(It is currently my second day of what I endearingly call my monthly female emergency, and although I want to wallow in a pool of my own tears and eat seven bags of Doritos, I will try to be productive instead & tick this sorta overdue blog post off my checklist of things to do. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY I’M SAYING THIS UGH MOVE ALONG!!!!!!)
It was on the 30th of January, 2014 when I decided to snap out of my routine of putting Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy & Foxes on replay, and recreate the cyberspace journal I maintained during my youth. I remember hesitating for a moment, doubting whether or not I’d be able to fit blogging into my schedule of studying, watching chick flicks and fangirling, or be able to have something interesting to blog about on a regular basis. I was even asking questions I had to find the answers to as well (considering the fact that I had no friends who blogged or were even remotely interested in writing anything besides graded formal themes): what blogging platform should I use? Should I force myself to learn basic HTML codes to design my blog? *groans* And worst of all, how am I going to convince people to read what I put up?
But besides all these queries that remained unanswered for a long period of time, I muttered a loud “AH WHATEVER” to myself and launched what was formerly known as The World According to Angel. For what reason, I decided to find out why a year and two days after this event. Why did I decide to set up this blog?
It was on the 30th of January, 2014 when I decided to snap out of my routine of putting Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy & Foxes on replay, and recreate the cyberspace journal I maintained during my youth. I remember hesitating for a moment, doubting whether or not I’d be able to fit blogging into my schedule of studying, watching chick flicks and fangirling, or be able to have something interesting to blog about on a regular basis. I was even asking questions I had to find the answers to as well (considering the fact that I had no friends who blogged or were even remotely interested in writing anything besides graded formal themes): what blogging platform should I use? Should I force myself to learn basic HTML codes to design my blog? *groans* And worst of all, how am I going to convince people to read what I put up?
But besides all these queries that remained unanswered for a long period of time, I muttered a loud “AH WHATEVER” to myself and launched what was formerly known as The World According to Angel. For what reason, I decided to find out why a year and two days after this event. Why did I decide to set up this blog?
Well, for starters, I’ve always loved writing. I had said this one previous blog post, but I’ll say it again: while other children grew up holding Barbie dolls and action figures placed in their hands, I had a piece of paper and a pen with me at all times, so that even if the slightest bit of inspiration revealed itself to me as I was watching an episode of Barney or crossing the street with my parents, I could easily write it down and turn it into a work of art just mere moments after. I wrote about anything and everything that a pre-schooler was knowledgeable about. I wrote some of my favorite fairy tales in my own words (I always edited out the parts where the prince and princess would kiss in the end, because five year-old Angel believed that kissing was gross). I wrote happenings in my life that I found exciting, and even made an anthology of books revolving around my bond with a slew of family members.
It didn’t take long when an office mate of my mom’s had recommended that I set up a website on Blogger. You can still view it to this day over here. Obviously, back then, I had not even the faintest idea of what it meant to design my website, at]tract strangers on the Internet to read what I wrote and monitor my website traffic. So, I just picked a basic pink theme for my site and faithfully made short anecdotes about my exciting life and the people and events that made it the way it was. I was a hit with the other members of my immediate family and some close friends of my parents, but shortly after, my passion for it waned. I eventually forgot the password to my account and ditched the blogging life altogether. My interests shifted back to the capitals and inventions of the world, before it settled into One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer.
It didn’t take long when an office mate of my mom’s had recommended that I set up a website on Blogger. You can still view it to this day over here. Obviously, back then, I had not even the faintest idea of what it meant to design my website, at]tract strangers on the Internet to read what I wrote and monitor my website traffic. So, I just picked a basic pink theme for my site and faithfully made short anecdotes about my exciting life and the people and events that made it the way it was. I was a hit with the other members of my immediate family and some close friends of my parents, but shortly after, my passion for it waned. I eventually forgot the password to my account and ditched the blogging life altogether. My interests shifted back to the capitals and inventions of the world, before it settled into One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer.
I felt fine just reading legitimate books (not the ones you download off ePub, but instead buy from bookstores), looking at other people’s blogs and writing for the school newsletter. But in recent years, I felt the need to journal on the Internet and chronicle my life again. Over a period of time, I felt strangely drawn to the likes of Tavi Gevinson, Nina Pineda and Emily Jane (an Australian blogger whose last name I never did get) for the sole reason that I felt convinced and even strengthened by the things they wrote on their respective blogs (or in Tavi’s case—her ONLINE MAGAZINE??!!!). I found it uncanny that some people could just speak their mind about any topic of their choice, and be able to influence such a wide audience of people. And that’s when it had hit me—that was what was missing from my previous blog stint. I didn’t want to write for the main purpose of blabbering about what my relationship with my grandfather was, or do a haul of what I had gotten for my birthday. I wanted to be able to reach out to others. I felt the need to empower others, and be an advocate of change or whatever cause would be available for me to fight for. I wanted to express my opinions on certain issues and convey my experiences, and hopefully have someone out there scrolling through my work whisper: “Wow, I feel the exact same way.”
Which is why, I decided to give the blogosphere another go.
Compared to other blogs in the Web, mine is still far from its peak. I am an amateur, as we all call it, and I have yet to master my craft and be able to have the power to convince the people of my generation to follow in my footsteps. And being an amateur comes with all sorts of difficulties.
I have doubted myself and my ability to write and construct a proper blog post more times than enough. I have had low moments wherein I have stared in front of a computer monitor with bloodshot eyes and tears of frustration streaming down my face, unable to write a decent opening sentence for what I had wanted to be an 800-word piece. And once I have pulled through and managed to do an okay job, I end up seeing something written by someone else. I see the fluid, straight to the point prose, compared to my collection of sloppy metaphors and feel the sharp decrease in my self-esteem.
I have also been mocked by a lot of people. I’ve been asked by classmates if I owned All My Own Stunts only to have them respond to my “Yes” with a resounding cackle. Tons of others have mock-requested me to take their photos and consider getting them as models for my next blog post. (If you guys happen to be reading this by some stroke of fate, let me tell you: it wasn’t nice.) I guess it’s not exactly easy for them to accept that some people could enjoy writing as a pastime, and not think of it as some sort of twisted punishment and/or form of child labor. (Quick update: The teasing has died down somehow, and now some members of my group of friends decide to support me by creeping on my blog every once in a while. Hello!)
I have also gotten confused numerous times about what kind of blog I wanted to run, and what content I posted would best represent who I am. Most bloggers making a name for themselves nowadays shoot to stardom with fashion blogs, peppered with photos of them strutting the latest additions to their wardrobe. (More on that later.) On the other hand, here I was, a girl not really rich enough to travel to a different place every month to blog about, and also not exactly that confident or boastful to want to pose in front of a camera wearing something different every weekend.
Compared to other blogs in the Web, mine is still far from its peak. I am an amateur, as we all call it, and I have yet to master my craft and be able to have the power to convince the people of my generation to follow in my footsteps. And being an amateur comes with all sorts of difficulties.
I have doubted myself and my ability to write and construct a proper blog post more times than enough. I have had low moments wherein I have stared in front of a computer monitor with bloodshot eyes and tears of frustration streaming down my face, unable to write a decent opening sentence for what I had wanted to be an 800-word piece. And once I have pulled through and managed to do an okay job, I end up seeing something written by someone else. I see the fluid, straight to the point prose, compared to my collection of sloppy metaphors and feel the sharp decrease in my self-esteem.
I have also been mocked by a lot of people. I’ve been asked by classmates if I owned All My Own Stunts only to have them respond to my “Yes” with a resounding cackle. Tons of others have mock-requested me to take their photos and consider getting them as models for my next blog post. (If you guys happen to be reading this by some stroke of fate, let me tell you: it wasn’t nice.) I guess it’s not exactly easy for them to accept that some people could enjoy writing as a pastime, and not think of it as some sort of twisted punishment and/or form of child labor. (Quick update: The teasing has died down somehow, and now some members of my group of friends decide to support me by creeping on my blog every once in a while. Hello!)
I have also gotten confused numerous times about what kind of blog I wanted to run, and what content I posted would best represent who I am. Most bloggers making a name for themselves nowadays shoot to stardom with fashion blogs, peppered with photos of them strutting the latest additions to their wardrobe. (More on that later.) On the other hand, here I was, a girl not really rich enough to travel to a different place every month to blog about, and also not exactly that confident or boastful to want to pose in front of a camera wearing something different every weekend.
I have had this voice inside me telling me to quit: that I’ll never be good enough to get a decent number of regular readers, that people will never stop teasing me for doing something as unconventional (to them, at least) as blogging, and that nobody will want to read about what I want to put up. But I have developed this sort of mantra, thanks to my mom, and it is probably the reason why I continue to push through during moments of uncertainty, instead of bawling my eyes out in one corner, kicking and screaming over the fact that I’m not doing anything right: “If you enjoy doing something and you’re not hurting anyone in the process, then just go ahead and do it.”
I have loved writing for so long that I know I’m not stopping in this lifetime, and I am driven beyond belief to become something like an “agent of change through the Internet” (may or may not have ripped off that last bit from my school’s Mission) that I just continue to roll with the punches and take them as I come. I know for a fact that I am not doing anything contrary to my beliefs as a Catholic as I write on this blog, and I am clearly avoiding any possible conflicts with people on the Internet (i.e. the douchebags who like to disagree with every positive post they come across), so why stop? My first year is only the beginning, a doorway to so many possible opportunities, projects and collaborations with wonderful people on the cyberspace, and I honestly cannot wait for what is up next!
I have loved writing for so long that I know I’m not stopping in this lifetime, and I am driven beyond belief to become something like an “agent of change through the Internet” (may or may not have ripped off that last bit from my school’s Mission) that I just continue to roll with the punches and take them as I come. I know for a fact that I am not doing anything contrary to my beliefs as a Catholic as I write on this blog, and I am clearly avoiding any possible conflicts with people on the Internet (i.e. the douchebags who like to disagree with every positive post they come across), so why stop? My first year is only the beginning, a doorway to so many possible opportunities, projects and collaborations with wonderful people on the cyberspace, and I honestly cannot wait for what is up next!
Thank You, God, for giving me the gift of writing that I have been able to nurture and develop through this site. All of this is for Your glory, and I hope I make You proud. Thank you to my incredibly supportive parents, and my family members who never miss a single blog post! Even if I never say it out loud, I actually love how you always manage to make at least one of my blogs a topic of discussion whenever we meet. You are my most loyal readers and toughest critics, and I love you all so much. Thank you to Tavi Gevinson, Nina Pineda and Emily Jane for inspiring me through all your posts. Hope I could be able to do the same in the near future. Thank you to my friends, who try their best to understand me and my need to incessantly take pictures and write about whatever we’re doing. You’ll always be my TAKSILS. Also a big fat (Greek) thank you to my blogger friends, Instagram followers and all the Creepers who have ‘creeped’ and read along for the past year!
Now that I’m done with this sappy piece, let me give you a background story of the pictures: I’ve established somewhere here that I am not a fashion blogger (which clearly explains my awkward stances in front of the camera). I just don’t see myself as the kind of person who constantly shows off what she wears, and I haven’t developed a liking for fashion deep enough to center a whole website that is supposed to be a reflection of who I am, on it. (No offense meant to fashion bloggers—this is my honest opinion!) But I just decided that since it is in fact a celebration of my first year writing on this little ditty, I might as well do something different and actually make an attempt to show my face to all you people reading (if there miraculously happen to be people reading, besides my parents, grandmother and aunt.)
As most people may know, I am a fan of 5 Seconds of Summer and in my pictures above, I decided to stan Calum Hood, aka the bassist and ½ of my sunshines. (The other half being Ashton Irwin, who recently got a girlfriend??!!! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT). He usually pulls off a get-up composed of a white shirt with black sleeves, skinny jeans and black Vans, which I so happened to have in my closet.
Top—Topshop // Jeans—Forever 21 // Sneakers—Vans // Necklace—Robinsons Department Store // Watch—Marc Ecko
That is all for now, and I leave you with my favorite song as of now. All my loving.
As most people may know, I am a fan of 5 Seconds of Summer and in my pictures above, I decided to stan Calum Hood, aka the bassist and ½ of my sunshines. (The other half being Ashton Irwin, who recently got a girlfriend??!!! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT). He usually pulls off a get-up composed of a white shirt with black sleeves, skinny jeans and black Vans, which I so happened to have in my closet.
Top—Topshop // Jeans—Forever 21 // Sneakers—Vans // Necklace—Robinsons Department Store // Watch—Marc Ecko
That is all for now, and I leave you with my favorite song as of now. All my loving.