Meraki

10 months. 44 weeks. 304 days. 438,000 minutes. 

That's how long we've been together. It hasn't been that long but it still feels like yesterday when we met each other. I was part of the few people who transferred into your section, but I felt very welcomed and I didn't feel out of place. Although I was really shocked of how loud you guys were, I will always miss your noises. I will always remember our jamming sessions during break times and even our dance sessions (Exponent of Two where you at lol).I will always remember our shoots, painful and tiring warm ups during cheer dance competition, our hassle and very early meet ups in SM Marikina, our cutting sessions, and cheating sessions on short quizzes. We've been through a lot of ups and downs but I am happy that we didn't give up on each other.  

As we step out of the class and step into a new milestone, I wanted to thank you for giving me the memories that I never thought I would have. Thank you to the people who brought the best out of me (Tiya Yvette), to the people who always join me in finding cute boys (Dan, Stef, and Kat), to the people who taught me how to be confident (Jessar and Gerald), to those people that showed me how friendships should be like (Jake, Klint, Jelai, Rina, Alecs and the rest of your squad), to the people who always join me in fangirling over korean dramas and kpop groups (Gissele, Kat, Krizzia, Danica, Sofie, Airene and Catubao) and to the people who would eat with me on Chowking even though they have no money (#TeamReal #TeamChowking where you at lol). I would treasure all this memories that we had. I wish you all the best in your studies and your future careers. 

I am sorry for being overly dramatic. Even though I am not sure if I would transfer school, I am writing this entry in case I had to leave. Again, thank you for the memories. Until, we meet again.

NO one can deny the fact that physical appearance really matters in this world. From job applications to relationships, people always look at your physical appearance. But what if one day, you wake up with a different physical appearance? And what if your new appearance is a fat, ugly and old appearance?

This is not new to Woojin (played by 21 actors), a young successful furniture designer who always wake up in the morning completely transformed into a different person. Yes, a different person. There will be days where he would be a Japanese girl, a grandmother, and even a little kid.

It's weird, right? I also found it very weird when I first watched the trailer of the film. At the beginning of the film, he wakes up in someone's bed after a one night stand completely transformed into a fat guy. He quickly leaves the room, scared of what might happen if the girl sees her. No one actually knows about his secret except for his Mom and his best friend, Sangbaek. He never got used to it, even though this started happening when he turned 18. He only knew one thing, and that is to hide himself.


But of course you can't hide yourself forever. Everything changes for Woojin when she meets the woman of her life, Yisoo, a furniture sales woman. Everyday he would come back to the furniture shop, buying the things that she would recommend. He was so in love but he couldn't introduce himself to her because of his situation. Until one day, he wakes up transformed into a handsome man.


With just his handsomeness, he managed to ask her to a dinner at his place. But another problem arises as he realized that if he sleep that night, he might lose his handsome face once again and be transformed to an ugly person the next day. He manages to stay awake for 3 days but he fell asleep on the subway and waked up transformed into an ugly man, again.


This pushed him to tell her his situation. At first, it wasn't easy for Yisoo. But then, Yisoo also fell in love with him, so she came back to him and asked if they could sleep together. That was one of the fascinating things in the movie, the fact that Yisoo showed that a woman can be both beautiful inside and out. She stayed by Woojin's side and accepted all his flaws and of course his different appearances. Their relationship was just like any other relationships, going out on dates, sleeping together, cooking for each other, and other things that a normal couple do (including that "thing") but  of course, there are no perfect relationships.

From the "everything is perfect" moment, things escalated quickly as several conflicts arise like Yisoo wanted to introduce Woojin to her family and her friends but she couldn't because she didn't know how they would react to his situation and how she pretended to be fine although she was falling apart on the inside.

This movie was more than just "the beauty inside of us also matters too." This movie is also able to highlight several themes about love and how we usually pretend to be okay when its not. This may be not  everyone's cup of tea because of its unrealistic plot but this is a pure art that will make you think and ponder what's more behind the whole plot itself as the conflicts were complex and gives an idea about human nature and true love.

But for me, a summer getaway isn't the summer getaway that you're expecting. As much as I wanted to go and see the emerald sea glinting under the sun or even the cityscape in Baguio while drinking coffee, that was not the scenario. I like to keep it simple. I like to go out with my friends for one last time.

