Goodbye, January.

(c) http://myheartsongsings.tumblr.com/

I can't believe that the first month of 2012 is already at a close. 

To be honest, January was.. okay. It wasn't amazing but I didn't find it horrible either. I think of it more as a "steppingstone month" for the things to come this year. It was the month which grounded me and made me decide how I want to live the rest of the year.  It also helped that I did a lot of soul-searching to realize what it is that I really want.

I thank God for all the blessings and for also keeping everyone I love safe. I learned this month how I should never take the time I spend with the people I care about for granted because you never know what the next day may bring. Just knowing that I was able to spend this month with the people who matter to me, makes me feel content. Somehow this month has managed to help me realize a lot of important life lessons. 

Just thinking that February is already starting tomorrow makes me feel quite giddy. I'm not really sure why. I guess the thought of a new month always makes me feel that it's a start of amazing things to come. I do hope that February will be a better month for me (and for everyone else) than January was. But I also know that that can only happen if I make it happen. I can't just leave everything to chance. It's time for me to go beyond my comfort zone and take action. These past few weeks have made me realize how I should learn to move forward and let go of the things that hurt me. I should learn how to focus on those things which make me better and also challenge me to grow more as a person.

All seriousness aside though, I've also decided to do the 30 day challenge! It's something I've never done faithfully before so I hope that I will be able to do so now ☺

Here's a sneak peek of the "challenges" that I'm gonna do/the coming topics for my next blogs ☺

Everybody

I don't really feel like talking about anything in particular so I think I'll just summarize my day in bullets ☺

☒ Left the house around 8 AM

☒ Dropped my mom first at her office in Ortigas before going to Ateneo

☒ English 101 was quite interesting today. We talked about the last 2 samples of EPEs (expanded personal essays) that our prof gave us. Let's just say that they were very interesting. Our whole class couldn't stop talking about one in particular because of how interesting and informative it was. (Clue: It was written by a guy)

☒ Had Lit class after and our group reported on Jaime An Lim's poem "On the eve of the execution". I really liked the poem because of how clever the author was in writing it.

☒ Lunch break with Justine, Fran & Max. We (Justine, Fran & I) discussed our Friday plans the whole time while Max just stared at us (Sorry, Max! Haha.) But then Max agreed that Justine & Fran are seriously alike in so many ways.

☒ Last class for the day which was ES. I found it amusing that Zian abandoned her usual habit of taking notes and played Temple Run the whole time instead. It was cause she was so bitter with her ES lecture advisory grade, haha. Oh and I also made her listen to David Archuleta's rendition of "Nandito Ako".

☒ Was done for the day by 1:30 but I had to wait for 3 hours because I had a general assembly to go to at 4:30.

☒ Decided to spend the 3 hours with Fran and Charmaine at Tea.ology. We ended up staying until 3 PM because Charmaine wanted to go to Moonleaf to join the UP Monopoly Deal challenge.

☒ Walked to Moonleaf and supported Charmaine. The best part was that I saw one of my best friends, Lourdz Acopiado! I swear, I missed this girl so much because I haven't seen her in so long. It was great catching up with her.

☒ Transferred to another venue because it was too hot in Moonleaf.

☒ Ended up leaving the tournament around 4 because I didn't want to be late for the GA.

☒ Attended the CoSA (Collegiate Society of Advertising) Officers Selection GA.

☒ It finished 30 minutes earlier so I was glad to get home early.

☒ Enjoyed dinner a lot because it was my first "real" meal for the day.

☒ Asked permission to go to Orville's party on Feb 3 + told my parents that it's also my block's exposure trip on the morning of Feb 4.

