Dear High School Body by Kristie Vosper

Dear High School Body,

It turns out that it wasn’t actually as bad as you thought. You were really beautiful. I wish you could have felt beautiful too. I really tried to help you with that, but it only lasted a few moments.

Do you remember that picture? Yes, that one. The one that made you feel ashamed. I wanted you to know that you’re the only one that thought it was bad. You’re the only one that was defining your value by the way you looked in that certain (not so great) angle. That picture didn’t really show you off, but the rest of us knew how much there was to your beauty and that is what we would see when we looked at that picture. I’m sorry it hurt you so badly.

There was so much time spent being preoccupied with your body and with comparing yourself to your friends in the mirror and in pictures. That inner body conscious dialogue filled up so much time. We could have been enjoying so much more of life. It’s really too bad. As I look at these pictures of you, I wish I could set you free! I wish I could have told you that it was all just fine.

You weren’t alone, by the way, no one was admitting it…but most of your friends were wasting moments of their lives too. You were all getting dressed in the morning hoping that whatever you put on your precious bodies would measure up, hide, and create a good day. Imagine that, a “good day” was all about how great your outfit was. I know you were desperate to feel at home in your skin.

I wish I could have shown you all the dimensions to your beauty. There were so many and those pictures you hated didn’t have a chance of capturing them. Your beauty was found in your laugh, your smile, your creativity, the way you loved others, your voice, your style, your way of seeing the world. I could go on and on, there is so much to you. You are multi-dimensional, like a diamond, there are so many angles and ways you reflect beauty in this world.

You were so beautiful. It was a privilege to make my home in you. You served us well. I just wish you could’ve realized how valuable you were. It broke my heart to see how deeply you were hurting. At the very least, I hope you’ll make peace with the truth that exactly how you are, you are enough. Your beauty isn’t defined by a pants size. It never was, it never will be. You are radiant and beloved by so many…and we all want you to be free.

If for some reason you are reading this and your present day body is still struggling with these same thoughts and prisons, do everything you can to become free from these lies because I can only imagine you have become more beautiful and dimensional as life has been lived through you.

Be free, you are loved, you are cherished, you are enough and not too much.

With Affection,
High School Soul

So today and Thursday I don’t have WIKAKUL class, one reason why I am going to school late. I cannot wait for Friday to come so I would no longer worry about my pennies and bucks. When I finally get my pennies and bucks, I’ll resurrect my phone with Twitter and BBM now that two of my friends have switched to a Blackberry. I want to feel like a sir again. 

Friends and Shutters

Having mini-photoshoots is one of my college friends’ favorite pastime. In fact, this is Monzie’s way to make use of her SLR camera so she can further utilize her hobby of photography. She loves taking pictures so much it’s always her initiative to have a photospam session with our friends. To tell you the truth, this is one thing we both enjoy and what made us soul sisters. During our break last Wednesday the three of us (Monzie, Tisha, and I) had a shoot in front of the museum located in the Yuchengco Building. We were supposed to do this last Monday but it was cancelled due to the suckish weather. Fortunately, when Wednesday rolled around, the sun was supercalifragilistically nice to us and granted our wishes. Teehee!

Photos after the jump:

062211: Malate @ the National Museum

Yesterday, the Malate Literary Folio’s prose section went to Rizal Park and a surprise visit at the National Museum. Since I was an honorary prose member as a benefit of being part of the Marketing and Events, I got the privilege to join in their sightseeing. We didn’t really plan on going to the museum prior to the trip, but when we got to Rizal Park that was the only time we thought of paying homage to the enriched Philippine culture. It was a fulfilling experience! Thank you to the whole Malate team for this trip :) 

***Photos were taken from my Blackberry 

061512: Girls' Day Out

In the form of Polaroids, I’d like to present what happened during our escapade last Friday. All photos were edited using Poladroid!

Monzie and I at Kimono Ken

The trio after going ooh la la at Forever 21 in SM North!

Transformation from classy to jejes on the way to Shang

I love these people <3 Let’s do it again next time, please? :) 

061512

Spent Friday with Monzie and Tisha at SM North Edsa and Shangri-la Plaza! We were supposed to watch the Lasallianation concert in DLSU as part of their centennial culminating celebration but we decided to hit the mall instead. The three of us went to SM North to check out finds at Forever 21 and had lunch at Kimono Ken afterwards. We had a great time making rounds at the huge F21 store and swore to ourselves that we will go back in the summer to buy stuff there. In the end, the two of them bought identical tops while I decided to buy one next time. 

At around 2:30, we were at Shang to watch a free movie from the French Filmfest. We were supposed to watch the next screening, but we had nothing to do so we watched Demonlover. When we went inside the cinema, all the seats at the middle and back row were already occupied so we were forced to sit at the very front of the humongous screen. To tell you the truth, it was dizzying to sit close to the screen but at least we felt the comfort of the plush seats. Speaking of Demonlover, it was intensifying all throughout but some of the scenes were quite confusing to interpret. Did I fail to mention the movie was both in English and French? Anyways, it ended at 4PM and the three of us were lured into the temptations of seeing Beauty Bar and People Are People. Before we went home, we had a snack at Starbucks and this stall that sold red velvet cupcakes. I was hesitant to buy one at first because it was a little pricey for a cupcake, but then I didn’t waste the opportunity of tasting one knowing I might not go to Shang for a long time. Guess what? The red velvet cupcake I tasted (forgot the stall’s name) brought me to the gates of heaven. Now I understand why a lot of people are obsessed with it! 

