#pastandpresent

🗓️Throwback Thursday⏰ ( 17 years ago. Before the Implants )

A road is more than just a path.

It’s a state of being.

One person walked it in the past.

Another — just now, in a different time.

And maybe,

they would have become friends.

One of these girls is real —

I took the photo in 2023.

The other was generated from light, memory, and imagination.

David and Nora were never meant to meet — not at first.

David was created by a little girl. Nora by a young woman.

Same world. Same story.

Two characters born in different stages of my life, now brought together.

This illustration connects the child I was and the adult I’ve become — a love story woven through time, memory, and imagination.

06.07.2025 07.07.2025

Wandering Lisbon in July: a quiet photo thread

oh! forgot one — deathless by catheryn valente. one of the best books i’ve ever read.

Childhood memories are the sweetest memories of the past. "There are things about your childhood you hold onto, because they were so much a part of you. The place you went, the people you knew.", Kevin Arnold quoted in The Wonder Years. We can never go back in the past and relive all the memories we had. All we could ever do is to reminisce those things that happened to us.

As a child, all I ever did in my free time was to play, play, and play. Fast forward to this day, free time seems to be a luxury, and whenever it luckily gets in my hand, I no longer possess the youthful energy I had once. I end up resting, catching up on some me time to prepare myself for another battle. Being a kid with no serious problems, no stress and no worries, I had the luxury to be carefree about the countless issues in the world. But now, it feels like a mortal sin to be happy. Whenever I embrace the happiness that rarely comes my way, life will slap me back with sadness. I end up frightened of what life has in store for me once happiness knocks again.

I remember myself being happy, contented and satisfied as I received candies, chocolates and lollipops as gifts. Not to say I have become materialistic, in fact, nothing much has changed. Dessert still satisfies my sweet tooth, but you know, it is nice to have, high grades, receive an award to meet my parents proud, and be recognised for the hard work I sow day and night. It is not only age that gets a plus, expectations too.

I miss the times where my only problem was choosing which color best fits my drawing. I remember comforting a friend who cried because she tripped while walking. And now, look what do we have here. From choosing which colors best fits to which words would best charactize myself or to which topic will captivate the readers’ attention most everytime we write a blog or an essay. To cry because of a physical wound versus to cry about the impending resumption of classes. Thinking of how we will be pushed to move out of our comfort zone once again. And not to mention, heartaches. As what William Shakespeare said, "Expectation is the root of all heartache." Expectations often lead to disappointments.

During summer, we make our own kite and let it fly in the sky. I also trained myself to balance and ride a bicycle. It was never easy, I fell countless times. I even bumped on a tree while riding it, but I never gave up. I believed and motivated myself. Hard work paid off, I've learned. For now, all I can say is that I still live by the same rules. I reap the fruits of my hard work and the only person I have is myself so I need to be myself’s biggest supporter until the end.

So now, what do we do? What do we get from this? Is this the painful reality that we should face wherein growing up isn't as nice we thought it would be? Should our childhood memories fuel our desire to invent a time machine to relive those moments?

The answer is no. The stark comparison between the past and the present isn't something to be lamented. Just because our childhood had been carefree does not mean that our present lives should be its opposite. We should live in the moment and make every single moment count. There are times that unexpected moments become the most treasured memories. Always remember, every moment is important. Sometimes, you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory.