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The Official Student Publication of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) Tagum Unit

12/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟭𝟮: 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗦

I tossed the pieces of me
that no one cared to see.
They fell like ash, like broken dreams,
into the dark where silence screams.

But oh, the things I threw away
still haunt the skies above my grave.
For every piece I thought I'd lost
comes back to ask, “Was I worth the toss?”

I threw my pain. I threw my past.
I prayed the good things wouldn't last
long enough to see me break—
so I let go before they could take.

Now here I stand, above the bin,
a hollow shell with ghosts within.
I tossed the parts that made me whole,
then wondered why I felt no soul.

Perhaps the cruelest thing to toss
is not what's broken, but what's lost—
the little girl I used to be,
who threw herself away to feel free.

| 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞

12/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟭𝟭: 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗨𝗘

Sometimes, we seek someone to rescue us. Not always to save us away from danger, but also from the thoughts that make us feel tired, alone, or afraid.

There are times when our minds feel too heavy, and we just want someone to ask, “Okay ka lang ba?”, a simple question, but if it is genuine, it can mean so much. A simple message, a word with kindness, or someone who is willing to listen, can already help us overcome our inner burdens.

Rescue does not always mean saving someone away from danger. Sometimes, it can also be helping someone see that they are not alone, even in the darkest corner.

And sometimes, we rescue ourselves by choosing to pause, breathe, rekindle our strength, and move forward.

Kailanman ay hindi naging masama ang humingi ng tulong. May mga bagay na hindi natin kailangan harapin nang mag-isa dahil may mga tao na handang makibahagi sa bigat na ating dinadala.

| 𝐉𝐮𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐝

10/10/2026

𝐊𝐔𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌, 𝐔𝐒𝐞𝐏𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐬?

Finally, midterm exams are done! Kumusta kaha atong braincells ug scores diha?

Whatever the results may be, we hope you give yourself credit for making it through another challenging week. We deserve a little breather after all the pressure, USePians!

🖼️ : Kimberly Ramos

10/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟭𝟬 - 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟

Convict of deception.
Bearer of lies.
Bereaved of faith, and
Dealer of thy lives.

Abruptly— one wakes at five.
Moving with grace, freely to thrive.
In works, in loads, we greatly divide—
Swimming through sweats, undoubtedly, we dive.

These skins of projection, we ought to be.
Beneath thy hymn, as far as we could be.
To hear the voices of the lingered song.
Stuck as remnants to those who belong.

In wonderland of great crevices,
In the endless land of emerald bushes.
They stand as leverages,
contradicting our poor lavishes—
Not of wealth, but of freedom.
Of creativity and Solemnity.

Beneath the kin of a structured bin—
Lives a life, full of wonderful dreams.
Ready to fly as Icarus could've been.
To devote a life, closer where the sun had been.

| 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫

10/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟵: 𝗥𝗔𝗠

"Submission of tasks this Friday..."
"You have 3 LEs for this course..."
"Prepare for reporting..."

I watch as the deadlines and tasks slowly fill my to-do list—one after another.

Then another.

It has been weeks. Yet somehow, the list is not getting shorter.

I stare at it, hoping it will somehow complete itself. I stare at it, praying at least one task will disappear.

I watch our group chat as my classmates start working. The Docs file is filled with words and paragraphs. Everyone seems to be moving—I remain stagnant.

As I finally start to hover my fingers over the keyboard, my mind buffers. The cursor blinks. Waiting. Nothing seems to come out.

I know what I have to do. I know the deadlines are getting closer.
But somehow, my brain refuses to load.

My cup remains empty, and it feels like it can never be filled.

Maybe that's what happens when your mind has too much to hold.

Too many deadlines.
Too many expectations.
Too many things running in the background.

My brain feels like a phone with only 4 GB of RAM.
Consumed with so many thoughts that take up space.
Unfinished task that stay open. Deadlines run in the background.

And eventually, there is barely enough memory left to do the simplest thing:

Start.

So I stare at the blinking cursor.
Waiting for my mind to load.

| 𝐋𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐑𝐚𝐞𝐧 🌜

07/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟴: 𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗬

Stinky is the stench of rotting garbage in sewers,
the rancid odor swirling to the noses of the innocents.
The dirtiest deeds do reflect on the state of the nation,
as its roads are filled with accumulated grievances and rage.

