{NaBloPoMo #6} Nostalgia

Just a few minutes ago, I stepped away from the Twitter scene after continuously tweeting tweet after tweet, trying to keep up with the #PrimarySchoolMemories hashtag (which was/is a trending topic worldwide). This was a cause for much nostalgia as many of my friends that I've known since elementary school (I find it weird calling it "primary school" but to each his own) began to tweet about various things that happened in our elementary days. Mind you, our Grade 8 graduating class was made up of 18 people, but that only meant that everyone would inevitably remember each other and no names would be forgotten.

Albeit, some of those 18 people I've known since Grade 1, so I suppose that made it all the more special. Nonetheless, many tweets about inside stories and jokes were tweeted and it made me realize how much these people have come to affect me as a person and pretty much helped to contribute to what I am today. Maybe not by a huge percentage, but they're there somewhere. Not only that, but it's weird to think that I've known these people since those awkward tween stages and now we're all almost fully grown. That's not to say that we don't have more growing up to do, one in more ways than others, but we have come so far and it's rare for me to actually feel like I really, genuinely miss everybody.

That makes it sound like I never miss them at all, because I do. What I mean is that after digging deep into the halls of memories that have been locked away (though not completely) for some years and then sharing it through some useless social networking site was enough for me to smile sadly at the thought. True enough, I do still talk to a lot of those 18 people, and there are those that I am closest to to this day. Admittedly, there have been few instances in which we would gather - almost like a reunion of sorts, but it's never quite planned - and it would be completely awkward.

I suppose that's because our class dynamic back in the day was so different because we have all changed considerably since then. Now that these changes have taken place and have set in, the feeling's become awkward when you dump us into one place all together at the same time. Eventually, it becomes grouped off and believe me, the cliquing is much more noticeable when you only have 18 people together at the same time (give or take a few people, since there are those nameless couple of people who pretty much severed ties with everybody from our Grade 8 year).

What I do wish for is a reunion that we all want to happen and not something that happens on a whim. Hopefully this will come true during our promised Grade 12 Graduation reunion at my friend Ashley's house, which is supposed to take place in June 2012. It is definitely something to look forward to and I do hope that by then, we will all be able to share those moments in a not-so-awkward fashion and perhaps make a few new memories to keep with us all throughout life.

...and that is probably one of the cheesiest blog entries ever written, for which, I apologize.

{NaBloPoMo #5} Distorted Perfection

This post was inspired by this article: In South Korea, Plastic Surgery Comes Out of the Closet

Plastic surgery is not something I would condemn people for, nor would I judge them for having it done. I do believe that whatever you wish to do to your own body should be done under your own discretion, and not forcibly in any way, shape, or form. With that being said, I was appalled and disappointed while reading the article. The concept of beauty seems to have become so distorted in South Korea (pardon the generalization, but the article is focusing on South Korean women and plastic surgery, I apologize if I offend anyone).

“You must endure pain to be beautiful."

Funny how much seven words can actually mean. Ever since I could remember, I've always grown up around very open minded people, and the environment is generally very accepting. The concept of beauty has always come off as superficial, but as time went on, I grew to realize that everyone has their charm. I'm a great believer of the saying, "beautiful inside and out" because of how incredibly true it is. I've met people along the way that were the perfect example of what would be considered "pretty" but they had personalities that made me want to jump off a cliff. Then there were people that I've met that would be considered "average" or not quite up to par with the "standards of being pretty" that were able to make me laugh or somebody that was able to strike up a good conversation with me.

True, I do judge people on appearances (I would be lying if I said I didn't) but that does not in any way affect my opinion of them as a human being. I go through a sort of cycle when this happens, and my thought process looks something like this:

"Oh, look at his/her hair. It's so weird/cool/awesome." → *notice him/her coming towards me* → *have small talk* → "They're totally cool/weird/awesome."

What I'm trying to say here, is that my physical assessment of a person is never repeated and only happens once. A person shouldn't at all be judged based solely on their looks.

Then again, people shouldn't be judgemental at all, but that's going off topic.

