Things I Learned In College (Philippines)

I still think of college as an exciting yet scary experience any university student may possibly have. Admit it, it’s not always fun. It’s a place where your patience and self-perseverance is put to test. There will also come a time where you ask yourself “what did I get myself in to?” I am beyond clueless as to what happened the last four years, but I survived this so-called hell hole. I have gone through a lot of ups and downs with people and academics itself. 

Now that my college-life is nearing to its end I have a few overdue realizations and early on advice I’d like to share. 

• Learn from your mistakes. Do I need to say more? 

•  It’s okay to do things on your own, in your own way. "Don't depend on anyone in this world. Even your shadow leaves you when you're in the darkness". It's okay to ask for help, but do things on your own as much as possible. 

•  Be a part of an organization that will make your major interesting. I never felt a pang of guilt that I never got to join an organization. I had a problem leaving my comfort zone in the beginning, but by the time I got over it I didn’t bother to join anymore because my courseworks started to pile up. I suggest you join an organization that would satisfy both your schedule and expectation in the organization you will sign up for.

•  Own a monthly planner.  Ever since sophomore year started I forced myself to own a planner because I knew that my subjects then will bombard me with submission dates, quizzes, activities and term papers. If you’re that type of person who prefers writing their plans on a planner instead of using their phone’s calendar, hey me too!!! Don’t you just love it?!? (I’m a freak for notebooks and that includes planners so don’t judge)  

• Being grade conscious is not a bad thing. Yes people, it’s not a bad thing! You worked your ass off to study for a test or put much effort to a project, so aim that high grade! Claim it! I hate it when people think of you as a smart-ass just because you want to aim a high grade. 

•  Don’t stress yourself too much and stay positive. You will feel dragged down once classes start and if you ever feel stressed out just take a deep breathe. Remember that you can overcome anything by taking the process one step at a time. I know being positive is hard especially when your life is somewhat turning to shit, but hey life's often like that you just need to remind yourself that there's always a rainbow at the end of every rain. Have fun! 

JUAN'S TAKE ON DEMOTIVATION + CLAIMING 2018

A few days ago I came across Camie Juan's blog about demotivation and it points out that we are never really ~lazy~ we're just demotivated or unmotivated to work on the things we want to do —that accusing ourselves of being lazy only brings a negative vibe. Her take on being unmotivated is relatable in every way. No matter what lame excuse you put yourself into, if something is lacking, it will keep you out from working on what you want to accomplish.

Ever since I decided to put up a blog I have been beating up myself to finish writing the content I've been forcing to get through for the past several hours, even days. When I do finish one topic I effortlessly post it on my blog right away, but I'm not consistent as I want to be on publishing fresher ones because something in me is lacking for me to create more. I know to myself that I don't want to habituate my life with putting aside the things that are important to me because according to what I believe, I have all the time in the world. I know, it's stupid. I mean I wanted this so I should be keener on keeping this blog of mine alive, but I'm in this for nearly 5 years and I am still in the aspect of demotivation.

The plan this year is to know what's lacking in me to feel so demotivated to get things done.

For all I know this year is going to be big for all of us especially for my batch mates and I because we're all #Gradu18 this year #Blessed and wow, I guess our main goal is to survive the pits of the real world. It's time to make everything worth it. And perhaps we are all mistaken to accuse ourselves as a lazy person and we're just, well, demotivated.

To properly end my first 2018 post here's a simple reminder from me that I got from my sisters school handbook:

You are on an incredible journey. It is not just about reaching the top of the peak. It's about enjoying the growth as you climb. 

THE MEMO + INTERNSHIP ADVENTURES

Back then I was a 100% sure that my internship will definitely be the death of me, but it didn’t bother me too much because I was living in the moment –mainly stressing over my subjects and stuff.  When summer came I was feeling a bit uneasy because we were preparing for our big move (oh, hello south!), I was thinking “will I be able to apply for an internship this summer? Or am I just going to wait for classes to start so I can apply with my friends?”. To make the long story short, I applied late.

WHAT'S IN MY SCHOOL BAG

 This blog post is like a spur-of-the-moment-kind of thing so let's all spare my latest hiatus from this blog.

SO FAR, SO GOOD?

 INAUGURATION DAY // OUTSIDE THE MALACAÑAN PALACE 

EID'L AL-FITR // GOLDEN MOSQUE, GLOBO de ORO, QUIAPO, MANILA

 

(Photo taken by my block mate, Jethro)

These are some of the photos I took when I covered the events that happened these past few weeks  -Eid'l Al-Fitr and the Inauguration Day. It wasn't hard as I expected it to be considering we had to work in pairs, though it was quite challenging because we're required to take interviews and in those two events no one liked to be interviewed. Wearing our student press I.D was mandatory and it kinda feels nice to show off (I'm sorry I had to). 

During the Inauguration day I -hands down felt cynical. Security did not let us in because there were too many of us, I mean we went as a whole class. Let's just say that we made our magics work and got in -we really just used a different route to get inside. There were so many people outside the palace, more specifically the supporters. We didn't really see much except for the marching band, the president's family that humbly took pictures with us, and some senators. It was frustrating because we were just there, waiting, outside the palace and the gates were closed. FYI, it was a school day so we got a permit for us to be excused in our remaining classes. 

It's my first time to encounter Eid'l Al-Fitr and to cover this event pretty much overwhelmed me. Trisha and I didn't get to attend the whole ceremony because it usually starts at dawn. Our plan was just getting so complicated we had to change it, so by the time we arrived at the Mosque the ceremony already ended and everyone was already eating. Spending one-hundred pesos for a Hijab was worth it because we got to see the inside of the Mosque (not really the inside of it). The colors of the walls were so vibrant and engaging that we had to take countless pictures in it. Eid Mubarak was greeted by everyone from the inside and outside of the Mosque. I couldn't stop myself from smiling the entire time because they're so jolly. I also admired the humbleness they showed to each other and the respect they have for the people who went that are non Muslim. 

FIRST WEEK OF JUNIOR YEAR (COLLEGE EDITION)

Honestly, I think this school year will be the death of me (aren't every school year?). It's just the first week and it's making me miss our now, non-existing, adjustment period. Crying and making a run for it is like an appropriate thing to do right now, but obviously it won't make things any better. I was so secluded with the chill vibe of my first and second year that I forgot how hard junior year is. And junior year is the real deal —subjects are going to be way more harder, there are loads of papers to turn in and the professors are going to be more aware of their class schedules (not that they aren't in the past). With all of the unexpected announcements about the future coursework's in every subject, my first week was somehow ordeal. The funny thing about it was it felt like a baseball machine is continuously hitting me in the face and I can't dodge it.

MONDAY

The only subject I attended was my math class, that's in the afternoon. It's the first day and obviously no professor would attend it (can't blame them) except for our math professor. He was... okay. He tried to make a joke out of my name, but he failed and it made the whole atmosphere awkward. Damn. I went from being one of the coy students turned wretched in the span of an hour. I mean, who likes to freaking learn math in their first day of classes! Based on his grading system, I'll be praying the rosary for the next months.

TUESDAY

I had the guts not to attend my classes on Tuesday because some of my friends weren't going too. Of course the reason of it is because the chance of our professors not showing up is high and thought that transportation money plus our energy would just be wasted. No guts, no glory. I read all day which is freaking F.U.N. and kind of productive? Yeah you could say that. The only thing was all our professors attended their classes that day. No regrets?

WEDNESDAY

I don't have classes during Wednesday's. Cue mocking voice, "SO GUESS WHAT I DID?" I read... all day long. Okay this is a perfect way of telling that I'm a boring person who does boring things on her rest day from school.

THURSDAY

Not attending my Tuesday class backfired at me when Thursday came. Did I tell you that all my first subjects start at seven-thirty in the morning? Life is testing me. Thank you God for Wednesday though, I don't have to wake up early for five straight days. Anyway, my day started fine, well, not until my professor made us frantic of what our whole semester will be like for her subject. Just great! I had my math class in the afternoon —this day obviously sucked. I thought I won't make it until dismissal, but then I enjoyed our lesson and quite got the hang of it. Math is not that bad after all... Oh I was wishing for the day to end already. When I came home I went straight to bed because I was that exhausted from school and commuting.

FRIDAY

My Broadcast Journalism will freaking end my life. That's for sure. This subject scares me so bad I just want the ground to eat me alive. However, there are some perks, we get to experience doing field works and stuff, but other than that making impromptu speeches is something I lack and need to work on. I got so frustrated when my next class started, we had to do group reporting's —I still hate it and that's final. Me becoming a leader to a group is not likely to happen because if I did I would freaking flip out until the day ended. I don't know I just don't want my group mates to be disappointed in me because I'm not leader material.  But me flipping out didn't do anything today, Shauna was the damn leader of group four. Guess I just need to step my game then. I want to thank the dean of my college for bringing fresh faces in our department, specifically for professors. My Biology professor was legit beauty and brains plus she's young. I think she's only in her twenties? The only thing was her voice is too little I can barely hear her discussions.

