Five Songs to Describe My First Two Weeks at UBC

(This is a post that I made on my UBC blog)

My first two weeks at UBC were composed of wide variety of overwhelming events, emotions, and experiences which will be imprinted on my memory forever.  They made an impact so huge that I cannot even summarize them through my own words.

So, being the music lover that I am, I decided I would borrow phrases from some of the most famous songs in the world today. I'll use the help of my friends (like Bruno and Taylor) to convey the feelings that define my first eight days of studying here at UBC.


1) "A whole new world is waiting / it's mine for the taking /
I know I can make it, today my life begins"

These were my exact thoughts throughout the Imagine Day. When I first heard of UBC, I knew immediately that this was where my dreams would come to life. Even just being admitted into and studying at this globally-renowned university is already a dream come true. So when I hopped off the 49 bus last Tuesday and saw the genuine excitement painted on the faces of my fellow freshmen, a sudden stroke of epiphany hit me. "I am now in a place full of possibilities. This is where I will spend the next four or more years of my life, so I better make this place mine", I thought to myself. By "place", I was not really referring to the physical campus of the university. I was talking about the world that is waiting for me to claim, the life that I am going to make most out of, the diem that I am going to carpe.


2) "I'm up all night 'til the sun" (not to get lucky, though)

In spite of being really exhausted on Tuesday night because of Imagine Day (I was all-out in showing my Arts pride during the Pep Rally), it was extremely hard for me to sleep that night. I'm sure it was because of how I was feeling about the next day (the first "official" day of classes for this term). I wasn't sure whether I was excited or nervous (maybe I was both) about it, but it sure kept me up late.


3) Just gonna stand there and watch me burn / That's alright because I like the way it hurts.

Go ahead, Math 184, just stand there and watch the complexities of functions, limits, and derivatives mercilessly burn my brain. In Grade 12, I detested functions so much that I think I have developed a fear of them since my Pre-Calculus 12 final exam. Clearly, when I added Math 184 to my timetable, I was hoping that functions would play a smaller role in my life. BUT GUESS WHAT? Our Math 184 prof started his first lecture by talking about exponential and inverse functions. The funny thing is, when he started going over them, I didn't feel scared. I was thrilled. I was positively challenged. I felt like that was my chance to finally be friends with Math.
...then newer, more complicated topics were introduced to us afterwards. My fear of functions came to haunt me down again.


4) We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time / It's miserable and magical

My first two weeks were layered with a steep zigzag of emotions. I must admit that these two weeks weren't all butterflies and rainbows. Of course, I'm extremely happy to be here. Yes, I feel free that I am going through this journey independently. But it also feels lonely at times to start this journey in such a big university, where each individual seems to be focused on reaching his/her own destination.
Taylor's right. It's really magical and miserable at the same time. Miserable because it just hit me how time flies so fast, and now I'm afraid I might not be able to feel this exhilarating journey while I'm in it. Magical because I know that no matter what happens during my time here at UBC, it will have an enormous impact on my life.


5) You've got the words to change a nation / But you're biting your tongue / You've spent a life time stuck in silence / Afraid you'll say something wrong / If no one ever hears it how we gonna learn your song?

These are my own words of advice for myself. Honestly, I feel like I have been holding myself back a lot lately. I haven't been participating in lectures as much as I'd want to, haven't been introducing myself to as many classmates as I'd like to, and haven't been attending freshmen orientation events at all. I know I should start being proactive. I know I should start taking more risks. I know I should start building my confidence again. And I promise you I will. I will have the courage to step out of my comfort zone and finally make things happen. It might just take a bit of time.

If you want to know more about me, don't hesitate to check out the "Who am I?" page! :)

Choosing the Right University

    Getting into a well-known university is one of the many factors that contribute to one's success. There is this societal notion that attending a globally-respected university equals having an impressive résumé—and society believes impressive résumé attracts top-notch job offers. Because of this notion, graduating high school students all over the world are burning their lamps at night to be in the best universities of the world. If I go out to meet a graduating high school student tonight and ask him what his dream university is, Harvard would most likely be his answer.

