Life is a journey with a beginning and an end, and as Lola Mara wisely said, "Life is life; it has an end. So, whether I live or die, it's okay because I don't hold onto it, it's in God's hands." This line made me a bit emotional because not only does Lola Mara think this way, but my own grandmother does too. It’s the one thing I’m afraid of, losing someone. But as Lola Mara said, we don’t hold onto it; only God knows what will happen.

While working on our other projects, we met an elder woman whom we can call Lola Mara, an 80-year-old grandmother who looks physically active. However, behind that outer appearance, there is something that makes us think about how precious life is. Lola Mara looks so young that we initially thought she was with her husband, but during our interview, we knew that he is her son. She lost her husband 40 years ago, which left her with eight children, and only one lives with her in the house; the others are neighbors, one is abroad, and the others are a few kilometers away. She is living with some of her other grandchildren as well because their parents are abroad. When it comes to her physical condition, she opened up about how, although she can walk and do some things, she feels worthless. She experiences a lot of physical pain and has goiter, which is when we realized why she is thin and has a bump on her neck. Additionally, she can’t hear normally, so we need to speak louder and closer to her for her to understand us. She struggles to hear people’s voices because, according to her, there is a lot of noise that she finds very disturbing, which also disrupts her sleep; this is why she only sleeps for a few hours.

When asked about her life as a mother, she told us that it was very difficult since the time she lost her husband. She had to do most things by herself to ensure she could provide for her children. "It was all worth it," she said, "because the love I receive from my children is something I am thankful for." Now, she would be surprised when her children and grandchildren surprise her during her birthday, and she feels really loved because of it, the fact that they never forget her. She was also proud of her grandchildren for finishing with a degree. She advises them to work hard and complete their education because that is something she never experienced; she only finished 6th grade and did not have the opportunity to continue her studies. That’s why she encourages them to strive for success, as they have opportunities she never had. We can truly see the depth of her love for her grandchildren. When we presented her with our token of appreciation, she immediately thought of one grandchil-her spokesperson. This grandchild is always the one who speaks loudly and clearly on her behalf whenever someone engages with her. Lola Mara cares for her deeply, filling her life with love and support, especially since her mother is abroad and her father is absent. That’s why her Lola would think of her first because she doesn’t want her to feel like she’s unloved. The way she interacts with her grandchild and expresses her affection makes it clear what a loving grandmother she is. That amazes us how thoughtful she is as a Lola. It made us think of a Lola’s love, where they would not think about themselves but rather about their grandchildren, something we both experience.

When discussing life, Lola Mara reminded us that life has an end. She would be grateful if God allowed her to live longer with her family, but she also finds peace in the idea that if her time comes, it is okay because life is ultimately in God's hands. Her life has been a rollercoaster filled with struggles, yet she expressed contentment in seeing her family thrive and lead better lives. For her, every hardship was worth it. She even gave advice to all young people that we should aim for what we want in life and not be truant because our actions can affect the future, which we may realize only later. Sometimes we tend to waste time on things we shouldn’t, but through Lola Mara’s story, we realize we need to strive for our goals, not just for ourselves but for our future families. Life indeed has an end, so we should not live with regrets. We must pursue the things that matter,those experiences that will allow us to look back with pride and contentment, knowing we have tried our best. It may be hard for us students now as we strive to achieve our goals, but there is fruit to it that can bear something we can be thankful for in the future. So, live life with direction,not for fleeting happiness but for lasting fulfillment.

A quote from Frank Natale states that middle age is not the beginning of decline, but a time to reach for the highest in ourselves. Middle age is a pause to re-examine what we have done and what we will do in the future. This is the time to give birth to our power. In fact, in the span of life, we did many explorations and soon, we will dive into a lot of trial and error that might help us find the meaning of everything in our lives.

On a busy Saturday afternoon, somewhere in the city, we got connected with a random 45 years old woman taking a rest at that time. As we approached her, she immediately agreed to be our interviewee and for that matter, we are very thankful to her. This woman is known in their place as Maricar. Miss Maricar is indeed in her afternoon of life, and she is so proud of that, as she recounts all her experiences in life and accepts that she is not young anymore. Honestly, during the interview, we felt like we were just talking to someone of our generation.

