What’s up, guys! I’m 
As we all know, once we reach senior high school, research, or practical research, becomes a necessary part of the curriculum. Now, this wasn’t actually my first time having research as a subject since it was also there in junior high under STE. But this was basically my first time having a real research defense and actually finishing one full study. In Grade 10, we were able to finish only Chapter 3, and our research was more like a proposal since classes were suspended because of the unbearable heat index.
But let me go back. Practical Research started in our second semester of Grade 11. I was really apprehensive about the subject because I was already aware that at the end of the study, there will be a final defense. Time passed to the time of choosing groups and members. The teacher made a random draw for group assignments so that it will be fair for everyone. I was feeling nervous, hoping that my groupmates were going to be people I am close with since working with people I am not familiar with would be awkward to me. Upon announcing the seven groups, I felt quite okay with my group. We were Group 6 with six members.
The day after the group assignments, our teacher asked us to start brainstorming on research topics or titles.
Coming up with a topic was tough since it had to dwell on problems in our community or our strand, the STEM. We had three topics in mind (which I, unfortunately, forgot 🥲), and one was about robotics. We eliminated that option because it would be too costly, too much stress, and none of us knew how to program. One day after we submitted our proposed titles, a classmate suggested making paper bags out of used paper with a twist, seeds would be embedded in the paper so that when people planted it, the seeds would grow. We found this idea interesting, and it was also eco-friendly, thus, we decided to go with her recommendation.
And that's how the title "Plantable Paper Bags: A Sustainable Innovation for Reducing Wastes and Promoting Green Practices" came about (This is actually a revised title, hehe). A few weeks later, we had our research proposal prepared. I felt nervous, not because it was my first time making a research proposal but because I didn't know what kinds of questions would arise from the teacher. Two of my groupmates, too, felt nervous since for them, it was their first time taking research as a subject. Fortunately, the proposal defense went smoothly, with the teacher mostly recommending and revising.
(Oh, and I forgot to take some group photos during the proposal defense—HAHAHA, lol.)
Fast forward, our research instructor asked whether we wanted to continue and finish our study among all seven groups. He added that whoever completes his research would be exempted from the fourth and final quarter examination. Five groups said they would rather not continue; hence, they would take the final exam and do a final presentation.
As for me, I would rather take the periodic exam than finish the research. For me, completing the study was more stressful and exhausting than just facing an exam (and after the exam, I would not have to care about anything anymore). But my five groupmates wanted to finish the research, so I have no choice but to agree.
The venue of the study was my house, as the group needed one spacious area with an appropriate surrounding for plants. I agreed because my house had a lot of space and a lot of plants. Early in the morning of the research day, two of our members went to Bogo to buy some materials, including paper molder and four kinds of seeds.
As Filipinos, we know that the time agreed upon for anything is rarely followed; one to three hours of being late is the general rule. As far as I remember, we started working on our research at almost 1 PM.
The first step was to gather some used paper (some were from my old elementary books), and then we tore it into bits. Then we blended it with water while carefully estimating the amount of water needed: not too much water or it would be too diluted, and not too little water or it would be too difficult to grind! This grinding procedure was hard because we couldn't arrive at the right consistency. We needed the whole thing to be pulverized, so we had to spend several minutes grinding. Once accomplished, we transferred the blended paper into a big container, added more water, and mixed it with cornstarch(we use cornstarch to stick or form the paper bags instead of using glue)before putting it inside the paper molder.
Using the molder was challenging because we needed a larger container to fit it properly, since we couldn't find one, we had to use one borrowed from my groupmate's parents. The molded paper bags were left to be air-dried for 20-30 minutes. Before peeling it off the mold, we embedded the seeds into the paper. The reason for this was to observe if the paper bag with seeds would actually sprout once planted. Since it was getting late, we decided to plant it the next day.
The next day, only one of my group mates came, as three other groupmates had errands, and one had to look after younger siblings. We started to plant the seed-embedded paper while making more paper bags. My groupmate only stayed for half a day because it started raining again and she thought it was better to go home.
On Monday, our teacher requested that we give him updates, and we informed him that we had already begun the experiment. He then advised us to complete the research in school instead, to make it more convenient and safer for my group members. After all, our classes finished at 5 PM, and it was not safe for them to continue commuting to my home late in the afternoon.
During our exam, since only two groups were continuing their research, we were sent to the computer lab to do our paper instead of the exam. We were doing multi-tasking, actually! Our next topic was General Biology 2, one of our major subjects, and in my opinion, its exams are always tough.
The next day after the exams, our research teacher announced our schedule for final defense. He provided us with a last opportunity to reconsider if we still wanted to proceed. Again, I didn't want to, as I wanted to relax after exams, but I couldn't help it because most of my group members were determined on completing it. We had to revise our paper several times since our teacher was always pointing out mistakes.
March 30, 2025
We decided for group study because our final defense was the following day. I offered my mother's residence as it had a good WiFi. But only four of us could come because the other two had some personal matters to attend to. We managed to laugh throughout as we prepared our PowerPoint, but as night fell, we began to get nervous. My mom just kept feeding us food, so it was kinda like a mukbang instead of a study session(facts 🦊😭). We also arranged an online meeting that evening to rehearse answering questions, but guess what? It didn't occur HAHAHA.
March 31, 2025
The day we had been waiting for. We expected the defense to be in the morning, so I was so nervous. No matter how many times I read through my notes, nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and I ended up sobbing to my friends. They told me that I could respond to the questions of the panelists, but being an overthinker, I kept thinking the worst.
And then our teacher had announced that our defense was going to begin at 1 PM. To make things even scarier, we were the first group to present. I breathed a sigh of relief that we were given some additional time to practice/prepare. We prepared in the library of the school to review our PowerPoint, but we found so many typos and mistakes in our paper, we were sure that we'd be getting into trouble eventually.
Before we knew it, we were already in the computer lab presenting. All that practice we did? Gone down the drain. We were all too nervous that I even stuttered 🥲 (Fun fact: I didn't eat lunch 🤪). My responses barely made sense, but I kept telling myself, "Okay nato! At least I answered!"
But as it went on, our nervousness faded. The panelists continued to bombard us with questions, and soon we were all laughing with them. I'm not going into details (this blog is long enough already🫶🏻), but let's just say, our defense was mostly filled with suggestions and revisions. Our research teacher and the panelists finally gave us a big congratulations, we made it through!
Walking back to our classroom, we were all relieved and laughing. We finally did it! We even took a group photo to celebrate!!
And that, our research adventure, "Plantable Paper Bags: A Sustainable Innovation for Reducing Wastes and Green Practices," is over. It was tiring and stressful, but wonderful at the same time. I learned not only about research, but also became familiar with my groupmates. Oh! And we'll be bookbinding our research after the revisions HAHAHA.
"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations". Looking back, I realized that the hardships, stress, and late nights were all worth it. Although I didn't want to pursue the research initially, I discovered that persevering through difficulties can result to unexpected growth and achievement. This experience taught me resilience, collaboration, and the importance of patience. It was difficult, but ultimately, it was an experience I will never forget.
Thanks so much for reading this not-so-longblog, everyone! 🫶🏻 I'll be posting some photos of our research below 😍🥰