When I was still a young lad, older students around me always looked up to Harvard, like it was some sort of divine paradise. Everywhere I looked—at the movies, television stations and newspapers, they always paid respect to that big H. Even my parents adored Harvard. Their reverence for that school drove me to think that Harvard solely dictates one’s fate. I had this childish belief that going to Harvard is a matter of life and death. If you’re a student in that school, your success is already guaranteed; if you are not, say goodbye to your dreams. As I grew up, realization came to my senses that everything about Harvard was a product of overhype after all.

Though I eventually realized that there is so much more to life than being at Harvard, I understood why thousands of students dream to go to this university. It has committed to providing high-quality education since 1636. It has produced a long list of notable alumni (current U.S. president Barack Obama, movie actress Natalie Portman, and NBA player Jeremy Lin to name a few). Its admissions are one of the most competitive in the world. It has consistently ranked high in internationally published university rankings. With these reasons, one can easily assert that Harvard is indeed the best university in the world. Or is it?

Harvard University (from britannica.com)

Vij’s, a Vancouver restaurant that is known for its unparalleled Indiancuisine, is Canada’s best restaurant of 2011 according to an annual survey byVacay.ca. The survey was answered by fifteen judges that include the country’s leading food critics, food bloggers, and culinary enthusiasts. Although these industry experts loved this Indian restaurant, many customers who dined here, surprisingly, were dissatisfied and upset.

            Evan T. R. Rosenman, a Harvardstudent, wrote about his and his friends’ struggles in Harvard. In his The Harvard Crimson article entitled “The Upside of Hating Harvard”, he tells his unsuccessful attempt in finding real happiness due to Harvard’s unaccommodating atmosphere. "Happiness only at parties, or in the twenty minutes after you turn in a problem set, or when you get to meet Mark Zuckerberg, is not real happiness. A happy life is one that is enjoyed in the living of it--one that we take pleasure not because it is an 'exceptional' life, but because we actually wake up every morning with a sense of hope and anticipation", he writes. He claims that Harvard students are prodigies at pretending to be happy, even if they wholeheartedly know that they are not. "We are well aware of Harvard's miniscule acceptance rate, and the fact that students all over the world would gladly take our spots. To admit unhappiness, then, would seem wildly selfish and ungrateful. So we convince ourselves that the problem isn't with out day-to-day lives--it's with how we are looking at them. We tell ourselves we love Harvard. We lie."

            Isn't it astonishing to know that Harvard, the world's "best" university, is not well-loved by some of its students? Of course, "not well-loved" is quite a bold statement, but people can't love something that does not make them happy, can they? Evan further explains, "For me, the problem of Harvard has boiled down to a desire for a lot more friendship, love, and sincerity. Though I fit many of the Harvard stereotypes--sardonic, competitive, ambitious--it took me years to admit that I struggled with Harvard's unsupportive environment. Problem sets took precedent over friendships. Leadership positions superseded relationships." Even though he agrees that competition ignites motivation for some students, he still admits that this kind of environment is not for him. "It wasn't the ideal place for me to get my undergraduate education.", he bravely confesses.

“We knew going into it that [Vij’s] was highly reviewed and that we would be waiting regardless of the night. So to be fair, I did have high expectations”, writes Turboca, a restaurant reviewer from California. She had two main problems with this restaurant: the long waiting line and the taste of the food. “On a Monday night, we waited for close to an hour”, she says.“Others have commented that the food is very spicy. The problem for me was not the heat level- but the lack of balance in the dishes. The flavor and spice came through only in the oil. For example, in the spot prawns you miss completely the freshness and light [sweetness] that you want from shrimp. Instead you get shrimp covered in intense spiced oil. That was the case for every dish we got.” She finishes off her review by sending out an advice to people who are planning to dine at Vij’s, “Don't overspend and overwait to eat at this 'in' restaurant”.