Miss Maricar told everything what she is now as her age increases. She said that during her 20s, she had a sexy coa-cola body, flawless skin and long black hair. But now that she is in her midlife, she feels older than she thought about her age. It is because those descriptions about her physical body are now gone. Now, she has gained weight, her skin has started to sag and gray-black hairs are now appearing. However, she still does not reach the menopausal stage. More to that, she is now also having chronic diseases, such as hypertension, and currently, the doctor already prescribed her lots of medicine to maintain. Actually, she also said that any type of exercises are not for her because she is is very busy with her business. Besides, the only thing that makes her active is doing house chores everyday.

To add more details about her, we also asked her about her cognitive development. Thus, miss Maricar told us that now she can easily forget things, especially dates and events. Further, as a business woman, she has been doing mango ripening by using carbide for almost 17 years, and that was her expertise. She had already mastered how to properly arrange the fruits, the perfect measurement of the amount of carbide, and the right way to wrap all the mangos in bulky baskets. Additionally, whenever she is stressed, she just copes by sleeping and doing a head massage on her own.

Talking about her status, Miss Mericar has been married for 22 years, and they have 2 children. We asked her to describe her life, she defined it as meaningful. As a matter of fact, this is what they wished for before. That is to have a loving partner and, kind and healthy children. Before they settled for mango wholesale and retail business, they experience to strive for a better financial to support their children. Honestly, they tried various business such as selling fish and vegetables in the market and chicken livestock. However, those businesses are not for them as they lack of luck, but she is still thankful because both her and her husband were given an opportunity to explore those. Truly, she believes that she is always open for a lot of experiences as long as these can be beneficial for them. Other than that, when it comes to parenting, she can set aside her business during times she needs to focus on her children. In fact, miss maricar also support her children's passion and romantic relationship. This is because she does not want her children to keep secret from her and to feel they are unlove by their mother. With that, she and her husband always ensure that they can have a family time every sunday; just like going to parks, church, and, malls. Hence, her biggest goal in life now is to make her children achieve their dreams and become a professional. That is why, Miss Maricar would always tell her children to study hard to get a degree, because she does not want her children to face mangos forever. Aside from her relationship with her family, she also shared her good relationship with her friends. Miss Maricar told us that it is her nature to be friendly with other people because she always wants to be jolly, especially when she is talking her customers. Perhaps, she described herself as a happy and contented person because she can now see the fruit of her hardworks even every little good things that happened in her life.

Sometimes what we need is a community that helps us not feel lonely. This is something we learned while interviewing a lady full of resilience. We interviewed a member of a church (Rhiah's Churchmate) to get a distinct perspective on what it is like to be in early adulthood in a community of believers. She is a fifth-year college student at the University of the Philippines, Mindanao, studying BS in Food Technology. We can call her " Ate Anton." She is in her twenties, an eldest daughter, and she has a younger sister who shares the same goals as her. Miss Anton is a lady who feels insecure about her appearance, believing she is not pretty, even though she is. But the thing is, there are people who always appreciate her beauty, including us, because there’s something different about it. A beauty that shines, especially when she leads and uses her talent for God. Miss Anton is a homebody who enjoys resting, but she tries to challenge herself to be more physically active by participating in her favorite sport and hobbies like hiking. Eating and sleeping regularly and having time with the community are important to her, but to maintain them, she has her daily checklist to prioritize and organize her tasks. She likes planning everything and even mentioned breaking tasks into subtasks, consistent tasks, and priority tasks, which was new to us since we view daily tasks as the same. Regarding her school life, one major focus for her is completing her thesis. This has been a challenging task, especially since she plans to attend medical school after graduation. She has goals to review for medical school, find scholarships, enroll in medicine school, and prepare for the board exam in food technology. However, her thesis has delayed her graduation, which was supposed to happen last year, so she expects to finish college next year.

Despite feeling left behind, we love that she is determined to achieve her goal and is supportive of her sister, who started UPMED only this year. In terms of her social life, she is part of a community where she can talk to others and seek advice. It is like a Bible study group but more intimate, as they share their problems and hold each other accountable. She meets a lot of people, and while some stay and others leave, she finds it both exciting and a bit scary, but she surrenders it to God. To cope with stress, she reads the Bible, makes a time to rest, and opens up to her small group. When things get tough, she finds comfort in her faith, family, and the community around her. She believes that spending time with that kind of community is important because being alone can lead to feelings of loneliness and negative thoughts. When asked about relationships, she gives importance to her family, but she is closest with her sister, who is also in the same Bible study group. She also mentioned that there are times she wants a special someone in her life, but only in situations like having someone fetch you and take care of you, but only sometimes or during menstruation, she said. For now, she is focused on her goals, like getting into medical school and being involved in church activities, including conducting Bible studies. Her story reminds us of the importance of having someone to share our struggles with. We were truly amazed by her openness, her goals, and her strong relationship with God. Despite her challenges, she is filled with the love of God and supported by the people around her. It made us do a reality check and question ourselves: "Where am I? What am I doing? Am I still on my grounds, or have I been swayed away by struggles with school and home, with no time to rest, filled with worries?" With this interview, we are reminded that we have God and should not let these struggles blind us to reality and His love.

