ORIGENES, Lance Gabriel Buan

2A2
PHL - Reflection Paper

“Student Life and Ethics in the Classroom”

As a student of UST AMV-College of Accountancy, I am expected to follow essential

rules and to comply with the standards the College has to offer. The simplest rules that an
immature child could perform, are easily violated by mature young adults. Being College
students, we sometimes forget Imago Dei “We are created in the image and likeness of God”,
meaning that we have to set him as an example that we must all follow and set as a standard.
Though we can’t match the standards He sets for us, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try. As we
continue in pursuing to become like Him, we transform into a better person that will not only
satisfy our cravings for self-actualization but also the acceptance from society.

In my understanding of Imago Dei, we only have the potential in reflecting God’s

presence, and we still need to develop ourselves in order for us to reach it. God only created us
as rational beings. No other person controls our actions except ourselves, and ourselves only.
Blaming others for being bad influences to us, is just another excuse of not accepting that we did
something wrong. For example, some of your classmates are inviting you to drink and have fun
rather than go to class and learn an Accounting lesson. Being tempted to have fun, I chose to
drink and not worry about the Quiz. The day of the Quiz arrives and having nothing in mind, I
become regretful that I didn’t follow that statement “Akads over Lakads”, and I chose to blame
my classmates instead of myself. Most students are like these, even myself, we don’t want to
blame ourselves because we think we are innocent and that blaming others would feel less guilty.
In reality, we need to accept the consequences of our actions even though we would be ashamed
of our actions. Let us take these kinds of experience not a signal to be frustrated but a life lesson
that made us more aware and mature, and that we could apply this lessons in the future.

For us to be a resemblance of our Creator, He has given following basis and rules to
follow. It can all be seen in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the
Old Testament, God gave Moses the tablets containing the 10 commandments, and God said that
these commandments should be our foundation in living the perfect life. However, the moment
Moses stepped down from Mount Sinai, the people had already violated the First Commandment
(I am the Lord, your God, you shall not have other Gods beside me.) The people that Moses
saved from slavery, including Aaron, had praised the Golden Calf which was a symbol of a false
god. We can see here that the simplest rules that we should follow, are easily broken due to the
standards that society has set. Listening to the teacher, not cheating in an exam, or being on time
for class, these are just a few simple rules that even an honor student has troubles in following.
 For me, rules and regulations cannot be properly followed if there is no one that follows
it. Here, we enter the New Testament wherein we could see the life of Christ from Birth to his
Death and Resurrection. He would be epitome of what man must be. He is God became man and
we must always derive our own actions from His’. Temptations had always lurked around him
and not everyone around was a good example, yet He remained a good man as He knew what
was truly right and wrong. We must make him a foundation for as we seek in becoming the
Perfect man. In doing so, we ensure that the essence of classroom ethics is maintained.

However, not everyone has the same perspective as I. The perspective I have on things
and events may be right for me, but for others, they may think my perspective is wrong. This is
due to the indifference among the personalities of a person. Not all of us think the same and we
all view the world from different point of views. Religion could be a reason for this indifference.
Inside the classroom, not everyone is a Catholic, some may be Muslims, while other may believe
that God doesn’t exist or they don’t care at all. Due to this, some may encounter conflicts with
the other due to contrasting beliefs.

We should always remember that have our own decisions and beliefs. Not all may agree
with you, but that doesn’t remove the fact that we mustn’t respect them. The Golden Rule as
stated by Christ in Matthew 7:12. says that “Do unto others as you would have them unto you.”
Respect will never be given to you on a silver platter, because to gain Respect, a person must
earn it, and to earn it, we should also respect others. For us to settle this conflicts, the application
of the Philosophical view of Relativism would be helpful. We need to think we are all right in
our own ways and that all of our thoughts are equally valid.

