10 Hours In New York

A few weeks ago, I flew to the United States and found myself with a ten-hour transit in New York City. Of course, the only logical thing to do was to explore the city as much as my family and I could, and explore we did.

We met up with my mom's aunt residing in New York and she drove us around the city allowing us to experience even for just a fleeting moment the life and culture in New York City. In the few hours we had, we wasted no time and immediately drove to Times Square which was still very much alive even at midnight. New York really is the city that never sleeps.

Driving around the perimeter of Central Park and through Fifth Avenue and all the other famous sites like Radio City Music Hall, the Flatiron Building, and the Empire State Building very nearly brought me to tears. I had always dreamed of coming to New York City and to actually have been there even for just a couple of hours brough so much joy to my heart. 

No longer was New York just a faraway city in movies and books for me. New York is a new check on the bucket list of places I've always wanted to visit. I can't wait to come back and actually experience New York in all of its glory. Until next time, New York.

Previous Post: Loving Jesus On The Hard Days

Loving Jesus On The Hard Days

Four years ago, at my first youth camp, I wholeheartedly accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Not too long after, I went through the waters of baptism to publicly declare my faith to my church's congregation. I became more involved in my church's youth ministries through the worship and creatives ministries. I've even begun serving at church's youth camps as part of the team working on documentation and activities. For the most part, my walk with Christ has been great. But since accepting Him into my life, I always find myself asking whether or not I actually love Him?

My love for Jesus is the reason why I was able to accept him into my life, right? I understood and acknowledged what He did for me and so my genuine response was to love Him. If I can truthfully say right now that four years ago, I wholeheartedly accepted Jesus into my life, why am I struggling to love Jesus especially on the hard days? Other people can do it, of course with their own set of struggles, so why can't I do it without doubting that love for Him?

I find myself at my wits ends figuring out how I can be on fire for Jesus on some days, and yet struggle to love him on others. Several days I've felt unworthy of calling to Him or lifting up my praises even when there was much to praise Him for because I was unsure of the authenticity of my love for Him. But God provides an answer to our doubts. When uncertainty clouds our judgement, He speaks to our hardened hearts and graces us with wisdom.

What I've learned is that loving Jesus on the hard days is difficult because maybe, my perspective on love is transactional. That if I accept Him into my life, then I will be saved from my sins. That I can do something to save myself from my sins. Growing up in a Christian community, I heard this kind of mindset on salvation being taught all around. While it might be Biblical to some extent, this simplified Gospel failed to focus on the true subject of love and salvation: Jesus. Somehow, the focus is instead placed on us -- on how we can do something to save ourselves from the inevitable eternal death our sins have brought upon us.

This perspective on love and Jesus has bloated my faith so much so that when trials come and I call to Him, my expectations are of immediate deliverance. So when things don't go as expected -- when things don't go my way -- loving Jesus seems like an afterthought.

But love is not transactional; Love is unconditional. Love has nothing to do with us or what we can or have done. We are only recipients of this love. Love has always been about Jesus, and our love for Him should be a response to what He has already done. 

When days are hard, loving Jesus is still the hardest thing to do. It is a constant struggle of the heart. But the cross is a constant reminder of hope and grace -- of Jesus' love. That before I even knew Him, He died for me. That regardless of whether or not I accepted Him into my life, He already thought of me. That even when the hardest thing to do is to love Him, there is victory that can already be claimed.

~ ~ ~

Previous Post: Bookstore Finds

Bookstore Finds

One of my favorite pastimes is going to a bookstore just to look around the aisles. Check the latest releases. See if my order has arrived. Think about which school supplies I need to stock up on again. Now, that's great and incredibly relaxing, but the temptation to leave the store with another bag of goodies is just strong.

These past few months I've accumulated a couple of items from bookstores that I wanted to share with all of you. These bookstore finds are books, school supplies, and stationery that I find interesting and useful that might peak your interest as well! I included the prices of each product and where I got them if ever you want to purchase them. So, here are all of my bookstore finds from the last few months!

1. The Psychology Book - P869

I have been seeing this book around for awhile now, but I've been skeptical to purchase one partly because of its price. This book is more of crash course on select topics in psychology meant to simplify the very complex ideas in the field. The visuals are pretty great though and really good if you're interested in getting an idea of common concepts. Now, if you are looking into buying a more descriptive and informative book on psychology, I don't suggest you get this. Content-wise, this book is pretty accurate based on what I've learned from my psychology class, but again, it is just a simplified explanation of common ideas and concepts.

This book and a couple of others like it are available at booth National Book Store and Fully Booked!

