Moving to Wordpress

Please be updated that I have a new blog site in wordpress. Visit www.happinas.wordpress.com !

Miss SCUBA Philippines 2013

Last November, I competed for Miss SCUBA Philippines 2012 and I won Ms. SCUBA Philippines Marine Tourism 2012. I was a bit sad because I wanted to win the right to represent our country. I have always been passionate about marine conservation and tourism. When I graduated highschool, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist but because it was an expensive course, my mother suggested that I take up Nursing and though I never became a marine biologist, my passion was never gone. I joined clean-ups and tried to pick-up trash when ever I see them at sea.

Earlier this year, before the Binibining Pilipinas Coronation Night, I was offered the chance to represent the Philippines and be Ms. SCUBA Philippines 2013. My heart skipped when I found out despite the lack of support, I decided to take the opportunity. This pageant is what I'm really passionate about. The sea has always brought me happiness. Come December, I will be able to represent Philippines and make the other counties see how beautifully diverse and rich the marine life of the Philippines is and how great the possibilities there are for our country.

First Video Blog!

Panacea

Replenishes and brings life

Selfish intake brings overdose

Faster  blood rushes through veins

Such a high it brings.
Sends me flying from within
One potent drug

Took a dose to find a cure,
A solution to pain and illness,

But adverse effects you have...

Gives me lows but with incomparable highs.

Something that weakens 
Yet strengthens my insides.

Effects overwhelming
Moment needed to take it all in.

 Never thought I'd ever find.

Breaks down internal defense 

Majority of who and what you are,

A perfect sync to my system.

The odds were in favor
Given from a Supreme power.

Cure me from the diseases 
Infections of the past.

A way to heal my heart.

Lose despair, apathy and distrust.

Best drug no doubt
 You, I have found.

My Declutter Project

Being part of Binibining Pilipinas 2013 was quite hectic and so I ended up with a bunch of clutter. I did not want to wait for New Year to start clearing things out so I decided to start my declutter project.

Why declutter?

I have always believed in the Japanese organization method of 5S that uses a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. The 5S phases are sorting, setting in order, systematic cleaning, standardizing, and sustaining.

When you have less stuff, things are a lot simpler. Imagine the time and energy you save trying to find things.

Getting Started

Starting a project is always difficult. You have to focus on one area at a time, you can't go on a de-cluttering rampage! I chose to start with beauty products since I use it daily and it's the easiest to declutter.

DAY I Vanity Shelf

As we grow up we end up using more products since our skin is more sensitive and we simply just become more. I never thought I would have this much because I basically did not care about how I look until after college. I was never fond of using make-up but then during the pageant we got a lot of free stuffs from Avon. I have never owned this much make-up in my entire life imagine getting 11 lippies in one day. Quite insane. Some of the products I got were already given to friends but I still have a number that I use. Along with that I also received a bunch of skincare and beauty products from my ever loving mama so I decided to start with organizing and checking everything.


1. Check all the products for expiry dates. Not all of us might be aware about the shelf life of our make-up so here is a simple guide.

Tip:  Write the date on the product when you open it so you’ll know when it’s time to throw it away.

You don't need a gazillion of make-up to make yourself beautiful, you just need the right ones.

2. Sort products accordingly. I segregated my products based on the area I use it for like face, lips, eyes, hair, nails and body.

Day I was not as difficult to do. Will update you on my day 2 which is one of the most dreaded thing any woman can face... Day 2 Wardrobe

Start you own project now!


If you want to run your own declutter project too, here are the top strategies according to GetOrganizedWizard:

Have a strong why
Have a simple how
Do it fast
Check off your successes as you go.

Love According to Bob

I saw this from Goodreads and I felt the need to share this to everyone. We all crave for love. Do read on and tell me what you think.

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. 

You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. 

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. 

When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. 

They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. 

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. 

There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. 

You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. 

The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. 

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. 

Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. 

A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. 

In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. 

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. 

You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. 

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. 

You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. 

You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. 

Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
― Bob Marley

Pusong Calle

If you like helping out like me, I'd say get your Pusong Calle shirts! The proceeds of the shirts will be used to fund current projects of the Couchsurfing Philippines Volunteers. You get a shirt while helping out, sounds great right?

If you are not a member of Couchsurfing Philippines then you are probably wondering about the Couchsurfing Philippines Volunteers. To give you a background, here's the description of the group ( taken from the official website ) and if you want to join us in our upcoming activities do let us know.

The CS Philippine Volunteers (group) is a collaborative group that aims to create awareness and social responsibility to all its members without concern for monetary profit, acting as one for the betterment of the community, region and country.

