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If you can't live without a stable Internet connection or without your phone by your side, you're not alone. From looking for the right path to a destination on Waze or Google Maps to watching a how-to video on YouTube, we see technology as a quick fix to a query or a problem we have. But like all other things, this also has a downside.

Romar Chuca, an MBA student at the Asian Institute of Management, talks about that in his essay, Alexa vs a curious, creative life.

About the guest:  Romar Chuca is son, a friend, a significant other, a child of God, an MBA student, a pianist, a graphic artist, an empanada businessman, a photographer, a singer, a classroom teacher, powerpoint enthusiast, a theatre director, a spiritual advisor, an events host, and so much more.  He has learned that the secret to enjoying life is to just focus and savour the here and now.  

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

There is no doubt that our heroes in this time of the pandemic include our doctors, nurses and other frontliners who risk their lives in order to help in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Our featured essay, "Something to live for," narrates the experience of a first-time mom while working as a physician-in-training. Truly, she, along with other health workers, are the unsung warriors of our time.

Featured in this episode is Negros Care, a Negros-based youth organization committed in providing PPE and other medical grade equipment to the health workers of underfunded hospitals in Negros. | About the guests: Angeli Sison is an internal medicine physician working in a tertiary government hospital.  She describes her experience on how it is to be a newbie mother and a doctor in the unforgiving frontlines of COVID-19,  to be torn between these roles, and finally how she was able to reclaim her sense of purpose despite it all.

Alanna is a second year student currently taking up BS in Public Health in UPV. Last year, she joined the Negros Care initiative, and is now now acting as one of the co-heads of the volunteer committee. Through her advocacy and active participation, she was recognized as one of the thousand DOST scholar-volunteers in the country.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

As children, we were often told to "reach for the stars" or to "dream high and dream big". But as we grow older, realities confront us and oftentimes discourage us to pursue our high hopes and big dreams. Erik writes about that in his essay, The Filipino Dream. Isaga, a graduate of Psychology, is currently a teacher by profession.  Through his writings, he wants to help his fellow Filipinos to dream well.  He likes to read just as he likes to eat ice cream.

John Jherlet Hollero is a BS in Information Technology Student at the University of Santo Tomas. He is also the Founder and the Vice-President of Algo Filipino, which is a tech youth organization devoted to teaching tech and other courses using the Filipino Language.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Happy New Year! To stay true to that new year mantra of change and starting fresh, we're switching things up a bit for this episode. In this episode, Jojo Armenta, the Head of Public Relations of Parcel Bear, takes over Leah's role as host. At the end of the discussion of Leah's essay, they switch parts, wherein Leah asks Jojo about Parcel Bear.

Leah's essay is about her love for yoga and the peace it affords her and how her habits on the mat kick in in real life.

Parcel Bear is the first eco-friendly courier service in the Metro. They use kraft paper and corn mailers for their packages and deliver the next day. But they are more than just a courier service. Parcel Bear envisions their service to be the most friendly and trustworthy in the industry. For more information, visit www.weparcelbear.com

Merry Christmas! This week's essay is a present in itself because of the nuggets of wisdom, the warmth and the candor that writer shared. My favorite? Smile often, frown less. Stay tuned until the very end for our special segment on NOVID with Dhrubhagat Singh.

About NOVID: NOVID is an innovative proactive contact tracing app for COVID-19 that acts as a COVID-19 radar. For more information about NOVID, visit www.novid.org. Interested in helping Dhrub and NOVID? Reach out to Dhrub on Instagram at @dhrub16.

About the guests:

• Vicente Bilan is a proud educator and is passionate about writing and teaching. They are both his inspirations in living life to the fullest. 
• Dhrubhagat Singh was born and raised in Bacolod and is currently on a gap year before heading to Harvard next year. In his free time, he enjoys watching anime and continues working on NOVID.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

It's Christmas in six days, and while it'll be smaller and quieter than in years past, there's still something to be grateful for and to celebrate. As Max writes in his essay, "Change indicates that life is progressing. The only thing we can do is accept that change is inevitable. We need to look at the brighter side, and not be stuck in the painful loss of things we expected to last forever."

Maxine Francesco Gwyneth C. Baculo is a 19-year-old medical student from the Learning-Enhanced Accelerated Program for Medicine (LEAPMed) of University of Santo Tomas. Medical books aside, he enjoys the art of writing and storytelling in his free time. One of his goals in life is to contribute in putting humanities back into medicine through literature.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Dealing with the death of a loved one is probably one of the hardest moments that we go through in life. On top of this, other problems may surface: depression, financial problems and many more. What makes this worse is when one deals with all these grievances at a young age. Dairen writes about that in her essay, Saying Goodbye.

Dairen Mosqueda graduated from Far Eastern University with a degree in Mass Communication. She currently works as a technical writer for a global software company. She maintains a personal blog that serves as a haven for her thoughts and all the other things she's passionate about.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

We can't deny the negative impact of living in this new normal ever since the outbreak of COVID19. It has disrupted future plans, ruined the economy and perhaps most important of all, it has taken a toll on our mental health. Winona writes about how she has dealt and continues to deal with the anxieties caused by this pandemic in her essay, "With pancakes, I learn to forgive myself."

Winona Sigue graduated with a degree in BS Accountancy from University of Santo Tomas. 

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Whether we think about it or not, most of us are subject to gender expectations. Girls should be graceful, men should be tough and gender non-conformists should act accordingly are phrases that may sound inconsequential but cumulatively, they all have a strong effect on us. Jericho Zafra writes about that in I hate cigarettes.

Jericho Zafra is a third year journalism student at  400-year old Colegio de San Juan de Letran - Manila Institute of Communication. He is a freelance writer, researcher, and editor and is currently appointed as Country Sub-Editor of the Philippines in a Non-Profit Media Organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He recently joined the 8th Bodley Head Financial Times Essay Prize Competition Britain 2020 submitting an essay containing the voice to reform for contemporary leadership and empowerment among the youth and the socially-challenged LGBTQIA+ Community.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Alexander Hamilton once wrote about how he perceived childhood as a mitigated form of slavery. He wrote, "There is not a child in the land that can call his soul, or his body, or his jacket his own. He has to wait upon the wisdom, the whims, and often the wickedness of other people. As young people, our wills are just as strong as their, and our tastes are stronger, yet we have to bend the one and sacrifice the other, and we do it under their pressure."

Daphne Sagun, the writer of this week's featured essay, talks about the same thing in "Are we too young, or old enough?" | Daphne Sagun is a 20-year old BA Communications student at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. She writes essays, poems, short stories, and aspires to publish her own novel. Currently, she is the Editor-in-Chief of Backtracks Gazette, a publication of PLM Mass Communications Students League.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.