My Ink Bloc

  Here is to Those Who Think They Are Just Mediocre By Gabrielle A. Palma Just average . Terms that are usually coined with our names. Not actually digging deeper to the struggles and successes beyond the hands that overwork, mind that overthinks and heart that over-understands. Surviving in a setting where everyone is fed up with such high expectations. People often perceive any work should come out best, if not, better. We always tend to unconsciously neglect what is just good. Because honestly, sometimes it gets tiring to overachieve when you know for a fact that it is not always a matter of exceeding something but just being enough.  To those who think they are mediocre, you are not. You are just waiting for the moment—your right time, your right place, and your right path. Sometimes, the booze and galore in every drink just do not make sense and make the situation even more chaotic. It is okay to just pour a little bit and then just fill it again when empty.  To those who think th

Santol: Where, Bro? Tristan Jay Pinca               Have you ever wondered to the English translation of ‘Santol’? Most Filipinos will jokingly say “Where, Bro?”. To take this question seriously, do you know that Santol is known as Cotton Fruit? It is because of the white pulp inside of the fruit that looks like a soft cotton. This tropical fruit,  Sandoricum koetjape , commonly grown in different countries in Southeast Asia.               According to botany experts, native cotton fruit is originated in Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia. After several years of trading, cotton fruit has been introduced and naturalized in different tropical countries such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Borneo, India, Indonesia and Philippines. There are two kinds of Cotton Fruit, the red variety and the yellow variety, the only difference is the color. Both fruits have 5 to 6 inedible seeds. The peel has a thin outer rind and thick inner rind. A white pulp mostly has sweet-sour taste.               If you wan

I Died Three Years Ago By: Katerina R I died three years ago. My father killed me. He didn’t impale a sharp knife in me or garrote me with a rope until I suffocate to death but I wish he did. I wish he did all those atrocities to me rather than left me hanging. Like a pathetic cat stuck on a tree, only the tree isn’t a tree. It’s an abyss. A void.  I died three years ago. I remember going home from school and work drained yet happy knowing that I have my mom, my brother and dad with me. The exasperating life on a daily basis for me was somewhat tolerable because, you know, I was complete. I felt secure and safe.  I don’t mind studying and working at the same time if hustling means I get to see my parents’ proud, honored smiles. Oh, believe me, they were. But I guess, no matter how hard you try to keep everything into place, if it’s not meant to be together, it will definitely shatter.  I died three years ago. There was no funeral, just two grieving eyes and a mourning soul. A lost pair

Lampa and Payat: Lampayatot By: Jericho Fernandez Lampa and Payat—that’s what they used to call me. Since I was a child, I was told to be careful of my health as I have a weak immune system. I am product of a diabetic, lung failure, and anemic blood line ruining my time for leisure as I was forbidden to play outside—basketball, hide and seek, and even card games. My medicines were just my only friends. When I entered elementary, I was subjected to the irritating teasing because of absenteeism—“patpat”, “tamad”, “loner”, name it! Not only my emotional health was affected but also my grades.  I never confirmed. I never complained. I never explained. Because nobody even dared to ask. No one’s interested in me nor my school performance. When I stepped on my sixth grade, I’ve found someone who believed in me—she has always rooted for me since day one—the only friend who told me, “magaling ka naman, iwasan mo lang pag-absent mo.” From that very moment, “absent” became an unfamiliar word to m

"Forever Kween" By: Ma. Irish B. Medalla Life is short indeed. We may not know when will be our last day here on earth. That is why we should always value every single moments that we had with our family and friends. While we can still help other people, then why not give the things that could make them feel better? I bet this story could make our lives more useful than ever. This is not just an inspiring story yet a life changing one too that could just make you realize the true essence behind the four yet meaningful word "life". Lloyd Cafe Cadena also known as "Kween LC" is one of the original Filipino video/content creators in the country. He is born in a poor yet happy family. That is why his parents work very hard to provide their needs. For him to be able to help his family even at his young age, he started to make videos since 2011 and Till his very last breath.  His earnings as a vlogger run through his family and community. What a very selfless ac

(Photo courtesy: nytimes.com) Eighteen Life Lessons I learned in Eighteen Years By: Ela Mae Jetigan   Turning eighteen was a scary happening in my life. Eighteen equated to bigger responsibilities, higher standards and expectations, and what’s worse, the belief of everybody else that when you turn eighteen, you will have everything figured out on yourself for you are a young adult now. But in reality, you feel lost in the transition and you end up questioning if you’re really ready to live at all. Well, you are. I have been scared that I am not, too, but life goes on and one thing we could do is to keep on moving and holding on. Here are the life lessons I wish my younger self knew before I turned 18: 1.       Life does not start at eighteen.  And it did not start five years ago or five years into the future. It starts whenever you realize that living life is a daily journey in which we go on through. It was so easy for me to think that everything will just fall into place when I’m alr

