Friday, August 30, 2013

Bubble Thought: Why Are You Here?

Ever wonder why you are here? Why you are breathing? What's your purpose in life? Sometimes, I get too emotional and sentimental about life. This is actually one of the things people don't know about me. I am a very much sentimental person. I appreciate every littlest things that people do or give to me. Even though they themselves don't remember it anymore. Yes, this is so true. I may not look like one, but I'm definitely like that. (Okay I have to stop this, I may be carried away.)

As I was saying, have you ever asked yourself what brought you here in this world? I mean, do you really know what's your purpose in life? They always say that you cannot live life without a purpose. You have to discover this on your own and you should be living with it. Honestly, I still don't know my purpose in life. It's such a big word and I can't even internalize it. You might think I don't care about my life, but this is just how I see it. All I know is that I am here to study and fulfill my dreams in life. I have to do good in school, so that I can achieve all my goals. But is that it? Is that enough? Is this really my purpose in life?

Oh, life is really unpredictable. You will never know what will happen next. That is why you have to be prepared all the time. You have to be strong and independent as well. Life is full of challenges and you must learn how to deal with it. So yeah, life is what you make it. You must give your best shot and live to the fullest.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Two Tips



Time management and self-control. These are the two things I learned as a college freshman that helped me all the way through college up to now.

I never knew how important these two traits are when it comes to college-level studying. It's different from being a high school student. I don't know why, but it seems as if college school work just keeps piling up on you without knowing it. It's best to make sure that you list down all that you need to do and put a check box next to it. That method can help you manage your time and you will know how long you need to work at it.

But as you try to be a conscientious student, temptations get in the way. At first, I would be on the Internet for like an hour before I get some studying done. Now I know better. What I would do is control myself from opening that Internet browser and settle first on doing what needs to be done. That's where self-control and time management comes in.

Even break periods help me to do my tasks. If I have this irregular break time in-between classes, I would use it to go to the library and start my research on my assignments. Then my writing draft follows. That means I already started it and I can finish it later on. It feels good that you've started something and you look forward to finishing it.

Managing your time and self-control isn't that easy, but if you make it a habit, it becomes a part of you.

Friday, August 23, 2013

What's on My Mind?

What's on my mind right now? Here it goes...

Being a student is never an easy task. You have to comply with this and that all the time. A lot of things are expected from you, so you better prove yourself to them. As for me, being a Literature student is never easy. All I wanted is to become a writer someday, that is why I landed to this course. I have no regrets on my decision though. It's just that sometimes I feel like the whole world is against me or life is so hard to live. Do you feel that too? I guess I'm just too tired of all the school stuff I need to finish, that is why I feel this way. All I need is a break, even just for awhile. I have to take a rest first from everything, so that when I get back I'm renewed already.

I have to say that my dream to become a writer is still here. I am taking up a Literature course, not because my parents told me so. Instead, I am the one who chose it for myself. I just told my parents that this is the course I want to take up in college and they agreed with me. They said that they will support me all the way as long as I will do my best to pass all my subjects. And I thought I was the luckiest daughter then! I am so happy that my parents allowed me to decide what course to take up and they are going to support me all throughout the course. What a lucky girl, right? I know that not all of us are given this kind of opportunity. Some parents would choose a course for their children without asking them if they want it or not. Well, I cannot blame the parents for that. I know that they just want the best for their kids. But as time passes by, parents would have to consider what their children want in terms of choosing a course in college. Oops, that's just my opinion. 

Anyway, I am hoping that things will get clearer and smoother as days pass by. I am also hoping for the best and I wish that my dreams would come true. I will strive harder to reach for my dreams and I won't stop chasing them. And you must do this too. Aim high, make a move and make it happen!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Five Things Being in College Taught Me






College is the time for a person to learn independence and responsibility. Not just with your studies, but with every aspect of your life. When I first became a college student, I thought it was all fun and late-night parties, until reality seeped in. College is more about being a responsible person and student. No one will constantly remind you to do your assignments or finish your reading list. Your professors won't care if you didn't study for an exam; they are just there to give some minimal guidance and compute your grades. It's not like high school anymore. If you want to survive college, you have to be proactive in taking care of your academics and your own life as well.

Here are some realizations that woke me up to the sordid realities of college life:

1. Cramming and Procrastinating Is Not Cool. I've seen a lot of students who can manage to pull-off an all-nighter and still get passing grades. I've asked a lot of classmates how they can stay awake through nights of burning the midnight oil. I've tried them all: drank cups of coffee, slept for a while before an all-nighter, and downed cans of energy drinks. While I did passed some exams after studying all night, I realized that it's taken a toll on my immune system. I noticed that I caught colds more easily after exam week.

What I learned from here is that though you can survive being up all night studying, you health will pay for it later on. So it's still best to do a little studying everyday so that come exams week, you won't have to cram.

2. Health comes first. In relation with #1, being a top student is useless if you get sick easily. So I ditched the procrastinating and cramming act and became more active in my studies, as well as having good health. There are different facilities that encourage proper health care in college, like the clinic (they have free handouts on health and body issues, aside from medicine), the guidance office (if you want some talking to), and the canteen (if you want to know more about healthy eating).

Another thing I learned is to go beyond instant ramen and cook my own food. Dorm life improved my culinary skills and I'm proud to say that I can cook a little now.

3. Socialize wisely. In college, it's so tempting to just be friends with everybody. Though I've met some of the best people who sincerely became my friends, not all people you will meet will like you. Stay away from rowdy peeps, and learn to mingle without having to be "plastic" and b*tchy. As always, remember the Golden Rule: "Don't do unto others what you don't want others to do to you."

