On this fine free day, I sit in the same corner of my house thinking of what else to write about. A thought passes my brain which I momentarily ignore, then surprisingly ponder on for the next few hours. This thought was created by the incessant replay of the RENT soundtrack and the tweets of a close friend of mine (whose identity will not be disclosed). From this jumbled array of ideas, I was able to extract four key concepts on the idea of individualism. Namely:
Individualism has been the key to the success of many-- and not of one. If we were all painters, then those who cannot be at par with Michaelangelo or Botticelli would simply fade away in the background. However, since society is a mixture of painters, sculpters, writers and Mathletes, individuality has paved way for many genii.
Individualism, however, is also the root of uneven and unnecessary competition.
Not all accept the concept of individualism, which is why we have people with low self-esteem and people who fancy themselves the embodiedment of God.
Individualism is not the opposite of unity. Rather, it is in individualism that authentic unity happens.
The worst things in life come coupled with the best. For example, in relation to what's happening to the Philippines, if the President decides to abolish the pork barrel then corruption and poverty would decrease drastically. This, of course, is to be followed by the uproar of many senators including the most wonderful, generous and altruisic Janet Napoles.
Before I delve deeper into the messy topic of Philippine politics (hopefully another blogpost), I'd like to elaborate further on the topic of "the best of times, the worst of times"-- senior year version.
By far, this year is the one that demanded the most from me. The stress I experienced in the first quarter of the school year is far from the short bouts of stress I experienced throughout my entire third year. I have found myself swimming in an ocean of requirements mixed together with student responsibilities, student leader responsibilities and the occassional writer-for-the-Theresian-magazine responsibilities. This along with the constant pressure of the CETs has definitely driven me to the edge, making my Twitter username an almost-truth in the eyes of many.
Despite all of this, however, I still do feel excited whenever I wake up in the morning. From the start of senior year, I was already enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting new friends and learning new lessons. STC and IV2 did not disappoint me. My grades in all the subjects albeit Economics (huhu, why?) reflect the amount of work I put into them. My love for Math and Science, once burned out by several hell subjects in my third year, has been rekindled once more by two very lovely teachers; and though I'm still struggling with the sudden shift from History to Economics, I thoroughly enjoy my teacher's insights on the Philippine Economy and Politics.
Although, all academics aside, senior year is the best year for me because of the people I spend it with. Besides the friends who have been with me since first year, I have grown attached to several of my classmates. The complicated family has never failed to make my day (and break my phone haha). Random "i love yous" from them, and the even more random conversations over WeChat definitely give me this warm, bubbly feeling inside. This fondness is bittersweet for me because in a few months we will soon be parting ways. The idea of being separated from them scares me. Nevertheless, I'll be sure to visit all my complicated family members during college. Ohana means family, and family means nobody is lefi behind or forgotten.
And they're not the only friends I was able to reconnect with this year. With fourth year came a new Ica-- who tries to strives for excellence in the field of conversation. I'm not exactly a socialite, but I am now capable of having a decent (yet sabaw) conversation with my friends. I was able to make several friends outside of my inner circle of friends, who accept me regardless of the numerous corny jokes I give them (HAHA hi Raf).
In conclusion, as I sit here on my favorite green swivel chair, I think that I have finally emerged from the sea of "social martyrdom". I still have a long way to go, compared to my blooming classmates, but the first few steps have been easy enough. What's a couple hundred more?
As I'm sitting here, looking at the blinking cursor I can't help but feel guilt gnaw the inside of my stomach.
I guess what bugs me about all of this is the fact that I can't seem to make a meaningful blogpost. The ones which I'm proud of are the ones which would disinterest most of my "readers". Now, before I let the long-windedness get to me, I'd like to mention this:
I'm not shutting down tuesdayswithIca. I'm merely informing everyone that I'm going to be changing the blogging style here (again). I'm determined to make this blog work.
Anyway, my new suggestion for this week? Learn CSS. It's quite hard to maintain a blog if you don't, seeing as you'd have to tweak the codes in order to get a rather decent looking blog. It's not as easy as it looks like. There are a lot of variables that needed to be fix, and customization was really hard.