We, people, see both mundane and vivid realm of the world, we encounter changes; we realize what we are, what we want and what we will going to be in the future. As Erik Erikson said that "Adolescents need freedom to choose, but not so much freedom that they cannot, in fact, make a choice". Indeed, every person has this adolescence stage where we explore our feelings, identity, friendship, passion and the society.

As searching for an interviewee, we found "Ling", a 13-year-old young lady living in a province. Ling is the 4th child of her parents. Upon growing up, according to her, she experiences major changes that explain puberty, such as an increase in her height, unstable body weight, appearing pubic hair, and breast enlargement. However, there is one thing about her physical maturation that made her anxious about her development, and that is she has never had her first menstruation yet even though she is now 13 years old (which is normal). Unlike her younger sister (11 years old), she had her menarche at 10.

Now, Ling is in the 8th grade, and she defines herself as a competitive in academics and extracurriculars. When she was in elementary school, she graduated as a consistent valedictorian. As a matter of fact, she always sets a goal to always be on top of their class, even now in secondary. Hence, she shares all her achievements, and besides, mathematics is her forte, and her favorite thing to do is solve a problem and join contests pertaining to math and science. Nonetheless, Behind this bright and diligent lady is a girl who is scared to fail because her mother will spank and curse her whenever she cannot reach her expectations for Ling. In that case, Ling sometimes feels that her mother does not understand her difficulties in her studies, especially in knowing the fact that Ling is not always good at everything, as life challenges became heavier for her. Besides, sometimes she cannot focus on studying, deciding, and enjoying her life because of some factors, such as socioeconomic problems and family conflict, that bother her at all times.

More to explore about Ling's socioemotional development, she knew to herself that it was not that easy for her to build self-esteem. Along with that, it is common and simple for Ling to regulate and control herself whenever her classmates attempt to skip classes, distracting her from having intimate relationships. Still, she cannot deny as well that she has a crush on her classmate, and that is just only a "crush", as she said that she prioritizes her academics over other things. Ling also mentioned that she has two circles of friends at school. She loves to bond with them, and they find vibes in trying new trends, fashion, and doing make-up. In fact, having those friendship motivates her to be happy and cope with circumstances, as she never felt that way from her parents. Actually, that is just a cause why she grew up coping with her lowest point with silent treatment, as she was touched with insecure avoidant attachment even before she was still a child. Because of this, Ling always thinks that she is really worthless in the eyes of her mother without her accomplishments. There were even times before that her mother forced her to do things she knew she was not good at. Honestly, one of her dreams is to study in a private school but every time she tells that to her parents, they would only say to their child that she is just only jealous and ambitious. Other than that, Ling spilled that their family is not an ideal one, and besides, she also shared that even though she does not care and affected at all anymore, she still feels the reality that her parents are now close to separation.

"If I had the chance to choose, I would have wanted to live with my mom," Manny said, and that is the line that stung our heart. While looking for an interviewee, we stumbled upon a bunch of kids playing beside the road, and that is when we decided to approach them and talk to them, asking if we could interview one of them based on the age we were looking for. One of them, a cheerful boy, said, “Ako nalang Ate” (I'll do it, sister). Before the interview, we talked to his father, obtained his consent, and explained everything. After that, he signed the consent and asked if it was okay to leave because he needed to go to work, leaving us with Manny and his friends.