4. Ask help if you have to. You don't have to go through college alone. There are plenty of people and places you can turn to when it comes to help in academics, concerns, and finding a library book (I'm now best friends with the librarian!).

5. Balance. Strike a balance when it comes to studying and yourself. Find time for relaxation and enjoyment.

These five insights about college life surely helped me get through and survive.

Friday, August 16, 2013

A Glass of Wine

What a lovely day to write a blog. Well, I'm going to visit my uncle this weekend and I know what's going to happen. Knowing him, I know that I am going to exposed to a lot of wines and liquors. He loves to collect these kinds of drinks that we even shared a few shots at times. One thing I love about my uncle is that he allows me to drink provided that I'm with a family member and my drinks will be moderated.



Anyway, let me just clarify that I am not a heavy drinker. I just do it occasionally especially when I pay my relatives a visit. After tasting the finest red wines my uncle's collection has to offer, I had one question in mind. What does this do to my body? My dad told me that it is not good to drink these kinds of beverages. Of course, it is not what my uncle stated but does it have positive benefits as well?

So what I did was read a lot of blogs that can answer my question and I must say that I was shocked with the benefits it can give me. Well it is quite obvious that drinking wine can help people get some good night sleep. One thing that I liked about it was the fact that it can help me fight tooth decay. I mean I can't believe that strengthen the enamel that prevents tooth decay and bacteria.


In short, this is not just a drink. I am sure of that because it also has an antioxidant that can help lessen the growth of fat in the arteries. I don't want to go deeper and be technical about it. All I know is that it is good for the heart. With all of this mentioned, I think it is safe to say that drinking a glass of red wine a day can help the body. I better tell my daddy these facts.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

A Dose of Disenchantment

After countless hours reading books and writing papers for my summer classes, I badly needed some quality time to relax and relieve some of the stress that weighed heavily on my weary shoulders. Luckily, some of my good friends are coming over for dinner and maybe we can even watch a movie or two so that we can bond, chill out and just fool around like the good, old days. I miss our salad years when everything was simple and fun. But now I know that we all have to pull our own weight and prove our sand if we want to amount to something even remotely significant in this modern world.

Reminiscing reminded me of my younger years when all I had to do was study hard, keep my nose clean and pass all of my subjects to gain the approval and respect of the people around me especially my parents. But nowadays, some people think that formal education is overrated  or even unnecessary because there are a lot of college graduates out there who are unemployed and really struggling to make ends meet. 

Sort of makes you think long and hard if you are wasting your precious time in school especially when you see guys like Bill Gates or even douchebag rappers like Lil Wayne spending more money than I could ever hope to make in several lifetimes. There are many people out there who are rolling in filthy gobs of cash but they never had to spend the better part of their young and exciting life stuck in boring classes while listening to their teachers and burning the midnight oil like poor schmucks who have no choice (or no clue) in life whatsoever.

With that said, I will still grudgingly pursue that elusive college degree and maybe even go to graduate school if my parents are still willing to support me throughout this seemingly pointless journey of self-enlightenment. Maybe I believe that it is not always about the decimals and dollars. Maybe I prefer to have knowledge and wisdom inside my head instead of cash on my bank account. 

Maybe I know that I can have the best of both worlds if I really work hard and go the extra mile in every little thing that I do, in and out of the school. Whatever it is, it would have to wait because my friends are here and we have some serious catching up to do. I am not ready to give up true friends for all the wisdom or money in the world. Not just yet, I think.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Traveling is sacred



"DON'T BUY A ROUND TRIP TICKET…LIVE A LITTLE"

- One Way Ticket Phil

I thought nothing was better than armchair traveling, but I was completely mistaken after reading a travel blog, by a fellow Californian no less. Then I had a chat with Mathilde, whom I met during a holiday in Montreal many moons ago. She told me the same thing that Phil wrote in his blog, about the virtues of traveling - in Indochina. (From where she came from, which was France, traveling was sacred.) So I did something that Mum thought I would never do: Traveling on my own. Far and away (from home).

I didn't feel lonely in Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai. In fact, I was in Bhuping Palace, which my guide told me was the summer residence of the King of Thailand. I thought I might encounter something from "The King and I", but I saw flowers instead; I left my guide and fellow backpackers, as I was drawn to the rows of (red) roses. It led me to a group of white-colored flowers, shaped like a heart. (Lovely.) A miniature wat, ubiquitous in this northern part, was several meters away. It was sheltered from the trees surrounding it (and the flowers). After taking some photographs, I thought what an entrancing place this spot was. It was my best experience, until my moments with the elephants.

Summer Reading List

Since I formulated my summer reading list over a month ago, I have crossed out 5 books - I am a slow reader - and this is about 30 percent of the total. I realized that many books in my list were part of teacher-generated book lists from my previous subjects while the others were written by authors in the lists. This is how I pick the next book to read.

The thing is, I want to read something else, maybe except crappy bestsellers like 50 Shades (sorry). Goodreads tells me there are many kinds of literature. One example is Immigrant Experience Literature. Maybe this is an informal category term because no professor have mentioned it in class or House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is called something else aside from “a book of vignettes.” It is, by the way, about the lives of Puerto Rican immigrant women in Chicago.

This lit type is interesting but I think I'm going to read what they call "Black Fiction." It may be different from the better-known Southern Literature, which I had a paper written on 2 semesters ago.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry looks like a good pick and I don't think I'd still follow my list.