☒ Had the funniest group chat with my En/Lit block, M03. We were talking about the guy who wrote the EPE that disturbed us so much and my other blockmates even stalked him on Facebook! Then we all started telling random jokes. I love how we all have the same sense of humor :))

☒ Packed my gym bag since I'm hitting the gym with Zian again tomorrow! It's definitely a productive way to spend our 4-hour break. I was actually supposed to go today after class, but then I got lazy :| I'm really excited to go to Zumba class again though. It's one of the best ways to workout! ☺

☒ And now, I am typing this blog. . .

So yeah, that pretty much sums up my day. It wasn't really interesting, sorry :)) Hope I come up with more interesting things to talk about next time.   

P.S. The title doesn't seem to make sense now that you've read my post but let me explain first. I've decided to just put a random song title for those posts wherein I just talk about my day/I can't think of a title to put. So this song is the first song that played when I put my iTunes on shuffle. It's Everybody by Autovaughn ☺

15 Random Facts

I'm not really sure what to talk about so I guess I'll just write 15 random facts about myself ☺

⚡ My mom told me that my name was supposed to be Gabrielle instead of Beatrice. So I would've been a Gabby instead of a Bea. I think Gabrielle's a beautiful name but I'm quite happy with my given name now.

⚡ I love reading random facts. I really do! In my spare time, if I'm not reading a book or watching an episode from one of my favorite TV shows, you would definitely find me in my room reading loads of trivia. 

⚡ To continue the random fact previous to this, I could say that I'm particularly fond of reading film trivia. I guess it really interests me how a certain movie was made and all those things that you wouldn't usually know about it. I swear, I enjoy reading up on who was supposed to be cast, random mishaps during filming and more.

⚡ I love reading up on useless facts too. Like, did you know that Queen Elizabeth II has a rubber duck in her private bath with an inflatable crown? Or that more than 10 people a year are killed by vending machines (how on earth, I have no idea either haha)? Yes, it's useless information I know but you have to admit, it's still pretty darn interesting.

⚡ I am scared of cats. Well, I don't think I have an extreme fear of them (or maybe it's just a mild case of Ailurophobia). But honestly, they freak me out. Their eyes are creepy! And their long, swishy tails.. Ugh. Sorry to the cat lovers but I am no fan of cats. The only cats I like are imaginary (Garfield & Puss in Boots). I can still stand my ground when I see a cat though. But most of the time, I get frozen in fear. Ask my sister. She always has a good laugh every time I encounter cats.

⚡ Traveling all over the world has always been a dream of mine. I even have a list of places to go to before I die. The idea of going somewhere completely foreign to me has always piqued my interest. I mean, c'mon. Just thinking of immersing yourself in different cultures, meeting different sorts of people and just being exposed to so much different things. It sounds amazing.

⚡ I am a Potterhead. Always will be. I even remember the very first time I laid my hands on the first book (I was 8 years old!). I have my aunt to thank for that. I immediately fell in love with the world of Harry Potter. I adore J.K. Rowling. She is brilliant! Beyond brilliant. The way she wove the whole story together, it's ridiculous! There will never be a fantasy series that I will love more than Harry Potter. The fact that I practically grew up with this series and also the movies (and cast) makes me feel an even deeper connection to it.

⚡ I always wanted to have an older brother. I like the idea of having someone who will always protect you and will always keep you safe.

⚡ I like baking. And by baking, I mean baking something completely from scratch. (I don't bake using instant cake mixes, etc) A few years ago, I never thought that I would know how to so I was really pleased when I discovered that I wasn't that bad at all. I even remember the first thing I ever baked - a red velvet cake. It was for someone's birthday and I wanted to do something I never did before. His favorite color was red, so naturally, that's the first thing that popped in my head.

⚡ I'm not a good singer but I do love singing with my sister. She's a great singer though. Anyway, I always make her sing with me when we're on the road (duets in particular). I'm glad she puts up with me because I remember recording my voice one time just to hear how I sounded. Definitely a letdown. Hahaha. 

⚡ I love dessert. I think it's the best part of any meal. Don't get me wrong though, I love love love food. But sometimes, I would gladly skip everything just to get to dessert.

