On being twenTEEN..

Savoring my last teen year...
Two decades and two days worth of life is worth celebrating, especially when its episodes has been exponentially increasing. My life got better and better each year. Yes, they say for such a young lady I have achieved much. I’m Miss Teen Philippines and the Face of Ponds and what-have-you. Some say I’ve managed to strike the balance between being the class valedictorian, the party-girl, the stage actress, the model, and the youth ambassadress for the environment and for education. But guess what, I’m not just that. I too sometimes managed to be the hardheaded daughter, the lazy and procrastinating student, the passive citizen, even the bitchy friend and more that’s to hate. I too had a fair share of failures… a countless list of mistakes. I have suffered a broken heart. I have a tainted reputation because of gossips, misconceptions and prejudgments. I am human after all. Daily, I am faced with the temptation to take the easy way, to do the evil or to ignore goodness and truth. So, what’s my point?
I really do not know. I really just wanted to share to you this philosophy of mine that goes, “Life is how you view it and what you make of it.” It is not our successes or failures that define our life. It is our daily decisions- the big and small ones. It is how we decide. How we face the undetermined consequences of our actions. Thus, being twenteen, I am inviting you to join me in relishing the last days of my teen years starting with making the right decisions. For right decisions leads to correct actions and correct actions leads to a good life. Come on; let’s do ourselves a favor. Let’s decide wisely.
My fashion show was my starter. LViVL: Contrast Choices is about making the right decisions. In general, it is choosing between Living Virtuously or going with the seemingly cool and adventurous Villain/violent Lifestyle. But to keep it simple, the ideology is explained by the quote: “The greatest regret in life is not the wrong things that we’ve done, but the right things that we should have or could have done but never did.”
“LV is the path I choose to take. I know it makes me sound close-minded and hypocritical because I sometimes do evil deeds too. But beyond my fallen nature, I am an idealist because without ideals there is nothing to live for and to live by.”


January 24 2010. SM City Cagayan de Oro. 6 ish in the evening.
Thanks Pomelo Lifestyle for this lovely dress. Thank God for Love&Life!

this thing called LOVE

Ang pagibig ay ang katotohanan, kagandahan at kabutihan.

(Love is truth, beauty and goodness.)

LOVE is

Lasting,

Other-centered,

Values persons,

Expects nothing in return.

LV: the key to life’s triumphs

The inspiration of this essay:

A conversation in today’s (9/15/09) 6:30 am class.

1: Don’t you and your classmates come to class early because you don’t want to get embarrassed?

(Two-second silence)

2: Uh…Yes, Sir.

1: Do you want to get embarrassed?

2 No Sir. I do not want to get embarrassed.

1: “Yan. Ganyan talaga ang Filipino doing things just because they do not what to get embarrassed… ‘Di nyo ba na isip na mas kahiya-hiya pa yung pinapakita nyo? (referring to some of us being late for our other classes) Don’t you think being late in another teacher’s class is a disrespect of his person?”

(Three-second Silence.)

1: Cge. Go be Filipinos and pull this country down with you.

The conversation struck me harder than a lover who got hit by cupid’s arrow. 1 was right. We tend to do things just because we don’t want to get embarrassed or because we want to leave a good impression. We normally don’t think about doing things because it is what is right and just.

So what’s up with LV?

Why do I think it’s the key for all triumphs?

LV, of course not Louis Vuitton but LIVING VIRTUOUSLY is the key for all triumphs because virtue is what makes a good life. Prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice are what make us live life to the fullest. Yes, going against the rules or acting evil may be more fun than LV but dear, fun does not always equate to happiness. Authentic triumph may only be felt when you know you exerted much effort to attain the goal. LV is difficult to achieve while the opposite, VL a.k.a Villain Living, is so easy to achieve. There is no victory in taking the easy way out. Likewise, there is no authentic triumph in achieving evil goals. You may have won the game but if you know you cheated, the feeling of triumph is lame. Your conscience will haunt you (unless your conscience is calloused). It will not put you to sleep at night knowing that you did what is wrong when you could have done what is right. I guess that’s why the quote goes, “The greatest regret in life is not the wrong things that we’ve done, but the right things that we should have or could have done but never did.”

