Every time I watch shows that feature the life story of a celebrity, I'm never bored. I'm stuck to it until the episode ends. I feel as if I'm a opened to a new world where not everything is so glamorous at all.

Today's episode was about Katy Perry. When I first heard about "I Kissed A Girl", I knew Katy was gonna be a superstar. She had this typical pop star look with great looks, great voice, and great body. I thought she was such a lucky girl who got success overnight.

As I went through the episode, I thought wrong. Like other successful artists in today's era, she first got the taste of a rocky road with constant rejections, hopelessness, and to the point where people keep telling you to give up. It took her years to build up the career she has now. There was more to the typical pop star look she had. She cames out consistently with her work. Her talents reflect her hard work, determination, personality, and how creative she is as an artist.

Then I wondered if I'll be able to taste that feeling. I've never really opened up about what I dream to be because to most, it's cheesy. What I'm expected to do is to be a businesswoman. Ever since I was a little kid, all I wanted was to perform. I first wanted to be a singer. While I watch MTV, I'd take the remote and use it as a microphone as I sing along with the songs playing in front of me. I wrote songs, imagined what my life would be as an artist, named my albums, created a rebellious image like Ashlee Simpson, and made so many dreams.

Now that I'm sixteen, I want to be a versatile actress. Not just an ordinary actress in chick films but an actress who takes any role in all kinds of movies, TV shows, and plays. I want to be in drama, comedy, horror, musical, and all kinds! Because of my drama club in high school, I've learned to love everything in acting: nerve-wracking auditions, late afternoon rehearsals, and the superb excitement of knowing your audience loves the show.

I'd rather be an actress than a singer. A real singer writes her own songs, makes the music, and oversees the whole production. In real life, I love to sing but I haven't inclined myself to real music. I only know how to control the basics of piano and guitar, I'm not a good lyricist/rhymist, and I freak out when I'm instructed to compose and read musical notes.

As an actress, you can shut off who you really are and start a new persona once the directors says 'action!'. You get to feel and experience the life of someone else's shoes. The script doesn't make the character instantly but the emotions and gestures you project defines that role. I can place my real emotions through acting without hurting anyone around me. And as you act, you're free to express what you think can help improve the scene.

I remembered telling myself that by the age fifteen I should be famous worldwide. Now that just makes me laugh. I haven't reached local media but at least I left high school knowing I've entertained the faculty and students. That's enough for me... now.

Of course I want to reach the top. I want to go locally and even internationally - hello Hollywood! I know I may not be able to reach that now because my studies is my priority. But joining theater groups in college won't stop me. At least I'll still be able to hone my skills.

Cheers to dreams!

Tomorrow is the day I'll be taking my first test in one of the universities I have applied for. In thirteen hours, I'll be finally putting out what I've been preparing for during the summer.

I used to not care about this but right now I'm nervous and I literally don't know what to expect to see on the papers.

The one tip that most teachers and students keep telling us is to relax your mind before the test. So I have no idea if I should do a thorough review tonight but I think I'll need to do a quick scan through some topics.

And of course I need to buy some candies later to keep me alert for the six-hour test.

My parents believe in my capabilities. My teachers. My friends. They keep telling me that I will pass.

By tonight, I should do the same for myself.

Tomorrow will be the last day of exams (oh hello dear Chemistry) and the start of Christmas break. The thrill in me hasn't set in though, so I still have to wait a little more before it comes out.

This year's season will be tiring, obviously. Aside from giving gifts (oh damn. I haven't bought chocolates!), I should push myself to wake early in the morning for Simabang Gabi (English for 'Midnight Mass' and Spanish for 'Misa de Gallo') since I haven't really done that ever; I have to start waking up early for swimming because Mom is forcing me to start dieting for the prom and so and so forth; oh and that includes finding the perfect outfit and date; I also need to fully memorize all the lines of Link in Hairspray (that would be our school play this year). And lastlyyy, I can't wait to read a book which is about vampires. I haven't read proper books for months!

I guess that's all for now...

I can't wait for the surprises and unexpecting moments this holidays! This should be fun.

How about you? How are you spending your holidays? Hope you have fun!

I hate being sick.

Not only it ruins my perfect attendance record that I've been keeping up with since Grade 5, it also makes it harder for me stand the fact that I have to catch up with today's lessons and schoolworks on the day I come back to school.