Another reviewer on dinehere.ca, Murdoman, writes, “We ordered some crab bites and samosas to start, followed by beef ribs, lamb popsicles and yam curry. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed we were in everything. The portions were adequate in size at best for the prices charged but lacking flavor. The lamb pops were nice but very uninspired as far as taste. I had read other reviews on this place raving about it and I cannot figure out why. Vij's is the biggest rip off in greater Vancouver.”

If Vij’s is the best restaurant in Vancouver, why can’t it live up to the standards of some of its customers—customers who need not be food experts to be disappointed? It is simply because not everyone has the same taste buds.The taste buds of the judges who answered the survey are completely different from those that posted negative reviews on the restaurant; they have their own biases, perhaps, due to their different norms.

            The best way of knowing the greatness of the restaurant is to find it yourself, and not chiefly rely on somebody’s opinions, or people’s words of mouth. Had Turboca and Murdoman not gone to Vij’s chiefly because of the positive reviews they read, they would have chosen a restaurant that better fits their taste buds.  Consequently, they would have had a better dining experience.

            In the same token, Evan’s story should serve as a lesson for us not to be easily enticed by a university’s reputation. In spite of the pressure that most of us, senior high school students, are facing, we must allot time and effort to find the university that is right for us. University rankings are created to know which universities are the best at different aspects of providing education. University rankings are based on various factors. The QS WorldUniversity Rankings, for example, are accumulated using six different indicators: academic reputation (40%), employer reputation (10%),faculty-student ratio (20%), citations per faculty (20%), international facultyratio (5%), and international student ratio (5%). If you are someone who desiresto study at a school that would allow you to dive into a sea of academic research, then the QS World UniversityRankings can be a guide for you. On the contrary, if you care more about the diversity of the students and faculty of a school, then you should not pay close attention to this list since it gives the least importance to international faculty and international student ratios. Unfortunately, most people look at these rankings without scrutinizing the methodology.  They just focus on the universities that arehigh on the list, the ones that they believe are most reputable. They often forget that a school’s reputation is not an automatic reflection of the quality of education that a school provides. Judging a school by its reputation is no different than judging a book by its cover.

Universities are essential bridges to our dreams. They are not just providers of education, but also of opportunities, friendships, and meaningful experiences. Societal notion and school’s reputation can’t hand pick the right bridge for us, but our personality, needs, and ambitions can. 

Top 12 Songs of 2012... According to Me

Since 2013 is just around the corner, I would like to bid goodbye to 2012 by commemorating some great moments that were created this year (I know, I'm so sweet). Since music has been a supportive friend of mine this 2012, and I enjoy making my own lists... here is my own list of top 12 songs of this year! May we all have a safe, healthy, and wealthy new year!!


12. Feel Again

- Is it just me or does it really resemble the tune of Dog Days (by Florence and the Machine)? It effortlessly sends me to some European town whenever I listen to it.




11. Diamonds

-Being an avid Rihanna fan that I am, a Rihanna song has to be on this list. This is
 the song that I've been singing the most these past three months. This song is also my ultimate jam in the car!



10. Little Things

-All One Direction songs are catchy. What makes this song extra special is that it is written by the genius Ed Sheeran.



09. Anna Sun

-One of those songs that make me pump my fist instinctively just upon hearing its first five seconds. This song was the song that I usually listened to last summer, whenever I walked from the Skytrain station down to Main Street on the way to Evergreen. This song carries with it a bag of colourful summer memories: summer school, meetings with my co-"architects", watching the London Olympics 2012, and spontaneous decisions to treat myself with Oreo McFlurry. Definitely my 2012 summer soundtrack!



08. Thinking About You (Tori Kelly)

-I like Frank Ocean's version, but Tori Kelly's is just.. unbelievably timeless.  I give its lyrics a letter grade of A+, too!



07. We Are Young

-A song that never fails to lift up my spirit. My mum also likes this song. She even sings along with it whenever she hears it (although she sings it with wrong lyrics: "tonigggghhttt, we are oneeeee")



06. Payphone

-A song that my friends and I kept singing every day at lunch break during last two months of the previous school year! Hahaha this song carries a lot of fun memories with it -- good times!