No matter the state of decay,
nothing is stinkier than their lying tongues.
Floods may drain, but the disgust remains.
The smell that no scrubs can clean away,
even the filthiest dump cannot compare.

Stinky is the stench of rotting garbage in sewers, but nothing is stinkier than you.

Ang babaho niyooooo!

| 𝐄𝐫𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞

07/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟳: 𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗖

Tick. Tock.
Tick. Tock.

She never lives with her heart in the present.
Her mind is always somewhere else—
a few steps ahead,
running toward tomorrow,
or a few steps behind,
retracing yesterday.

Never here.
Never now.

The clock moves.
So does she.

She rushes when there is nowhere to go,
hurries when no one is chasing her,
counts the minutes as if they are things she could lose.

She is afraid of being late—
for deadlines.
for dreams.
for expectations.
for the life
she thinks she should already have.

Every unfinished task nags.
Every delay feels like failure.
Every tomorrow demands something from her.

So she keeps moving—
from one deadline to another,
from one worry to the next.
Always preparing for what comes after,
always haunted by what came before.

She worries.
She works.
She overthinks.
She panics.

Tick. Another minute gone.
Tock. Another thing unfinished.
Tick. Another version of herself she thinks she should have become by now.

She looks at the clock again.

Still running. Still chasing.
Still afraid that time is leaving her behind.

The clock continues.
Tick. Tock.
When will she live?

| 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞

06/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟬𝟲: 𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘

“Kayo po na nakaupo, subukan niyo namang tumayo, at baka matanaw—at baka matanaw ninyo, ang tunay na kalagayan ko.”

Ang linyang ito mula sa kantang “Upuan” ang siyang sumasalamin sa mga dambuhalang patuloy na nakaluklok sa kanilang trono, ngunit kailanma’y hindi nakatanaw sa nasasakupan.

Madalas silang nakaupo, madalas ding nakatayo. Hindi upang matanaw ang ating kalagayan, kundi upang mangamkam nang higit pa hanggang sa wala nang matira. Patuloy sila sa pagbubungkal, ngunit hindi ng lupa—binubungkal nila ang mga bulsa ng mamamayang tuluyan nang nahubasan.

Sa bawat pagkamkam, lalo silang nagiging ganid sa kung anong maaari pang mapasakanila. Hanggang sa ang nakalaan para sa marami ay unti-unting nilalamon ng kanilang kasakiman.

At habang busog ang mga dambuhala sa kanilang mga trono, tayo itong patuloy na nagugutom. Tayo itong pinagkakaitan sa mga bagay na dapat sana’y tayo ang nakikinabang.

| 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝

05/10/2026

YOOHOO, DITO ANG TINGIN! 👀

Midterms are finally here, and the academic survival mode is officially ON.

From “kaya pa ’to” to “Lord, Ikaw na bahala,” we asked our fellow Ka-Yanos, how they’re feeling before facing the ultimate brain battle.

Here are their unfiltered thoughts, reactions, and midterm moments!

Broadcasters: Queenie Torremocha & Sandra Jane Caturay
Videographer: Claire Fronteras
Edited By: Jerico Jagonoy
📝: Elizah Mae Minguita

05/10/2026

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟱: 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗞

“Intimacy should wait until marriage,” they told me, even before I ever had a boyfriend. I understood why they said it. Or at least, I thought I did.

Then one day, I looked at my birthdate and their wedding anniversary.

The math was simple. But the realization wasn’t.

Suddenly, I wondered if some people spend their lives trying to correct their mistakes by making sure their children never make the same ones.

I was ten when I first became aware of things I probably shouldn’t have understood. I watched my mother carry things she shouldn’t have had to carry. I watched my father love his daughter while somehow failing to love his wife in the way she deserved.

For a long time, I looked at my mother with pity. Then anger. Then both.

Because how do you explain to a child that the people they look up to can hurt each other and still call it love?

Maybe that is why those words stayed with me:

“Intimacy should wait until marriage.”

It wasn’t the sentence itself. It was the story behind it.

Maybe their advice was really a piece of their past, handed to me as a warning. Maybe they were trying to protect me from becoming them.

But then I wondered: Was I being warned about love, or about what love had done to them?

Sometimes, realization doesn’t come loudly. Sometimes, it’s just a date.

A sentence. A little bit of math. And then — smack.

| 𝐊𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞

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