Beside me is a plastic bag filled with used tissues, if you know what I mean.

I hate this.

And I might even wear a face mask to prevent coughing at things or at people.

Damn it.

Summer has finally ended and school is about to start. Well, actually, our school started a week ago.

I would say that this year's summer is unforgettable. I had experiences in which I thought would never happen. The feeling is like being a little kid again. It's like doing the things all over again as I have shared in this post.

I met friends who are older and younger than me, and I felt less weird now while hanging out with the opposite sex. Because of that, we have this strong bond that's make it hard for us to not see one another.

Gaining new friends was one of the reasons why I always went out of the house during the summer - and another reason of not using the computer to surf the internet in 5 straight hours (Thank God!). I have to say I always hated going home whenever the sun's setting. Plus, I have been eating my favorite street foods, isaw and dugo for almost everyday!

We had a Youth Sportsfest last month where we represented our subdivision, and we, girls, played volleyball, while the boys played basketball. The volleyball team was ranked 4th place out of 7 teams while the basketball team - well, we honestly don't know. Oh and our tean was awarded with Friendship Team. It made us laugh especially the guys!

That event was our automatic pass to our Church's Youth Ministry. We, of course, willingly accepted the opportunity to bring us closer to one another and most especially to God. Since we'll be having meetings once every month, we'll never have a reason not to see one another.

Last but not the least, my new found friend, Jah, is having her 18th birthday, a Filipino tradition in celebrating the debutantes, next month. She chose most of us to be part of the cotillion. My partner and I physically look fine when dancing but in fact, he's 21 years old and I'm still very young.

We have practices every weekend and each rehearsal keeps getting better and better.

For everyone living in Asia, how was your summer?

For everyon in other side of the world, how will you be spending you summer?

Hope you had and/or will have a great summer!

Yesterday night was AMAZING.

I didn't care that I was more than 10 or 20 feet away from the stage.

I didn't care that I was surrounded with indescribable bad odor of men.

I didn't care that I could almost have varicose veins in my legs.

I didn't care that I can't literally see the Davids' faces - or their bodies - on stage.

BUT

All I cared was that I was enjoying one of the best nights I could have in my life.

I was with my cousin, Vanessa, who I don't see often because she lives in the province, and I'm glad I got to spend this one night with her.

I was rocking it out with people who came for good music. We all danced and sang with all our hearts to the music. And we all came for a great night.

Cheers to the Davids for one hell of a concert!

There is always someone better than you,

someone more attractive than you,

someone smarter than you,

someone one step ahead.

But the one who is better than you may just be the loneliest person,

the one who is more attractive than you may not be so attractive on the inside,

and the person smarter than you may not have the love your receive from others.

So never ever be the jealous one.

Love what you have...

and love who you are.

In this world, it's hard to tell who's true and who's not;

people may be good at the beginning and cruel in the end.

If you're too trusting, they'll take advantage of you;

If they know you're weak, they'll hurt you.

After loving them, they'll leave you.

Never allow somebody to be your priority when in fact, you're just an option.

Sometimes it just feels good to fall in love but most of the time,it hurts.

A joke my sister told me. My gosh! I want to die!

Sister: I have three jokes for you?

Me: What?

Sister: JOKE! JOKE! JOKE!

A sad love story:

BF: Huhuhu

GF: Huhuhu

BF: Huhuhu

GF: Huhuhu



BF: Huhuhu

GF: Huhuhu



BF: Huhuhu

GF: Huhuhu


BF: Huhuhu

GF: Huhuhu

BF: Huhuhu

GF: Huhuhu

How sad!

Since I've been receiving crazy forwarded text messages from my friends, I'll start sharing them all to you. Here is Text Message # 1:

A cute story:

A boy is planning to ask his mentally retarded girlfriend for marriage.

Being her usual self, jolly and childish, she was asked by the guy:

"Will you marry me?"

The girl just laughed, looked at the guy and said:

"Are you crazy? All I ever wanted to marry is SpongeBob."

Disappointed, he looked at the girl then cried.

The girl seeing his tears, wiped them and asked,

"Will you be my SpongeBob?"

I’m scared for the earth.