05. Call Me Maybe

-Probably the most overplayed/overexposed song of 2012 (Gangnam Style is the reason why the word "probably" is in there). Although this song was excruciatingly annoying for me at first, I learned to love it.



04. Somebody That I Used To Know

-Another song that seemed annoying to me at first, but ended up being one of my most favourite songs ever. This song has powerful lyrics, too (personal favourite: you can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness)! Phillip Phillip's and Elise Testone's duet of this song was the ultimate reason why this song eventually ended up as one of my favourites.



03. Some Nights

-Another summer song of mine! The harmony and melody of this song are the reasons why I might have this song ingrained in my memory. It is just so fresh and so unlike any other pop song today.



02 Let Me Love You

-One of those songs that make you forget whatever you're doing and effortlessly takes you to a fun, carefree dimension for four minutes! The fact that 10th place has, so far, been its highest place on the Billboard chart makes me question my faith on the world's music taste.



01. Titanium

-I don't think I will ever get tired of listening to/singing this song. Powerful music video, epic melody, and relevant lyrics. What more can I ask for?

Happiness is a Choice

Here I am, awake at 2:25AM, making a painstaking yet rewarding effort ofcreating this weird/senseless/who-reads-it-anyway post (painstaking, because Iknow that this will require an extensive thought organization; rewardingbecause I can finally liberate these smothering thoughts). I have just beenlurking around Twitter and Tumblr for the past hour and I was dazed -- evendisturbed -- that most of the posts were filled with complaints and rants. No, Iam not talking about those political “our government sucks” posts. I amreferring to those people who do not know any better than to blame nature andcircumstances 99 percent of the time.


Tumblr: "I hate my life"
Suffice it to say that I am not in my greatest mood whenever I see postslike this. It actually does not pester me if a person posts somethinglike this once in a while. But to say "I hate my life" online as if itwere the only phrase you know? That's just something that hugely bothers me. How can anyonehate his/her life? If you feel like you're the person I'm talking about,breaking news: life is amazing. It may not be picture-perfect all the time, butobstacles are things everyone has to face. As we travel this road morepopularly known as life, we will encounter numerous stoplights. Red lights maycause us to pause, but green lights will always reappear after a few seconds! Iknow that there are far more people who possess heavier problems than I do, butI am certain that those problems will not exist forever. Some of us are justway too impatient to wait for green light to reappear.


Twitter: (something like) "I am not great enough" or "Whydo I fail at anything I do?"
I understand that each human being has his/her own insecurities. I have myown ones, too. Insecurities are in-born for everyone, I suppose. But I constantlyget annoyed (self-pity can be very annoying in the long run) when people usetheir insecurities as an excuse to be full-time lazy heads and not do anything. They say that because they are "not good at it", there is no reason for them to try anymore. If you are one of those people:  instead of letting your insecurities faze you, why don't you just use them tobring out the best in you? Strive to be a better version of yourself every dayto defeat those voices inside your head that are always shouting "you arenot great enough". I assure you, once you start doing it, life gets a lotmore invigorating.


As cliché as it may sound, life truly has its ups and downs. Acknowledging that fact can already lift a lot of weight off your shoulders.I know that there will always be that one particular day in a year where youjust feel like cursing as many times as you can or hitting your head againstthe wall as hard as you can. It's okay to go through that day. You are a human. You are entitled to be sad, be angry, and cry. The importantthing is that you recover and move on. Do not waste your time focusing on theugliness of one flower if there are a lot more beautiful flowers around you.Happiness is a choice, not a destination. If you want to be happy, then chooseto be happy.


(Side note: Sorry for being a bit negative myself, but myongoing exposure to pessimists inevitably saps my optimism. Pessimism is verycontagious, isn't it?)

Happy February

What have I been up to these past few weeks? Well... the TV and the internet have been my real best friends. YouTube and online episodes of TV shows have been keeping me company every night. I guess it's safe to say that I approximately spend 5 hours a day surfing the internet everyday (yes, including school days.. *insert a sheepish giggle here*). What the heck do keep me glued to these?