Titila rin ang Ulan By: Cathylene Bulado Makulimlim ang langit at sa lagay ng ulap ay siguradong kahit anong oras ay ibabagsak na nito ang maliliit na butil na magiging sanhi ng pakabasa ng kaisa-isahan mong unipormeng ibinigay pa ng tiyahin mo. Ganun na lamang ang iyong tuwa ng makita mong ilang metro nalamang ang layo mo mula sa tinatawag mong tahanan. Binilisan mo ang paglalakad nang matanaw mo ang iyong ina na nagliligpit ng mga damit sa sampayan habang ang mga kapatid mo naman ay isa-isa nang inihahanda ang mga baldeng pagsisidlan ng mga tulo mula sa butas ng bubong.  Ang bawat pagbagsak ng ulan ay gumagawa ng ingay sa yero habang ang malakas na ihip ng hangin ay kumakalampag sa dingding ng banyo. Inihahanda na ng bunso ninyong kapatid na babae ang lamesa habang ang nakakatanda mong kapatid naman ay patapos na sakanyang nilulutong pagkain gamit ang kaldero na nangingitim na dahil sa kahoy na panggatong.  Ang ginaling na bigas at mais ang nagsilbing kanin habang ang ulam naman ay a

Staying Positive in these Trying Times By: MarkMyWords Our country is facing an unprecedented test. In a short period, our lives have changed in unimaginable ways: things that we took for granted – like eating at a restaurant or going to a movie – are no longer possible in many places. Thousands of people are falling seriously ill from COVID-19 and the disease is spreading exponentially in many places. Societies are in turmoil and economies are in nose-dive. We have become more than often than not, too preoccupied with the vicissitudes and predicaments in life that we are unable to harness the vast and unlimited resources we inherently possess to a bright future. As if we are already doomed in what has become a hopeless society that we do not take time to watch beautiful sunset and smell fragrance of flowers anymore.  Take a heart! Our world is not all miser and woe. After all, it was a loving, caring, and merciful God who designed and created it. His handiwork in nature reflects His d

  He Never Left: Musings of an OFW’s Child by: Julliane Gayle A. Tan   There are four chairs, but only three are occupied.   I grew up in a loving family of four. My brother and I were taught how to value and maintain the bond that we had ever since we were little kids. Before my father left the country to work as a seaman, we would have meals together and talk about the most random things. That is something that seems so ordinary and normal, but I consider it as one of the activities that deserve a higher degree of appreciation.                I only remember fragments of the 20 to 30 minutes we spent together every time we ate. That is because it was something I took for granted back then. You see, my father embraced the angels of heaven in 2014. He left a lot of fond memories and lessons we still cherish up until this very moment. Notice how I did not say “He left us” because I believe he never did.    I still recall how he would cook breakfast for us—the aroma lingering around and

    (Photo Source: When in Manila) Miss Everything: The Real-Life Moana By:  Aquiel-Siemon M. De Belen Amid the ocean of people that contains monsters from the depths of negativities, keep looking at the horizon of hope! Meet Miss Everything, named Jeric “Ericka” Maribojoc Camata in real life from the lands of Samar. In the eyes of the internet, she is a viral star who became famous in the Philippines with her funny videos. But before that, let us see what lies behind her waters, as she lived by the ocean in her life.  Sail along, as we watch how she conquered the sea of negativities with her sail of positivity, also saving people from the waters with her bubbly humor!  ‘Sea’ the Life by the Ocean As if her life was a representation of the song “How Far I’ll Go,” Ericka, 20, lived her life by the ocean and the winds it brings. But how was her life beside the waters? Ericka came from a big family, in which she has six siblings. But according to an interview in Magandang Buhay, she share

Take-aways From a King: A Chadwick Boseman Guide to Self Empowerment by: miss_sunshine The world was shocked by Chadwick Boseman’s passing last Saturday, August 29. The actor, known for his role as King T’Challa a.k.a the Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, died at 43 while battling colon cancer for more than four years. In reminiscing his legacy and those that he left behind, here are 7 quotes that we can learn from the man of courage himself. “Sometimes that’s the irony of life that during the most difficult moments you look back on it and you realized how much you enjoyed it – how much you could celebrate it.” In all our moments, we all have that crisp, that certain catch that we can look backward to whenever we feel like it. The thing is, even in our darkest moment, there is that specific event that is telling us to embed itself on our mind, to carry it as a lasting memory. We may not find it yet at that time, but there is a certain gold in every dull occasion, one wort

WHO IS THE REAL WINNER IN LIFE? By: Wei Won People may laugh at you along the way, People may refuse to help you because they believe that you cannot return the help they’ll give, People may humiliate you for being nobody, People may treat you like you did wrong to them, People may pull you down, You may feel drowning in a part of a sea where no one else is able to help you, Your relatives may don’t consider you as their relative,  Your friends might lose their interest in you, You may lose your loved one, You may feel despondent, You may engulf by darkness, You may want to end your life,  You may want to give up, But before you do that, you need to read this! Dark moments in life are inevitable and that’s normal - we all go through that way. You are not alone in this battle, again, you are not alone. We all struggle and suffer from the pain caused by the toxic people in our environment. Never punish yourself just because people are making you feel that you’ve done wrong to them even i

Being Plantitos and Plantitas By: Jenn   A lot of times, we indulge ourselves to thinking about a lot of stuff. Happiness, worries, debts, and death. Then we get addicted to it. But then again in this season, I thought what should we get addicted into?    Being under the community quarantine for almost half a year, a lot of us discovered who we really are. A lot of us have discovered new hobbies, new skills, new love, new passion and new career. But the most important thing I have seen today is the people’s addiction to life.    Yes, I clearly see that. That we choose life over death. We became more health conscious. We became more vigilant. We became more careful. And that also means discovering ways on how to be resilient and shrug worries during these troubled times.   In the Philippines a lot have also discovered a new addiction- the addiction to plants. If we go on the social media, needless to say that a lot have engaged to the newest trend of collecting plants. We call guys and