#nuffnangph

Sisters by blood. Best friends by choice.

I consider myself very fortunate to have both in one person. To be honest, I still feel like the term “best friend” is lacking whenever I describe my relationship with my younger sister, Jam. She’s my #1 fan, my photographer (who knows my best angles and is brutally honest whenever I look garbage in my blog photos), my food buddy, my fellow dog lover, my Christian ministry partner, my confidante. She probably knows me more than I know myself. If I will be asked about the most memorable experience I shared with my younger sister, it’ll be a book of a thousand pages! From our insane “commuting adventures” to my war with her elementary bullies -  for me, even the littlest things are special memories that I will always treasure.

However, if there’s one special set of memorable experiences I would really love to share, that would be my K-Pop Fangirl life with my sister. I know my life isn’t as colorful as those fancy celebrities. I live an ordinary life but I can truly say that my K-Pop fangirl life is made of gold. Back in 2009, when I fell into the fandom, I have no one else to spazz with. K-Pop wasn’t as huge back then so it’s pretty difficult to have someone that can relate to it. As for me, I have my sister, Jam!! 

We went to numerous K-Pop concerts and events together but one crazy experience really stood out from our memories. It was back in 2012 for the BIGBANG Alive Tour Concert - one of the most fun and most chaotic events we have ever experienced in our lives! LOL My sister and I are huge Bigbang fans so we thought, there’s no way we’ll skip their very first Manila concert. We lined up for like 8 to 9 hours just to secure good spots in the VIP Standing section.

It was a very memorable experience because we managed to get ourselves exclusive rehearsal passes. Only around a hundred people were given those passes and it’s insane how we got ours out of thousands who wanted the same thing! We got super close to my K-Pop Kings and just thinking about that moment makes me want to scream! Well, another reason why it was memorable is because my sister and I shared chaos that truly tested our endurance and patience haha! Apart from lining up for hours, we had to survive another 3 hours of pushing from the wild crowd. While our entire muscular system hurts badly, we survived TOGETHER. We sang and danced and starved together. We left with endless laughter and shaky fancams together. 

We make sure we document pretty much everything when it comes to our K-Pop adventures. So if you are a dedicated fangirl like me, you should always be fully equipped with a camera, extra batteries, powerbank and a hand phone that captures real moments in perfect quality. Oh, and pro cameras are often banned in concerts so going for a hand phone with exceptional camera like OPPO F5 is always ideal!

While the K-Pop fangirl adventures I share my sister is always worth telling, each moment I share with her, K-Pop or not, is something I will treasure for life. 

To my incredibly beautiful and kindhearted sister, Jam, I know we both hate cheesy stuff as it makes us barf (bad gag reflex lol). But I need you to read this before I marry you off to the love of your life in a few months!! We don’t have to plan anything, as long as we are together. Let’s walk from one shopping mall to another, eat to our heart’s content without worrying about weight gain, spend more time in volunteer ministry work, share my endless makeup supply, watch SECHSKIES live, take thousands of selfies together... I know we’ll never get tired of each other whatever happens! I love you. 너무너무 사랑해 내 제일 예쁜 여동생. Jekki jjang!!! HAHAHA

How can you survive the whole stressful academic year? 

As an incoming 3rd year communication arts student, I’ve faced a lot of challenges in the last 2 years. We don’t just focus on our academics, we also need to focus in theatre plays, productions, and media writing.

Let’s jump on surviving your school year 101!

1. Prepare Yourself.

Yup, if you really want to survive the academic year, you need to prepare yourself. Summeris over and you need to get rid of your summer habits like staying up all night watching K-dramas or western tv series, procrastinating, and of course, not studying. Well, based on my research it takes 21 days to get rid of a habit. I think it’s a step by step process to gain your study habits and putting your summer habits in a treasure box and lock it away until next year.

2. Be Organize.

First of all, if you are decluttering things, especially paper files, do not throw them away. Put them in a storage box and put a label on it. Sometimes, they can still use it as a reference. These paper files can also your friends, especially if you are in college.

The second is, in order to be organized for this year, you can actually buy an envelope or clear book and you can stack your current files. In that way, you can easily bring it in school since you are storing them together.

Always have a pencil case. I mean, pencil case is not just for pencil case right? Bring a 2-3 ball pen, highlighters, correction tape and a pencil. You know why you need more than one ball pen? Because you will lose them throughout the year. Trust me.

3. Time Management

In order to fully function, you need sleep. But if you are in college, sleep is for the weak. Requirements can eat your sleep like a food. But if you manage your time right, you might sleep well at night just like a baby.

Don’t ever procrastinate. It’s kinda tempting to do, but if you do it, you will regret it. If the submission is on next Friday, start doing it before the week of the date. Day by day, you can have a sturdy process for your works, unlike if you cram it for one day. If you ever cram it, you will stay up all night, and your term paper will be like someone’s album. A flop.