The group was created by enthusiasts who met through the CouchSurfing community to make the outreach programs sustainable rather than just on a one time event. Likewise, to continue providing awareness to fellow CouchSurfers , travelers and society as a whole embodying the spirit of trust, humanity and self-less service.

To keep updated with the events and programs, add the CSPV group:

• Email address
• Facebook Group
• Twitter

The pet project is the Outreach Feeding in Baseco Compound in Manila for children every other Saturday of the month. It started last May 2012 and continues to provide feeding session, health teaching for kids, art activities and story-telling activities. CouchSurfers from Manila and other countries have done their share and found a meaningful way of giving back to our less fortunate brethren.

You may join the subgroup of the BASECO Outreach Feeding Project with this link

Future programs will include donation drives, social awareness sessions, and small-scale social entrepreneurship training for the less fortunate members of the society.

The group aims to inspire and gather support from the beautiful hearts of the CouchSurfing community in the Philippines and around the world by sharing time,talent and expertise in the future endeavors.

At CSPV, volunteering could never be this fun!

The Shift from Wallflower to Social Butterfly

When I was younger I was so self -critical that I would barely talk to anyone and would always prefer to be a wallflower. Not to exist, was my life mission back then. I used to be taunted and oppressoa_edgy just because I was not tisay or rich. I had a dream that time, the child version of me was looking up at a beautiful lady. The moment I woke up I said to myself that one day, I will be like her. I want to be respected and beautiful.

All through highschool and college, I struggled with insecurities with my looks. Society, nowadays, are more critical with beauty. With science, you can perfect your nose even to your jawline. I have always believed in natural beauty, while some maybe in favor of enhancements, I see it as a way to fool oneself. It was never easy to be comfortable in our own skin.

Heartbreak made me change and start living differently. It was only after college that I got comfortable wearing shorts, mini skirts and sleeveless tops. My mama would always buy me sexy clothes since my puberty but I would just wear my baggy pants and a tank top with polo shirt over it. I was always known during college to have messy hair. I was one of the boys back then. I didn't like make -up and girly things but when I had my first break -up, I decided to take sweet revenge by looking better than I ever was. I started watching tutorials in youtube and wearing more girly clothes and right after taking my last lecture units for my masters degree, I decided to join a pageant. Something that no one expected me to do. After that things changed, I was exposed to modelling and became more comfortable with myself.

For years, I have tried my best to improve myself. Up until now, I am still faced with tests. I always push myself to the limit. I realized that no one was meant to be invisible. We were made to be luminous, to share light to others. With this, I have pushed myself to interact more with people and be more vulnerable. The day I decided to stay in Manila and take a nose dive was probably my greatest leap of faith. Moving to another city without knowing anyone was crazy and my mama hated it.

Starting from nothing, I met new faces. I got a job and eventually got used to living in Manila. At first I really didn't go out, hated the pollution and the traffic then I got bored with the uptight life. It was during a video shoot that I heard about couchsurfing.org and I decided to sign in.

Couchsurfing exposed me to different cultures from different countries. I eventually ended up joining a lot of events. I did outreach, outdoor and social events. It made me more sociable. Before I wouldn't talk to a stranger but now I am more friendly and learned more on how to interact with people. As we started hosting people at our house, I would spend time entertaining and talking about the beauty in Philippines. As time passed, I became confident hosting events then the opportunity to be part of Bb. Pilipinas 2013 came.

Now everytime, I look into the mirror I see the lady in my dream. From a girl who would barely talk to a waiter or go out, I have made a 180 degree shift. The perks of the wallflower are limited only to how much you open up, the social butterfly, however, not only get to fly but make wind as she takes flight. Leaving the shadows and obscurity brought me a lot of blessings, I am richer in a deeper sense. After a year of complete shift, I have earned priceless moments and hundreds of friends. There is nothing to fear in being more sociable but a lot to lose for trying to live alone in an island.

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Dealing with Negativity in Binibining Pilipinas

I know joining Bb. Pilipinas would mean allowing everyone to have a say on your beauty and I am not new to getting negative comments on how I look.

I found out at an early age how most of the Filipinos prefer ladies with fair skin and those who are half blood.

Here are just some of harsh words that some people told me.

1. You are ugly.
2. You don't have the face to make it to a pageant.
3. You look like our maid/katulong.
4. Your teeth is ugly.
5. You look like one of the girls who are out at night looking for foreigners.
6. You will never make it.
7. You are just intelligent, join a quiz bee not a pageant.
8. You are weak and useless.
9. No guy will ever love you.
10. Why did you make it to the final 50 candidates, there are prettier girls than you.

What do I say to them?

I say nothing. I am the type of girl who would never let other's judgment put me down. I have been dealing with negativity since I was young.  After being told I don't have the looks to make it to a pageant, I trained hard and won First Runner Up in Bb. Ormoc 2009. What I do is simple, I use those negativity to push me further up. It makes me work harder and I always see it as a challenge to prove them wrong. The only mistake one can make in this life is to allow people to get the best of you and ruin your life. Always think past the negativity, being positive with yourself and surrounding yourself with the supportive people are the only options to make the most out of life. Be happy, not everyone will like you but make sure to live a life that will make you into someone you yourself will love. Beauty will always be more than a physical attribute. People can judge you on how you look. Beauty from within will always be eternal and it's the kind of beauty that makes this world livable and beautiful. So don't fret and ditch the negativity.

The Magic of Belief

I was just one of those girls who grew up in the Philippines from a simple middle class family. Quite ambitious but lived awkwardly through my teens years. When I was in elementary, I remembered being bullied and laughed at because I went to a private school where almost all the other kids had more than what we had. My parents struggled to pay for our schooling. Day in and day out, I would just look at how the rich kids played with the latest barbie models or how they got new things for school. I would use to go to the lost and found area and scavenge for what was unclaimed. One time, a few kids made fun of me because I didn't know how to play badminton and so I cried and said to myself I will learn and I did. Despite seeing kids play with lavish toys, I found myself more amazed by a small pond where I would try to catch guppies. I was quite content with the things that I had but there was still envy. I wanted to be rich. I wanted to look like a million dollars. I wanted to be everything and more. I remember one dream where I looked into a mirror and I saw a beautiful lady.

When I reached highschool, I saw it as an opportunity to be open to more things close to reality and so I decided to go to a public national highschool. My fascination woth science and english helped a lot. I managed to qualify for special science class. As a teenager, I experienced a sudden change of physique. From the shortest in elementary, I found myself usually at the end of the line. I lived a carefree life and yet I still craved for success and compared myself to others. I knew I could be one of the top students and yet I really didn't care. It was only when our class advisor told me that I was top 5 among our section that I started to work harder and yet I failed to hold on to the belief and never really got any honors.

Time went by so fast that I didn't notice college was already knocking at my doorstep. I had too much fun during college that I never really planned. I ended up taking a nursing degree. Just like highschool I found myself struggling. I barely talked in class and I gave up an opportunity to join an extemporaneous speaking contest because I felt inferior to my classmates. Our university usually holds a pageant among the departments. I was surprised that my advisor said to my classmates that I deserved to represent our year level as Ms. Nursing and yet I didn't believe him. I went to the screening by force and just did my best to not exist and I was voted again during my senior year but the only difference was one of our college coordinator told me face to face how I didn't possess any beauty to win in any pageant. I just kept the hurt to myself.

My first heartbreak came a year graduating. I looked at myself in the mirror and said I will look better and make my ex regret dumping me. I decided to proceed and earn a masters degree. I was 22 and was finished with 30 units when I decided to take the plunge. After years of being told that I have similarities to Miriam Quiambao, I joined my first pageant in my hometown, Ormoc City. I worked hard, gave up rice and did trainings but come coronation night, I doubted myself and flaked out during the last question and answer. I placed first runner-up and I was quite surprised.

Pageants became one of my interests. I went on to joining several ones in hopes of winning titles which I did in some and proving myself that I had beauty. I was so lucky to have people who believed in me. Despite the victories, I felt there was something missing. I saw a Binibining Pilipinas and I remembered how I would watch it everytime it was on tv since I was young and I would dream of wearing a long gown and looking gorgeous on stage.

My 25th birthday came and I said to myself there was no more hope for being a part of Binibining Pilipinas. It was only until Tito Rodgil Flores sent me an sms and asked me if I wanted to train. It was such an honor to find out he believed I could win in Binibining Pilipinas 2013. All those years of doubting myself finally caved in. I realized how I was hungry for appreciation and how I was joining pageants to convince myself I was good enough. I realized I never believed in myself fully and I knew it was the missing ingredient. I never saw the things that the people who believed in me saw how I was extremely positive to others yet unforgiving to myself. I went through periods of quarterlife crisis and it was not yet easy. Training in Kagandahang Flores thought me how powerful the mind can be and how belief in oneself can move mountains. I can only do my best being an official candidate in Binibining Pilipinas 2013.

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