It actually took me four hours of tweaking (accompanied by a lot of swearing and sweating), in order to get a nice layout. I decided to go for a more minimalistic look (because, let's face it, I'm still a beginner at CSS), and came up with the layout you're seeing now. I know it's boring, and I'm probably going to have to fix the background later, but it still looks better than my plain brown one. (And I got a header now. Yay!)
Semi-final layout of tuesdayswithIca
If you're a beginner like me, I suggest you try looking around for theme stores. They give out special give aways, so you may be able to score an awesome theme for free! I got mine from Pugly Pixel. If you're a wordpress blogger, however, you can try Lite Themes.
If you're looking to actually learn how to make a theme from scratch, I suggest you download CSS Dreamweaver. They help you create very simplistic themes, such as mine. I tried using it once, and was able to create a fake fan website for Jonathan Roxmouth. It turned out alright in the end, but I still have a long way to go before I finally make my own Blogger theme.
Thanks for baring with my procrastination and laziness. School starts next week so I guess I'll be turning TuesdaysWithIca into a SaturdaysWithIca thing.
...is that you try to check everything off your dusty little bucket list in less than 104 days (sorry Phineas and Ferb), and in the end you still neglect certain aspects of your life. For example, though you may have 744 hours of computer time in a month to blog and stalk {stalk stalk stalk stalk stalk stalk stalk stalk} you only to do one of those things in that time span because it is, in your opinion, more important than the other.
You can guess which one I chose to do.
Hello tuesdayswithIca. After a month of being incognito, {x} we meet again. And it's not entirely because I was lazy. Surprisingly, I was nudged by the almighty god of productivity, which led me to discover more things about myself. Little by little, I was collecting the parts of me that have scattered across two universes and beyond so I could slowly put each piece side by side in order to complete this colossal, virtually incompletable puzzle.
First and foremost, I'd like to apologize to the girl who I saw in F21. Rereading my post, I saw how I didn't give you any justice. It made you seem like you were just another pretty girl (walking down the street), but really, you're not. You're... you. You're smart, you're pretty, you're witty, you're... you.
That has got to be a very stupid explanation of you, but that's how I see you. I mean, you were (and maybe still are) my friend. Or maybe you're not anymore my friend and that's why I'm painting such a pretty picture of you and ugh this is frustrating me because I can't formulate a proper apology without contradicting myself. I don't know if how I perceive you is the same as who you are, and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for writing about you when I barely know you. I want to know you, but it's very hard. I feel tongue tied and embarrassed when I'm around you. I'm a five year old next to you. I'm sorry for feeling like one.
Just remember this.
I know you're not perfect, but seeing you makes me happy. It's the same happy I felt when I learned that Gilly might be applying for UCB. The very same happy I felt when I learned that Auds was my classmate, and when I learned that Michi is finally Eponine-free. It makes me happy to know that even though you were bullied before you, you were able to get up and retaliate.
Second, I'd like to apologize to my readers (WHAT READERS?) I'm sick of all the drama, and I'm sure you are too. That's why I made a new rule: No more drama on Tuesdays. Drama is specifically reserved for Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Instead, every Tuesday I'll be sharing something that's a big part of my life- like, for instance YOUTUBE.
From Facebook to Tumblr to YOUTUBE. Yes, my website addictions have grown and evolved since my introduction to the internet (barbie.com, anyone?). I no longer spend hours on FB, or procrastinate my work on Tumblr- but I do look out for the latest Vlogbrother video.
Yes, this girl has turned from nerd to nerd fighter... and she thinks you should to. You should check out their channel. Click here. Also, Hank Green (younger brother) produced this short vlog-mini series with Bernie Sue. You may have heard of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries? It's a modern take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It gets unrealistic from time to time, but I generally like the humor. You'll get hooked right away. A must for all literary nerds out there. Here's the channel!
I have no excuse for missing it. I just missed it.
There are times when I question my productivity- if that's what you even call my current state. I'm not in the state of Entropy. That frame of mind is strictly reserved for the months of June till mid-March, with certain periods in April. However, I'm not in my start of vacation- the total chilax mode either, the Mad Hatter mode. I'm in the middle, a place which is both refreshing and unnerving. It's a place which people like me rarely visit. It's like a washed down version of paradise.
A masterpiece which was bleached. That's what it is.
Not that it's bad. I like masterpieces. I like bleach. I guess together, they make a perfect combo! Just like Mcdonalds French Fries and Hot Fudge.