Manny was a joyful ten-year-old kid who liked playing basketball and having fun around his friends. According to his stories, he was a highly active kid, not only at home but also at school, which showed how he refined his gross motor skills like running and jumping. He was also diligent in studying, earning him a spot on the honor roll. He said, "I need to study and learn, or my father will scold or spank me." During our interview, he tried reading both English and Tagalog, and we could see how good he was when it came to reading. He mentions that he studies Arabic with his friends on weekends, and he thinks that it’s fun. Manny was a bright kid, smiled a lot, and was very interactive. We noticed that he spoke the same dialect as us, Hiligaynon, which made him even more comfortable during the interview. That is when we asked where he originally came from, and he said he had been in various places, like living in a mountain somewhere in South Cotabato, Iloilo, San Carlos, until he came to Davao a few months ago. Compared to the other kids there, he seemed a bit mature, as if we were talking to someone of the same age. He told us the story of how he had gone from various places, and it started because his mother and father separated not long ago. His aunt took him, along with his two other siblings, to his father’s residence because his mom could not afford to have six children. There are seven of them, but a few months ago, sadly, one of his sisters died, who he was closest to because she was the one who took care of him the most. He now lives with his stepmom and father, along with two other non-biological siblings. He prefers being with his friends, which is evident from his outgoing personality. He even claimed to have thirty friends from various places he had been, which seemed plausible given the five kids who accompanied him during the interview. The biggest challenge Manny faced was when his mother decided to let his father take care of him and his other two older siblings, even though he wanted to be with his mom. He even said, "If I could have the chance to choose, I would choose to live with my mom because I miss her so much. I miss my sister too because she took care of me and she loves me during the days she was still here."

A kid is not a kid without a lot of confusion, as a quote from an unknown writer says, "Even children are gifted. They just unwrap their packages at different times." This means that all the children in the world were not meant to develop in the same sequence and moment. Upon learning about the development of a child who still belongs in early childhood, we did an interview with a stranger's mother. A mother of three named "Jen" shared her observation about Cris, her youngest child. Cris, also known as "Baby Krisoy," is only 4 years old and enjoying his childhood stage in a provincial setup where his morning view is their piggery and paddy field. According to the mother, when she gave birth to Cris on June 22, 2020, her baby boy's weight was 4 kilos, and he was the heaviest new baby that day. Apparently, the 4-year-old boy turned out to be a petite, a stature-type kid that he inherited from his father. Upon growing up, his eyes got enhanced, his nose became more lifted, and his hair became darker and thicker. Besides, these are some noticeable transformations that best describe his physical change. Aside from that, the child's motor skills have developed, and Cris is also active when it comes to playing with his older siblings.

Henceforth, Miss Jen also gave some important facts that she had observed that contributed to his cognitive development. The kid started to learn to talk when he was only 1 year old, and his first word was "mama.". Instead of introducing her child to gadgets, the mother always tries to have a little conversation with Cris. That is why the child is now able to talk fluently and can even sing any love songs he hears on the radio. Further, when the kid was only 2 years and 10 months old, he started to try to understand and identify shapes and colors. Perhaps now that he is 4 years old, he knows how to draw shapes and can even color-draw. Miss Jen believes that her child is a genius, as she defines Cris as attentive as a visitor at kindergarten school. In fact, he is good in terms of memorization, and recently, the child has got to be independent when doing his tasks, like keeping his toys after playing on his own, brushing his teeth, and remembering where he put his personal things. 

Further, from the socioemotional perspective, Miss Jen said that Cris is a difficult child and has an insecure avoidance attachment. For the reason that he is always having tantrums when he cannot get what he wants, and when Miss Jen leaves him with his siblings or when she is busy, Cris tries to attempt to avoid her and hides in his sister's room. When other people try to approach him, the child will say, "ayaw!" means NO. Just like when we were trying to talk to him, he pushed us away. Along with that, he does not play that much with his neighbors' kids. He is a little bit shy, and he does not want to engage with other kids his age at school. Miss Jen realizes that her son's traits have developed because he was raised in a place where he often sees people. As a matter of fact, his mother said that he only enjoys others' presence when he is with his older brother, older sister, and father, as she revealed that Cris is a dad's boy. Whenever his father leaves for work, he begins to cry, and his temper increases. The mother thought that maybe Cris was afraid of socializing because he was only 4 years old. Thus, according to the mother, the most interesting fact about Cris is that he always finds comfort whenever he is pinching his favorite blanket while sucking his thumb. If he feels sick, he always longs for his father's love, which somehow is an excuse for his father's absence from work. 

Have you ever wondered what kind of life you had as an infant? Those experiences that shaped the beginning of a lifelong journey you do not remember, but they hold a special place for those who witness them.