What a week though, right? Even though we did not do much I can already feel the wave of stress and pressure washing over me. I just realized that when I started college all I can seem to blog about is school; how stressful it is and how it sucks so bad.

Quote  for the whole semester: "For every problem that you encounter in life there is a vision of something better. Problems have a positive responsibility. Problems have a positive angle."

How was your first week back in school?

SOPHO(NO)MORE

Truth be told I have been wanting to use this pun —sopho(no)more since freshman year. Aha! Finally. 

So here I am still not over the fact that I just survived the first half of my college career. Holy crap. And it's been more than a month already. My sophomore year was one heck of a ride. Let's just say that I went a little overboard with chilling because hey, I thought I could handle it fine. Can't blame myself for being too proud and dependent —bonkers. Of course shit went down and my stubbornness backfired right at me. Classes on top of classes I made myself worry about the shitload of coursework I needed to do. I tried so hard not to freak out considering it's kind of stupid but it's just so hard not to. So, instead of sulking around and act like a total sardonic bitch I finished everything. I passed all my subjects with flying colors and I'm so proud of myself, oh my God I need an award. 

If you are an incoming college sophomore student, I get what you feel, it's getting harder and harder to contain your feelings because of the shitload of responsibilities. So my only advice to you is "fuck everything and enjoy!" —okay so maybe not everything, just learn to enjoy whilst doing some work. I know it's pure bullocks but you can do it! 

DISCLAIMER: These photos were taken back in FEBRUARY so don't go around thinking that I'm stupid for wearing a denim jacket when it's a hundred degrees outside. Though if you're thinking that my facial expressions are stupid, I have to agree with you on that. 

See ya! 

BATAAN DAY 3

What a lovely day to wake up to! The sun is out and everyone is awake. We surely are very keen to go on a hike for hours on day three! (Note sarcasm). Okay, so we did wake up early (well...kinda) AND we ate breakfast. But to break it down to you we were not freaking inclined to climb a very high mountain. Nevertheless we had to do it for the sake of experience and of course the travel show. After taking turns in bathing, eating breakfast, packing our things, paying the rooms we had rented, took a tricycle and bus ride to Tarac blah blah blah —WE HAVE REACHED THE ENTRANCEWAY OF MOUNT TARAC!!! We were clueless. Bhea and I had to go and talk with the Barangay officials because we weren't exactly well informed on what to do. To the kindhearted young man who drove us to the Barangay, salamat Kuya! Tour guide. We needed a tour guide. Unfortunately it's not safe to go and hike alone especially if you're with your absurd barkada. Thank God someone came and volunteered before we all died of waiting. One of the officials let us leave our heavy travel bags inside their office so we're hassle free while trekking. The only things we brought with us are the important stuff we'll be using. I'm still regretting that we didn't rent a tricycle to drop us off at the REAL starting point of the trek. Damn. I can still remember my breathless self. When we reached the real starting point I already felt the chilliness of the atmosphere. So I wore my jacket, wait no, scratch that, I wore Lester's jacket —that I kindly borrowed because Francis was wearing mine. Initially the trek was going fine; we were still breathing alright and our minds were pretty much determined that we can do it. The trails were very steep, sandy, and full of rocks, huge ones. It was fun at first, but after an hour and a half of walking (more like death march), we couldn't catch our breaths. Believe me when I say that TREKKING IS NOT FUN AT ALL if you're a first timer. All I could do that time was make fun out of our sourpuss selves and laugh at it. I mean there's no point if you're going to be a total bitch about the long trek. Long story short, we made it through the freaking challenges of the damn mountain. Papaya river, finally!!! All that walking, climbing up and down made me drink all of my water so Jessie and I went to the upper part of the river to get some clean H2O. Obviously I wanted to relax my feet from all the walking we did so I removed my shoes and bask for a while. Then I went down to the lake and splashed my feet to the streaming water. Our tour guide gave us an hour and a half to finish our little assignment considering it's already getting late, we wouldn't want to go down on a dark trail. A tad advice when going on a trek: make sure to start early so you wouldn't get rushed to do anything. Though we only had a limited time up there, it was still worth it. The experience was unforgettable and diverting. Too bad we didn't get the chance to climb up Tarac Ridge because according to our tour guide the trail up there is much more harder to swarm especially to us first timers. Ahhh! One for the bucketlist! Tarac Ridge you're up next. Well that's the last of my trip to Bataan! Sorry if the blog contents suck, but the videos I made says it all. See you next timeeee!

