CandyMag.Com

Giving up is definitely not the phrase I can identify myself with. For a girl who always looks at the brighter side of things, it’s very unlikely to hear me say, “I give up.” There are times in our life that we feel so down and we don’t know what else we can do especially when things don’t happen the way we want them to be. We feel so alone and helpless drowning in our pool of misery. There were times that I felt like this especially when I am so overwhelmed by the many tasks that I have to do and pressured to get things right all the time. When I fail, I break down and yes, tempted to give up.

When I finished reading Sarah Dessen’s latest book Along for the Ride, I realized a lot of things and one of those is that life is like learning how to ride a bike. You will encounter bumps along the way but it is part of the learning process. It’s okay to crash because you learn from your mistake once you get on the bike again. Nothing is right the first time. No matter how many times you fall, it’s alright. At least you tried and you worked hard. This book has become one of my favorites. It helped me realize that screwing up will always be a part of life. If everything will be smooth and perfect, life will not be challenging at all and we won’t enjoy it.

When you feel like giving up, ask yourself first “do I really have to give up?” Don’t abandon the ride Candy Girls! When you fail, it doesn’t mean that you’re not good enough. You just have to do better. Keep in mind that “if you’re not getting hurt, you’re not riding hard enough.” This quote from the book really stuck with me and it never failed to remind me to go on with my journey. So Candy Girls, always remember to get back on the bike and go along the ride of your life.

Jesselle

(I’ve never been one to stick with the rules, and when it comes to math, I’m not too keen on making exceptions. So when you asked us to basically write about the end of the semester, I decided to do it the way most things—business deals, relationships, etc.—usually start: with a letter.)

Dear Professor ________,

The University of the Philippines—it’s every student’s dream. And now that the first semester of my first year in college is drawing to an end, I would love to be able to say that I made a mark as a student. I would want nothing more right now than to look back on these past few months and see myself as the ideal student—the kind that always had her hand up in the air, always had insanely high scores, always came to class on time, always brought her Math I module, always raced to find the answers before anyone else. I wanted to be known by name, not just by my student number. I hoped to be the kind of student no teacher could ever forget.

But looking back, I can’t seem to see even a shadow of that ideal student. All I see is a student who, in between taking down notes and listening, paused every so often to a.) Whip out her phone and text nothing of actual importance or b.) Take a bite of whatever it was she bought from the cafeteria before entering the classroom. I remember crossing my fingers and silently praying that my index card would remain hidden in the pile so I wouldn’t have to recite in class. I don’t remember waking up on a certain Monday/Thursday and feeling all psyched and raring to get to math class. You can pretty much say I failed at becoming the student I thought I was destined to become. Despite all the fresh beginnings and resolutions to change, I let my biases against math get to me once again. My entire Math I class passed right through me.

But I guess that just about sums up the most important thing I learned in Math I which, coincidentally, has nothing to do with math—there are no ideal students. There are no factory-made, cookie-cutter-type students, only those who try their best and whose efforts are recognized, encouraged, and pushed further by their teachers. There is no predestination—you become your own “ideal student” by working through it day after day. I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve ever actually thought of trying harder. I’ve been so used to taking the backseat when it came to math—I always let the others race ahead of me. But for some reason, Math I made me want to try harder. It challenged me to do better. Throughout the whole semester, I did my best to try and keep up with the rest of them. There were times when I felt I was at the top of my game, but there were also times when I was panting like crazy and struggling to keep up. I didn’t finish first, but I got to the finish line.

The truth is I will never love math. I will never look at a page full of numbers and feel thrilled or excited or challenged. I will never jump to my feet and be assertive when it comes to matters involving even the slightest bit of math. The “Oh-no,-math-again?” sigh I’ve perfected over time will never be replaced by a shout of glee. I will never love math, but what I can do is learn to appreciate it. I’d like to think I’m not a lost cause yet. One day, the light bulb in my head will go off with a *ting!*, and I know that that will be the moment when I finally get math. And when that time finally comes, I’m sure I’m going to remember the math professor who once told me that it was okay to fail—making him one that I would never forget.
I’d like to end this letter with nothing but happy thoughts and good wishes to you, Sir, but that would fall under “following the rules,” wouldn’t it? So instead, I’ll extend my greeting to your future students—I hope they realize how lucky they are.

