“Never let anyone cast a shadow over your sunshine.” #charot
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Give me something to write about? #charot
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Journal time 💕
Been keeping diaries/ journal since I was in highschool but haven’t had the time to make an entry on a daily basis for the past couple of years. Now, trying to go back at it and so far so good. 👌
Keeps me busy, makes me practice writing and stirs up my creativity. Here’s to more entries!! 😊
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When I started out 2016, I was fully ecstatic and excited for what’s to come as I move into the next year. I was hopeful and looking forward to the journey that I will continue to take as the days go by, but then again, life happens when you least expect it, and that definitely happened to me.
I was currently a student in law school, and I looked at it like it was similar to Elle Woods’ life.

But no one told us we would have to go through so much sleepless nights, mental and emotional breakdowns before we could feel like Elle when she won that case for Brooke Windham. It was not like that, it was a life buried in books, codals, cases and the ever terrifying oral recitations in class. Everyone said law school was hard, but I can definitely attest that the word “hard” is an understatement.
Then again, I thought I was doing a lot better in school. It was my second semester in, I was managing my time better, finishing what needed to be done by the time classes started. I really thought I was adjusting better and dealing with the stress quite better than I first started. So when I got my final grades from the semester I was devastated when I failed the subjects I was working hard on. It broke my heart…. and my ego that I was not doing as well as I felt I was.
From that point on, I felt like a failure and was so conflicted. Do I enroll again? Do I stop? I felt so discouraged yet I did not want people to think I gave up easily. This one little hiccup definitely made me re-evaluate my choices in life and for the first time, in a long time, I had no idea what to do. It took me so long to tell my parents and my family that I decided to stop pursuing my graduate studies because I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I was not excelling in the field a lot of people thought I would. Embarrassed that people would think I was a disappointment for just taking the easy way out. That was not my case, no. My heart was just not invested in it anymore.
I thank God for giving me the most understanding parents and that they did not judge my choices and even helped me find other ways to pursue a career that I wanted. My family was ever supportive of whatever choices I would make and I am so grateful for that.
The second half of 2016 was trying to build the relationships whose bridges were burned down because I did choose my studies over seeing them. It was all about the friendships and picking up where we left off. I made sure I would see my friends and just let them know that I still care and will always be there for them.
It was also the time for me to find something I wanted to do, but I am pretty sure everyone can understand me when I say that finding a job is hard, especially when you don’t have a wide array of skills like me or a mediocre life academics- wise. There will always be someone better than you and more credible than you, and plainly, that just sucks. No matter how you say you really want this job, it all depends on the employer and how much they are impressed of you. Needless to say, I had the hardest time and it sure made me feel so bad that I was not better than who I was.
2016 was definitely one of the lowest times for me but I am very thankful for the people who still stayed by my side and never stopped until I saw what I was worth again. Thank you, thank you.
It only gets better from here,

APPRECIATION POST GOES OUT TO YAKSKI!!! 😘😘😘
Yakski has always been my go-to-place for some barbecue, may it be pork, chicken, chicken skin or hotdog. There’s just something about their sauce that makes me come back for it everytime!
Don’t miss it if ever you do make your way to Cebu soon!!!
I THINK I LOST MY MOJO, I FEEL LOST
I don’t know what happened, but I just wanted to quit. I was just too scared to add more salt to an already burning wound. You know what I mean?
I thought I was doing well. Well, at least better than when I started, but I guess it did not show in the result. I was working harder, spending more time drowning in learning my desired craft that I barely saw any of my friends. I thought I was engaging in the discourse a lot better because I understood what I was focusing on, or at least I thought I did.
It doesn’t feel good to fail, especially when you worked hard enough and long enough to think you were safe, or at least surviving. I guess that’s why I felt discouraged. I’m not accustomed to failing, much more telling your parents about it. I hate the feeling, and I just did not want to go through it again.
I just need another plan to reach my goals… or re-align my goals. I can do this. I just need to be happy, no matter what people say
Xie Ping from Harbour City/ Dimsum Break
Shaved ice/ snow ice has definitely invaded Cebu’s dessert scene this year, because, what’s not to like about it? It definitely beats the heat that’s all year round in the country.
This dish is definitely a favorite of mine. For the price of Php85, what’s not to love?
Xie Ping puts a twist to the classic halo-halo, which uses normal shaved ice then ube/ purple yam ice cream. Xie Ping is different, instead of the shaved ice+ ice cream, this concoction is made of ube shaved ice, only! So it’s flavored, and you definitely taste the ube, and you no longer have to mix the dessert since the entire shaved ice is flavored!
This is a go-to for my family and I when it comes to family-sized desserts. Soooo good!
x, Janine
Mango and Cheese Sulbing from Sulbing Cafe
Now this one is off the chain. It’s so good!! Definitely something you would enjoy sharing with your family on a hot summer’s day.
Sulbing is a Korean dessert that consists of flavored shaved ice. The bowl was filled with vanilla flavored shaved ice, then convered with cubes of cheesecake and mango (I’m not quite sure if the yellow cubes were actual frozen cubes of mango or mango puree. Nevertheless, it tastes good). The cubes are then aesthetically placed on the heaping mountain of vanilla ice and then topped off with a giant scoop of ice cream and garnished with almond. It is then served with a side of sweetened condensed milk, because it should just get sweeter and it actually just mixes the entire thing together.
When you dig in, it’s like you are getting a really tight hug from the Sulbing and it is just pure love. HAHA. Everything just mixes well with the sweetness of the vanilla ice and condensed milk, the freshness of the mango and the tanginess of the cheesecake.
Definitely an awesome heat beater! A must try, but do not go alone. It is too much for one person. Bring a friend, for more fun….and less calorie intake ;)
x, Janine