It’s summer in the country. Everyday should be a sunny day but rain keeps pouring in.

Right now, there are three low pressure areas surrounding the country and that is just not right.

A friend told me Japan is starting to sink.

And what else is next?

We badly need to fix this.  We all need to get up and be united for once.

There are people who still want to live and it includes me.

I didn't really have in mind of education overseas but here I am right now, thinking deeply of studying outside the country. A place with a multicultural society and totally different from where I stand right now. Both a country and a continent. Yes, you guessed it, Australia.

A friend of mine suggested that idea months ago and before I could even decide, I had a list of places to study. It consisted of Singapore, U.S.A, and somewhere in Europe. Then a few days ago, I dropped by a language school to inquire about Spanish lessons (I am indeed interested to learn and speak it) but it was closed at the moment. Before I left, I took the moment to read more of the fliers posted on their wall and then I saw this little headline but still managed to catch my attention: "FACTS ABOUT STUDYING IN AUSTRALIA".

It stated that Australia gives importance to education that is why they are known for their dynamic and excellent educational programs. Its government assures you of safety because they have established legislation to protect international students. Plus, they welcome people of different races and are sensitive to their culture and religion.

This plan hasn't yet come to a final call but my main reason of doing this is experience. I'm a person who loves adventure and new challenges, and why not include that advantage to study abroad? I want to embrace a new culture and learn how the world balances. I want to wake up and be amazed in awe that I'm in a different world, far away from the continuous rage of crime and corruption.

I haven't told my parents about this but I slowly made the first attempt to Mom by telling her, "IF I study abroad, will you allow me?” Thankfully, she did say yes. She then brought up that the daughter of her friend in school passed a school in the U.S. and is still studying there. When I knew the person she was talking about, I jokingly told Mom that I was told she went back home during Christmas with a guy friend. Obviously, my Mom went half-crazy and said, "...then I won't let you go anymore".

Boys. Why are they always a problem to girls?

Though financial stability can be a slight factor that could stop me from reaching this crazy dream even if Australia assures you of low tuition cost (to be sure and safe), I can apply for a scholarship IF I put a 101% of my focus and concentration on my studies especially for junior year and put Australia as my inspiration and goal to fulfill this. For the people who know me so well, I'm sure you'd be laughing at what you see right now but there's one thing you don't know about me. I am ambitious.

:)

Do you remember having the habit of playing a band's whole album on repeat and listening to it all over and over until you feel you realize it's already 12:01 in the morning?

Do you all of a sudden started visiting all the online sites of a band and close its windows until you have read all the biggest details to the smallest ones?

Do you... What the heck am I saying?

I don't need to make a list of symptoms to show that you're addicted to a band! Of course everybody in this place knows what I'm talking about. You know the feeling! Each and every single bit of it.

Just a few days ago, I started listening to this band because the person behind the powerful vocals is amazing. I continued listening to their music until I fell in love with the texture and versatility of their songs.

I knew about them when Fueled By Ramen signed them up but I hate myself for only giving my full attention to them just now.

Who am I talking about?

They're VersaEmerge.

Now I leave you with their newly released music video, "Past Praying For".

<3

Since classes ended, I’m having the 8-hour sleep I’ve been wanting. I should  be happy because I have no projects, home works, or whatsoever to think about. But lately, I couldn’t properly relax because by the time I wake up; I’m either thinking or worrying about something.

That’s one thing I hate about myself. I’M ALWAYS THINKING! Thinking of what’s happening in the past, present, and future. Maybe even all the 5 W’s of what, where, when, who, why.

I mean, come on, honestly, I’m not one of the highest grading students in school but shouldn’t those high ranking students be thinking MORE than I do?

Do you get what I mean? If you are in my shoes right this instant, you’d go crazy!

Because of my unavoidable thinking, I’ve earning white highlights on my hair... which is also genetic.

Is there are possibility that I can command my brain to stop thinking for once? Like what Jimmy Neutron’s doing – he tells his brain to THINK, THINK, THINK – and he actually thinks and gets a result! But for my condition, should I tell my brain: DON’T THINK, DON’T THINK, DON’T THINK! – and will it actually happen?

Okay, that might sound stupid and idiotic but the point is I need to relax. If I go to a spa and get a soothing massage, will I actually not think for once even when I’m sleeping?

