LIYAB 2018

    I just got back from a crazy ass competition held at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) last Wednesday and Saturday. Story time, so my club adviser, Ms. Carausos, signed me up for an editorial writing competition, alongside with some of my other campus journalism colleagues. 

  

  I was quite pessimistic about winning; given the circumstance that we did not have actual proper training for the said competition. we were only given a bunch of topics to write about; which basically served as the "practice" that I previously mentioned. though none of us won an award, we were quite grateful for such a wonderful experience that was gracefully handed over by the school. I mean, at least this can serve as a credential when we write our resumes.

  travelling from Cavite to PNU was, not gonna lie, extremely exhausting! being in a place where you can see a lot of well - versed journalists (and lots of hot young men), unnerves me, to the point that I purposefully look down upon myself; redundantly telling myself that I am a good-for-nothing, idiotic journalist that can never do anything nor write something compelling and bold that is factual as well. 

  I was quite stressed knowing that the competition is just around the corner. whilst me and my colleagues were on the way to the university, I was reading my ass off on basically every social issue which I presume might come up as the topic for my editorial. thankfully, there were seminars held during the morning to somehow reiterate some tips and tricks on how to write a powerful and critical editorial.

  all in all, I'd say that I had a lot of fun during this wonderful experience. I had a day where I could just think about hot journalist men and timely social issues, and I had a blast with my colleagues. a huge thank you to our advisers for the utmost and heartfelt support that they've made us feel during the premise. kudos to you Ms. Carausos and Ms. Vicente!

     

   

"The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (Book Review)

"The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

a book review by curioshittii

   delve into the magical wardrobe in which a magical continent awaits! "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is a fictional novel written by Clive Staples Lewis, the author of the renowned Chronicles of Narnia series. 

"'The Lion, the Witch, and 

the Wardrobe' is a fictional novel 

written by Clive Staples Lewis, 

the author of the renowned 

Chronicles of Narnia series.'"

   the Pevensie siblings were sent to London to live with a professor during a war. Lucy, the youngest of the four, accidentally found Narnia whilst playing a round of hide and seek. the world of Narnia is filled with fantastical creatures— ruled over by the evil tyrant, the White Witch.

   after days of deeply analyzing the novel, i've come to the conclusion that this novel is somewhat parallel to the story of Jesus. Aslan, who represents Jesus himself, died for the sin that Edmund committed (his loyalty to the White Witch is an act of trechery), just as Jesus himself died in order to save humankind. through Aslan's death, Edmund's sin was eliminated. the Witch itself is a symbol of the devil. devil's are known for their deceitfulness, and this was portrayed in the scene where Edmund first found out about Narnia.

   personally, i'm no longer fond of novels that strays away from reality, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great novel. it gives us a different perspective on faith, and basically talks about the limitless expanse of our imagination. the young girl in me is squealing with delight after being satisfied with the ending, and how the novel sated my desire for an escape route.

   

Watercolors: My Journey and a Simple Guide for a Fulfilled Creative Mind.

Watercolors: My Journey Whilst Feeling Untalented.

by: curioshittii

   hey everyone! it's been a while since I last posted and I think that it's the perfect time to share with you how I got started with watercolors. just like everyone else on the entire planet, I myself thought that I was an untalented, uncreative, individual. my shoulders would sink so low when I see my finished artwork for class— making me feel a bit depressed about my artistic capabilities. I would always be so envious of my best friend's work because it would astonishingly look wonderful. a time came when I just felt like I was so untalented that I decided not to work on my art assignments anymore because I thought that there was no point to it since I was so bad at it. but, with the sudden popularity of calligraphy, watercolors, and other art mediums, I decided to go grab myself an Artline Stix brush pen (for calligraphy, which I'd delve deeper on a different post) and work on my handwriting. 

"because of her informative watercolor
tutorials, I was able to to emulate one
of her pieces"

   after seeing the fruits of my hard work and undivided attention, I saw that my calligraphy was turning out pretty well. so, after watching a lot (and I mean a LOT) of videos on how to use watercolors, I decided that I wanted to try it out, for the sole reason of painting a bunch of rainbows and galaxies. the youtube channel, makocinno, definitely has a large contribution on my personal growth. because of her informative watercolor tutorials, I was able to emulate one of her pieces with her help. at that time, I remember that I felt so unstoppable and so fulfilled from actually overcoming my fear or my mentality that I could not do anything.

"I now bought myself a new set of
watercolors by Pebeo and painted a
sunset scenery."

   at this point, I practiced a lot and I watched a lot of tutorials. I began by using cheap watercolors by Maped to familiarize myself with how watercolors tend to behave; and I tried out various brands of watercolor to see what brand I think is the best for me. and now, from a simple, underwater painting, I now bought myself a new set of watercolors by Pēbēo and painted a sunset scenery.  

   in conclusion, all of us think that we are untalented fuckers who'll never be able to achieve anything in life. instead of feeling down, let us learn from my journey that all of that is just in our mind, and with a little bit of determination and practice, we can achieve anything that we want. 

"The Return of the Young Prince" (Book Review)

"The Return of the Young Prince"

a book review by curioshittii

"The Return of the Young Prince" is a
fictional tribute to the all - time
classic, "The Little Prince."