It was just supposed to be a simple meet-up to pass our other requirements but we planned to go somewhere else after that. We went to a youth service. I've been to a youth service for several times already but yesterday was still awesome. After that, we stuffed ourselves with good food, talked and laughed like we always do inside the classroom. Of course, we didn't forget to take a stroll and look for cute boys that will never date us.

SMH THESE GUYS

#BoyHunting2k17

She was the summer, the sun, and the light

With a heart made out of dandelions and the rays of sunshine

Her fingertips make the peonies bloom

With a simple smile, she lights up the room

He was the winter, the night and the storm

He had the lightning and thunder in his bones

He was the cold wind that sends shivers to her spine

He held the stars in his eyes and the galaxy in his soul

She thought she was a part of him

The sun that gives light to the stars of his galaxy

A star that was never enough to light up the darkness within

But they were two stars who are always meant to cross but not meant to be

She was the summer to his winter

He was the rain that her heart lives for

He found warmth in her

But in his arms was her destruction

She was the summer and he was the winter

He blew the dandelions in her heart and kissed her goodbye

She was the sun and he was the moon

And they were never meant to meet in the same sky

Reviewing for your exams can be stressful. You need a lot of hard work (and a lot of time!) to cram all the information you need to learn inside your head. While hard work is obviously one of the most important things a student should have to get better scores in exams and better grades, these days working hard isn't enough. You also need to work "smart". Knowing where to work hard can make all the differences. As the exam week approach, here are some scientifically proven tips that I tried and I am still using until now on how to ace your exams like a boss (without getting #Stressedt)

YUP. You just read it. Start your review from Day 1. What I am trying to say is, study EVERY DAY. I know you think it's awful because you have to study every day but you don't really have to study the whole day. Alot an hour or two in reading your notes or reading in advance. This will make all your next review sessions easier as this technique helps you to retain all the information that you have read.

Being present in class every day is very important. Being present in class allows you to study easily and ask questions from your teachers for clarification. Of course, your presence is not enough. Make sure you listen to the lecture too. As much as possible, if you can choose where to sit in class, sit at the front. This will help you to hear the teacher clearly and concentrate on the lessons. 

3. Take down notes!

This is actually one of the most effective techniques that I've been using since I was in Grade 4 (I am not kidding here. I developed good study habits at a very young age so..). It has been proven that writing things down can help us remember the important stuff. Before I used to take down notes on a separate notebook but currently I am trying out a technique I saw on youtube where you take notes using post-it notes, colored pens, and highlighters.

You can also create headings, subheadings, and table of contents to find the topics that you need to review easily. Add some symbols, doodles, and acronyms that will help you remember certain topics.

4. Keep a Planner.

Keeping a planner helped me a lot in keeping track of the things that I should do for the day, the week, and the rest of the month. As much as possible, assign a certain color for certain activities like a review session, met-ups, deadlines, etc.

D-21 (3 weeks before the exams)

1. Finalize your notes! 

Make sure that all of your notes are complete by this time so that reviewing will be easier. If you don't like taking notes, you can highlight important details and insert keywords that will remind you the summary of that certain paragraph or part of the lesson.

2. Finalize your study schedule and test schedule.

Finish all your projects and other deadlines so your attention and focus wouldn't be diverted to other things aside from your exams. Start making your final review schedule after you finalize your test schedule.

3. Start reviewing, one lesson at a time.

Start reviewing your past lessons. Modify your notes from time to time if you have too. Remember that the smallest details matter too like how, why, what is the result, what is the reason and others.

D-3 (3 days before the exams)

2. Review! Review! Review! 

Review each subject according to their order. (Day 1 of review sessions= Day 1 Exam subjects). In this part, you have to review like you will have your exams tomorrow. If you always cram in reviewing, it's not the kind of review that I was talking about right now. You have to review the lessons from the biggest details to the smallest details. Don't just review the definitions. As much as possible, do not review using your reviewer. Although it is indeed easier to review, it doesn't have all the information related to the lessons (it's more on definitions and can only be useful in enumeration and meaning-based exams). Make some quiz cards if you have time. These quiz cards consists of possible exam questions that you have to answer the day before your exam.

D-1 (The day before the exam)

1. Read, understand, and do not memorize.

Memorizing will only make you forget more things. Instead of memorizing, read your notes (which is a summarized version of your material) then recite what you have just read. Do not use the exact words written on your notes except for some terms. You have to recite it based on your understanding. You can do this 3 to 4 times then move to the next lesson. You already reviewed the lesson for several times now so there's no need for you to memorize and spend more time on re-reading your notes. If you are already done with your review, answer the quiz cards that you made (either orally or written).