We could also derive this indifference of decisions from Empiricism. We experience

events that may affect our future decision in life. People come from different places and our part
of different groups. With Society’s diverse cultures, we need to put to use Ethical Relativism.
During my first year in College, I could really see the distinction among each person, as we all
came from different types of High Schools. Some were used to talking with any type of gender,
while others were anxious to talk with the opposite sex, much more if the person can be
classified as an LGBT. Conflicts had always arise among the class due to indifference of
personalities. I realized that even though we should always show our true side, we must always
be aware that not everyone would feel comfortable with my own actions. Adjustment to people
who we are not used to being with is always a must not only in the classroom but anywhere we
go. We become self-centered and egoistic when we only think of ourselves and show no care for
people around us.

Being said that we all came from different experiences in life, we all see life differently.
Some may see criticism as a way to pull them down from there success, while other look at it as
potential to be a better person. We all have different perceptions in life, so we must not make
unnecessary judgements that makes other people anxious of us. Rather than taking the chance to
judge and make fun of people, why not learn from them. Use them as a tool to see life from a
different perspective. We don’t know everything, and surely we don’t know everything about the
people we meet. Hasty generalizations will only lead to conflicts with other people and would
only bring us down. We should instead understand why that person thinks of life that way and
why he/she acts like that. We could then analyze and conclude how that person was shaped like
that while also having the benefit of learning and seeing the world from a different point of view.

We must remember we are not alone here in this world there are more than 7 billion
people around the world. Our own actions not only affect ourselves but also others. We tend to
think from a perspective that is beneficial for us. Though that point of view is reasonable for we
should always think of what is best for us, however, we should always remember not to hinder
the success of other people nor destroy it.

Our actions must both follow and disregard the idea of the Philosophical view of
Individualism. This Philosophical view considers that actions and decisions must always benefit
oneself and not others. Being said, this view must be followed due to the fact that fact we must
always aim that we benefit from our actions. We know what’s best for us and no other person
knows ourselves better. We won’t be contented and it may lead to us being depressed, and surely
we all don’t want that. Happiness is what we humans chase for, as it gives motivation and
satisfied. However, there is an extent in practicing Individualism. We aim for our own
satisfaction, but sometimes those decisions only benefit us, and while we enjoy it, we don’t
realize our actions have made other people grieve or furious. The essence of Morality is
forgotten and along with it the meaning of Humanity.

Morality is always about the I and the me, as it is about the we and the us. Jesus teaches
us that we must love everyone, whether it be friends and family or enemies and strangers. If we
are to get the main idea of the Bible and put it to one word, that is Love. Though it’s true that we
can’t impress everyone and there would always be that one person who would keep on stepping
on our success, but that doesn’t stop us from doing well and making the decisions we know
everyone will benefit from.

In the end, our actions still rely on our own thinking and decisions. No one has the right
to control us but ourselves. We are masters of our own mind and body, and we know what’s best
for us. Our own decisions may benefit us for the moment, or it may let us suffer for a while for a
lifetime of joy and happiness. We decide our own future and we shouldn’t be dependent on
others regarding life choices. We only get their opinions but not to the point that they control our
lives. Even if it be our parents or our close friends, we still need to make these decisions as it will
be the basis of our personality.

For my recommendations in fulfilling one’s duty in becoming an exceptional student,

first of all, don’t be afraid to show your true self. By true self, I mean that character of us that
shows the best of us. The truth will always set you free. Don’t be afraid of being criticized or
judged, it’s all part of life and we experience it almost every day even as we enter the University.
Give a moment to listen to those judgements, and use it as a tool to either be a better a person or
prove all those doubters wrong.
 Secondly, always remember to seek Eudaimonia. Always remember that the actions we
do mustn’t just benefit other people but also ourselves. It’s good that we prefer the well-being of
others than oneself, but as they say “Too much of a good thing is bad”. Being selfless has its own
limits too as thinking from Individualistic point of view. We also need to take care of ourselves
as we take care of others.

Lastly, we must never love hope. Each and everyone of us encounters challenges and
failures, but that doesn’t mean that we have to show this to other people. Even though we
struggle at times or maybe we are at lowest point of our lives, we must remember that there is
always hope. We think that having failing marks or being rejected is the end of your life, but
don’t forget that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All we need is patience and Hardwork.
The pain that we feel in the moment, can’t compare to the joy that’s coming to us.