A College Graduate, at last!

Hello blogspot and hello readers! I'm sorry for not blogging for a long time, I was so busy with the final stretch of my college life. It was worth it! I'm happy to announce that I'll be a graduate in Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Four years of college is finally coming to an end, these moments make me look back and remember the first day I was in college, no friends, no one to talk to, I was a stranger to everyone since no one from my high school enrolled to the college I went.

I didn't plan to be at that school, I ran out of slots at the university in Espana, Manila. It just so happen that I was referred to its sister school in Intramuros and if I am not mistaken, it was probably late April or early May when I enrolled, to tell you people the truth, I had no place to go. I took exams in only 3 Universities because I was confident I could get in at least one, and I did! But bad luck came and the feeling was like being thrown out from your own house.

At first I really didn't like the school I was into, it was smaller than my high school. I didn't like the people I saw when I was enrolling, and then came day 1 and I realized that being in that college school, alone and isolated from my high school classmates gave me the perfect opportunity to jump start and redeem my studies. Way back in high school I fail 4-6 subjects every year and I wanted to show that change isn't always bad, change can make good men.

So I did, it was kind of Michael Jackson's song "Man in the Mirror". That was the driving song, BTW Michael Jackson inspired my life so much that even before I really got in the high school band of mine I sing MJ's songs.

So with the drive to change my ways, I "accidentally" got in to school politics where I became a representative for the Journalism program. In second year I went in to the school paper as a photographer and it gave me a bit of experience of the nature of my course. By third year college I became a Photo Editor (Thanks to my previous photo editor Cheena, I know I wouldn't get the spot without you!) and at the same time I was a President of a youth group. Now in my last year, I'm currently a feature writer for the school paper.

These co-curricular activities taught me how to manage time , to lead and be responsible, college was the things I haven't done before in my life. A lot of my high school friends tell me that I was going at the right direction, so I kept going there, step by step and here I am now at the final steps of the stairs ready to get my diploma.

Wow, it has been a real journey, the experiences, all kinds of it was something spectacular. If only there was   technology that could show my life and watch it as it happens.

To end this blog, I would like to present you my Graduation Photo. Cheers! :D

The Top 10 Moments of my 2011

2011, a year that surely would not be forgotten. Another year had passed, blessings that had been given, problems that had been hurdled but as this year ends another one opens. 2011 is unlike any other year for me, this year has been a test in friendship, a test in faith, and a test in life.

So without any delays and dramas I present to you the top 10 moments of my 2011!

10. COMMUNITY SERVICE

My students, I'm seen at the far left in front wearing a jacket

This happened in early 2011, Feb.3 and Feb 11 if I'm not mistaken. I was asked to teach young students from my college's adopted school. I quickly said yes to the offer because I do love teaching kids (I think it's my hidden talent) and I like the idea of educating people. At first I didn't know what to do, what to say and how to act with them but once I said my first joke and they all laughed, I knew we will be having a great time, and we did! Not only did we had fun but they learned how to operate Microsoft Word and Excel in the computers.

After the real activity I asked them to make  another activity but this time for me, I asked them to write about their dreams in life and yes, it made me teary-eyed reading their hopes and I hope that someday I could return their papers and say "Hey, you made your dream a reality".

09. On the Job Training (OJT)

Training at PhilStar.com

This experience made my confidence level either go ground zero or sometimes shot up to the sky. I learned how to be a street smart and it made my "travel arsenal" a lot better because I now knew how to talk with people in places I've never been into, how do I blend in with people and of course, how to enjoy while at work.

08. The Big Binondo Food Wok

I've always wanted to try this since 2009 and the opportunity finally came when I suggested to make a special article about this in our campus paper, I decided to feature this and to make things even better, I've got someone with me. Niki came with me in a rainy and wet edition of the Binondo Food Wok, we had fun with food and everything and the experience was nice. The tour guide even gave us their free food map of Binondo and I would Love to go back there on my own or with a group to just eat.

07. Heller Baler

Wow, I didn't even think I would be able to go to this place in my lifetime but opportunity rose and I grabbed it! To make things even better, it was a family trip so lucky me it's for free! I didn't have to drive nor buy things but I just had to look at the beauty of Baler, Aurora. I also liked how they kept its history and how nice the beach is and how cheap accommodation and surfing was.

6. Kuya Christian's Homecoming

For more than a decade, he left me and my cousins here in the Philippines when we were still young, just 8 years old and after 12 years he came back as a Navy Pilot for the US Navy. He brought his daughter Nana who speaks a little Spanish. We had fun going around Tagaytay and Subic and just enjoying our summer reunion and also the late night drinking and going to bars and just getting crazy. He says he'll come back but this time together with his family.

5. Street Art Philippines - Stop Motion video

Stop-Motion is an old trick in the media industry but what makes it fun is the process of making one. Two of my friends are Graffiti artists and I thought why not make a video out of it while they do their thing? And so one afternoon we all gathered and with my tripod and camera I just started taking photographs while they paint and some of my friends started joking around and do stuffs and experiment along the way and so when we finished, I had to combine 1,400 photos into a 4 minute song by one of my favorite bands - Coldplay.

4. Enchanted Kingdom with DOMNET

Domnet by the way means "Dominican Network" and it is a youth group for all Dominican Educational Institutions around the Philippines. I met them about 3 years ago and it is nice every once in a while to take a trip with them even if I've been into Enchanted Kingdom for at least 8 times, it's not the destination that's important but the people you are going there with.

What's more fun is that I didn't know that we were heading to Tagaytay afterwards and so that was also kinda crazy. I miss them and Domnet will always have this special spot in my heart.

3. Puerto Galera 

After 5 years I returned to Puerto Galera in Mindoro, Philippines where I almost died while hiking from our trip to the waterfalls. This post Christmas trip of 2011 is my last travel for the year and when I arrived at Puerto Galera, new memories are made and will be kept and this is just a perfect vacation getaway to fully replenish my mind from all the hassles in the metro.

I made a music video out of our trip to Puerto Galera to sum up all the fun we had.

2. The Coffee Club

The Coffee Club consists of Andro, Kookoo, Japy and Tobs - My close friends in High School who I keep in contact very often every weekend to drink coffee with and just chat about our week's activities or sometimes just sit and bum around in one house. They're like my vent, they're family to me.

1. The Return to Palawan

After 4 years! It's been 4 years since my promise to return to Coron,Palawan - The place where I my Heart is, the place I fell in Love with. I saved money for months just to get into this trip! And in my return I really enjoyed every bit of it, I saw the place in a different perspective and it looked more beautiful this time! I'd never deny a third visit to this place.

So what does 2012 have for me?

My first Stop-Motion video: Street Art Philippines

Graffiti artists are often labeled here in the Philippines as vandals. To me, having a few friends who do street art is not vandalism, well ok it is one part defacing a wall or structure but at one part it is also giving life to an old abandoned wall. It's the thin line between art and vandalism.

People will always be debating about this because we live in different times, old folks grew up in a time when walls are left as it is while us, the new generation in our 20's or younger than that, feel that walls are part of a canvass for artists to paint.

I'm a frustrated painter, it's something that I always want to do but just can't. Today I'm an amateur photographer focusing on people and travel. I also write songs that I record personally (it's where I rant out what I feel).

I have two friends who have long been into Street Art, maybe for about 3-4 years already and I wanted to capture how they would change the face of a wall into art form. Here's Kookoo and Soye doing their thing while Japy, Clari and I play around with the camera.

The Stop-Motion video I made consisted of 1,400 photos that I stitched together to create a video using a Nikon D3100. I hope you'll like it.