In this article, reading the different statistics plugged in here and there were enough to make me tear up a little bit. I find it incredibly sad to see women feeling like they NEED to get plastic surgery, not because they WANT to. One may argue that they've made the decision in the end, but that's not entirely the case. Yes, they sign the forms, yes, they consult with the doctors, but what caused them to do all that in the first place?

The image of the "perfect woman" has become the same for all women in South Korea. They all aspire to be this "perfect woman" therefore going through great lengths to become the "perfect woman". But for what?

Doctors say their main patients are young women entering the marriage and job markets. “As it gets harder to find jobs, they’ve come to believe they must look good to survive,” said Choi Set-byol, a sociologist at Ewha Woman’s University.

Using looks to get a job? Using looks to get a husband? These all sound like your typical superficial thoughts when you're a young, carefree tween, if at all. If a man truly fell in love with you, then they wouldn't care about your face or body. The fact that women believe that their looks is the way to get a man to fall in love with them is really heartbreaking because it's all such a backwards way of thinking! If a man loves your face but doesn't give a rat's ass about anything else, then you know something is wrong in that relationship - if you can even call it that.

One consequence of the boom is that young women look increasingly alike, doctors say. “They come in with photos of starlets whose face they want to copy,” Dr. Park said.

Whatever happened to uniqueness? There's a reason we are all born different in this world. A world full of little clones running around won't only be boring, but it takes away from the diversity of the world. Not to mention, it'll be impossible to distinguish between your brother and your boyfriend, if the world were made up of clones that is to say.

I would just like to reiterate that I have no problem with people who simply want to get plastic surgery done because they want to. Not because they were pressured to or because they thought that that was the only way to get a job. Something seriously needs to be done to help these women realize that being pressure into getting something done by society is totally wrong. The submissive attitude of the women towards the concept of "perfection" is disheartening and it makes me angry or at least frustrated.

We're living in the 21st century and South Korea is one of the leading nations in technological advances. The problem is not in their economy or their technology, but their societal beliefs. I am not in any way putting down South Korean culture, but rather, I am simply speaking out against the South Korean society's concept of beauty. These women need to start believing that they can use their own talents alone to get somewhere in the world and not have to rely solely on looks to have a life.

{NaBloPoMo #4} Cute Journals and Word Processing

When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

Both! I've always kept a journal with me and I've also kept an online journal (and I still do, and you will never see it) for a couple of years. Now that I've taken to writing fictional pieces - especially for NaNoWriMo - my physical journal is now filled with different kinds of things. I used to buy fairly small journals, fearing that I may not end up using it to its entirety, but soon, I grew tired of doing that and so I just recently bought a massive journal. Actually, it was a spur-of-the-moment buy because my school was selling 100% recycled notebooks and journals. The beautiful thing about it though was that the company that was supplying these pretty books would, in turn, give a notebook to a child in need. So it's basically like a book for a book. Here's a picture of mine:

They didn't let me choose the design when I bought it, but it's fine because it's still adorable.

I went a bit off topic there, but in the end, I like writing both online and on paper. The feeling of finishing a notebook is just as awesome as seeing your word count surpass 20, 000 (to which my friends can only ogle and call me a freak - lovingly, of course).

{NaBloPoMo #3} Forever and Always

Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

Yes, in fact, I can't not listen to music when I write. As much as I love peace and quiet, I need that little murmur in the background. I've heard many songs today, everything from the Beatles' "Let it Be" to Jessie J's "Domino". Currently, I'm listening to Shania Twain's "Up!" album on shuffle as I type this up. Even when tackling my school work, I have to have some sort of music playing. Sometimes I just turn on the radio, but even then, I still end up playing my own music because the commercials get distracting. I probably love music just as much as I love books and writing. Sadly, I don't have any special musical talent. That is, unless you count the few years my parents decided to put me through those gruelling piano classes. Though admittedly, I had a tiny bit of talent in that area - too bad I was just too lazy to practice. I just wanted to play Neopets!

A bit of a shorter post for today, otherwise I'd probably go on about how music is for the soul, but that's writing for me. On a completely different note, I'm so sad - I already missed one day of blogging! That means I'll have to blog again today, but it's not the same.

Ah well.