1. YouTube. What would my life be without YouTube? Ahhhh it's hard to imagine!! YouTube gives me daily dose of pleasure, laughter, and lessons. YouTube makes my nightly room concerts possible! Lately, I've been so into Rihanna, One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Jessie J, and Coldplay music. From their music videos, to lyric videos, to their live performances -- I can spend an entire day watching all of those! Aside from music, several TV shows are also the reasons why my soul and attention have been so inclined to YouTube. Alan Carr (Chatty Man) and Ellen (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) are very much worth watching every night. Their hilarity and wit are unlike any other!


2. Online TV Episodes. Last Christmas Break (2011), I didn't want to run out of things to do. So I downloaded several movies as well as TV series episodes online. Since then, I've been addicted to Modern Family so much. I only started watching Modern Family when the third season started, so catching up with its episodes from Season 1 by downloading them online is totally one of the best life decisions I've ever made...... (exaggeration). But seriously though, it really is a brilliant show! I really hope that the writers of the show will never run out of creativity and originality!

3. TV. Since I have this mad, almost-obsessed-like love for some artists.... I couldn't let the Grammys and the Brits pass without watching them and giving them my absolute undivided attention... (exaggeration #2). A sudden appreciation for British singers/artists grew in my heart after watching the Grammys, and it grew even more after the Brits! I mean, Adele, Coldplay, Florence & The Machine, Jessie J, James Morrison, Leona Lewis, and the late Amy Winehouse to name a few? Incredible. Not surprisingly, after a day or two, that appreciation turned into ugh-I-want-to-go-to-London-so-bad feeling. That feeling, however, gave me a whole new exhilarating inspiration to give my best in my studies, and to actually start working on my 2012 goals! Awesome, right? From being a crazy fan boy to being an inspired, enthusiastic student? HAHAHAH


4. Blogs. Blog-hopping always elates me. It just never fails to inspire me and teach me something new. For me, blog sites are like magazines and each blog post is a magazine article. Maybe that's why I find joy in blog-hopping; maybe it's because I get to choose the articles that I want to read, without giving so much effort (like flipping pages back and forth), and I can do it for free!

My February is pretty much boring if you'll compare it to others, but honestly, I love how I spent my February! We all have different interpretations of "fun", and I sure found one this past month. This March, however, I want my "fun" to be filled with activties that will finally get my lazy bum moving!!!

Dreaming Every Day

This short story was my homework for English. We were asked to make a personal narrative recounting all the events that happened when we left our homelands. This is an edited version of my essay because I wanted to add some juice and drama (oh yes, that's how cool I am). Expect some pestering exaggeration every once in a while. Can I just make it clear that this is a combined work of my imagination and true events, so this story is told from a point-of-view of a half-fictional character totally inspired by my real experiences in life. Pardon my sporadic writing style and the erratic emotions I tried to inflict in every paragraph. Nonetheless, I hope you like it!! :)


Dreaming is always a fulfilling journey, never an escape – that's what I always tell myself. Many people say that dreaming is for losers. They say that dreams are only for people who can’t tolerate the deplorable consequences of life and for those who don’t want to exist in present reality. I ask them, do you escape reality when each day, you constantly find reasons for living? Oh wait. Only God knows the purpose of our life, but I am certain that it is far more than just sitting there, waiting for your fortune to come and not doing anything worthwhile.

I am a teenager full of ambitious dreams. Whenever I'm asked to describe myself in two words, I would tell them that I'm an “audacious dreamer”. Someday, I want to travel the world. London, Paris, Madrid, and New York City are my dream cities. I’d like to own a house at the age of 25. I want to be an economist or an accountant. I aspire to work for an insurance company, government bank or a world-known corporation someday. It has always been my dream to study at a prestigious university included in the World’s Top 100. I would also like to build a world-class hotel and resort in the future. Just like any other teens out there, I want to be rich and successful. But that desire isn’t just for me alone, but for my family too. Honestly, when I was still in the Philippines, all of these dreams seemed so distant, almost unreachable.

