THE STORY OF THE PENCIL by PAULO COELHO

BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist. In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage.

FIRST QUALITY

'You can make big things, but never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. This hand we call it God, and he will always have to address you towards his will.'

SECOND QUALITY

'Sometimes I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. This makes the pencil suffer a little, but at the end it will be sharper. So, learn to bear a little pain because it will make you a better man.'

THIRD QUALITY

'The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to cancel mistakes. Understand that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing, but something fundamental to keep us on the right path.'

FOURTH QUALITY

'What is really important in the pencil is not the wood or the shape, but the lead that is inside. So, be always careful of what happens inside of yourself.

FIFTH QUALITY

'At the end, the fifth quality is: always leave a sign. In any case, be aware that everything you do in your life will leave trails; try to be conscious of every single action.'

SELF REFLECTION

 Villanueva, Divine Grace D.

FIRST QUALITY

Through faith in God, it gave me inspirations and motivation to continue the life that has given to me. There will always be someone who is guiding me to overcome all the and challenges in my life. And also, to do the things that I might be afraid to do at first but can turns out better than what I expected.

 SECOND QUALITY

Challenges are all part of life; it might be hard at first but with all the mistakes and failures that we encounter was all worth fighting for. And I can relate it through my learning process in commissioned portraits, every portrait I made wasn't that smooth. There is a time that I don't want to continue, and I want it to be perfect but then I made so many mistakes in doing the shadows, mostly in face proportions (imagine sitting and doing it for almost six hours but all you can see is your mistake). Even though I don't want to finish it I still continue for it to get done. After finishing it, those mistakes weren't that visible, it makes me so happy to see it as a finished product and those mistakes I've done became a lesson that I can use for the next one.

THIRD QUALITY

There is someone that whenever we argue, I was the one who keeps on winning. One time we had an argument about the actions that we made that affects each other. Even though I don't want to accept that I was wrong, and it makes me mentally exhausted. I should learn to accept my mistake to have a good relationship and to maintain a healthy connection. Just as a pencil corrects errors with an eraser, we can strengthen our bond by openly communicating about the misunderstandings. Corrections are just natural part of growth allows us to learn from each other and build a stronger foundation, nurture a relationship that can withstand challenges and stay on the right path.

FOURTH QUALITY

I often find myself saying "yes" to everyone's requests. One day during my jhs days, as my schedule becomes busy, I began to feel the weight of my people-pleasing habits. Two of my classmates and friends ask me to join them and they wanted me to be with them before school. I doesn't know where to go so I just go home by myself. Making a decision on where to go makes me feel stressed out. In my mind, if I join the other, the other one might get mad at me. And there, I figured out I always tries to please everyone and wants them to like me and to give them a good impression to me. I should be more honest about what I can handle. Realizing that our true value comes from what's inside us I important, set boundaries and express my needs also. Start to be truer to my own values to deepen my connections with others who appreciate my genuine self.

FIFTH QUALITY

Being the eldest gives me so much pressure. Every action that I am doing affects or influenced my siblings. My parents always telling me that I should be a model figure to my younger siblings.

 

 Tolentino, Raiza Gane V.

FIRST QUALITY

I remember when I was a kid that whenever I would join something i would tell my parents first.

SECOND QUALITY

Just the other day someone harass me on Facebook. And because i let her go and didn't punish her, she stopped. If i fight with her, the trouble will get worse.

THIRD QUALITY

I used to have a classmate that we hated the most and we used to say bad things about her. Until I thought that what we were doing was wrong, so I apologized to her and until now she is still my friend.

FOURTH QUALITY

I have a best friend who always bully because of her face. If they could see my friend's kindness, they wouldn't say that. There are people who only look at the outside appearance

FIFTH QUALITY

Before I take an action, I think first about what will happen or effect.

Like a pencil we have a characteristic like a pencil too even though they are just objects.

 

 Balan, Mylene

FIRST QUALITY

I am a young woman who wanted nothing more than to be the best daughter I I could be. I had always been close to my family and knew that depended on me just as much as she depended on them.

SECOND QUALITY

When I had a big upcoming exam. I did not prepare for it, but as the day of the exam gets closer, I found that there's still more material that you don't understand.

THIRD QUALITY

One way to practice not being afraid of mistakes as a high school student something new, such is to try as joining a new club, taking a course outside your comfort zone or starting a new hobby. This can help to build your confidence and show you that it's okay to take risk and make mistakes they're a natural part of the learning process.

FOURTH QUALITY

A great way to practice this idea is by engaging in activities that develop your character and personal qualities. This can include volunteering, helping others, participating clubs and extracurricular activities, and generally demonstrating kindness, compassion, and empathy toward others. By focusing on these qualities, you can build your self- confident, and self-esteem and remind yourself that it's what's inside that truly matters.

FIFTH QUALITY

I was out buying things with a friend, and they stop to look at a display of beautiful glassware. They pick up a delicate glass vase and ask my opinion on whether they should buy it. In my want to be helpful, I accidentally knock the vase out of their hands, shattering it on the ground.