BATAAN: DAY 2

I forgot to include in the last part of day one that we went straight to Bagac after finishing the shoot in Mt. Samat —that is once again an astounding experience. We reached Bagac at around eight in the evening and boy were we all fatigue. The good thing was there are people around the area who were suggesting that we stay at their resort, but there was this one that we felt safe in. After settling in, eating dinner and resting was the only thing on our minds. Some of my friends brought food with them so they didn't have to spend money —a little reminder for traveling: be money wise. Since I did not bring any food with me for our trip I went straight to the eatery after changing into my pj's that was just around the corner from the cottage we're staying at, I remember Bhea, Bea and Trisha coming with me to eat there because it's much more comfortable (I forgot who else came with us). Of course, Bea being the talented person she is (Bea if you're reading this, you owe me) tried the karaoke after eating dinner. Bhea and I offered to pay for the karaoke (you have to drop a five pesos coin in it per song) if she will sing the song we're going to pick for her. As expected, she agreed. It only took us two minutes to pick a song and it was hilarious! Who would have thought that Bea can take a challenge and sing an Ilocano song wholeheartedly? I remember laughing so damn hard that it made me cry and fall down to the sand while watching her sing. I'm not even exaggerating! May I remind you that we were all worn out that night, but we didn't doze off that easy. We stayed up for a few hours; had a small chat and messed around. I think I was the third one who fell into deep slumber. 

BATAAN DAY 1

My night before our Bataan trip was consumed of reading a book (by that I mean eBooks). I wasn't excited nor looking forward about it and I don't know why. Time was running awfully slow, I was dreading for it to be three o'clock in the morning already so I can go and eat breakfast. When it's finally time, I did some last minute fixing –it's funny how my mom was SO skeptical about me bringing a monopod.

THE FRUIT OF HARDWORK

Kicked off the month of February by traveling to Bataan with my college friends. And because our team settled on a decision of not to post any video or photos until after our class viewing of the final output, I personally asked our executive producer if I could make a teaser and post here  just to let you know that I'm currently working on my three blog posts as to my trip  –days 1, 2, and 3. She said I could and here it is! Watch it in HD. I can't wait to post more soon! 

ESKWELAHAN PLANNER 2016

Before 2016 even occurred I was already searching for a new planner. Badly hoping to get a new one from my favorite store I felt damned because it got out of stock and it's just the first week of December! Let me tell you this, every time I go back there and try to find those freaking planners I always end up disappointed. "WHY WON'T THEY RESTOCK 2016 PLANNERS" I thought to myself. Eventually I gave up and never stood inside of that shop again. Kidding!!!

THOUGHTS ABOUT...

1. Thoughts about my schedule this second semester

Hmmm I’m very furious with my schedule this semester. Since we’re still in our adjustment period and we haven’t met all of our professors yet I’m still hoping (big time) that we can somehow fix our schedule because it’s really messed up. I was in the verge of going crazy when I found out that we have a full schedule this semester and when I say full I mean we have classes from 7:30 in the freaking morning until 9 o’clock in the evening. What sucks more is that I have classes every Saturday. Laugh all you want, at least I don’t have classes on Mondays! Hah!

Honestly, I am mentally and physically not prepared for this semester. Wish me luck.

2. Thoughts about 5 Seconds of Summer's concert here in Manila next year

I can still feel the adrenaline rush I felt the day they announced the date for their concert’s ticket selling. The mere fact that I almost shed tears while talking to Kate (my block mate who’s also a fan) about the sudden announcement made me realize that I’m a really emotional person because I’m crying about a freaking concert ticket. But it wasn’t just a concert ticket, IT WAS A FREAKING 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER CONCERT TICKET.  That time, we still had a week left before our term break and I still had 3 weeks left before the ticket selling. In my head I was like ‘shit how am I supposed to come up with the money for the ticket if I only have a week left of school???’ that’s the time I knew I was doomed (Universe – 1 Shauna -0). I was quite irritated with myself because a few months back my friends were already telling me to save up early, but I didn’t. Thanks for the effort though! So, I was there… sitting all alone thinking of a way to come up with the money whilst my friends are chatting about what seat they should take…. MY LIFE IS SO SAD LOL.