Belle , a 22 months old adorable baby girl who was born on October 22, 2022, also known as "Yana," and is the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Otilano. She was the princess given above, so they named her a princess name from Disney, which is familiar to most of us: Belle from the movie Beauty and the Beast. Her mom says she is a mama's girl, but the word she first utters is "Papa." Her mother described her as a soft girl because she is attracted to the color pink and loves to wear yellow dresses that match her ribbon headband. At her age, she could walk around their backyard, curious about what surrounded her, especially those moving cars on the road. When we went to their house, she looked at me confused, wondering who we were, and while trying to talk to her, she hid behind her mother's back. So, while we were observing, we noticed how she also followed us, gradually showed interest, and started showing off her toys. When she heard his father's motorcycle, she ran outside and checked if it was him. She excitedly went to her father and showed affection, wanting him to hold her. While observing what's around their house, we saw drawings stuck on the wall and the fridge. That's why we asked who it was, and the mother responded that it was from both of their children. According to her mother, she would try to hold colors because she saw her brother doing it first, and when her brother would practice reading, she would also try to say those words but end up only saying one syllable. During that time, her brother was sick, and one relative asked her what happened to her brother, and she said, "Kit kuya, kit," meaning her brother got sick. She said those words, looking so concerned about her brother. So, while drinking her milk, she looked at us interestingly, so we started interacting with her because she became comfortable with us after hours of staying at their house. Then again, she grabbed most of her toys and brought them to us, saying, "Let's play!" so we started playing with her using her toys. So, while playing, we tried to get a picture of her, and then she saw us and smiled cutely. We tried communicating with her and asked her if she liked playing, and then she smiled and nodded, expressing her happiness.

There are women whose wish is to experience motherhood. To finally embrace the nature of being a mom holding her child in her arms, conquering the pain of labor, the art of physical changes, and, most especially, the milestones that they will go through. Is pregnancy really significant in a woman's life? As an unknown quote we had, it states, "There are many wonderful moments in life, but nothing compares to becoming a mama." This simply defines joy and tears at the point of conception.

We, the Angels of Thalamus, did our interview with a four-month-pregnant woman to delve into the idea of pregnancy development and adjustment. Upon looking for a pregnant woman, we came into contact with Ma’am Analyn, 39 years old, and a soon-to-be mother. Besides, she lets the interviewer (Ashley) get to know about her journey and changes starting the day she found out that she is pregnant. The interview started when Ma’am Analyn described her gratitude because she was now one step closer to motherhood. Honestly, she and her husband had been waiting for this moment for almost 5 years, and now, luckily, they are living their big dream. After the moment became deeply emotional with her gleeful teary eyes, she shared some of the major changes that she had during her conception. Foremost, she experienced some physical changes like gaining weight, widening of her hips, swollen breasts, underarm and bikini area discoloration, and having acne. Ma’am Analyn also mentioned her sleeping time, as she now has her own time to sleep. Although she is taking vitamins, she seems to experience iron deficiency and lose a lot of hair after taking a bath. Every morning, her back hurts, and in the evening, she always feels that her stomach is aching. In fact, these are the physical problems she did not encounter before she got pregnant. For cognitive change, she is now dealing with such short-term memory that she even forgets her vitamin routine, and she said that she even forgets where she put her phone in, though she was holding it a minute ago. She also cannot process her idea as much as she could before. However, her attention span is still the same as before, yet she cannot fully focus on her activities. Ma'am Analyn also talks about her heavy thoughts every night. As a matter of fact, there were certain moments of doubting herself about her future struggles and pressures, since this was her first pregnancy. "Will I be a good mom?" "Am I doing everything well?" "Is my baby okay? "ᅳthese are the few questions she often asks herself.

Regarding the issue with her relationship with other people (family, neighbors, and peers), she oddly said that she becomes more irritable when she is speaking with her husband, although he does nothing annoying and stressful. Hence, she also tells us that she can still socialize, but not as much as she could before because she easily gets tired. Actually, she had her work leave last month, and now she realizes she enjoys doing light exercise and planting at home more than talking to her workmates and neighbors. Yet, there are some further details about her pregnancy journey. She has developed her skills in organizing and most especially her self-awareness (as soon-to-be mommy). Ma’am Analyn further say that she has gained a mother-like mindset now. She also shares her experience during her first month of conception. She only craves boiled eggs and the smell of pomelo because those are satisfying after having a mood and being about to cry. Besides, vomiting in the morning during the first week of her pregnancy also gave her pleasure and comfort.