⚡ I enjoy working out. It's one of the most satisfying things ever. I only got a gym membership last September 2011 but before that, I was always able to work out somehow. In high school, I was a member of the cheerleading squad and we would have regular training so that helped me keep fit during those years. I haven't joined the squad in college now because I can't commit to something like that anymore (I need to focus on my academics more too). Enrolling in gym was my best option at working out.

⚡ I have the weirdest timing when it comes to food cravings. Again, my sister knows this very well. I remember one time, I was craving for tapsilog and it was like 10 PM. Or there was this time that what I was craving for was frankly just really weird. You know what it was? Rice mixed with cheese spread. (Yes, you might find it gross but it's actually pretty good paired with the right viand) But yeah, I've craved for worse haha.

⚡ I get very attached to fictional characters. Be it from books, movies or tv shows. I find it hard to let them go or forget about them.

⚡ It's not just the characters though. I get attached to the lives they live. I think it's because when I immerse myself in their different worlds, it's not hard for me to pretend that they're real. Fictional worlds are an escape for me. Be it imagining myself studying at Hogwarts, exploring Narnia, having adventures in Middle-earth, waging war against the Capitol, or being involved in Percy Jackson's world and so much more.

So there, just the first 15 random facts that popped in my head. I hope they don't seem strange or anything ☺

Counting sheep.

"It's time to go to bed."

"But Mom-"

"No buts! You're a growing kid. You need to rest."

I remember when this used to be my reaction every time that I needed to go to bed. I would practically be forced to, by my parents, because I was a "growing kid" after all. 

I'd be enjoying my day and doing things that young kids my age simply loved to do. Watch television, play computer games (those games on CD-ROM okay, not games online which kids nowadays are obsessed with), and read my favorite books. 

Bed time usually signaled the end of that for me. And I'd always meet it with frustration.

How ironic is it that the situation has been reversed now and sleep is something I constantly long for.

Gone are the days when I would dread bed time. In fact, it even seems a lifetime ago.

When I simply want to put things off, I sleep. When I want to shut the world out, I sleep. When I want to stop thinking about things that trouble me or consume my thoughts, I sleep.

Sleep, sleep, sleep.

Even the word itself has a lovely, relaxing sound to it.

It has become a welcome escape. A fail-safe even.

Just imagine seeing your bed after a long and tiring day. You drop your bag and take off your shoes. 

Grabbing your favorite pillow, you slowly sink in the sheets.. 

You curl your body slightly to follow the contours of the pillow you're cuddling. The cool air lulls your mind to drift into peaceful thoughts. 

At first, you can still see everything with clear detail; but give it a few minutes, all distractions will be tuned out. You'll move away from the reaches of reality and enter a world where dreams are real. 

You revel in it without a care in the world, because you know that you are free.

(c) http://t-extraordinaire.tumblr.com/

Doesn't just imagining it make you want to sleep?

Uno.

I finally got around to making a blog. Amazing. But wait, I'll give a little backstory first ☺

Before 2011 ended, I told myself that I'd try something new and I guess keeping a blog was one of the things that popped in my head. The idea never seemed to click with me before though because I kept on thinking that I wouldn't have anything worth writing to post or anything vaguely interesting to talk about. But then at the start of the year, I realized that having a blog was a good idea. Not because I wanted someplace to publicly rant (although I cannot promise that I never will) or something like that but more because I want to somehow document this year.

2012 seems full of promise and I wouldn't want to forget anything that happens ☆

Memories are important, after all. 

So after being quite busy with school work (yes, I can't believe I said that either), I finally found the time to make this ✔

I guess another reason I decided to make this is that I want someplace (other than Tumblr) to write random thoughts and express myself.

So whoever you are, welcome to my blog! If I've interested you in any way (yes, I admit that I kinda wish that I did), feel free to read up on the thoughts of a teenage dreamer☺♥