Sketches and Drafts

Ever since I was a child, I have been full of creativity. Ideas just sprung up in my mind and I usually daydreamed of fantasies, such us thinking that I was a dinosaur or some kind of superhero. Encyclopedias and TV shows fueled most of my imagination. However, daydreaming fantasies wasn't enough for me to channel my creativity. So, I turned to drawing and writing.

I can't recall the first thing I drew, but I remember some of the first drawings I had. My old drawings were usually dinosaurs in some kind of environment. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of those drawings because the drawings were either lost or thrown away, but what matters is that I remember them. Hopefully, I will continue to remember them as I grow older.

"Vampire Trisha", one of my early attempts at writing.

Besides drawing, I also write stories. I was fond of supernatural creatures (I still am), so most of my stories included vampires, werewolves, magic, and some type of hero. I remember a story I wrote in fifth grade. It was very popular among my classmates because I shared it with them. The title was "Vampire Trisha". I was a fan of vampires, and I admit "Vampire Trisha" was a little bit influenced by Twilight in terms of romance... and creatures.

My drawing of Ryan Hunt, a character in the online game Lunia.

I continued to draw and write as I went from one grade level to the next, and I have to say drawing and writing really help me calm down. Whenever I feel something that I don't feel like sharing, I usually draw or write to let all the emotions out. Most of the time, I just draw or write when I feel like it. Also, when I see something that I like or inspires me, like characters in a video game or online game, I try to draw them. I tend to dress up my characters in online games with "fashion" items, take screenshots, and then draw them.

A screenshot of my character in Aion Online, which I attempted to draw afterwards.

Doing these activities helped shape my life. Because I started drawing and writing at an early age, these skills help me in art classes and writing activities. I remember that my artworks in my art class during seventh and eighth grade were in art exhibits. I was proud of myself, and so were my family and my art teacher.

These hobbies continue to shape my life. They have also influenced my career choice. I plan to be a Game Designer, because I love to be able to show my drawings and stories, not only in paper, but also in a game. Storytelling is better to be experienced firsthand, in my opinion. I also dream of becoming an author of a novel, particularly in the fantasy, supernatural, and romance genre. I am actually trying to write a romantic supernatural novel. It is standing at 5,000 words at the moment, and hopefully I will have the will to continue writing.

The novel I'm currently working on.

Admittedly, because I slacked off from drawing and writing lately, I have eroded some of my skills, and now I have to refine them again. However, this doesn't stop me from drawing or writing. I still love doing a quick sketch, or writing a poem or short story, so a little skill erosion doesn't affect my will. 

The Invisible Wall

I've always liked fast-food restaurants ever since I was little. There's something about that greasy cheeseburger that is so tempting and mouth-watering. Add fries and some kind of soda with the cheeseburger, it's like heaven to me. I know fast food is not very good for my health, but I still eat them anyway.

One of my favorite fast food restaurants is Jollibee. Jollibee is a very famous fast food restaurant in the Philippines. The picture above of a Jollibee mascot, my sister and me was taken when I was very young, although I don't remember how old I was. Houston just opened a Jollibee restaurant on September 2013. I went to the place with my family, but I still prefer the one back in the Philippines.

The first childhood memory I remember vividly involved Jollibee. I was maybe two years old. My family and I went into a supermall. It was just a normal day as far as I remember. I don't remember much of what we did that day, but I remember when we were about to go home. We passed by Jollibee inside the mall on our way out, and I asked my parents if we could order food to eat out. Well, they refused, but I still wanted to eat something from the restaurant. So, I spread my arms, yelled "Jollibee!" and ran straight The next thing I remember was a painful sensation on my forehead and my face planting on a glass wall. I didn't even realize that there was a glass wall, but I was just a kid. What did I know?

This memory stands out to me because I am now more wary about glass walls. Whenever I'm inside a building, I immediately think there's a glass wall, because buildings sometimes have glass walls, especially office buildings. The invisible wall has now become quite visible because of what happened when I was young. Not only that the experience made me more careful about glass walls, but it made me more careful in general. I guess that's a lesson learned while growing up.

Now, sixteen years have passed since that memory. Not exactly sixteen years, but it's about as good as sixteen years. Overtime, memories are usually altered as new memories emerge or when family, usually parents say something about a memory. My memory hasn't really been altered. My parents barely even remember the incident, and I'm usually the one who reminds them of it whenever I remember it.

However, my memory may not really have been altered, but I did forget some of it. I don't remember which part of the mall Jollibee was. I don't remember if I was holding one of my parents' hands when I found the restaurant or if I was holding one of their hands, I don't remember whose hand I was holding. I don't remember many things in this memory. However, there is one thing that is for sure. I remember running into a glass wall while yelling "Jollibee!" with my hands spread open. I guess pain, other than happiness, makes us remember things vividly.