Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Two years after the prom hype.
I can't believe it's been two years since my last prom! Don't you just miss the stressful preparations as the big day draws nearer, the shocks you get when your boyish friends turn into Gracie Harts, the surprise of having someone you've never really talked to ask you to dance, the sweetness of your most memorable slowdance, and simply just that dreamy feeling when you're on the dance floor?
Prom issues have come out and I definitely missed the hype of getting them as soon as they hit magazine stands. I couldn't wait to see the hottest looks (I wouldn't really be interested in the dresses anymore since the ever-excited me would have a design in mind months before!) and I would always imagine myself all made up just like that on prom night.
One weird thing is that I'm still on prom hangover. I'm this preoccupied with Psych 115 and a couple of insecurity issues about my sudden weight gain, but thinking of being in a pretty dress and glowing makeup and lovely hair--no curls this time--still manages to cheer me up. (I'm actually begging my brother to take me to his prom next year, haha!)
Ooh, remind me to snap out of it. I'm already a college sophomore for chrissakes! Mindy and I have been talking about having a Psych prom, though--maybe when we're Mandalans!
I could still remember how it felt the first prom. I was both excited and nervous since I didn't know what to expect. I remember how I took a deep breath before I stepped into the ballroom to greet my friends and my not-so-official date. I wore a baby pink balloon dress with hot pink ostrich feathers with four-inch high heels--very Elle Woods then, until Mulawin claimed all association rights to all things heavily feathered. I remember following a strict diet then so I could fit into my dress and unfortunately losing too much weight--I was pulling it up the whole time! I had a blast dancing with my friends, especially Joe who complimented the way I looked that night and then made me cry by thanking me for being such a good friend. I had my dad as my last dance.
Senior prom was definitely the more memorable one because I didn't really prepare for it. I was preparing for a national contest then plus I felt like a loser just because my ex didn't ask me to the prom and asked my best friend instead. A couple of guy friends were nice enough to ask me but I figured it would be nice to try going stag along with my dateless girlfriends. My guy best friend Alkaids gave me flowers while I bought him a bouttonaire but that didn't change the fact that I was wristsage-less in a sea of wrist-/corsaged girls. (My friends gave each other wristsages for fun, I wonder why I didn't join in.) I initially moped at the fact that I had no choice but to wait for someone to ask me to dance. Whenever fast music played, me and my barkada would head to the dance floor and form a big circle which always got bigger until almost the whole batch was in it! I also remember ranting to my girlfriends how it was taking too long for my crush to ask me to dance only to feel a tap on my back and to find his best friend doing the asking for him!
I was surprised also last week when Marla asked me to email her my prom experience and a few pictures. (Thanks Marla! :D) Turns out it was for this!
Come to think of it, it's really been such a long time. Every girl older than me used to say, "You can never go back to the prom so enjoy every second of it!"
But I do go back to the prom once in a while. I go back as the new me each time. I've grown so much stronger and wiser I was from that girl I was before who couldn't even survive a very high school breakup.
If I were to go back to that very prom again, I would definitely know a lot better. I wouldn't let the hairstylist get away with just doing my hair with a curling iron--he should put mousse first before setting it for a couple of hours. I would choose much comfier shoes so I could do more dancing, as if I didn't dance enough that night, so I wouldn't witness my toes cramping after. I would take more pictures with my friends so I could have more to look at when I get nostalgic and all. I would be more makulit so that my gown would come out exactly the way I wanted it. I walk straight to the middle of the circle and dance like crazy even without Joe leading me or Alkaids pushing me. If it's impossible to get them to do my makeup, I'd contact Jigs Mayuga, Leo Posadas, Tatin Yang, and of course, Ate Keng to ask for tips on what look would best suit me. I'd master prom tips from those magazines. I would ask good ol' Mr. Samson, my Physics teacher, to dance. And last but not the least, I definitely would not give Val the cold shoulder just because my ex asked her to the prom.
Thank goodness there's such thing as "growing up". But I'm still in denial I've left the prom phase, bleh.
So to all your first time prom girls out there, I'm telling you, never ever let anything get in your way of having fun. The prom is not about being chosen Prom Queen or having the most romantic night of your life, having a date at least, or being the center of attention. The prom is about, being yourself, appreciating others, bonding with your friends, getting to know your date better, dancing like crazy in a gorgeous dress, overcoming your shyness, and definitely growing into a fine young lady who knows how to have fun.