It was one overcast day in March, just when I got home from school, when my father told me astonishing news. “Our visa is approved!”, he greeted me excitedly the moment I reached the doorstep of our house. Not knowing how to feel, all I was able to say was “really?”. He nodded. Still shocked, I went to my bedroom to change my clothes. I briefly prayed, and thanked God afterwards for such a wonderful blessing. But a part of me was still bewildered, raising questions in my mind: Should I be happy because in just a few months, I’ll be able to live in a new country? Or must I be sad because I’m leaving a memorable place, and my awesome friends? Vancouver. Canada. North America. Am I really going to live in North America – where all the universities I’ve been checking up on for so many years are found? Will I finally see those precious red leaves rhythmically fall in September? If I finally see those scarlet leaves, will I ever get tired of them? Is it really possible to get tired of something you’ve dreamt of for so long? In that very second, I was willing to leave the Philippines and everything I had there. I was hypnotized at that very moment, thinking that everything would be fine, absolutely fine. Was I in the right state of mind?


Crazy thoughts seemed to endlessly bug my mind the night before our flight to Canada, just when I was in my pillow-filled bed, about to sleep. What does Canada look like? How different will I be as a person once I revisit the Philippines? Will my friends and I have the same closeness when I come back from Canada? Can I survive in Canada? How different will the Philippines be once I come back? These thoughts ran insanely on my mind for hours, one thought after the other. I still can’t believe how I managed to fall asleep that night. It was because of exhaustion from all the packing, I guess, that put me into sleep.

June 9, 2011 – the day of our flight to Canada, the last day in 2011 that I would be stepping on the lands of the Philippines – was, once again, a dark, cloudy day. It felt like the weather was expressing my feelings. Hours before our flight, I sent a text message to all my close friends telling them goodbye, wishing them good luck, and assuring them that I’d miss them. Almost all of them replied with very touching text messages that instinctively created a flashback of all the good memories we had. How was I supposed to be purely happy and excited when I knew that we would be going in utterly different directions? We would not live in the same country. I would not be going to school with them. I wouldn’t be able to call them over and ask them to watch a movie with me. It was then that I became fully aware that things wouldn’t be the same ever again. I remembered the thought I had on that day when my dad told me that our visa was approved. This time I was convinced that I was too focused on my dreams, that I wasn’t in the right state of my mind to grasp the truth.

While we were on our way to Ninoy Aquino International Airport, my mind played an automatic rewind of the unforgettable moments of the previous school year. It is the best school I ever had so far. I couldn’t help but to feel sad. My mind went back to reality when I noticed the water droplets streaming down the windows of the car. It began to drizzle. Oh great! Isn’t this just like any other scene in a movie – it begins to rain once the protagonist feels sad? Cherishing every second, I took one good look at the places seen from the SkyWay (a long elevated expressway in Southern Metro Manila). My eyes veered from a tall building to a school, from closely built houses to a shopping mall, from newly trimmed trees to the sky. I immediately noticed that the dreary sky was beginning to cheer up. The clouds faded away gradually, letting the sun shine brightly. Upon seeing the joyful fiery sun, I started to shake the sad thoughts away.

Sitting in Philippine Airlines’ business class seats somehow made me feel more important than who I really am. We were courteously greeted by PAL’s flight attendants the minute we boarded the plane. They immediately bombarded us with highfaluting menus that might help us choose our appetizers. I sat beside my mother, while my older brother took the seat right in front of us. I felt ecstatic. For some vague reason, a stream of renewed hope rushed through my veins.  Although I’ve experienced it many times before, I was nervous about the plane’s take off. Thankfully, the plane took off smoothly and gently. We left the Philippines at 4pm, local time. The pilot made a lot of twists and turns for the first ten minutes of the flight, allowing us to have our last glimpses of Manila from different angular views. During the flight, I enjoyed the tasty meals brought to us by polite flight attendants, I slept for two hours, I watched movies through the airline entertainment system, and I carefully followed the journey of the plane through the live GPS (Global Positioning System) available on our screens. It was a long flight indeed. When I saw on our GPS screens that we were only 45 minutes away from landing on the runway of Vancouver International Airport, I lifted the window shade and tried to look at what was below us. The first thing I saw was a group of spectacular snow-covered mountains situated in a body of water. That moment, I felt a new vibe, a weird feeling of mixed excitement and sadness. I am finally in Canada, I told myself. This is where my dreams will come true, I concluded.