2. Stay away from your phone. Avoid distractions. 

3. Take short study breaks.

4. Go to sleep.

After reviewing, make sure to go to sleep. Your eyes and brain need to take a rest too for it to function well tomorrow. But if you are part of the #TeamNoSleep during exam days, take a nap. Although I still do good when I don't sleep (Not bragging. I'm just saying I am used to not going to bed on exam days), I do better when I take a nap. Remember, pushing yourself to your goals is different from pushing yourself to your limit.

D-DAY (The Exam Day)

Keep calm, pray and do your best. After you receive the test questionnaire, scan the test and find the easiest parts so you know where to move if you are having a hard time in answering the questions. If you are not sure of an answer, skip the question and proceed to the next questions. Check your answers before submitting your answer sheet. Review if you have time. Eat if you are hungry. Go to the bathroom if you need to go. Do not expect but know that you did your best.

The key to survive this strand is to be confident. One of the possible jobs of HUMSS are reporters, politician and lawyers and these jobs requires confidence. HUMSS students are expected to be good communicators and public speakers and so this strands has a lot of presentation activities to prepare students for their future jobs. So if you have anxieties or stage frights like me, this strand is not good for your health.

2. You have to be good at everything.

Thank you.

To be honest, I didn't have a particular dream job when I was a kid. All I wanted was to be rich. Yes, I wanted to be rich. But I only wanted to be rich because my dream was to help people. It may seem unrealistic but that's really what I wanted. I even wanted to volunteer in the army, be an army-doctor and go to other places for rescue operations. I wanted to have my own foundations and become a U.N. Women's Goodwill ambassador. But of course it wasn't easy for my parents to accept it but because I was so stubborn, I still went for it.

YES-O Officers

At Grade 7 I started participating in school organizations and volunteering for clean up drives and gift giving projects. I also participated in tree planting projects of the Antipolo Government. I also participated in fund raising events of different organizations in our school and most of them were through face painting which is actually one of the things that I enjoy. This continued until my last year in Junior High. My last project was a clean up drive in Marikina and a fund-raising event for the Astro Camp. Even though it was tedious just like what my mom always said, it was very fun. 

Astro Camp 2015-2016

As a former STEM program student and a student who has fallen in love with social work, choosing a strand was very confusing. A lot of people said that I suit the STEM and that I have no future in my love for writing and social work. But I wanted it so I went for it.

It was a tough choice. Both of my parents are both in the medicine field (Respiratory therapist and pharmacist)  and they were expecting me to become like them and to become the person that they weren't able to achieve, to become a doctor. But my life was social work. Although I wanted to help people who are sick, I wanted to be out there. I wanted to go to far places, hear other people stories, teach kids how to read, and learn how to be a part of them.  In volunteering, I felt needed in the society. I was part of something that could change many lives including mine. In volunteering I learned to be open minded and understanding. I learned to appreciate things in my life. I learned to be selfless. In volunteering, I found my purpose and my legacy, and that is helping people.

So for those who haven't tried volunteering, I suggest you to try at least once because in helping others you are not only helping other people but you are also helping yourself in whatever you are struggling with. Whether it is the feeling of being needed, losing hope and the feeling of being useless. Even though you are just a part of this you world, you are 100% of the future.

As a kid who get sick easily, I basically grew up inside the four walls of my small home. I have always envied those kids who can dance and play in the middle of the summer rain and those who can go wherever they want whether its the playground or a camping.  I have been craving for adventures since I was young but all that I was able to do was to stare at it on pictures or read about it on a book. Although reading itself is an adventure too as it 'takes you to other places through your imagination', these can't compare to the sound fallen leaves  being crushed under your feet and the feeling of the cold sea breeze brushing against your skin.

As years passed by, going out has became something out of my nature. I have become afraid of going out on a daily basis and even going to places that I'm not familiar with. I was satisfied at staying at home on rest days while doing my home works.I know this sounds like a Disney movie, but this is really what my life looks like.

Recently, we had to shoot in Angono for our short film.I don't really have high hopes about the place before the shoot because I was expecting a typical filming location and I was really not in the mod to go out that day. We headed to SM Angono at exactly 11:00 and arrived there by 12:30. We rode a tricycle that took us the filming location, Angono Lakeside Eco Park.