Here in the Philippines we have a thing called ‘pa-good shot’…

Pa-good shot /verb/ - DO GOOD SHIT IN FRONT OF YOUR PARENTS OR WHOEVER IT IS YOU NEED TO PERSUADE BECAUSE THEY WILL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR MISERY.

I went through hell just to get the ticket I have right now. I became a slave in our house and did all the chores (except doing the laundry, hello mama) my entire term break. I came up with the idea in the first place so I don’t have the right to complain that I'm tired whatsoever. Of course my sister went all out happy because I get to do the chores and she doesn’t. It was damn e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g to persuade my mom to buy me the ticket, luckily she did and I am very thankful for it!! I also kind of bribed her with the grades I worked hard for lol (always aim high grades everyone!) 

This topic gives me butterflies in my stomach. I can’t wait to watch my babies perform live on the 12th of March 2016. Save the date Filipinos!!

3. Thoughts about Argo

What can I say, this dog keeps me sane. Follow my vine for more Argo updates. I can’t believe I just did that. I’m sorry. 

4. Thoughts about Sounds Good Feels Good

“What is air???” That’s the first thing that pops up my mind when I first listened to the album in Spotify. It’s purely insane. I’m so proud of them because they show great improvement every time they bring out new music and they don’t fail to show their fans how thankful they are for all of their support. I have to tell you, when I got the full album I listened to it every single day. Right now my favorites are Catch 22, San Francisco, Waste the Night, Vapor, and Permanent Vacation. What’s yours? ;) 

5. Thoughts about Made in the A.M

Call an ambulance because this album is giving me a heart attack. There’s no reason for you not to fall in love with the songs in this album because it will give you pure bliss. Current favorites? Olivia, Never Enough, Wolves, End of the Day, History, Perfect, What a Feeling, and Temporary Fix! I can’t get enough of it ahhhhh!

6. Thoughts about my Journal 

Well the pages of my journal is almost full, so I badly need a new one. I’m stocked to write until I’m on the last page, and I’m pretty happy with the outcome of it; it looks fat and it’s heavy. I spend most of my time writing there that’s why I haven’t been posting so much here.  

7. Thoughts about this blog

I don't know if I can keep up with updating this blog especially now that I have a hectic schedule this second semester. School, oh, school. Thanks for 7.1k+ views! I really appreciate it! :) 

THE STORY BEHIND MY MAJOR IN COLLEGE

For a long period of time, I have been keeping to myself the story behind the course I picked when I was going through the phase of getting into my University today. I may have told this to some of the people I made friends with and I hope they won’t think of me as absurd as before (hah). College is the next big thing they said and it was. When I first stepped in to college my mind was freaking out because I was culture shocked. I was alone wandering around the campus not knowing where to go or who to talk to. In short I looked like shit. Remember your first day in kindergarten where you don’t want to be left alone by your mom, then she starts forcing you to go inside the classroom so you start crying? It somehow felt like that all over again in my first day in college. I know I’m already in college and I should be gutsy, but you can’t blame a girl like me who’s timid. FYI, I started commuting in my second day in college and I didn’t even get scared. Enough about that and let’s talk about the real reason I’m updating my blog after my hiatus in writing.

How will I start a new blog entry..

1ST DAY IN COLLEGE

College just started last Tuesday and I still have my post-first day-feels. I never thought it would be so hard in a way that everything is bizarre to me. I regretted not making friends when I enrolled in my University that's why I found myself lost in the first day of class. Thanks to my awkwardness I didn't approach any freshman students because I was afraid to make any awkward conversations.

So, I was awkwardly standing near the flagpole with my phone in hand waiting for the time to come for me to go inside. I was lucky enough to meet four new companions---that now became my friends that are taking up the same course I'm taking. I got startled when we got inside the room because everyone was already introducing themselves and making friends with everyone. It was hard for me to adjust in my new surrounding. 

First days in high school were composed of introducing yourself in front of the class but, in college you have to make your own way on how your block mates will know you. As a timid person I just waited for them to ask what my name is. I got a little bit anxious when one of my professor pronounced my name wrong (I mean is Shauna (sho-na) so hard to pronounce??) Anyway the whole afternoon was serene, we were all chatting (I set aside my shyness) talking about our past school year and experiences. 

My block mates and I get along very well so I'm pretty glad :-) My first day in college wasn't bad after all!