LV is not a one time big time act. It is a daily repetitive decision. Certainly, we will commit mistakes and fall into sin because it’s part of man’s fallen nature. But we have the power of the will to back us up, to pull us in our every fall. We just have to decide then make the move.

Ergo, I dare you to make the move, (I’m talking to myself too.) to live in fashion. Take LV as your fashion statement now. :)

“What is the cure for the sickness called hypocrisy and mediocrity?”

“What is the cure for the sickness called hypocrisy and mediocrity?”

I think it's discipline and finding the reason why. When you are disciplined, (as our IEP oath states) “you can always excel and do well; nothing can make you falter and difficulties make you stronger”. And when you know the reason why you do something, you find the dedication and determination to always strive for excellence.

I know what discipline is, I have been taught about it at home, in school, in work and on the streets. The only challenge is for me to translate theorein into praxis.

I have found the reason why I must leave H&M- hypocrisy and mediocrity behind. It is because it is what is right and good. It is what is just. It is what benefits others. It is what honors my parents. It is what glorifies God.

So from this day on, I bid H&M goodbye and say hello to D&G- Discipline and gratitude of everything, especially of knowing the reason why. I know H&M will haunt me to my grave like gravity pulling us down to the core of the earth, but I will stand up with each and every fall. I will use D&G to help me transcend. I want not only life, but also a life with a pleasant style. So help me God.

* excerpt from whatever I wrote yesterday:)

:)

I have not been blogging for so long. I can come up with denumerable excuses and alibis but I'd rather not. I have been pre-occupied with so many things. Life in the metro has suddenly become a jungle. There's so much to do with so little time- or so we think. 

And as the cliche goes, life is so short so enjoy it. I am. I will. I'd make sure I will and this is my take on enjoying life. Writing anything that comes to mind. Daily, or at least weekly to inculcate discipline. Whatever. 

I don't know how to end this blahb but I do know what I want to say:

Life is short for a reason

like everything has a purpose.

Life was made to be short, 

not to deprive us of all it's goodness and beauty,

but to challenge us.

To challenge us to take on the BEST of it's goodness and beauty.

 Have a Blessed Sunday. :)

What beauty is to Stephanie Sol..

Beauty

is a positive attitude,

an uplifting emotion and

a life changing experience.

-Stephisticated-

“It is not easy to be a beauty queen.”

“Beauty pageants are contests exclusively for tall, pretty, sexy and confident girls who care too much about what other people might say. Hence, they always try to act with poise and grace, look good, and speak with substance.” - This was my pathetic stereotype of a beauty pageant. I always thought that winning the crown of beauty meant that I could never be myself since I had to act perfectly at all times. I thought it was only about impressing the crowd and being popular. However, after I had decided to join Miss Teen Philippines 2004 (MTP) all my negative thoughts on beauty pageants changed.

Miss Teen Philippines proved my stereotypes on pageants wrong. It made me realize that without the sincere passion to inspire people by making a difference, it would be a burden to handle the pressure of people’s expectations of beauty queens. It also helped me discover that pageants are not just about physical beauty and confidence, but also about being sensitive towards people and things around me. This discovery inspired me to promote advocacies such as education, tourism, environment and youth-related issues. This inspiration helped me achieve my dream of becoming an effective role model.

The activities of Miss Teen Philippines improved my personality and communication skills, while having fun. These activities gave me numerous opportunities to talk about my thoughts on different topics that affect the youth, such as the importance of character and values. Sharing my time with others made me appreciate the beauty of camaraderie and service. I discovered that beauty pageants are indeed prestigious, advantageous and productive.

Winning the crown of Miss Teen Philippines served as a learning experience that enabled me to strive for perfection. It made me realize that my outlook on things is important for it could either make or break me. This is the uniqueness of Miss Teen Philippines. –It makes young ladies blossom into beautiful women; inspire teen girls to influence people by setting themselves as role models and strive to bring out the best out of the young generation. Most importantly, it made me define beauty as a positive attitude, an uplifting emotion and a life changing experience.