ST.

ANTHONY DE CARMELLI ACADEMY

Carmona Estates, Lantic, Carmona, Cavite

Subject : CREATIVE NONFICTION

Topic : On My Own: The Reflection Essay

I. LEARNING COMPETENCIES
The learners…
 Explain the relationship of elements and ideas found in the various forms and types of creative nonfictional
texts through close reading

II. MOTIVATIONAL MATERIALS

 Recall the different types of essays by filling in the blanks below. Choose the answers from the box below.
1. The ____________________ essay tells a story.
2. A type of essay that explains is called a/an __________________ essay.
3. The ___________________ essay expresses the writer’s opinion on a given subject matter.
4. The type of essay that describes a person, a place, an event, or an idea is called a
___________________ essay.

Persuasive Descriptive Narrative Reactive Expository

III. DETAILED CONCEPTUAL DISCUSSION

 Pre-reading
The essay is considered as one of the canonical genres of literature along with poetry, fiction, and
drama. By now, you probably know that there are different types, among which are the narrative essay
(which tells a story), the descriptive essay (which paints with words), the expository essay (which makes an
explanation, and the argumentative essay (which expresses the author’s opinion on a particular topic. The
reflection or reflective essay is one that expresses the writer’s insights on a given subject matter. But unlike
the argumentative essay whose main purpose is to convince the reader of the logic and validity of the
author’s argument, the reflection essay concerns itself, above all, with the author’s introspection especially
with respect to what he/she learned from individual experiences. It should likewise be noted that in writing
the reflection/reflective essay, one may tell an anecdote (narrative) or describe a place or person
(descriptive).

 Reading Proper
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world. The country lies in the Pacific Ring
of Fire, a region in the Pacific that often gets hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Because the
Philippines is an archipelago, we are also often visited by typhoons, around 20 every year. We hold the
dubious reputation of having been struck by some of the most destructive weather disturbances in history.
The strength of these typhoons, not to mention the inadequate preparation of government agencies and of
the people themselves, has caused the loss of lives and property. The images associated with typhoons have
become quite common – the floods, the destruction of structures, the displacement of several people.
Consequently, in the aftermath of every big devastation, people find themselves nursing their wounds, both
physical and emotional, and bracing themselves for the next big calamity.
The following selection contains the author’s reflection on a calamity that was brought about by one of
the greatest typhoons that the world has ever known. Typhoon Haiyan, or Typhoon Yolanda as it was called

1 | CREATIVE NONFICTION Ms. Ellen Joyce L. Mendiola, LPT

 in the Philippines, caused unparalleled damage on infrastructure and on the victims’ means of livelihood.
But far more tragic was the loss of lives numbering 10,000 according to some estimates. The survivors,
traumatized by the event, had to deal not only with a deep sense of grief but also of daily uncertainty.

Braving Storms
Noel Christian A. Moratilla
One cannot talk about the year 2013 without invoking the most daunting challenges that the country
faced last year. I am referring to forces majeures that struck parts of the Philippines and tested our resilience
as a people. One was the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit the island province of Bohol, which killed
hundreds of people and destroyed several structures. Then, there was Typhoon Yolanda, which killed about
10,000 people and displaced a million more. Typhoon Yolanda will go down in history not only for the sheer
number of casualties, but also for the apparent lack of preparedness for something as destructive as the
storm surges that laid to waste much of Eastern Visayas. For the victims, it was a hideous nightmare.
Vivid still are the post-Yolanda images flashed on television and the Internet of structures razed to the
ground, of children looking for their parents, of parents searching for their brood, of cadavers locked in final
embrace amid the debris. They were heart-breaking to say the least. I myself could not help shedding tears
when I saw them. Even now, whenever I check videos of the destruction on the Internet, of people begging
for food or drinkable water, or of people crying over the unexpected death of a loved one, I would feel my
heart burst into pieces.
In many respects, those who survived weren’t really more fortunate than those who perished. The
survivors agonized for days and weeks without anything to eat, because of which many had to resort to theft
and even murder if only to feed themselves and their families. Also disturbing was the failure of authorities
to act immediately. It was only after foreign media were on the ground that troops were sent to stop the
looting and establish a semblance of law and order. As expected, the disaster has also swollen the ranks of
the country’s unemployed.
If there was anything positive about the tragedy, it was the sense of cooperation that Filipinos showed
in response to the calls for assistance. People from other parts of the country offered whatever they could in
order to help ease the sufferings of millions of typhoon victims. Even those from the country’s most
impoverished areas, who themselves experience scarcity and want almost on a daily basis, did not hesitate
to donate. The sense of collective despair was alleviated by a sense of collective hope, as ordinary citizens
volunteered to repack goods or transport them to far-flung communities hit by the typhoon. And of course,
our school, given its social orientation, could not just stand idly by. The schools covered pergola witnessed
the show of teamwork and synergy involving not just members of the community but also total strangers
who wanted to help. I myself made modest contributions to the sorting and repacking of goods, knowing
that families in dire need would be the beneficiaries. What’s great is that I was able to persuade some of my
students to do the same. Others did it on their own initiative.
In such times of crisis, the role of school as an autonomous public sphere becomes important. The
school is a venue not just for academic learning but for the democratic exchange of ideas and the
narrativization of people’s collective pain and hope. The challenge for the teacher is how to maintain a sense
of hope in the face of natural and social disasters. The teacher’s job, after all, is not just to teach but to
engage in a kind of discourse that encourages critical optimism. In times of darkness, the teacher should be
a light bearer so that his/her students and indeed, the rest of the community will not forever dwell on fear,
uncertainty, and despair. As the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said suggested, the teacher as public
intellectual should “raise embarrassing questions, to confront orthodoxy and dogma, to be someone who
cannot easily be co-opted by governments and corporations.”
(Adapted from an essay of the same title by Noel Moratilla, which appeared in Insights, faculty newsletter of
St. Scholastica’s College-Manila)

IV. ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY

 Vocabulary Building
Match the underlined word or phrase in letter A with its corresponding meaning in letter B.
2 | CREATIVE NONFICTION Ms. Ellen Joyce L. Mendiola, LPT
 A B
_____1. Filipinos have face daunting challenges but they remain a. despair
brave and patient. b. causing fear or worry
_____2. The storm surges brought about by Typhoon Yolanda laid c. destroyed
to waste much of Eastern Visayas. d. massive stealing
_____3. The soldiers were called in to stop the looting in parts of e. lining up
Leyte and Samar where groceries and department stores had been
attacked by the mob.
_____4. The typhoon victims could do nothing but agonize over
their situation.

V. EVALUATION
 Write a short letter addressed to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, articulating your thoughts and feeling
about the calamity, including words of advice and encouragement.

VI. REFERENCE
 Moratilla, N., et al (2016). Creative Nonfiction, Claiming Spaces: Understanding, Reading, and Writing
Creative Nonfiction, Phoenix Publishing House

3 | CREATIVE NONFICTION Ms. Ellen Joyce L. Mendiola, LPT