And to those who're prom graduates just like me, if you were to go back to the night of your prom, what exactly would you have done?
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Stride into uncertainty
I don't know, but I'm still in 2006 mode while everyone else is so psyched about the new year. The year ended too fast and until now, I still can't get over the fact too much too happened too soon. 2006 was indeed one big emotional and transitional rollercoaster.
So why am I afraid of a new year? It's the perfect time for a fresh start, right?
Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I have nothing to look forward to this year. I'm afraid that because a whole lot has happened in 2006, there'll be nothing new left for 2007.
I am also afraid that I might not be able to keep up with events, that I might not accomplish much this year, that I might not be happier than I was last year--I really don't know. And that's what's really scaring me--uncertainty.
Dear God, please make me a happier person than the one I am now.
***
Help me find Neverland. Someone, please.
I don't want to grow up yet. I'm scared of responsibilities, of making major decisions. I'm scared of making mistakes that would blow my chances of being successful or happy or the person I've always wanted to be in the future. I don't want to be obliged to act mature yet, or to simply take things seriously. I'm just not ready to be an adult yet.
But what about freedom? Yes, that's the one thing I've always wanted--freedom to choose a career, freedom to go out without having to ask permission, freedom to spend my own money, freedom to choose the person I want to be with, freedom to speak my mind and have the right to be right... Alas, maybe I just couldn't handle that yet.
***
Here I am bitching about my fear of such a boring year when there's so much to do in so little time--well, at least acad stuff.
Bio and 115 are killing me, literally. I've had barely three hours of sleep because of this experiment paper due tomorrow and I expect more overnights with groupmates Joy and Meg for the next few weeks. Ahh, the perks of being a Psych major.
***
But hey, if there's one thing to love about myself now, it's the tan I got from Boracay just before the new year. I feel great being able to call myself "morena" now, for the rather shallow reason that I take pride in looking like a real Pinay :)
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Campaign for Real Beauty
Remember this and how I said in my Multiply it would really be great if they made a Filipino version to make it easier for us to relate?
Well, last night I was watching TV, a rather rare sight, when suddenly a TVC with True Colors playing in the background was shown--only most girls were tan and chinky-eyed! It was then that I realized that I was actually watching the Asian version of one of Dove's TVCs for their Campaign for Real Beauty. And then I saw at the end a CRB site closer to our hearts--our very own Campaign for Real Beauty with a dot-ph! (www.campaignforrealbeauty.ph)
They're getting even closer!
So I was thinking, if there would happen to be a True Colors TVC a la Pinay, what captions should they come up with?
"Wishes she were whiter"
"Hates her wavy hair"
"Thinks she's fat" (Now that's universal!)
"Hates her flat chest"
"Wishes she were taller"
"Hates her legs"
If you were to be part of the team to come up with that Pinay version of True Colors, what captions would you add? :)
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Bora love.
My trip to Boracay was definitely one of the funnest trips I've ever had not just because it had the loveliest scenery and the multitude of food shops and shopping stalls but also I spent it with my family and the funnest group of families, Friends for Life. (Yes, that's what our group of families call ourselves--at least it was our parents' idea.) Imagine, there was actually 36 of us in that whole group!
Day One
During the 35-minute flight, I doodled on my Starbucks planner while Gabo watched me. The flight attendant would always pass by then finally she said, "You're very good, very artistic!" I blushed and shyly said, "Thanks!"
When we got to the pier, my dad realized he lost his phone. He and Ald had to go back to the airport to check if it was there. We were hoping he had dropped it inside the plane instead of the trike since it would be easier to retrieve the phone if that happened. But we were phoned in the afternoon that they'd found his phone in the plane. And so we were all relieved.
We didn't arrive all at the same time so we had to wait a bit for the other two batches. We were with Tito Darlo and the Yaps. This was the "second day of the month" so I didn't do real swimming--I just had the luxury of wading and taking pictures on the shore. Because there was too many of us, we didn't get beachfront accomodations so we had to do some walking--and a lot of walking going to D*Mall!