I ate halo-halo yesterday and all of a sudden, I remembered all the wonderful things that happened to me when I was a kid.

I can go out of the house any time of the day and do everything a batang-kalye (Tagalog word for street kid) does. I'd ride my bike, pick on fights with the boys who are smaller than me, sell iced candies, spend all my money on junk food and street food - isaw, dugo, and the very exotic balut.

Those memorable days were mostly done during summers... but there one thing that I'd never ever forget.

~ I sent a total of three love letters to my first crush who was 6 years older than me and everyone in the neighborhood knew about it. ~

Two weeks more.. Sophomore year finally ends and Summer `09 finally starts!

I've made a list of what to do but I still want to do crazier things or even be surprised. I wasn't really excited about the season coming in but it all changed when halo-halo came to the rescue.

...for a school play. AWESOME, RIGHT?

Got the list of the cast last Tuesday for our two-story play and our gala night's next Friday.

We haven't practiced our blockings or even get to step on the stage because the grade school drama club is practicing for their play, too!

Where do pictorials fall in? Advertisements? Costumes? Make-up?

How will the others memorize their pure Filipino dialogues in just one week?

Performing makes me happy but everything behind the curtains will always be a mystery.

Interacting with Mother Nature is one of the most precious memories you could ever have. Traveling three hours away from the city to the province and back again with everyone from your batch level in just one day could bring stronger the bond among us.

Earning chunks of mud between the spaces of the soles in your shoes…

Falling butt first onto the wet soil…

Getting your clothes fully soaked in muddy water… From white shirts to gray shirts

Crossing down a creek with a bamboo raft and soon realizing you’re soaked in creek water, as well…

Turning the color of the resort’s swimming pool from blue to brown…

Sharing a small shower room with more than a 100 students…

Finally, going back home, laughing and sharing all these crazy stories with your friends.

We first have complained when we found out we were having our EOP (Educational Outbound Program) in the same province we went during our freshmen year, and that is Laguna, but we have never imagined it being indescribably fun.

Just a month away before our sophomore year finally ends, surely we would never forget that special day. All the cramming we’ve done that week were all long forgotten and paid for. We may have our fights and disagreements as a class but the happiest and most unforgettable moments we had would always be in us.

I guess I didn't make a proper introduction on my first post but I'll be making up for it through this.

Hello to all! I am Janella.

I love writing blogs. It's one of the few things that relax me from a hard day. Currently, I haven't posted or even written any blogs on some of my online accounts lately for the fact that I've been having a hard time putting into words what I want to say.

But I have something in draft and I can't wait til it gets complete!

There's this book I haven't finished reading in weeks and it only takes me three hours to get done with it. The first part doesn't interest me as much as the one's back but my friend promised me that nice parts are in the middle until the end.

It's called Sweep (I'm now in no. 11 - Origins) - it's a book series about blood witches and their magick (you're not seeing a typo-o, it is spelled as it is). It's honestly addicting and I have influenced about five of my friends.

I guess that's it for now...
 
 
 

Valentine’s Day has never been special to me. I treat as an ordinary day of the year.. but this 2009, it has changed. February 14, 2009 is a date to remember!

My friends and I went to see Boyce Avenue and they were a total stranger to us before we even went to see them. I found out about them through my brother’s blasted iPOD, it was then playing their “Tatoo-No One-Where is the Love” cover.

I was with Anna (who knew about them when I told her about them), Janna, Ia & Mau (who don’t know really know them). Before we could get comfotable, a lot of confusion has happened on the seating and we all ended up being seperated from one another – Mau was in the third row, Janna & Anna in the second, and me & Ia in the first.

All the excitement we’ve kept days before came out through our screams and giggles when they started performing. They played some of their singles from their debut album and some of their covers like “Apologize”, “With You”, “Umbrella”, “Bleeding Love”, and my personal favorite, “Tatoo-No One-Where is the Love” .

Ia and I even got Fabian’s attention a lot of times by our craziness.

Ia got Fabian's guitar pick, I got two copies of their set list together with Ia, we had our CDs signed, and I told Fabian that I ditched FOB to see them (SHAME ON ME, I KNOW!).

All of us still can't forget that special day. We never had so much luck within one day!

...Now I can't wait for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus!