#hobbyfeatures

J.R. Adiviso 11-HUMSS-2

Historical warfare has always been an interest of mine ever since i was a child, i grew up watching history channels : “ Decisive Battles “ Series, it was a very niche interest at the time, i mean what kind of child would like to see men killing each other right?

add in a heavy interest in gaming and it makes a rather weird mix.

this interest of battles of massive armies from the ancient times of rome eventually blossomed into a heavy interest in tank warfare especially in WW2, it was unique for my perspective. it was something not everyone liked, it was full of death and destruction. and most of important of all. it was Cool

so the first moment i got a phone for myself i instantly started downloading any tank game i could find, and come 8 years i finally receive my first PC, courtesy of my auntie that works overseas.

there was one game that i kept my eye on far before i got my PC, it was called WarThunder. a game dedicated to tanks, aircraft and ships from ww2 to the modern day. essentially heaven for someone like me.

the first moment i played the tutorial i was hooked in, the sounds of the engine of the Panther II and its powerful gun drew me in. it felt as if i was in a real battlefield, commanding a real tank. all these new sights and sounds coming in to my brain made me think this was all real, and i enjoyed that.

it was entertaining to me, it was exhilarating, it made my heart pump, the hidden threat of an enemy hiding in a corner, the hiding enemies that i would need to spot from a kilometer away, and the ensuing slugfest of machineguns and shells. 

i would see an enemy and point my gun at it, ranging him for a perfect shot and align the turret and gun to prepare to fire, then the all familiar *Chunk* of a shell being loaded would resonate inside the vehicle and the prerecorded voice of the loader would play sayingg “Loaded!”, and i would click the mouse. BOOM the thunder of a 90mm Gun firing would be heard and after a second or so. a hit.

the shell ended up hitting the ammo rack of the enemy causing its turret to explode and fly up into the air, it was a sight to behold. even if i was almost Two kilometers away.

and by chance i would catch a glimpse of another one, a Leopard, aiming for me. i reverse in panic hoping to hide from his reticle in hopes of him missing me, however he fires and i was too slow to hide. i can see the 105mm shell heading straight for my tank, and a second would pass and it would hit. 

however it didn’t hit me, but the ground just meters away from me, i would scoff and mumble “must be a noob” and aim for the helpless Leopard 1.

with my 90mm ranged and ready to fire, i click.

another kill.

Ferdinand Foch once said that the most powerful weapon on Earth is the human soul on fire. Every once in a person’s life, they will hear a voice, calling for them to pursue the uncertainty of the future that lies ahead. I personally believe that everyone has heard it at least once in their lifetime. It all starts with a thought, a dream, and then you start to question whether if it will work on you, whether you can trudge and sail the big waves in the ocean. No one ever knows what’s on the other side, until the moment they honor and followed the voice; their calling in life.

To describe my mind as a child, it was utterly a mess. I am the type of person that knows exactly what I wanted to do. The problem is that, I wanted too many things, which led me to be confused on what I really want. I would look around and see other kids my age, that knows exactly what road they will take on. Because of that, I was pressured to think about my future. It’s like driving into countless roads, but still, I don’t have a clear destination in my mind. I don’t have any talents, and it really took a toll on me. I felt like I had nothing special to do with my life.

As a kid, I also liked listening to classical music, analyzing every note and harmonies that passes through my ears. I was mesmerized by how individual notes, when combined together, makes such a heavenly and pleasing sound. I am particularly fond over a musician named Ludwig Van Beethoven. I listened to his music, and I was very astonished to learn that majority of his famous work were composed when he was already deaf. How can someone, lacking of hearing, make such good music? This can’t be, I thought to myself, and from that day on, something inside me lit up. I don’t really know what it is, but from that moment, I knew exactly what I want.

I asked my mother to accompany me to our attic, which stores objects that belonged to the family of my aunt and uncle, the previous owner of our home, who now resides in the United States of America. There I found the dusty piano that once belonged to my aunt. I helped my mother to pick it up and transfer to my room. After decades of sitting in the dank and old attic, it still looked brand new once we cleaned it up. The moment I first struck the white and black keys, I felt something in my heart swelling, a rush of joy, and excitement, even though it sounds like random keys being smashed.

I would sit and hang around inside my room for hours and hours every single day, watching people on YouTube and various tutorials. I would patiently listen to their explanations, and there are days when I would think to myself, that what I’m doing is pointless, because after weeks of trying, my fingers would still slip and make a mistake. But I still found myself every time, propping in my chair, watching videos, and then slowly picking up on them.

After an excruciating four months of hard work, patience, and persistence, I played my first piece, which is “Fur Elise”, by Beethoven. I thought before that playing piano is just all about memorizing which key to press, or by how fast you play it. A statement that Beethoven said that helped me how to play the instrument the right way, is “To play a wrong note is insignificant, but to play without passion is inexcusable.” And then, it struck me. The thing that helped me going on, no matter how hard, no matter how long it took me, no matter how impossible it may seem at first, is my passion. It fueled my heart, and it enabled me to unlock the talent that I didn’t think I had in me.

That was three years ago from today, when I first played Fur Elise. I still have so much to learn, so much to understand. But I know that my love and passion for playing piano will take me from places I never thought I could reach. My father bought a new piano for me last year, but I would still visit the attic, which stored the instrument that I had bonded for years. The thing that helped me find my passion in life.

“What does your name mean?”

Whenever I ask where my name came from, My mother constantly tells me that my first name comes from a renowned model, and that my second name was chosen at random to make my name longer and less boring in their eyes. Don't get me wrong, I like my name. 

I've always believed that my first and second names were linked in some manner, for example, a raven is a type of bird that can fly, and when a bird flies, you can see it in the sky, like raven in the sky, with a slight change in my version of sky because it has a letter "e."

I usually feel at ease when I see clouds, but I never imagined it would become such an important part of my life. I don’t want to exaggerate, but I believe I have a unique point of view on the beauty of the sky. When we travel, I'm often noticing different images while viewing the clouds, or I'm captivated by how varied colors can offer a sky varied meanings.

Taking photographs and watching the clouds are two of my favorite pastimes. I believe that the sky tells various stories each day, and it is up to the individual's eyes to interpret them. And for me, who considers photographs to be a form of memory documentation, I began taking photographs of clouds last year; it was a low key, calm, and enjoyable hobby.

Star gazing is where you will watch the stars glow. Star gazing is not a common hobby, not everyone loves to look at the glowing stars. For me star gazing is a relaxing hobby, if I have problems, if I am stress or if I overthink a lot I'll look at the sky and watch the stars glow because it makes me so relax. Even though I don't have telescopes or binoculars to see the stars closely I am still happy that I can watch the glowing stars. I love watching stars with my friends and talk about life. Some people don't feel relax in watching the stars, like I told you star gazing is not a common hobby.

When I was a you girl me and my mother love looking at the stars that's our bonding all the time. So when my parents separated, I'll watch the stars glow alone then cry because I missed my mom. I miss watching stars together with my mom and I hope we watch the stars together again soon when we meet.

In today’s ultra busy and ultra stressful world because of pandemic Covid-19, we need something relaxing, something to help tranquilize us, something to balance all the craziness and pressure that happens to us out there in the real world. Everyone in today's era, we are in the middle of this pandemic we nd to entertain ourselves with something else to avoid stress.

By: Ram Miko B. Ilan 11 HUMSS 2

Ever since I got my guitar a couple years ago I started to get into it. I practiced everyday to improve my playing and to just get good at it. 

My dad is the one to get me to play the guitar since he used to play it too when he was young. He did it as a hobby. What amazed me was he used to learn songs just by using his ear and that’s something I still cant do. 

I got my guitar in 2016 but I started to learn it at summer 2017. I didn’t play it because I had a hard time strumming and getting the chords right so I stopped for a while but then I tried it and then started to learn seriously I realized that I can do it. And there I realized that, we can do it if we just put our mind into it. 

by Aezel Eugenio

Dadum! Netflix is a streaming service that offers a wide variety of award-winning TV shows, movies, anime, documentaries, and more on thousands of internet-connected devices.

You can watch as much as you want, whenever you want without a single commercial – all for one low monthly price. There's always something new to discover and new TV shows and movies are added every week!

When I'm not too busy, I always watch Netflix. It is something that recharges my energy after a long and exhausting day. Something I enjoy doing at night, something I find addictive. This is how I spend my time alone.

But, even before the pandemic, my friends and I used to watch Netflix when class was too boring. We usually sit near the back of the room or near the wall, and because the students in our room have a table for two and open storage under the desk, we keep our phones under the table. It's perfect for Netflix and chill. We got the aircon on, had our hoodies on, snacks are ready under the table, and ready to hit the play button.

When I watch Netflix in bed with the lights turned off, I find it very relaxing. It serves as both a stress reliever and a pain reliever. This is where I go when I have a problem and need to take a break. I was always captivated by the movies or television shows I watched and developed an attachment to them.

I enjoy talking with my friends about the shows I've seen and ranting at them if something I don't like happens on the scenes. This may be a common hobby, but it is an important part of my life that I cannot give up. Watching great and good series or movies relieves my boredom and provides me with pleasure.

I am one of those people who love to play guitar and other instruments. 6 years ago, when I've started loving playing guitar. Even though I'm not a professional playing it, it still makes me happy. And as long as I'm happy with what I'm doing, I'll keep doing it.

I was in grade 8 when I first joined the battle of the bands and the name of our band was "The Silence" this was the most exciting thing that happened in my life because I dreamed of playing with a lot of people and showing my talent.

So I loved music even more because here I had a lot of friends with bands that take me to jam. it just feels good because even though I'm not very good at playing, they also want me to be with them.

and music also gives me comfort when I feel sad and gives strength and motivation so that they can express their thoughts using music and writing.

As a student in this new generation of learning method where we have no choice but to study through the internet with our cellphones computers and laptops, I was doing alright attending classes with just my phone, but as the time passes and school works came one after another my phone could quite provide the help I need in order to do as much of the task that the school is handing out, so at some point of this journey through online schooling I went ahead and bought a laptop.

 And buying one was the right choice because it made it a lot easier to multitask and access a few tools that a phone couldn’t and as Im constantly facing the screen and keeping my hands working on the keyboard of the laptop, that keyboard being small flat and feels nothing when its being pressed somehow made my hands feel a bit sore made my wrist feel tired, then a thought suddenly came in to my mind where I wondered if maybe a better keyboard would solve that problem.

 I asked a friend if he can recommend something he then very enthusiastically introduced me into this hobby that is all about mechanical keyboards, mechanical keyboards are keyboards that uses switches that contains a lot of moving parts that could be accessed and replaced easily if broken, unlike the typical keyboards where you get a membrane and a rubber dam material that if you manage to somehow splash something in it or rip it apart it would become totally useless and un repairable.

 As I went ahead and bought my own mechanical keyboard at its stock version just by holding it already felt so good and typing on it is like experiencing a whole new feeling of typing even though typing isn’t really something that feels special to us but this mechanical keyboards made it feel like so, the way it feels responsive in the tips of your fingers every click the sounds it makes as you do so  and the aesthetically pleasing LED and that’s just in its stock form, with it being mechanical it means i have the ability to modify the keyboard all according to what I desire.

 Some might find it weird how we find ourselves enjoying this hobby even I myself sometimes wonder why I’m so drawn in to this mechanical keyboard hobby but hey I enjoy it and it makes me feel good that I can tweak something fix something change its appearance all on my own, and who knows maybe you in the other side of the screen might find it interesting and start your own journey in this hobby.