My family ate dinner at Boracay Pen. It was an eat-all-you-can of squid, blue marlin, pork and chicken barbecue, and others and must I say I was stuffed! After dinner, we joined the gang again to walk around until we settled at D*Mall. While our moms were shopping, most of us kids hung out at the Plaza. We rode the ferris wheel and the others got to wall-climb. I wasn't able to since I was wearing a dress that night. Boo. After that we all retired and readied ourselves for the next day.
Day Two
We got up really early for the boat ride--it was Island-Hopping Day! We got two boats for our groups. Since the waves were too big we didn't get to visit other islands. We snorkelled (I wanted to scuba dive so I could get a closer look at the unusual fish I spotted!) and went to this island with the finest, whitest sand. That was where we took a lot of pictures! (I still haven't gotten a copy of my "Happiness is Love" written on the sand photo from Ate Dot but I shall post soon!) Nami was okay but the corals almost bruised my feet and knees.
After having a sumptuous lunch at Ole and a relaxing afternoon nap, we did most of our pasalubong shopping--I got finally myself a Yabang bracelet!
We had dinner at Cocomangas, the coolest place in Bora! The inihaw wasn't really that good but their pizza was. I also fell in love with their Illusion Shakers but it was too strong I was actually feeling light-headed after just two shots!
What surprised me that night was when they called me onstage to sing. Apparently, our Titas requested for it. And not only that, they wanted me to sing I Will Survive! As I walked towards the stage, my knees were literally shaking. But when I started to sing and the Titas were dancing, I went on in performance level! And then the girls and I sang Wannabe later on!
After dinner, we went to Jonah's to get some shakes. I loved my Banana Choco Peanut shake! We walked home, and boy, was it tiring!
A few moments after convincing my parents to let me join the girls (plus our bodyguard-slash-only boy Vanz), we hung out at Aria and watched the fire dancers. I also bumped into someone from UP, but I couldn't remember the class were both in. My Deep Blue was quite strong, by the way! Later on we went to Juice for another drink--I didn't finish mine, I found it too strong too hehe. We also witnessed a lot of encounters between strangers in Bora--meeting up, hooking up, then later kissing when they're drunk! We sure were glad were having enough fun we didn't have to go through that! Ate Joan didn't get to dance since there were a lot of lonely pervs around but boy did she get wasted, and is she funny when wasted!
We later decided to call it a night. On our walk home, we had an encounter with two pervs but we just ignored them and walked straight home. Luckily they weren't able to bother us. Girl power!
Day Three
It was our last day so we made sure we maximized our time. My dad and I weren't able to parasail since we found it too expensive but he promised me we would next time! We went banana boating and it was just fun. It wasn't scary at all since we had our life vests on anyway.
But what was really scary was being on the jet ski taking pictures of those banana boating! I was asked to take pictures of the second batch and was I scared to death! First, I didn't have a life vest on. Also, I barely had anything to hold on to when the jet ski suddenly made sharp turns. And of course, I had three cameras in hand! I couldn't just drop those, could I? After the ride, my world was literally spinning, as if I'd gotten tipsy!
We had lunch after two hours of swimming--I got super dark!--and did rush-packing. When we got to the airport they needed to fill up a small plane with 19 people. There were 15 of us in our batch and so we decided to take that earlier flight instead. We ended up having the plane for ourselves! As the flight started we were all noisy but later on everyone dozed off.
There are a lot of things I learned and experienced in Bora:
01. Sometimes, you have to bend rules if you want to have fun. I did that when I insisted on swimming on my "third day". It does stop in water but I was dead as soon as we walked on the shore!
02. Family friends are not just friends but also family--period. We all looked after each other as if we were part of each other's family.
03. Take millions of pictures on a trip. They're the best souvenirs you can take back home. (Something I learned from Ate Joey!)
04. Always be game for anything! Another lesson learned from Ate Joey, of course, when she encouraged us to sing Wannabe: "Wala namang makakakilala sa atin dito e! Go lang!"
05. Don't just sit alone anywhere--someone will definitely approach you and throw you a pick-up line. (This wasn't really something I experienced but Ate Joey told off Ate Dot for doing so one time.)
Boracay was indeed a lovely island. It's somewhere I would definitely go back to again if I had the time and the money. But with Friends For Life, you really don't need a pretty little island or a party place to have the time of your life. With them, no matter where and when, you will have loads of fun knowing you belong.