P.S.
You once told us that, if by the end of the semester, we were able to look you in the eyes and tell you we did our best, you would be proud of us, regardless of the grades we’ve earned. Well, I hate to break it to you, Sir, but I’m not exactly sure if I did my absolute best. I can tell you one thing I’m sure of, though: not once during this semester did I think of giving up, because I knew I had a teacher who would not give up on me.

(Photo via weheartit)

My one-book-a-week project was a complete epic fail. Having no time to pursue my reading, what with all the other schoolworks I am involved in, I gave up a week after. My other excuse? Reading one book a week was kind of a hassle. My reading span varies  depending on the book. It may take me more than a week to finish one, or maybe less if I’m really interested in the story. But I wasn’t that quick to give up. Therefore, I resigned to giving myself an ultimatum: 15 books or more for 365 days. So far, I’ve read four books this year, and I am just starting on the fifth. Two of these books are part of my 2010 Reading List/Book List. What’s on the list, you may ask? I have:

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
2. PS. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
3. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
4. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Zeigesar
5. Nights In Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
7. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
10. LA Candy by Lauren Conrad
11. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
12. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
15. A B N K K B S N P L AKO by Bob Ong

All in all, the books on the list are quite an odd combination. I wasn’t thinking of a specific genre when I put the titles together. Furthermore, I’ve decided to add a few books I’ve already read before—such as Alice, New Moon, Bob Ong, and Gossip Girl—for it’ll help in completing the list faster. I’m very excited. Although I am a bit lagging behind on my reading list, I’m confident I’ll be able to finish before 2010 ends.

silently reading at the corner,
alekx

Well, that’s not really a valid title, but HEY, it got you reading, didn’t it?

It’s more like: How The Girl With The Big Bag of Chips Wins

Everyone fancied a game of DOTA a couple of days ago. We were supposed to have a Singles’ Day Out, but Alice in Wonderland was out of tickets, and we were just too tired to argue between Cop-Out and Miss You Like Crazy. Standing in uniform in the midst of casually-dressed Saturday cinema sukis, everyone decided that a) they wanted to play DOTA or that b) they wanted to learn how to play DOTA.

Now, I’m no good at DOTA. I can play, sure, but I suck so much The Sentinel killed me. I suck so much, I’m not even sure if I got the last sentence right. (Boys, feel free to verify). If there’s anything I’m good at in DOTA, it’s running away. See a battalion of opponent reinforcements coming towards you, and I’m the first one running out of the location to the home base.

Pwede ‘bang Plants VS Zombies na lang? Or Super Mario?

So this time, I chose not to play DOTA, and opted to watch instead.

Now, if you’ve ever chanced upon an internet café with a bunch of boys (and occasionally girls) playing DOTA, you will realize that it is not a silent game. Sure, for a while, the tension gets to everyone, and it’s down to the last few inches of your life to make that one shot so you can finally recover the manna you lost after being pwned, but when the climax has been reached, you will hear jeering at maximum level, Trash-talking optional.

In a way, you can consider that fun.

I don’t know if this works, but if you’re interested in knowing anyway, one good way of making a DOTA boy fall in love with you is to at least get interested in the game.

Because really, all you girls know that once a boy is front of the screen, nothing, NOTHING comes between them. Not even a bazillion text messages and loads of missed calls. The only way they can notice you is if you’re at least 1-inch tall, monstrous and could help kill the kalaban.

