ICT ~ Enabling Dreams

Enabling Dreams

          Technology is one of the biggest things right now. How can we even live without it? Most people think that technology is something used only for luxury and fun just like the latest gadgets and games but they're wrong. We also use them for what we need. It is something that has made our lives easier and anyone can relate to it.
          As you can see, the picture I made is a laptop with icons in a vine-like structure coming out of its screen. I made this picture because first of all, the laptop or more generally, the computer, is one of the gadgets that have helped me in my life. It has helped me learn new abilities and skills. In the computer, through accessing the internet, one can go to several websites where one can communicate to their loved ones, watch videos that will make one learn new things or get relaxed. You are probably asking why are the icons like that. Well, I'll tell you and it is because it just shows how what we see in the screen can affect the outside world. One of them was the once viral video of "Gangnam Style" and the memes. It also shows how fast it advances.
          As a student, it has really helped me very much. I was able to research a lot of things. I was also able to develop new skills such as editing, and painting using softwares. The software found in it also helped me just like the MS Word as it saved a lot of time for me in doing projects instead of doing them the old traditional way.
          Technology can really enable dreams. They may have bad effects but who knows, maybe one day, we could use technology to get rid of the pollution in our world. Before, we only dreamed of this things but now, they are here. What more do you think will happen in the future? See, my friends, ICT is the key to advancement of the society.

Romeo and Juliet ~ Still a Tragic Love Story

An everlasting love.

Here is modified ending of Romeo and Juliet. Everything will be the same until Romeo enters the tomb and sees Juliet. (To see the original ending, click here.)

ROMEO

(ROMEO opens the tomb to reveal JULIET inside.)

A grave? Oh no! This is a lantern, dead Paris. Juliet lies here, and her beauty fills this tomb with light. Dead men, lie there. You are being buried by another dead man. (he lays PARIS in the tomb)
How often are men happy right before they die! They call it the lightness before death. Oh, how can I call this lightness? Oh, my love! My wife! Death has sucked the honey from your breath, but it has not yet ruined your beauty. You haven’t been conquered. There is still red in your lips and in your cheeks. Death has not yet turned them pale. Tybalt, are you lying there in your bloody death shroud? Oh, what better favor can I do for you than to kill the man who killed you with the same hand that made you die young. Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet, why are you still so beautiful? Should I believe that death is in love with you, and that the awful monster keeps you here to be his mistress? I don’t like that idea, so I’ll stay with you. And I will never leave this tomb. Here, here I’ll remain with worms that are your chamber-maids. Oh, I’ll rest here forever. I’ll forget about all the bad luck that has troubled me. Eyes, look out for the last time! Arms, make your last embrace! And lips, you are the doors of breath. Seal with a righteous kiss the deal I have made with death forever. (ROMEO kisses JULIET and takes out the poison) Come, bitter poison, come, unsavory guide! You desperate pilot, let’s crash this sea-weary ship into the rocks! Here’s to my love!

(JULIET wakes up and sees ROMEO)

JULIET
Romeo, my love!

ROMEO
Juliet, you live! Hath grief profoundly warped my brain? Is this a cruel creation of my own mourning mind? (ROMEO throws the poison aside) It does not matter. For candid or ersatz, I love you.

JULIET
As do I, my Romeo. But what was that vial you were holding?

(Noises are heard outside)

ROMEO
It matters not. Let us make haste. Let's go out to a place far far away. There, we will live forever in peace, undisturbed. The watchmen are coming. Let us pass through the forest.

(ROMEO grabs JULIET and runs outside. Enter watchmen)

CHIEF WATCHMAN
Who goes there? Halt! After them!

JULIET
Rain? why now?

ROMEO
Hurry, Juliet. The watchmen are on our tails.

(CHIEF WATCHMAN reaches JULIET)

CHIEF WATCHMAN
Avast! Daughter of the great Capulet? How could this be? And dear me, is that the son of Montague?

JULIET
Unhand me! I said let me go!

CHIEF WATCHMAN
It is your birth that wronged you, maiden, not I.

ROMEO
Let go of her! (ROMEO pulls out his knife and stabs CHIEF WATCHMAN)

JULIET
Oh my!

ROMEO
Leave him be, fair Juliet. Let us go.