I spent my first day in Surrey, at a house where my cousins live. On my first night here in Canada, I found it hard to sleep. Even my weariness from the long flight didn’t help me to sleep easily. That night, I remembered what my aunts and uncles told me when I was still in the Philippines: “For the first two weeks of your stay there, you’ll be energetic and excited. Two or three months after, you’ll start to feel homesick”. I didn’t know if I should be happy or scared that time, all I was aware of is, it was only the first night of our stay here in Canada, and I was already as homesick as hell. I thought of my older sister and my dad who were still in the Philippines. I thought of my friends. I thought of the way I slept for the previous fifteen years of my life, cuddling my pillows, always facing the old-fashioned windows in my bedroom. I closed my eyes. It was 2 am, I estimated. I have no choice but to force myself to sleep.

Just a few weeks before schools re-opened for School Year 2011-2012, I was deeply worried. Again, countless thoughts played in my mind. Will I fit in with the students of Killarney? Can I accomplish the tasks that the teachers will assign for me? Will I enjoy my stay at this school as much as I did in my former school? I fervently prayed to God every day and asked Him to guide me throughout my first year of schooling here in Canada.

On the first day of classes, I was surprised and amazed by the number of Filipino students at this school. I might not know them all, but the mere fact that there are many Filipino students at this school is already a great comfort. I have to admit though; my first week at Killarney was a very tough one. I had to cope with numerous different changes between schooling in the Philippines and schooling here in Canada. Fortunately, the subsequent weeks weren’t as difficult as I thought they would be. Now, I’m having fun studying at Killarney.

My first month of stay here in Canada was undeniably hard. I had to learn the transportation system. I had to be familiar with Canadian money. For one week, we had to patiently look for a strategic house to rent. Afterwards, we had to move to the house that we decided to rent. Step by step, we got settled. We gradually grasped the Canadian way of life. Thankfully, each month just kept on getting better and more convenient. My dreams, together with my family and faith in God, kept me strong. Without them, I would already have bought a ticket back to the Philippines a long time ago. Without them, I would have given up from the very first day. I used my dreams to motivate me every day. I eventually accepted the fact that I will be far from my sister for a long time, that I won’t be living in the same country with my closest friends that I knew from my first sixteen years of existence. But hey, it’s already 2011 (almost 2012 now actually)! Skype and Facebook are always there whenever I want to talk to them. But I don't want to talk to them... cause they suck...like, BIG TIME. Hahahaha no I'm just kidding. I love them!

I am blessed. Now, I realize that. Not every teenager in the world has the chance to immigrate to another country. Some people are dying to go to Canada – to find fortune – but they aren’t granted the same chance that I’ve been offered. So, instead of fretting and fussing, I’m choosing to be happy. I am choosing to enjoy everything that I currently have. I am grateful to God for giving us such an amazing opportunity to come here in Canada. Everything still feels surreal. But now that I am closer to my dreams, I will work hard every day to achieve them. I will start travelling my way to success. I will enjoy the view that I will get on my way there. And when it's a rainy day, I won’t hide under my umbrella and wait for the rain to stop. Instead, I will let go of my umbrella and joyfully dance in the rain.

10 things that make me a loser

This is just a pathetic, haphazardly-written countdown of trivial things that I didn't get to experience.

10. I've never owned a Nintendo gameboy. Yeah right, doesn't almost every kid in town possess this device - from the kids in the train, to the children in restaurants? Honestly speaking, I never really liked playing gameboy ever since it came out to the market. I just don't get the sense of playing with this handheld device when it's already the age of more high-technological devices like Desktops and Laptops.