When the sun started setting, I went for a boat ride with my friends, which is something that I hesitated for a million times while I was there. I had so many worries in my mind that time but as soon as the boat started sailing across the lake, all that I can think of that time is 'I have to try it again'. All of a sudden the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, my pimples and my eye bags are gone (just kidding) and my stress is gone. If ever you're having a hard time right now because of school (thesis!), work or other people (your thesis members),  its not really a bad thing to take some time away from these things. Although my pimples and eye bags did not go away, I can guarantee that reconnecting with nature can quiet your mind and boost your creativity. It gives you the space to reflect on things and even discover something about yourself. As I reconnected with nature, I realized that the quote that I have read on twitter was so (damn) true.

"The WORLD is too big to stay in one place and LIFE is too long to do just on thing."

So step up and do not stay in one  place. You have a wonderful life to live out there. Claim it. Live it.

Being 18 is the turning point in a girl's life. As my mom always said, this is where I turn into a woman. My mom always wanted us to become "the perfect woman" but my mom's idea of a perfect woman is "Maria Clara" and she wasn't the only one who thinks this way. My aunts, my godparents, and my mom's friends think the same way. Actually there are 18 things that they always say to me:

1. "Oh ayan Barbie! Di ba favorite mo 'to?"
2. "Ang ganda naman ng buhok mo kaso dapat lagi mong inaayos. Babae ka pa naman."

3. "Kay ganda naman! Kaso mas maganda yung isa, yung maputi."

4."Eto yung gusto mo? Hindi pambabae to."

5. "Bakit hindi pink ang favorite color mo?"
6.. "Bakit sobrang iksi ng gupit mo? Tomboy ka ba?"

7. "Ang babae pang bahay yan. Kaya dapat marunong ka ng gawin yung mga gawaing bahay."

8. "Bakit hindi? Girls always love pink skirts."

9. "Huwag ka masyadong maglalakad. Baka magka muscle ka sa legs. Pangit tignan sa babae."

10. "Sana naman ayusin mo na yung gamit mo. Para kang hindi babae."

11."You should make more girl friends. Napaka tahimik mo masyado para sa isang babae."

12."Huwag ka masyadong magkakakain ng madami! Baka tumaba ka!"

13.  "Pag ganun, sabihin mo babae ka. Dapat ikaw yung nauna kasi babae ka."

14.  "Huwag mo masyadong seryosohin ang pagiging matalino. Hindi mo naman kailangan iyan pag nag-asawa ka."
15. "Gusto mo ba ng gluta? Mas okay kung puputi ka ng konti."

16. "Huwag ka nga masyadong nagsasama dun. Parang hindi ka babae."

17.  "Bakit ka nakikinig niyan? (listening to Zico and other korean hiphop music artists) Hindi naman pambabae yan."

18. "Okay lang yan, babae ka naman eh."

But those things didn't end there. For seventeen years, I lived to meet the expectations of my mom, my aunts and her friends to become the perfect woman. But I couldn't. I am not boyish but I am not girly too. I don't really hate pink. In fact, I love colors but I hate the idea of pink as the color of femininity. I love different genres of music, from hiphop to indie. Yes, I've cut my hair with a boyish cut, but that doesn't mean I am lesbian. I was comfortable with it because my classmates always teased my curly hair and with my hair gone, I was not bothered anymore. A girl can either have pale, fair, tan, or dark skin. It doesn't mean that if you're a girl, you should have pale skin, a slender figure and a nice body. There was one time at school where my teacher asked my classmate if he would date me when we grow up. He said no because I wasn't pretty enough like his crush, who was way more fairer than me. Even though he was handsome, I didn't think of myself as someone lesser because of that guy.

One time, I was invited to a 3-day encounter party which is organized by our church. After that party I attended post-encounter weekend where we were given additional lessons and other stuff. In that day I was asked.

"What is a woman?" My leader asked. "What is the essence of being a woman?"

 "Someone God created after Adam?" I answered.

After that awkward answer, we proceed to the actual lesson. Although I didn't agree about some of the topics there, I have come up with a new and better answer than the first one.

A woman is more than just biology. A woman is meant to inspire. Being a woman is being strong, confident, intelligent and being happy with who you are. Being a woman is not being afraid of something else to define you. To become a woman, you have to be you. As I turn 18, I can say that I am excited to be the woman I wanted to be. I like the woman I am becoming right now, a girl who is afraid of the camera but enjoys looking good not for others but for myself, a girl who is both nice and naughty and quiet and loud. Although there are still that I have to work on, I love it. And no matter what happens, I will always love the woman I am.