CHIEF WATCHMAN
You're not going anywhere! (CHIEF WATCHMAN grabs onto ROMEO's leg) How dare you betray your bloodline! (CHIEF WATCHMAN pulls the knife from his chest and stabs into ROMEO's foot) There is nowhere to run! My men are coming! (CHIEF WATCHMAN dies)

ROMEO
Argh!

JULIET
No, Romeo!

ROMEO
Leave, my love. Let me rot in this unholy place.

JULIET
But--

ROMEO
Leave now! Save yourself! (JULIET hides near as the other watchmen come)

WATCHMAN #1
There is Romeo!

WATCHMAN #2
Kill him! (The watchman pulls out his knife)

JULIET
No!

(JULIET shields ROMEO and gets stabbed)

ROMEO
Juliet! No!

JULIET
I love you, Romeo. A heart displaying such braveness, such kindness should be able to beat unceasingly. Farewell.

ROMEO
No, Juliet! Don't leave me!

(JULIET dies)

ROMEO
Why did this happen to me? (ROMEO pulls out the sword from his foot) I will kill you all! I will show no mercy! (ROMEO kills the other watchmen) That's the last of them. (ROMEO walks to Juliet's corpse) Juliet why did this happen to you? Why is this happening to me? I will carry you out of this unholy place. (Bloody ROMEO carries Juliet's body and tries to walk out of the forest) I am rid of my ability to walk but I must save my Juliet. I can feel death drowning me in its icy breath. This is how it ends, I fall lifeless beside Juliet mine. I would not die any other way. (ROMEO kisses Juliet) Goodbye, cruel world.

(ROMEO dies)

~THE END~

So here is my modified ending. Hope you guys liked it! :) (To go to the original ending, click here.)

Romeo and Juliet ~ A Tragic Love Story

A tragedy

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous plays of today. It was written by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is famous for its tragic love story about two lovers whose families hate each other. It really shows that love has no boundaries. (To go to my modified ending, click here.)
The ending of Romeo and Juliet has what touched people most, the deaths of the two lovers. The ending of Rome and Juliet is as follows: 

(PARIS enters with his PAGE.)

PARIS

Give me your torch, boy. Go away and stay apart from me. Put the torch out, so I can’t be seen. Hide under the yew-trees over there. Listen to make sure no one is coming through the graveyard. If you hear any one, whistle to me to signal that someone is approaching. Give me those flowers. Do as I tell you. Go.

(The PAGE puts out the torch and gives PARIS the flowers.)

PAGE

(to himself) I am almost afraid to stand alone here in the graveyard, but I’ll take the risk.

(The PAGE moves aside)

PARIS
(he scatters flowers at JULIET’s closed tomb)

Sweet flower, I’m spreading flowers over your bridal bed. Oh, pain! Your canopy is dust and stones. I’ll water these flowers every night with sweet water. Or, if I don’t do that, my nightly rituals to remember you will be to put flowers on your grave and weep.

(The PAGE whistles)

The boy is warning me that someone approaches. Who could be walking around here tonight? Who’s ruining my rituals of true love?

It’s someone with a torch! I must hide in the darkness for awhile.

(PARIS hides in the darkness. ROMEO and BALTHASAR enter with a torch, a pickax, and an iron crowbar.)

ROMEO 

Give me that pickax and the crowbar. (he takes them from BALTHASAR) Here, take this letter. Early in the morning deliver it to my father. (he gives the letter to BALTHASAR) Give me the light. (he takes the torch from BALTHASAR) Swear on your life, I command you, whatever you hear or see, stay away from me and do not interrupt me in my plan. I’m going down into this tomb of the dead, partly to behold my wife’s face. But my main reason is to take a precious ring from her dead finger. I must use that ring for an important purpose. So go on your way. But if you get curious and return to spy on me, I swear I’ll tear you apart limb by limb and spread your body parts around to feed the hungry animals in the graveyard. My plan is wild and savage. I am more fierce in this endeavor than a hungry tiger or the raging sea.

BALTHASAR

I’ll go, sir, and I won’t bother you.

ROMEO

That’s the way to show me friendship. Take this.(he gives BALTHASAR money) Live and be prosperous. Farewell, good fellow

BALTHASAR

(speaking so that only PARIS can hear)

Despite what I said, I’ll hide nearby. I’m frightened by the look on his face, and I have doubts about his intentions.