4.) Have a Competition

Having a competition is a great idea. Because you need to keep up every time. But do know that the greatest competitor that you can have is yourself? What you need to do is to beat the older version of yourself. Because if you are not changing, then you are not growing as a matured person. Learn to accept and let things go easily. Your goal in your education is not just to pass your subjects, but to learn, grow and be the better version that you can be

5.) Stay focused on your goals.

lastly, you need to be motivated. sometimes there will be a time where you will feel that you are in the verge of giving up. don’t. be motivated everday. always think your goals and achievements. think about your parents on how they will be proud of you once you get graduated. always think your friends who are always there to support you. always think that we have God that is much more bigger than our problems. 

Last tip: if you ever feel depressed, be depressed but well dressed.

BE CONFIDENT. BE WISE. BE YOU. 

Making Your Stressful School Year Stress-Free

(Tips on How to Survive College)

As a sophomore college student, I can say that I’ve been through quite a lot of struggles during my college stay. And now, as I take another step into being a junior student, here are some tips that I could share to you so that you could totally survive college life!

 1.    Having a good notes means having a good grade too.

The fact that you belong to the so called “millennials”, you’re not used to jotting down lessons during classes anymore. Instead, you use your smart phones to capture the slide presentation or the lectures written on the board. On the other hand, you must try to help yourself get used on writing important notes so that your mind could process the discussions while you are writing. It’s an effective way! You should try it!

 2.    Add another study rule: Connect and Disconnect

Make it your habit to disconnect yourself from the internet world while you are studying. It includes logging out all your social media accounts and turning off your phone and other unnecessary gadgets for a while. Though it may be too tempting not to touch them nor open them, still you must do it. After you’re done with everything, that’s it! You’re free to connect again. It’s just a matter of self-discipline.

 3.    Get enough sleep before you regret it.

College life is such a challenging phase of your life. It requires a lot of energy for you to do all the requirements. Start from getting enough sleep before you suffer endless sleepless nights especially during final period.

 4.    Earn money! You’ll be needing it.

Always see to it that you have savings from your allowance. Your expenses should not be shouldered by your parents all the time. You could also use it during emergency cases and or during projects making.

 5.    Never skip a meal. Health comes first!

For you to survive, your body and mind must really be well-conditioned. So eat and don’t skip. It’ll help you be more productive and mentally active.

 6.    Don’t be stupid. You’re not a kid anymore.

Temptations around you are really bothering. It might make you do something that you should not. Just always remember that your main goal is to learn, to graduate, and to have a bright future. Protect it before it gets devastated.

 7.    Find your perfect zone inside the campus.

Having a place for you to stay, rest and relax couldn’t get any better. Find that hidden sanctuary that could make yourself comfortable. It could also be your place where you could review and unwind.

8. Join extra-curricular activities. It’s free!

Being stocked in academic society is not healthy. Try to engage yourself with different non-academics around your school. You won’t know that you have a hidden talent unless you explore!

 9. Engage yourself in different organizations or join the student council.

Getting involved in something that only few students try is such an interesting adventure. Hone your leadership skills through joining the student council for you to enjoy the fulfillment of serving your fellow students. You could also try to engage yourself in different organizations that could help you unleash the different side of you. It’s cool! 

10.    Have fun! Capture every moment with your OPPO Android phone.

Being a college doesn’t necessarily mean you should be serious all throughout your college life. Take it easy! Enjoy the perks of being a student and learn a lot from it. Saving the best happy memories of your college could last long through your OPPO phone!

Meow,

I rarely eat pinoy food but when I do, I eat a lot! My favorite of all time is Inihaw with mangga, kamatis, and bagoong (Grilled with mango, tomotoes, and shrimp paste). Tell me you’re drooling right now.. I like grilled food in general, but grilled seafood is on my top list! There’s a lot of restaurant that offers grilled food in a platter, perfect for sharing with your friends or family. It is an easy meal to prepare that you can also make it at home. Boodle fight!

Of course, after the main dish you have to have a dessert. Taho (Soy Pudding) is made of silken tofu, sweet syrup and tapioca. My favorite is not the traditional taho, but the flavored one; Strawberry Taho from Baguio City. Taho with a twist!

Nowadays, there’s a lot of social media savvy that spend a lot of money to take food photography to a next level, making their followers drool. To take a drool-worthy picture, use OPPO F1s. A perfect partner not only for your food photography, but also in taking selfies!

Oppo F1s Selfie Expert has a 13MP rear camera, 16MP front camera, Beautify 4.0, selfie panorama, and you can expand the memory up to 125GB! You don’t need different devices to take with you all time, Oppo F1s is all you need. This sleek, efficient phone is truly the best partner in crime!