9. I'm not a Harry Potter fan. I've never read a Harry Potter book. I have only watched one of the 8 movies released, and I can't even remember which one it was. I am not a Harry Potter hater. It's just that I never really had the patience to read those thick and heavy books. I have to admit it though, I wish I was able to follow the Harry Potter journey. It's more than because people all over the world are talking about it, it is because it could have built up my passion for reading and my love for books!

8. When asked to draw a person/people, I can only draw stick man/men. I love art! I really do. But way back when I was in grade school, "art" was just a school subject where the teacher asks us to make mature drawings even if not everyone in that class really knows how to make one. Hello? Haven't they heard? People have different talents. Unfortunately, I don't have this "drawing" talent and skills. Hey, at least I know how to appreciate beauty and art.

7. I still haven't watched some of the best/most talked about movies ever. Until now, there are movies that I still want to watch even if they've been released a year ago, or two years ago, or four years ago, or even eight years ago. The Notebook, Bridesmaids, Thor, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Transformers (the entire series), Sherlock Holmes - these are just few of the hundreds (I guess) of movies I haven't seen yet. If only I know where and how to watch them, I will watch them all tomorrow!!

6. I've never been to any live concerts. That's right. I have never been to any live singer-artists' concerts. Pffffttt. I can't believe how I have allowed numerous concerts to pass without watching even one of them. I can't explain how I badly wanted to go to most of those concerts. It's always because of two main reasons: my parents not allowing me to go to the concert, thus not having money to buy the tickets + school schedule/family plans. But it's okay, now that I'm here in Vancouver, I feel like it's easier to watch those live concerts. Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Adele, and Usher, just you wait!!

5. I've never been to Europe. I'm not bothered by this at all. I'm still young. i still have lots of time to go there. But I want to be there soon. Europe is just my dream travel destination because it's so historical. Also, each European country has its distinct culture that's just easy to love.

4. I've never been on a cruise. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of afraid to ride boats. Maybe this is due to the fact that I can't swim, or probably I'm just always overwhelmed by the immensity of the ocean. I will be exhilarated if I'll get a chance to be on a cruise, though. Caribbean cruise will be lovely!

3. I don't know how to cook. Well, I know how to make a sunny side-up or a scrambled egg. I also know to cook hotdogs/sausage/spam. But that's the farthest I can go. I want to learn, I extremely do! But I'm too anxious to take cooking classes for I might not easily understand the teachers' instructions, and just ruin every meal I'll make. I know, I'm being unusually pessimistic. I guess I'm just putting myself out of embarrassment. Hahaha!

2. I'm not technically knowledgeable to play any musical instruments. I was a member of Drum & Lyre club when I was in third grade. Oh, the joy of being a grade schooler! We had regular Saturday practices. I was taught the basics of playing the lyre. I easily learned the first four songs taught to us and played them well. When Lupang Hinirang was taught to us, I just couldn't catch up. Whenever we had school parades, our club was always asked to play. I remember just hitting at any note and making annoying sounds that would ruin our harmony. After that school year, I just didn't want to play any musical instruments anymore. I don't know if it's my defense mechanism, or it's because I have this idea in mind that I once sucked at playing an instrument, but I never really had the desire to play a musical instrument again.

1. I'm not a bookworm. Sad, right? As much as I'm forcing myself to read as much novels as I can, I've only finished three books in my entire life. Two of them (Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and The Giver) are books required for book reports, so I was forced to read them. The third book I finished was The Winner Stands Alone - which I just finished this summer. After reading the book, I learned a lot. I also became inspired... by many things - by how greed eats all of us and by the fact that our dream can either recreate or kill us. After reading that book, I really promised myself that I would read more often.

Forget the title. It's just a way of saying "Yeah right people, call me loser. But just because I don't have these things/experiences I'm already a loser". I love life. I am grateful for life. I don't hate anyone or regret anything just because of the things listed above. To be honest, those things make me excited! They tell me that I still have lots to experience in life! One day, I will cook madly delicious food too. I'd love to go on a cruise and go to Europe someday. Books and I will also have a long, wonderful relationship together!

So there you are, those are the ten things that make me a loser ... me! :)