2. Catastrophe Jumbo Paperclips - P280

My mom actually surprised me with these enormous copper paperclips, so this is more of her find but I'll add it here anyway for all of you. These beautiful paperclips are surprisingly sturdy and great at holding paperwork together without damaging the documents. They are a bit pricey for paperclips, but if you are willing to pay a little bit extra for them, I recommend these. Each pack comes with 12 jumbo paperclips in all of their copper glory. These have been useful for all of the papers that I've had to organize and submit. Their size and color makes it easy to see which pile is which and it makes organizing more fun!

These paperclips are part of the brand Catasrophe which was created by Filipina Cat Arambulo-Antonio who is also a blogger! You can get these paperclips at National Book Store!

3. Dong-A P&T Hexaplus Fineliner 0.4 - P197.75

I tried working on a planner this past semester in the hopes of managing my time better and with that, I decided to get nice pens to help make my planner more colorful and appealing. I opted for these pens because Dong-A is a pretty great brand and I've also seen a lot of people use these for their journals and planners. They did not disappoint. They were beautiful and surprisingly, I actually like the lighter colors in this pack of 10. I usually go for the light blue and orange as well as the pink because they work well for giving words or important dates that pop of color that they need. I purchased mine at National Book Store, but you can check Office Warehouse for stocks as well.

4. Fresh Fruit Weekly Planner - P195

Because I wanted to work with a planner this past semester, I needed to get myself a nice planner. Now, I'm very picky with planners and notebooks because while I don't like them expensive, I also don't want to be working on bad quality paper. This cute and quirky Fresh Fruit planner was absolutely perfect. The planner has eight panels -- one for your weekly to-do list and seven dedicated to each day of the week. What's great about this planner is that you get to fill in the dates so there's no pressure of not being able to use it after the year ends. This planner is around the A5 size which is just the right size in my opinion. When I saw that this was priced at P195, I was completely sold! This Fresh Fruit Planner is available at Fully Booked and comes in different fruit designs such as grape and apple. I went for the lemonade design because Beyoncé.

5. Knock Knock "Pack This" Travel List - P150-250

Next to the yellow post-its, this travel list might just be the best notepad/post-it that I've ever bought. I've used this twice already -- once for a fieldwork and another for youth camp -- and it has been extremely helpful. It has all the possible things you will need for any kind of travel and they are all divided into four big groups: basics, miscellaneous, clothes, and hygiene. It's a pre-made checklist for all your travel needs. I really liked that for the clothes section, they added a quantity option where you can jot down how many of each type of clothing you need to pack. You can just use your phone and write it down yourself, but this checklist has already got everything covered for you and so all you really need to do left is pack and tick the boxes once you're done! If you love to travel, I recommend you get one of these! I got mine at Fully Booked and it was priced around P150 to P250. 

6. Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs Of People by Henry Carroll - P899

Ever since I got into photography, portraiture has always been the field that I was most interested in. This book is actually a sequel to Henry Carroll's first photography book entitled Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs which I had already read before so when I found this book, I instantly wanted it. Both tackle the different aspects of photography with contributions from several photographers. I've been learning a lot with this and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn and get into photography more. I purchased my copy at Fully Booked and since they only have a few copies, I would also suggest ordering them online, which Fully Booked can also do for you!

7. Pattern Stamps - P126

I've been wrapping my presents in plain brown paper to sort of give myself a bit more creative freedom in decorating the gifts. I thought that these stamps would definitely come in handy the next time I wrap a present! They come in a pack of four with a blue and a red stamp pad. I would suggest buying a separate stamp pad though because these smalls ones can only do so much. I went for these because they were both simple and yet intricate designs which I absolutely love! There are more than one set of designs as well if these don't fit your preference and you can get them at Fully Booked!

8. The Justice League of America - Silver Age Vol. 2 - P920

Growing up, I was obsessed with the Justice League. I watched the animated series, played with the action figures, an even bought a couple of their graphic novels and comic books. I dedicated an entire blog post to my comic book collection which you can read here.

When I saw this compilation of a couple of the Silver Age comics, I was ecstatic. I've always wanted to read comics from way back then and to have this beautifully colored compilation of Justice League comics was just heaven! I am currently savoring the experience by reading the book slowly, but I am definitely loving seeing the Justice League the way they were before they got all dark and dramatic! This one you can purchase at Fully Booked!

~ ~ ~

If you have any bookstore finds as well, let me know in the comments below!

Previous Post: 5 Self-Care Tips

5 Self-Care Tips

After months of sporadic posting, I am finally back to blogging. The workload of the past few months have pushed me into a semi-hiatus that has been booth stressful and beneficial for me. Not being able to update my blog has really stressed me out because I absolutely love blogging, but the small break that I've had has helped me unwind and work on extremely pressing matters that would've otherwise affected my blogging had I not taken care of it immediately.

