endurance. Graded recitations wreck the nerves. Fr. Dacanay's deathly blank stares during oral examinations can make one skip a heartbeat or two. From the fresh air exhaled by the trees in Loyola campus, to the shimmer of Bellarmine field during Simbang Gabi to the smiles of a fellow Atenean, every single faculty of the Atenean's human body is enveloped. 

    This is why "ang sarap maging Atenista."

    As a literature major and a junior professor in English, I am often fascinated with words – what they say, mean and do, how they highlight and enrich the things around us. Take for example the word "sarap."

    "Sarap" is an interesting adjective because it does not limit itself to one particular sense only. "Delicious" is certainly an apt adjective to describe something tasteful but the word cannot be used to describe something pleasing to the eye (we may say "beautiful") or the nose (we may say "fragrant"). "Sarap" however strikes across all the five senses.

    To say "ang sarap maging Atenista" is to affirm what we feel not just in games but in who we are as Ateneans. To affirm the sensation which renders one proud of donning the colors white and blue.

  • The Battle of Ateneo

    Ang Sarap Maging Atenista / Bakit masarap maging Atenista
    12 Sep 2007

    This started as three separate entries in my blog I must be honest and say that this was nothing but a mere product of boredom. I wrote this after re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and after asking myself "What would Ateneo be like if it was attacked by Voldemort and his dark creatures". 

    Friends who read my blog forwarded this to their friends who in turn forwarded it to their friends. At the request of my colleagues here in AnimoAteneo.com and people who have enjoyed this, I have edited and polished this story as well as added a few new elements to it. 

    Just a few pre-reading reminders:

    This, in essence is a parody of Ateneo life. Yes, there are of course anti-school and UAAP-based jokes here and there but this mainly satirizes Ateneo life – the people, the language, the culture etc.

    This is also a parody of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Its ending resembles the ending of the Harry Potter book. So if you have not yet read the book and you do not wish to be spoiled, I must warn you to read at your own risk.

    My thanks to those who have enjoyed what-used-to-be-just-a-time-filler and to those who contributed several suggestions.