Friday, June 30, 2017

June favorites and other highlights. | vol. 5


This is supposedly a highlights of the day/week/month post but most of the points here are just current favorites, nothing really significant happened this month. Aside from school starting last June 5, and it is currently my fourth week in school and there is already so much to do that I do not really have time to do anything else. 

1. We moved a few days ago. Although, our new place is just a few streets away from our previous one. Right now, it is filled with boxes. According to my mom, we have approximately 86 boxes, luggages and containers. Unboxing them is a horror to come.

2. I have been YouTube hopping and found vloggers who I am loving so much. First, Hi I'm Mimi. I discovered her after seeing her cover of City of Stars (a soundtrack from La La Land) which was recommended to me by YouTube and I wasn't disappointed, I love it so much, along with her other original songs. To be honest, she is my aesthetic, her videos are really creative. 
Second, Amelia Gething. I discovered her after searching for musical.ly compilations and I found her really hilarious. Her vlogs are awesome, she somehow has the ability to always make me laugh. (I have to mention that she is soooo pretty, she looks like Anne Hathaway to me.) 

3. I knew Seafret since way back then but I never really checked out all their songs, I usually just listen to a couple of my favorites. This I regret because after searching them in Spotify (I am not a premium subscriber so I can't skip or pick songs, a bummer,) the first song that played was Something in the Air and it lifted my spirits, I like it so much. Another song I am recently liking is Do Do Do by Dansu, I think I found this because it was an intro song to one of the vlogs I was watching. It has that catchy old-ish vibe. Until now, the song is playing in my head!

4. I actually got a fidget spinner. For 150 pesos (about $3) in the shade of pink. I honestly don't know what made me want to get one but I just felt like it. I heard it can help you stop fidgeting and maybe focus a bit? That it can relieve you of nervous energy and stress, correct me if I am wrong. I like spinning it, however, it isn't helping me focus at all. Rather, I get distracted and mesmerized by the spinning, haha. I am trying to learn some tricks (because why not :'>) and I shamefully boast that I can toss it to the other hand back and forth. Just that. Yet. 

5. Homeworks. Projects and requirements, a lot of them.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

I forgive you.


I believe the three words I forgive you are just as very beautiful like the words I love you.

I remember walking around the mall last April with my mom, we were looking for casual sandals. My mother was trying some on and I was scrolling through my phone when I received a message from a close friend of mine on Snapchat.

She told me of something bad she did to her friend and she was asking me what I thought about it and asked for advice on what to do. I didn't know what to say, honestly, I was new to this kind of problem (which I will not be able to share due to personal and privacy reasons.) The most surprising part was that, the person she did wrong to, wasn't aware of this at all. There was also another person involved. 

I suggested her to first reveal her mistake to her friend and apologize. At first she hesitated, worrying about what the reaction will be. And so, my friend questioned me if I didn't mind her practicing on me what she will say to her friend.

Of course, that is when I knew it was me.

I sort of laughed at the first few minutes because this was such a cliche thing to do. After a moment, it dawned to me. I confirmed from her if it was indeed me and I received that dreaded reply of "Yes."

I have known this friend for years now so we are really close. All I asked from her was to explain to the other person involved in this situation, and that was all I needed. Surprisingly, I wasn't mad, I didn't feel any anger towards her. So I said, "I forgive you."

Afterwards, I felt even more lighter than I already did.

That was when I learned how the sentence I forgive you is such a powerful one, it could do magic! I am not kidding. Forgiving is very essential in our lives. These thoughts of resentment and hatred will forever haunt us and be a burden when they occupy our minds. We could release them by forgiving, and with that, we will have more peace within us.


Forgiveness isn't something you do for the person who wronged you; It's something you do for you.

Monday, June 5, 2017

I didn't know about podcasts and i regret it.


I didn't know this actually existed and now I am thankful it does. I discovered Podcasts on the first day of June. I was swiping my home screen left and right, having nothing to do (lies actually, I was really just lazy to do anything else) and noticed this purple thing titled Podcasts. It is one of the apps already included in the iPhone, so I wasn't aware of it at all.

So I clicked it and waited for a few minutes before realizing why the screen was still blank except for the bottom part, my data wasn't turned on for this. I quickly redid my settings and opened the application once again.

I am not sure how to describe my reaction after seeing its content. Quite speechless, maybe.

Now if you sadly happen to be like me who didn't have any idea about what it is, a Podcast is a digital audio file which you can download or subscribe to. For me, they sort of seem like audio blogs?

I absolutely love this because I could listen to it while doing something else at the same time! I even coincidentally discovered this right after watching some YouTube videos and wishing I could download mp3 formats of those instead so that I wouldn't waste so much of my time.

After a couple of days, I have made my list of favorites.

1. Actualized.org. Now this is actually more on self help and advices. This motivates me so much in different aspects of my life. I really recommend this. They can also be found in YouTube.

2. Author Audience. I found this because I was searching for tips on writing. I have heard other podcasts, their tips are very helpful but they didn't quite capture me like this one did, because in here, the speaker Shelley Hitz not only gives you encouragement to write, but also includes spiritual inspiration.

3. TedTalks. I mean, come on, most of us know this. I really like them because I can learn so much about different things, it is so informational that I am really loving it. It is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. 


Do you have any favorite Podcasts?

Friday, June 2, 2017

Why i stopped writing.

Photo by Oliver Thomas Klein

I asked this a million times to myself, to be honest. Now, I'm glad to say I posses the answers. I haven't ended writing completely, as you can see, this blog is still up and running. But when it comes to other things, I just have this huge writer's block that hindered me from writing my book for almost a year. I try, however. From time to time, my notebook would be in front of me and I would try to focus, yet I just can't seem to wrap my finger around my pencil, nor mind on the story.

Trust me, months of thinking made me aware of the possible reasons. 

Slowly, I'm trying to get through each of them. I know deep down that writing is my passion and I don't want these little things to prevent me from sharing the stories that rest in my heart and mind.

1. Lack of confidence. I always have the thought of never being good enough. When I read books, instead of letting it motivate me, it lowers my self esteem, telling me that my works aren't great enough. I clearly know my writing skills aren't on point and most of my stories lack depth. What I realized was that, I'm missing out on practice. These great, amazing writers weren't born with the skill immediately! They learned it. Although maybe some are, but obviously, not all are blessed with this gift.

2 & 3. Laziness. Not only am I lazy at writing, but pretty much with everything else as well. I have to work on my procrastination. I know that this isn't doing me any good but I still do it. This is where stubbornness comes in!

4. Distraction. I have to admit, after I wrote that sentence before this, I actually stopped, grabbed my phone, and was scrolling through my social media. After I got a new phone (thank you tita Joanne!), I am always with it. Now I'll go in depth with this topic on a future post, since I had a post about "Living without a phone." which can be read here, I think I'll have to make another one all dedicated about living with a phone, haha.

I got this  idea of finding out what's causing this major writer's block and maybe with this, I could put a stop to it. 

In order to diminish a problem, we all have to know the problem, we have to acknowledge it, in order to find the solution.


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