{NaBloPoMo #2} Chicken, Fries, and Milk

If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

Almost missed the second day of blog posting. Thankfully, I've got an app on my phone. I hadn't had a chance to look at the new prompt until now and ironically, I just ate some chicken and rice - your typical Filipino-style dinner. If I knew that my next meal would be my last, then I'd probably stock up on that chicken, french fries, salad with Calafornia dressing, and some soy milk to top it all off. After that, I'd probably go out into the world and do anything and everything crazy, because I'm just that spontaneous.

My eating habits are quite bad - or rather, my diet is bad and my habits are good because I don't starve myself. However, I'm the kind of person who will eat anything and everything. I'm sure a good 100% of the general population is like that, so I'm not alone.

As much as I'd love to munch on whatever I listed for my last meal, I doubt it will be, so I'll probably just whip up something for myself with whatever I've got.

{NaBloPoMo #1} Writing is Comfort

What is your favourite part about writing?

There's so much about writing that not only comforts me, but it also feels really liberating and stress-relieving. In fact, I'm trying my hardest to evade what the rest of the night's plans, which include tears of frustration, ripping out hair, and then crawling under the covers to lament on how incredibly unproductive my day was. Of course, I could always just write about it, which actually saves me from looking like a puffy-eyed monster the next day with bald spots and what not. I just simply love to write, there's no doubt about it.

My favourite part about writing is pretty much the conventional answer: I write to express myself. Whether it be a blog post, a short story, my NaNo venture, a journal entry, or even an essay, I love the ability to freely express myself creatively through words. There's just this sense of comfort I get from it that makes me feel totally at ease with myself. I suppose that's why I'm always so apprehensive about sharing my writing with others, because I feel very self-conscious. If they start to critique it, then I feel as if they're critiquing my sense of creativity. Understandable, however, if it were an essay or something formally written, which I do look for. Nonetheless, I always worry about what other people think, and it takes away from the spirit of writing - at least in my opinion.

Piercings + Tattoos = Family Bonding?

This is a topic I always talk about and I'm sure whenever the topic does come up in coversation with some friends, they're probably tored of hearing the same thing over and over again from me. Concerning piercings, I don't much care for any other piercings on the body aside from the ears. Even on my ears, I'd rather stick to just piercing the lobes and regular helix piercings. Nonetheless, they're actually quite addcting - getting them pierced, that is.

I remember back in Grade 6, when I went with my Mom to Claire's to get my secind pair done. I then told myself (and my Mom) that four was enough. Of course, I managed to stand by that statement, until Grade 9. We were at Pacific Mall (not very smart of me) and so I decided to get my fifth piercing done. After that, I was telling myself that five was okay, no big deal. And sure enough, I made up the excuse that I wanted to even out the number of piercings on each ear, and so I got my sixth piercing done in Grade 10. At this point, I didn't even say that I didn't want anymore because I was pretty keen on getting my cartilage done, which is exactly what I did in April of this year. Now, it's October and just a couple of weeks ago, I got my second cartilage piercing on the same ear as my initial one. I now have a grand total of eight piercings, all on my ears. I've decided that I will really stop once I get my ninth piercing. I really hope I stand by that promise for good.

Now on to tattoos. I never really considered getting a tattoo until my Grandparents passed away in January and May 2010 respectively. Now I'm keen on getting one - a memorial tattoo. My Mom hates tattoos but my Dad doesn't seem to mind. After much coaxing (and constant nagging) I managed to get my Mom to agree...sort of. She said that she still and never will like tattoos, hence it'll be me who'll have to pay for it. I took it as a "yes" and so I plan on getting this tattoo after graduation, as a graduation present to myself for myself.

Speaking of piercings and tattoos, I had the pleasure of talking to my cousin on Skype yesterday. I had to interview her for my Writer's Craft unit, and we ended up talking for much longer. One of the topics went to tattoos and piercings and we were talking about each getting another one. It was then that we said that "we should totally get them done together!" Of course, this meant that our family would need to plan another reunion, something that we all have been wanting for a long time but never really got around to actually doing. Money is always a big factor and it's tricky to coordinate everyone's schedule to match up. It's ridiculous because it shouldn't be so hard to see one's family, right?

Wrong.

I'm a little bitter about it, but what can I do?