   "The Return of the Young Prince" is a fictional tribute to the all - time classic, "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. the story starts off rather bizarre, with the narrator explaining his journey, to him, finding the Little Prince curled up in a ball, sleeping in the cold wilderness. 

   to sum it up, it was basically the fictional counterpart of "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom but a tad bit more insightful. It encompasses the basic foundations that are essential to have a fulfilled life– a person must have and must spread love, a person's heart must be filled with benevolence and not the amount of his/her properties and wealth, and many more virtues.

   the scene which had the most impact in me probably was the last part. A tramp asked for some money from the narrator and the way he acted was rather suspicious, invalidating everything he said about helping anyone in need. So, what the Young Prince did was, he got out of the car, and pressed the tramp for information about his past life. This lead to him learning about the tramp's life and helping him get back on his feet, which was profoundly heartwarming;.

   all in all, I think that this book would be a great read for adults, whom are feeling lost, depressed or drowned by society's bothering standards. It would certainly help you get back on your feet, just like it helped mine.

    

#PRIDEMONTH

     happy pride month everyone! this is a time of prosperity and acceptance for us, the LGBTQ+ community. this year has been filled with profound joy and doors for every LGBTQ+ person. I feel like we homosexuals are highly accepted nowadays. I mean, just look at the blockbuster novel and film, "Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli or now commonly known as "Love, Simon." gay men are slowly making their way to the hearts of the society; sooner or later, we'll be infiltrating the Malacañang Palace or the White House. my point is, being gay, a lesbian, bisexual, or anything is not as bad as it was before. we're slowly breaking boundaries, immense progress is being made. the stigma surrounding homosexuality will soon end, replaced with acceptance.

   earlier at around noon, after years of hiding who I truly am, I finally came out to my wonderful mother. it actually wasn't intentional, but I coincidentally found one of my colleagues from school. she called me gay in public and at first, I pretended not to notice, 'cause, well, my mother was with me and I felt like I wasn't ready to tell her who I am. obviously, my mother heard what my colleague called me and decided to ask me about it. me, the honest son in history, decided to tell everything truthfully, no holds bared. it was awkward at first, but it turned out wonderfully. 

   after telling my mother the truth about what I truly am, light seeped through the dark corners of my eyes and I realized that I should hold my head up high; I should live up to who and what I really am and what I really want and that is, to love men profoundly with no holds bared. I am gay and I'm proud of it.

   HAPPY PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE!

POKEMON: LET'S GO EEVEE AND PIKACHU, MY INSIGHTS

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! I'M FREAKING OUT SO MUCH!!

    okay, so as of the 29th of May at exactly 6:22 PM, Pokemon announced the upcoming Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch via a Twitter post!! seriously, I wouldn't have seen this sooner if it wasn't for Froy Gutierrez's Twitter posts. I just wanted to share the joy that my geeky mind is feeling right now. though, I have yet to find an access to the wonderful device that Nintendo has brought upon our world namely, the Nintendo Switch, I cannot deny the joy that this mere game has brought upon me. believe it or not, I've been playing Pokemon ever since I was seven years old. I remember the sheer memory of laying my hands on Pokemon Ruby, the first Pokemon game that I have set eyes upon- the first Pokemon game that I loved so dearly, that I would play it over and over again.

    enough babble about me, my sole purpose for writing this post was to share my views about the game's trailer and it's mechanics as shown from the trailer. personally, I think that the Pokemon Go, Pokeball-throwing-mechanism is good, but at the same time I kinda don't like it. well, I mean the Switch is built in with motion sensors so it is kind of obvious that they'd integrate a mechanic that involves that feature. I love the fact that the Pokemon you take for a walk is up to scale now! I've always wanted to play with a life-sized Charizard, Gengar, Alakazam, Snorlax, Pidgeot, and well, the Pikachu or Eevee that you get as a starter Pokemon (ugh).

    that's all I have to be honest with you. I mean, the game still looks pretty much the same. there were obviously additions to game's mechanics but there's nothing much to discuss about it right now. I mean, it's only been announced. what were you expecting?

"We are the Ants" (Book Review)

"We are the Ants"

A book review by curioshittii

"We are the Ants" is a sci-fi novel,
written by Shaun David Hutchinson."

    "We are the Ants" is a sci-fi novel, written by Shaun David Hutchinson. Henry Denton is an average, gay, teen-aged boy (so me). That is, until he learns that his boyfriend committed suicide and that extraterrestrial beings decided to abduct and burden him with the ability to press a button and save the world. 

    "We are the Ants" encompasses the disturbing and painful aftermath of committing suicide; how it affects the people around them, and how excruciatingly painful it is to lose someone.

    as time passes by, Henry slowly reconciles with his past. he soon finds himself falling for a boy named Diego Vega and he soon makes up with his old best friend, Audrey.

    all in all I think that this deserves to be read by everyone. it raises awareness regarding mental health issues, bullying, suicide, teenage love, and drugs. it encompasses the beautiful chaos that we call life; and how there will always be someone who finds us rather beautiful, no matter how much we [or the world] demean ourselves.