BALTHASAR moves aside and falls asleep.

ROMEO

(speaking to the tomb)

You horrible mouth of death! You’ve eaten up the dearest creature on Earth. Now I’m going to force open your rotten jaws and make you eat another body.
(ROMEO begins to open the tomb with his tools)

PARIS

(speaking so that ROMEO can’t hear)

It’s that arrogant Montague, the one who’s been banished. He’s the one who murdered my love’s cousin Tybalt. They think she died with grief for that cousin. This guy has come here to commit awful crimes against the dead bodies. I’ll catch him.

(to ROMEO)

Stop your evil work, vile Montague! Can you take revenge on dead bodies? Condemned villain, I’ve caught you. Obey and come with me. You must die.

ROMEO

I must indeed. That’s why I came here. Good and noble young man, don’t mess with someone who’s desperate. Get away from here and leave me. Think about the ones who have died. Let them put fear in your heart. Please, young man, don’t make me angry. I don’t want to commit another crime. Oh, go away! I swear, I love you more than I love myself. For I’ve come here with weapons to use against myself. Don’t stay here, go away. Live, and from now on, say a madman mercifully told you to run away.

PARIS

I refuse your request. I’m arresting you as a criminal.

ROMEO

Are you going to provoke me? Alright, let’s fight, boy!

(ROMEO and PARIS fight.)

PAGE

Oh Lord, they’re fighting! I’ll go call the watch.

(The PAGE exits.)

PARIS

(he falls) Oh, I’ve been killed! If you are merciful, open the tomb and lay me next to Juliet.

(PARIS dies.)

ROMEO

Alright, I will. Let me look at this face. It’s Mercutio’s relative, noble Count Paris! What did my man say? I was worried, so I wasn’t listening to him while we were riding. I think he told me Paris was about to marry Juliet. Isn’t that what he said? Or was I dreaming? Or am I crazy? Did I hear him say something about Juliet and jump to conclusions? Oh, give me your hand. Both of us had such bad luck! I’ll bury you in a magnificent grave.

(ROMEO opens the tomb to reveal JULIET inside.)

A grave? Oh no! This is a lantern, dead Paris. Juliet lies here, and her beauty fills this tomb with light. Dead men, lie there. You are being buried by another dead man. (he lays PARIS in the tomb

How often are men happy right before they die! They call it the lightness before death. Oh, how can I call this lightness? Oh, my love! My wife! Death has sucked the honey from your breath, but it has not yet ruined your beauty. You haven’t been conquered. There is still red in your lips and in your cheeks. Death has not yet turned them pale. Tybalt, are you lying there in your bloody death shroud? Oh, what better favor can I do for you than to kill the man who killed you with the same hand that made you die young. Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet, why are you still so beautiful? Should I believe that death is in love with you, and that the awful monster keeps you here to be his mistress? I don’t like that idea, so I’ll stay with you. And I will never leave this tomb. Here, here I’ll remain with worms that are your chamber-maids. Oh, I’ll rest here forever. I’ll forget about all the bad luck that has troubled me. Eyes, look out for the last time! Arms, make your last embrace! And lips, you are the doors of breath. Seal with a righteous kiss the deal I have made with death forever. (ROMEO kisses JULIET and takes out the poison) Come, bitter poison, come, unsavory guide! You desperate pilot, let’s crash this sea-weary ship into the rocks! Here’s to my love!

(ROMEO drinks the poison.)

Oh, that pharmacist was honest! His drugs work quickly. So I die with a kiss.

(ROMEO dies.)

(FRIAR LAWRENCE enters with a lantern, crowbar, and shovel.)

FRIAR LAWRENCE

Saint Francis, help me! How often tonight have my old feet stumbled on gravestones! Who’s there?

BALTHASAR

I’m a friend, a friend who knows you well.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

God bless you! Tell me, my good friend, what is that light over there? The one that vainly lights up the darkness for worms and skulls without eyes? It looks to me like it’s burning in the Capulet tomb.

BALTHASAR 

That is where it’s burning, father. My master is there. The one you love.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

Who is it?

BALTHASAR

Romeo.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

How long has he been there?

BALTHASAR

For a full half hour.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

Go with me to the tomb.