For this blog post, I wanted to write about a couple of self-care tips that I've picked up in the last few months. These tips have been incredibly useful and have honestly made my life so much better. I thought it'd be great to share these tips with you in the hopes of helping at least one of you! So, without further ado, here are my top five self-care tips:

1. Give yourself a break.

Now, this one is very much up for interpretation, but whatever the interpretation may be, go ahead and do it. Whether it's letting yourself take a well-deserved and much needed nap or letting go of those standards of perfectionism you've placed on yourself, give yourself a break. I've been learning to do this these past few months and all I can say is that everybody should be doing this more often. Put that homework down and give yourself a 30 minute break! Get that top you've always wanted because who cares if crop tops aren't for your body size! Sometimes, the thing we might need in life is a break, so give yourself one. You deserve it.

2. Acknowledge your limits.

While stepping out of our comfort zones and persevering to push ourselves to be better people are great and important things, we also need to acknowledge the limits that we have. It'd be foolish to deny that they exist. If you physically can't stay up later than 11 at night, don't force yourself to stay up that late. If you can't lift a barbel weighing 60 pounds, don't force yourself to lift that heavy. If you opening up to your parents is something you aren't comfortable doing, don't force yourself to open up. The limits are there to let you know the extent of your reach and capabilities. Some limits are changeable and some are not. What is foremost important is learning how to work on and with these limits. But you'll never how to do that if you don't acknowledge that you have them in the first place.

3. Make time for your passions.

This has been a struggle of mine since I was in my fourth year of high school. The workload since then has only gotten heavier and the schedules more hectic, and so my passions such as this blog, baking, and reading have really suffered. The work we do in school, at work, and even in church is important but we also need to find time for the work that we do outside of these places. When I began to set aside time to work on my passions, I found myself feeling so much better physically, mentally, and creatively. The work I produced for both my passion projects and my school work became more genuine and out-of-the-box. I even felt more motivated and energized to work on my homework and go to class. Most of the time, it's our passions that we sacrifice so that we can do better in life, but in reality, it's these passions that push us to live life to its fullest.

4. Be mindful of what you eat.

Because of my hyperacidity and mild lactose intolerance, I really do have to practice this tip regularly. But in doing so, my body has reacted positively more than just having a healthy and happy stomach. If my friends invite me to have ice cream or milk tea and I refuse because of my lactose intolerance, not only do I save myself from a trip to the bathroom but I also don't indulge in sweet and fattening food. And that's great for me because I don't get to exercise as much as used to and so eating those kinds of food can really take its toll on me. I've found myself thanking myself for being mindful of what I ate that day, and maybe you will to! So, whether you have some condition that really requires you to watch what you eat or not, make it a habit to be mindful of what you eat. 

5. Hydrate yourself!

It's been extremely hot here in the Philippines lately, and although we're a tropical country, the heat has just been too much. So, my personal tip for this one would be to hydrate yourself! They say that eight to ten glasses of water a day is unusual and just an average, but in this kind of heat, those eight to ten glasses might just be what you need! I would suggest you bring a canteen or tumbler of water with you if you're commuting to school or work because we can't rely on the air-conditioning of public transportation to ease ourselves from the heat. I know there are also apps that are specifically designed remind and help you drink more glasses of water each day. I've never tried one before, but I've heard that they've been really useful! Overall, do what you can to stay hydrated because your body will need it especially in this kind of heat!

If you have any self-care tips that you personally love and practice, I would love to know them. Leave them in the comments below and I will be reading all of them!

Until next time,
Luis

Previous Post: Laguna 2017

Laguna 2017

As a Behavioral Science student, I'm required by some of my classes to go on fieldworks and travel to different kinds of communities. There, we immerse ourselves in the local culture and learn about the people's history, traditions, and current living conditions.

Whenever we go to a community, a lot of our time there is spent interviewing the locals. Personally, this is the most fun part of fieldwork. Hearing their stories especially when they get really passionate and carried away is really heartwarming and eye-opening. Listening to them talk about the struggles they face each day and hear them say that they are happy in spite of that really puts things into perspective.

I'm grateful that I get to go on fieldwork every so often. I've found that no amount of words or photos is enough to truly grasp the beauty of a culture (ironically, that's coming from a blogger). It's really in the immersion of one's self in a community where the appreciation of culture in its truest and rawest form can truly happen.

Thank you, Ronggot, Laguna. You were absolutely beautiful! Your resilience and the pride that you have in your culture is inspiring. I'm grateful to have been able to visit you. This last fieldwork was so much fun that I honestly cannot wait to see where the next one takes me. Here's to a bunch more fieldworks and immersing myself in different cultures!

Until next time!

~ Luis

Previous Post: Japan: Day 5

Related Post: Zambales 2016

P.S. I couldn't actually take a lot of photos of the people because I would have needed permission from the people I would take photos of. My initial purpose for brining my camera anyway was to document the area as required in our research. Taking photos of the locals was not the priority as compared to the content of the interviews as well as documentation of the area. Hope y'all understand!