Last Friday was definitely a dreamboat not to mention it was my first time to go to Shang (haha!). Thank you to my two princesses for this exciting day <3

***Photos in a separate post

I was browsing through my old Twitter photos when I found this screenshot from two years ago. That was back when my username was @itsdramaomegawd, when I used DestroyTwitter (I use Twitter for Blackberry and Tweetdeck now), and when THIS was the site layout.

Kath and Khar @ 18

Last Saturday (June 9) was my forever friends Kath and Khar’s 18th birthday celebration at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. From the very moment I got the invitation via FB over the lasst leg of the summer, I got so excited because it only meant I would get to see them, our Lucky 9 + 1 friends, and batchmates after a lengthy period of not seeing each other. 

From all the debuts I attended so far, this has got to be my favorite one. Not only I was able to see most of my friends, but also the twins celebrated their birthday in the elegant yet unique way by throwing a birthday concert like they always dreamed of since they were kids! As for the food, it was a buffet so our bellies were pounding as soon as we got our hands on the smorgasbord of delicacies! The food was so delicious I got two plates of carbonara, a heap of crispy lechon skin, and strawberry and mango ice cream. 

Everything about the debut was made to perfection: the decorations, the performances during the concert (kudos to Kath, Khar, and the live band!), the cotillon (where I was supposed to be there but I was absent during the rehearsals because of my stay in SG), and the dancers they hired as a special treat for all the guests. It was also a wonderful opportunity to get to talk to my HS friends especially the ones I haven’t seen in a year or two. 

Thank you Kath and Khar for inviting me to your debut to remember forever! Happy birthday once again and I love you both! 

***I wasn’t able to take much photos so I would post only two from the event. While I was uploading them on FB, I had a really hard time telling them apart because of their identical outfits and makeup! :))

Photobooth <3

modernizing:

Iconic-retro-hipster artworks by artist Mason London.

Cheers to the New School Year

Classes officially started last May 24, but because I was still in SG then (I arrived in Manila on the 27th), it was only last Monday when I first attended my classes for the fourth term. The moment I entered the campus, there were two things I was absolutely positive about: 1) there was a flock of fresh faces which I was part of a year ago, and 2) the Henry Sy Sr. Centennial Hall is on the way to completion.  On that day, I was able to see all of my friends even though we don’t have the same classes anymore. The best part of the day was having lunch in the newly-renovated Animo Food House with Monzie and Tisha while seeing some of my HS batchmates. The thunders were rolling while the three of us were talking about our summer and the best of cartoons. In INTFILO, I suddenly trembled with fear when I found out Velasco was my prof and she started warning us about her infamous reputation of giving “killer” quizzes. Nevertheless, she seemed cheerful and knowledgable on the subject of philosophy. On our second meeting last Wednesday, our class went trolling at her self-made rebuttals whenever someone calls you ugly. I bet Einstein approves of those!  Anyways, here are some examples: (WARNING: You might turn into a total nerd after this!) 

That Jerk Who Does Not Have Any Clue Who You Are 1: You’re ugly! 

You: In psychology, what you say projects what you are as a person. 

That Jerk Who Does Not Have Any Clue Who You Are 2: You’re ugly!

You: Don’t blame me. I was made in His image and likeness. 

Then she shared this quote that made us crack up big time: “Some people do not need plastic surgery. What they need is a miracle." 

In MATAPRE, I’m in a room full of freshmen. It just makes me feel lonely knowing that they’re blockmates and they are really tight with each other :( 

Speaking of my Tuesday and Thursday classes (ELECLIT, WIKAKUL, CITIGOV), they were so darn good! Our WIKAKUL class just had our first quiz on the Mindanao map where we were required to memorize everything. All the studying I did despite the drowsiness the night before paid off because I was able to get 98% of the terms. In ELECLIT class, our focus for the whole term would be about Martial Law Literature. A plus point about that class: we get to read a graphic novel for discussion (Martial Law Babies) ! CITIGOV turned out to be a fun class because our prof made tremendous effort to keep his students alive and kicking. 

In the past week, I had lunch at the now uber cool Kenny Rogers’ Roasters, Hainanese Delights in Midtown, and Half Time (their porkchop is love!). During those lunches, I had a great time bonding with my good old friends :) Last but not the least, I was able to enlist in the qualifying course for literature majors. As of this time, I have yet to fill out the form I acquired from the literature department. And it is just the beginning of a long dwindled road. 

NOTE: It’s Kath and Khar’s 18th birthday bash in one week!!! Cannot wait to be with the Sweet 6Teens, Lucky 9+1, and HS peeps again #hurray 

ANOTHER NOTE: Starting this post, all school-related stuff will be filed under the "School” tag. 

bryjins:

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