BALTHASAR

I don’t dare, sir. My master doesn’t know I’m still here. He threatened me with death if I stayed to look at what he was doing.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

Say, then. I’ll go alone. I’m suddenly afraid. Oh, I’m very scared something awful has happened.

BALTHASAR

As I slept under this yew-tree here, I had a dream that my master and someone else were fighting and that my master killed him.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

(approaching the tomb)

Romeo! Oh no! What is this blood that stains the stony entrance of this tomb? Why are these bloody swords lying here, abandoned by their masters? Next to this place of peace?

(he looks inside the tomb)

Romeo! Oh, he’s pale! Who else? What, Paris too? And he’s covered in blood? Ah, when did these horrible things happen? The lady’s moving.

(JULIET wakes up.)

JULIET

Oh friendly friar! Where is my husband? I remember very well where I should be, and here I am. Where is my Romeo?

(A noise sounds from outside the tomb.)

FRIAR LAWRENCE

I hear some noise. Lady, come out of the tomb. A greater power than we can fight has ruined our plan. Come, come away. Your husband lies dead there, and Paris too. Come, I’ll place you among the sisterhood of holy nuns. Don’t wait to ask questions. The watch is coming. Come, let’s go, good Juliet, I don’t dare stay any longer.

JULIET

Go, get out of here. I’m not going anywhere.

(FRIAR LAWRENCE exits.)

What’s this here? It’s a cup, closed in my true love’s hand? Poison, I see, has been the cause of his death. How rude! He drank it all, and didn’t leave any to help me afterward. I will kiss your lips. Perhaps there’s still some poison on them, to make me die with a medicinal kiss. (she kisses ROMEO) Your lips are warm.

(WATCHMEN and PARIS’s PAGE enter.)

CHIEF WATCHMAN

(coming to the PAGE)

Lead, boy. Which way?

JULIET

Oh, noise? Then I’ll be quick. Oh, good, a knife! My body will be your sheath. Rust inside my body and let me die.

(she stabs herself with ROMEO’s dagger and dies)

PAGE

This is the place. There, where the torch is burning.

CHIEF WATCHMAN

The ground is bloody. Search the graveyard. Go, some of you, arrest whoever you find.

(Some WATCHMEN exit.)

This is a pitiful sight! The count is dead. Juliet is bleeding. Her body is warm, and she seems to have been dead only a short time, even though she has been buried for two days. Go, tell the Prince. Run to the Capulets. Wake up the Montagues. Have some others search.

(Some other WATCHMEN exit in several directions.)

We see the cause of all this pain. But we’ll have to investigate to discover the whole story.

(The SECOND WATCHMAN reenters with BALTHASAR.)

SECOND WATCHMAN

Here’s Romeo’s man. We found him in the churchyard.

CHIEF WATCHMAN

Hold him in custody until the Prince gets here.

(The THIRD WATCHMAN re-enters with FRIAR LAWRENCE.)

THIRD WATCHMAN

Here is a friar who’s trembling, sighing and weeping. We took this pickax and this shovel from him, as he was walking from this side of the graveyard.

CHIEF WATCHMAN

Very suspicious. Hold the friar too.

(The PRINCE enters with ATTENDANTS.)

PRINCE

What crimes happen so early in the morning that I have to wake up before the usual time?

(CAPULET and LADY CAPULET enter.)

CAPULET

What’s the problem, that they cry out so loud?

LADY CAPULET

Some people in the street are crying “Romeo.” Some are crying “Juliet,” and some are crying “Paris.” They’re all running in an open riot toward our tomb.

PRINCE

What’s this awful thing that everyone’s crying about?

CHIEF WATCHMAN

Prince, here lies Count Paris killed. And Romeo dead. And Juliet. She was dead before, but now she’s warm and hasn’t been dead for long.

PRINCE

Investigate how this foul murder came about.

CHIEF WATCHMAN

Here is a friar, and dead Romeo’s man. They’ve got tools on them—tools they could use to open these tombs.

CAPULET

Oh heavens! Oh wife, look at how our daughter bleeds! That knife should be in its sheath on that Montague’s back, but instead it’s mis-sheathed in my daughter’s breast.

LADY CAPULET

Oh my! This sight of death is like a bell that warns me I’m old and I’ll die soon.

(MONTAGUE enters.)

PRINCE

Come, Montague. You’re up early to see your son down early.