So go try and play. You don’t have to like it, but at least you’d know what in heaven’s name he’s talking about. You don’t have to be particularly good at it (It’s hard to be good in a game when everyone you know has been playing it for at least 3 years), but at least get familiar. Your guy goes around with you when you go shopping, why can’t you sit down in front of the PC and try to make your hero move?

The boys appreciate it. When I first tried to play, the next day, all my guy friends were like, “WOW Vicky, nagdoDOTA na! Goojab!” (pat on the back/head/shoulder) and they kept on yapping about DOTA stuff, only 5% of which I understood.

If that doesn’t work, go out and buy a big bag of chips. (Or Sour Cream Ruffles, in my case) Yes, they allow you to bring food inside.

If you want to have boys eating out of the palm of your hand like mum rabbits, then control freak, this one’s for you.

No stupid boy would let his eyes leave the screen, so if you offer, he’d say no. At first.

But, if you get a piece of chip and put it near his mouth, he sure as heck will bite that outta your hand.

You get a monopoly of their energy! Mwahahah. >:)

So you still win. You got the boys to pay attention to you, and now they feel more-ish. Kind of like how you feel when you eat one piece of Stick-O. You can’t stop eating until the whole jar is empty.

I know this is a useless manual, but hey, I tried. No DOTA boy has fallen in love with me yet, anyway.

Would I want a DOTA boy to fall in love with me?

Who knows.
Vicky

The Council of Cool 10 girls share with you what’s making us smile this month.

Rereading the Twilight saga is awesome. I’m not a big Twilight fan, but Stephenie Meyer’s articulation is so amazing, you can’t help but get drawn into the characters. I like that the books are descriptive, creative, and absolutely mind-blowing. I just wish that the coming movie adaptations would live up to Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. The Twilight and the New Moon movies are kind of a let-down. —Alekx

Jazmin’s got her yogurt fix: You Go Gurt?, Red Mango, Yogurt Froz, Tutti Frutti, and Cali Berry. New places to try out: Golden Spoon and The White Hat—both located at the Shangri-La Mall. Hope this helps your cravings! Or did it just make you crave more? Whoops! On a magic carpet with yogurt on a waffle cone. —Jazmin

I’m loving the bum life! Though I kinda miss doing a lot of things, I am happy because I am finally saying goodbye to the stress and workload of college! Graduation day is fast approaching and I am very excited about it. —Jesselle

Oreo Doughnut from Krispy Kreme. Chocolate Doughnut. Rich, cream frosting. Oreo bits with a crunch. Only one word can describe this deliciously sinful piece of dessert: Heaven. With every bite I take, I feel all my sorrows and worries just melt away and I seem to forget what I was stressing about in the first place. Even though it’s already summertime and I’m getting ready to put my summer diet into action, I think it’s worth the extra poundage if this delicious Oreo doughnut is the one thing that makes me a little less harried and a little bit happier. Don’t mind the calories, a good doughnut doesn’t come around often. —Keisha

After all those months of grueling schoolwork, I decided to celebrate my (temporary) freedom by reuniting with books. It feels good to be able to sit down with a good book at hand and have time to spare without worrying about grades. After 3 months without fiction, I’m finally reading again and I decided to start with Sixteen, edited by Megan McCafferty. —Leslie

My Journalism 102 professor had organized a press conference with Presidential candidate Nicanor Perlas for our class, and we were all given the chance to ask questions about his plans for the country. I was impressed not only by his confidence and answers, but also by his willingness to spend time obliging our questions despite his hectic schedule, and the fact that a lot of politicians wouldn’t bother going to small press cons like ours. I’ll be a first-time voter this May, and though I’m not yet sure about whom I’ll be rooting for, encounters like this help a lot in making my decision. I’m really hoping all the voters out there would pick our leaders responsibly! —Mars

Since I’m out of books to read, I make sure that I watch at least one FRIENDS episode every night. It’s become so habitual that my bedtime gets pushed till about 1 AM, which does not make my mother happy. FRIENDS makes me happy. It preserves my sanity. —Vicky

(photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Television)