Letter to my seven year old and Thirty five year old self

To my seven year old self,

I want to tell you that you are going to grow to a 21 year old jerk. Sadly, you are not going to be the pretty little princess that you hope to be. Boo you! You have to know the statistical improbability of you being related to the Royal family of England is very very slim, near impossible. I am surprised that your friends didn't see you as a mentally-deficient cow. You might feel that your all that and your so special or that you will change the world for the better. No! You will make the world burn!!!! BUUUUUUUURRRRRRNNNNN!! You do not even understand that the world DOESN'T revolve around you. You ain't the sun! Your name is not sunshine. It doesn't seem good hearing this from you 21 year old self. It is obvious that things have not really turned out the best for me. You will still be single, with a learning disability, and still loves watching cartoon than actually talking to people. Sad, isn't it?
The number 1 thing I want to take away from this is that you must be strong. In the harsh cold world out there, you are not the fastest, strongest, or the best. You must learn and accept that life is like that and don't be a push over. Do not let others take advantage of you. Fight for yourself! Do not pity yourself but stand up against the adversities and WORK IT, GURL! Remember to not take life too seriously. We will all die soon. The world would soon end and everything that we have done would cease to exist and would be forgotten like the universe treats us as a joke. Live to life on your own terms.

Love,

Shyla Lee

To my thirty five year old self, 

I figured you might have a job by now. You are probably with a husband and kids, I guess. I don't want to assume that you are very much well established and have become a mom. All I know you might still be single and broke. That's ok. It is painful to grow up. Your heart will get beaten by the system and your dreamer spirit might have become dormant, remember to not lose yourself. Never forget to evolve as a person and not take any shit by anyone. You might be experiencing great pains. The pains of the world will not stop. Keep on going and laugh. The world is one big joke. Laugh and make fun of it. Laugh even though you heart bleeds and your spine dislocates from the weight of the world. Smile and look up at the stars that seems to look so beautiful as they laugh at the people on Earth. You might say that this is not healthy or normal. But were you normal and healthy to begin with? I never remember that happening. Everything in the world will corrupt you. Save the formalities. Live life the way you want to live it. 

Love, 

Shyla Lee

Comments:

(Ptricia Armie's Walk the edge)

https://hibanaph.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/walk-the-edge/comment-page-1/#comment-8

(Julia Temena's The Seven Churches: Visita Iglesia)

https://juliatemena.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/the-seven-churches-visita-iglesia/comment-page-1/#comment-2

Hayao Miyazaki: The Simplistically Complex Creator

One of the great Japanese animators of all time, Hayao Miyazaki is well known for his animation movies, namely Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and many more. Not only does he illustrate and animate his films, he is the author, screenwriter, director, and producer of his films. His works have a unique innocent or child like quality to them which is inlined with the magnificence and complexity of nature is truly refreshing to watch. With his classic animation techniques and, for some of his films, a touch of computer animation, it quite a surprise to see that he continues to survive in the age of advanced computer animated movies. What is also surprisingly interesting to watch is the process in how he created these masterpieces. In the documentary film, "The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness", we get a sneak peak on how the master animator works in Studio Ghibli. He reveals that he doesn't follow a script and makes up the scenes as he draws it. It is also a surprise to himself how will the film go about since he recognizes this as a separate living entity. He is inspired by his everyday experiences for the films and that gives the authenticity of the films despite of it's fantastical nature. He is a very private man and that he lives alone in his humble abode. He loves the simple things in life and that he finds that the actions of children the most timeresting themes. In his works, he presents this purity the most authentic way possible, through the tiny details. He shows even how the characters tie their shoes and other habits. But as his interns and artists talk about working with him, they mention that it is very difficult because they have to be intune with his ideas and perspectives. They must not just draw what is possible but Hayao's vision and fantastical ideas. The challenges of innovation also plays a big role in the Studio Ghibli. They face problems with the pressure of innovating at the same time mentioning their traditional style. Hayao dislikes using his creations for capitalistic gains, to which is problematic to the maintenance and longevity of the company. There is a tension between earning money and creating for art. This struggle is also revealed in his movies with the characters going against the negative effects of technology, innovation, and capitalism. The duality on the nature of his very work plays as both a trigger for creativity and a hindrance. He truly is an artist to be watched.