MONTAGUE

Oh, my liege, my wife died tonight. Sadness over my son’s exile stopped her breath. What further pain must I endure in my old age?

PRINCE

Look, and you’ll see.

MONTAGUE

(seeing ROMEO's body)

Oh, you undisciplined boy! Where are your manners? It’s not right for a son to push past his father on his way to the grave.

PRINCE

Be quiet and hold back your remarks of outrage, until we can clear up these questions. We want to know how it started and what really happened. And then I’ll be the leader of pain, and maybe I’ll lead you as far as death. In the meantime, hold on, and be patient. Bring forth the men under suspicion.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

I am the greatest, but I was able to do the least. I am under the most suspicion, because I was here at the time of this awful murder. And here I stand, you can question me and punish me. I have already condemned and excused myself.

PRINCE

Tell us what you know about this affair.

FRIAR LAWRENCE

I will be brief because I’m not going to live long enough to tell a boring story. Romeo, who lies there dead, was the husband of that Juliet. And she, who lies there dead, was that Romeo’s faithful wife. I married them; their secret wedding day was the day Tybalt died. His untimely death caused the bridegroom to be banished from the city. Juliet was sad because Romeo was gone, not because of Tybalt’s death. To cure her sadness, you arranged a marriage for her with Count Paris. Then she came to me, and, looking wild, she asked me to devise a plan to get her out of this second marriage. She threatened to kill herself in my cell if I didn’t help her. So I gave her a sleeping potion that I had mixed with my special skills. It worked as planned. She seemed to everyone to be dead.

In the meantime I wrote to Romeo and told him to come here on this awful night to help remove her from her temporary grave when the sleeping potion wore off. But the man who carried my letter, Friar John, was held up by an accident. Last night he gave me the letter back. So I came here alone at the hour when she was supposed to wake up. I came to take her out of her family’s tomb, hoping to hide her in my cell until I could make contact with Romeo. But by the time I got here, just a few minutes before Juliet woke up, Paris and Romeo were already dead. She woke up, and I asked her to come out of the tomb with me and endure this tragedy with patience. But then a noise sent me running scared from the tomb. She was too desperate to come with me, and it seems that she killed herself. I know all of this. And her Nurse knows about the marriage too. If any part of this tragedy is my fault, let my old life be sacrificed and let me suffer the most severe punishment.

PRINCE

We have always known you to be a holy man. Where’s Romeo’s man? What does he have to say about this?

BALTHASAR

I brought my master news of Juliet’s death. And then he rode from Mantua here to this tomb.

(he shows a letter)

Earlier this morning he asked me to give this letter to his father. When he went into the vault, he threatened me with death if I didn’t leave him alone there.

PRINCE

Give me the letter. I’ll look at it.

(he takes the letter from BALTHASAR)

Where is the count’s page, the one who called the watch? Boy, what was your master doing here?

PAGE

He came with flowers to spread on his lady’s grave. And he asked me to stand far away and leave him alone, and so I did. Then someone with a torch came to open the tomb. So my master drew on him. And then I ran away to call the watch.

PRINCE

(skimming the letter)

This letter confirms the friar’s account. It describes the course of their love and mentions the news of her death. Here he writes that he bought poison from a poor pharmacist. He brought that poison with him to this vault to die and lie with Juliet. Where are these enemies? Capulet! Montague! Do you see what a great evil results from your hate? Heaven has figured out how to kill your joys with love. Because I looked the other way when your feud flared up, I’ve lost several members of my family as well. Everyone is punished.

CAPULET

Oh, brother Montague, give me your hand. This is my daughter’s dowry. I can ask you for nothing more.

MONTAGUE

But I can give you more. I’ll raise her statue in pure gold. As long as this city is called Verona, there will be no figure praised more than that of true and faithful Juliet.

CAPULET

The statue I will make of Romeo to lie beside his Juliet will be just as rich. They were poor sacrifices of our rivalry!

PRINCE

We settle a dark peace this morning. The sun is too sad to show itself. Let’s go, to talk about these sad things some more. Some will be pardoned, and some will be punished.

There was never a story more full of pain than the story of Romeo and Juliet.

(They all exit.)

~The End~

So this is the original ending of Romeo and Juliet. (To go to my modified ending click here.)

Father ~ My Sanctuary

The persons who illuminated my path and I

          I have been through a lot in my life, had overcome a lot of challenges but I never really saw who was there for me when my world was falling apart. It was my father.
          My father's name is Jose I. Nazareno. He is just a simple man. He now just works as a commercial lessor, a business man who makes people rent houses. He had already stopped smoking long before and I am proud of that but he still drinks but that's okay since he does it seldom times. He is a brave and strong father like everybody else's. I really don't know my father's story since I am the youngest of the family of 5 where I have two sisters wherein the eldest is 27 or 28 years old I think. I don't remember, I'm not a good sibling. Anyway, he probably grew tired of telling his stories again and again but that's okay since his past doesn't matter and what matters is what he is now and what he has given me in my journey through life.
          Whenever I go home, I have never really felt it until now but he would stay and wait for me downstairs for a long time just for me to arrive home safely. He could just stay upstairs and then wait for me to arrive but he waits for me and then goes out of the gate to greet me and doing a weird dance of some sort but I think he is doing it since he sees that I was tired from school then he would buy what I needed for school and our food for everyday because my mom isn't exactly fond of cooking. When I am doing my homework, he occasionally visits me in the room  then making jokes and doing dances. It really touches my heart that even through his little ways, he does what he thinks he can do to help me. Even if his jokes are corny and his dances are repetitive, that is what I like about him. He never gives up and will still do it until I smile.
          Whenever there is a reunion of some sort, my relatives will often say "Hey, you like your father very much." I would act embarrassed and not agree to them but actually, I am a little proud because my mother always said that my father was very handsome back on his days and she even showed me pictures but that's not all. Whenever they say that I look like him, I feel that I am a good man since I always thought that my father was the best dad ever and it is like I feel that his positive traits are going to me. I really don't know how to describe it.
          When my father went to Canada to celebrate my cousin's debut, it made me feel sad. I tried not to cry when I had to say goodbye to my father when I had to be picked up by my service. I don't want him to feel bad. I didn't have the chance to go to the airport and say goodbye to him. I went through school thinking, my father is not there when I get home and feel numb all over. I might be exaggerating but that was how I felt before then since I never imagined that he would leave my side even for just a period of time. After school ended, the smile that always greeted me when I get home wasn't there. It really felt lonely. The goofy man who did his dances and jokes were not there to enlighten me. I was so glad when I heard that father will go home in an early date. His visa expires i think for more months but he chose to go home early. When we asked the reasons, he would say that he was just getting bored, and that there was nothing to do but I felt that his real reason that he went home early was because he felt that we needed him and that he misses us. I thought that he felt that we needed his support which we actually needed as the house was really feeling lonely. Maybe that's how he felt when he worked overseas before back then when I was just still air then.
I apologize for the mistakes I had made and I thank you for not spanking me when I was a child. He was always happy and supported me through every decision I made. Even though my achievements were low, or even have no achievement at all, he would stand tall and still be proud of me and say "That's my son."
          He may not be the perfect person, but he is the perfect father for me. He may not show it but he really cares for us and I have done the same thing. I haven't really showed him how I feel, how I want to thank him for all of the things he had done. He always puts on a strong face even when I know that something is troubling him but I can't bring myself to help him since I don't want to make his problem worse.
          He gives his best to give us the life he wants us to. To be happy and contented with what we have. When I get older, I want to be just like him. A great  man whose family, his wife and his children, will be and always be proud of. I will always love him and repay back in the future the kindness and hard work he has given me when I was young, at this moment, and the years to come.
          A sanctuary is a place where even when surrounded by danger, you will feel safe and sound. It's a place where we can see the light in our darkest days. He led the way when I was lost, he gave me his light when the way was dark, he believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. That's why I look to my father as my sanctuary.

My Hero ~ Take Care of Yourself, My Friend

Schala "Kid" Zeal

          Every one of us has our own hero. He may be a protagonist, a supporting character, a normal person without super powers or abilities, or even an antagonist. He may be even a real or a fictional character. Each of us has different opinions on what a hero is. For me, a hero is anyone who has overcome a big obstacle he or she has faced in his or her life, someone who has given inspirations and lessons for each of us to learn.  That's why my hero , or more accurately, heroine since my hero is a girl, is Schala "Kid" Zeal from the PSX game, Chrono cross, a game of adventure and fighting. She has an Australian accent as she has "bugger" and "mate" in her dialect.

          I'll start off with Schala "Kid" Zeal's appearance. Kid has blonde hair usually tied up into a ponytail with red strings. She has dark blue eyes. She wears a purple necklace speculated as the zeal pendant, an important figure in this game's predecessor. She wears a short white top while wearing a tiny red overcoat. She also wears a red miniskirt with a brown belt wherein a purple scabbard for her dagger is attached. She also wears brown gloves and brown boots. She also has white markings on her face and arms.

          For her story, it all began in the year 1004 A.D, when Schala sent Kid as her own clone to the world for Schala feared that she would be consumed by hatred for being bound in a monster. A girl, named Lucca, saw her as baby and subsequently adopted her, but a tragedy had struck. Lynx, the antagonist of the game, and his faithful servant/partner, Harle, burned the orphanage Kid was living in. This caused Kid to cry, seeking for help and then becoming tomboy-ish and wanting to avenge her "mother" and her friends in the orphanage. At 1015 A.D., she was able to travel time and stopped the drowning of a boy named Serge, the main protagonist of the game. This caused the world to have two parallel worlds where Serge lives in one and in the other, doesn't. She was able to save Serge from being killed by soldiers as he was named "ghost-boy". Then they went to the soldiers' headquarters in hopes of seeing Lynx. They did see him but he threw a poisoned sword which hit Kid. Kid fell and became bedridden. She then gave Serge the Astral Amulet, an item which lets Serge travel worlds. Serge gets the antidote and heals her. Then they went to a place called Fort Dragonia as they got a lead on where Lynx is. They went to the top floor and there they saw Lynx. They defeated him but little did they know that Lynx and Serge exchanged bodies. The game goes on and Serge searches a way to get his body back but Kid was seen now working for Dark Serge. I have speculations that she was brainwashed. In Chronopolis, a place where time doesn't exist, is where the real Serge, who got his body back, and Kid meet again but as enemies. Lynx then ordered her to to touch the Frozen Flame, an artifact that has the ability to destroy the world. She was able to touch it but this just made her weak and bedridden again. She then had nightmares on what had happened when she was a child, when the orphanage was burned down. Serge then went to her dreams to help Kid escape. She was crying in the corner of the room and as they went outside, she was asking Serge not to leave but Serge couldn't do it as it was only a dream. Kid is then left alone in the woods, crying and torn from what has happened. Kid then wakes up and teams up again with Serge. Then they set out to defeat the monster, the Time Devourer, where Schala was in. As they defeat the monster and Schala was set free, it was speculated that Schala and Kid merged as one. Kid was then writing a diary where in after the contents were read, a picture of Serge and her in a wedding dress was seen.

thus the curtain closes on another tale.

an eternity has passed...

fleeting dreams fade into the distance...

all that is left now

is me and my memories...

but I'm sure we'll meet again,

someday, you and I...

another place, another time.

it's just that we might not realise

that you are you and I am me...

let us open the door to the great unknown,

come across another reality,

and live another today...

even when the story has been told,

life goes on...

until we meet again,

take care of yourself, my friend...

- Schala "Kid" Zeal

          As you can see, this is why I love Kid and why she is my hero. Kid, even with a bad history, was able to put on a brave face. Nobody knew of what were her real feelings inside. She was able to move on and seek revenge to Lynx. She never gave up. She helped people and people helped her. Kid also believed in herself. Even if the player will decide to not let her in the party, she would be returning time and time again and force her way into the team. She was also able to give support to others even when she needed it herself. She also has loyalty to Serge. Brainwashed or not, she still showed that she trusted Serge in her fully. She always wanted to help people. Even when she just met Serge, she didn't think twice about helping him. If I had a bad history, or even something frightening happened to me, maybe I would lose hope on all things and just succumb to the darkness. Thanks to her, I was able to see the world differently and that I wasn't the only one who is having troubles. We need to support others while supporting ourselves. We may be unaware that we are already losing faith and courage to do anything. It is like you are helping others but you are letting yourself drown to the dark. Aside from that, she is also very pretty and I had a crush on her when I was still a child, I think even until now since she is one of the characters in my wallpaper. Kid is just one of the many persons I refer to as my heroes. I hope that she was able to change your outlook in life and see why she is my hero.