My First Boracay Trip

For the activity, I seized the opportunity of filming my first ever Boracay trip.  I have not been in Boracay because it was overcrowded and overhyped. I don't really want to go to a place where people everyone would most likely go on a break. I took a chance of going to Boracay when my mom offered us to go. Would I turn down a free offer? Definitely not! I packed by bags and went of a 5 day trip in Boracay. I was surprised. It was really different from any other Philippine island I have been. First, there are a lot more foreigners in the area than of locals. Second, the sand is unbelievably soft and cold even in the scorching heat. Third, the area is so commercialized. Their malls, shops, and stores are almost similar to the city's and that almost everything is accessible there such as Starbucks, Savemore, CD-R King, and many more. On my first day going there, I have in a plane filled with tourists both local and foreign. There was a good mix of Korean, Chinese, American, European, and Filipino tourists going to Boracay. With all the different tourists, there are shops that cater to certain type of tourists such as the Chinese have their own Chinese restaurants, same goes with Koreans. I would say that even with the large volume of people going in, they have maintained the cleanliness of the place which is a difficult thing to do.  Other than enjoying the beach and swimming around, there are a lot of food options in Boracay and the price is pretty much the same in Manila. But I think it comes without saying that the number one thing to eat in the area is seafood. I would highly recommend eating in D' talipapa where you can buy fresh seafood and have it cooked at a restaurant near by. The seafood in D'talipapa is diverse from Blue Marlin steak until sea urchins. They got your seafood needs covered. The next top thing to eat in Boracay is their drinks and desserts. There are a bunch of cold sugary treats in the area. It is all pretty lively in daytime but the area livens up at night. Parties and chill-numans are practically everywhere. But if your feeling like you just want to stay inside your hotel, you can deliver meals to your hotel with fast food chains like Jollibee, Mcdonalds, Shakeys, etc. Other than food, you can enjoy water sports and activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, island hopping, parasailing, and many more. We went on a snorkeling and island hopping trip around but, unfortunately, we got sea sick along the way and retreated back to the island. So much for doing a first snorkeling trip in Boracay. Walking around Boracay and watching the beautiful beach, lively and colorful tourists and locals, and chilling by the beach would already be sufficiently entertaining. The area never ceases to amaze me. Overall, it was an enjoyable trip. Although my prenotions of Boracay is true, I enjoyed none the less. Would I return to the island? Maybe, who knows probably in a couple of years I would go back to Boracay.

Chinese Dice Game Event: A Com Group Project

With our event on March 21, 2017, we were required to make a group event. I could say that it didn't lift my spirits as it was stated that we need to get at least 80 people to achieve the highest points possible for that activity and that we need to shell out much resources to make it happen. I was quite annoyed actually since the project also fell on the week wherein I had much of my examinations. The group has decided to make it into a Chinese themed stall because of the easier access to Chinese food in the metro. We have decided to modify the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Rather than have a set of people staying and continuing competing ,through throwing dice, for the prizes, we decided to make it faster with people throwing the dice 2 times and winning a respective prize depending if they have obtained the needed set. For this project, we divided the task among us. With Julia and Crystal with the decors, leaving Dk and I with the food and the prizes. Buying the food/products for the prizes also proved to be a difficulty. We had to go beyond Katipunan and into San Juan and Manila. The food was not entirely cheap as well where it finished up or maxed my budget for the project. I bought the higher leveled prizes while DK with the lower level prizes for the Chinese Dice game. We are unsure on the amount of food to be purchase for each and that, sometimes, the products we want to have as prizes are unavailable. Therefore, we had to think and decide what to replace it with. On the day itself, I worry for the products and prizes bought because some are better if they remain refrigerated. My first class was 9:30 and I needed to store my items in the Org room for the mean time. But I cannot help worrying for the food. When we have to start with the event, we were a bit wary and nervous but we made many of our friends start on the game in order to entice other people to play our very simple game. I noticed that people will be willing to participate in the project when :

1. When it's relatively easy to follow and understand
2. When it does not take up much of their time
3. where do not need to shell out their resources
4. it is enticing (visually and/or musically)

Overall, our project was a success since it brought in 95 people stayed in our booths. We are glad to say that no one used the handicap feature. I kind of enjoyed the project. The people who went to our booths are really cool and awesome and gave good feedback. It made me understand about having a booth and how to bring in people in with creativity. It was quite fascinating that we are able to share a bit of the Filipino-Chinese culture to people even if it is with something simple such as food or games.

How to #Goals???: A Personal Commentary

  

Mind Mapping 

For our Communications 14 class this week, we have to:

1. list down our long term, medium term, and short term financial goals
2. and post it on my very own blog

There is one thing that I am 100% sure that I cannot do is to write an essay, paper, or anything close. If making and writing a blog isn't hard enough, I've got to write down my goals for my life. I got to be honest, I don't really have goals for my life. Each day of my life, I set the bar so low that I wouldn't get sad whenever I don't reach my goals or whatnot. I am already a mess as I am. Will I subject myself to more internal torture and pain with placing unto myself a set of high goals to which if I do not achieve my life would spiral down? The answer to that question is a definite yes! All for the sake of fitting into what my community/society expects from me: a productive and jolly member of the society. Yey, me....

In making this financial goal plans, I realized why I didn't want to make it in the first place. It made me fantasize my future ahead of me. Everything seemed perfect..... too perfect. Living a life on a checklist or goals list seems cool and ideal but it isn't life. I agree that everyone should have a drive in living but being too consumed with fitting your goals to life isn't really living. Life is all about the unexpected turns and if you get sucked into your own fantasy then you wouldn't live a fruitful life. So with or without goals, people shouldn't be consumed by very rigid, fixed, or structured goals. Learn to live!

 Thinking Hats

In the spirit of planning and deciding for our future, we also have to plan our stall for our little  Communications project. Thinking Hats was an interesting way to plan. It involves role-playing of different characters in order to streamline and refine your projects. I am quite intrigued with it to be honest. My favorite was being the black hat because you can get really cynical and tear down the project to pieces. Our group has decided to go with a Chinese concept because it is the easiest to do. We also made this design of our stall but not everything is set in stone yet.