@thepandagirl

@thepandagirl 1 August 2022

Speak Now https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zlWMJbbLyA0 *I am not the kind of girl* *Who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion 🎶* **'White veil ocassion'.**... It's clear to me what that means. That today marks the day that you'll be tied for life to a thing called marriage. The thought that you would ever get to this point in life never crossed my mind. You're definitely going to get married one day, I am absolutely positive of it. Not today, though. It is still vivid in my mind how we dreamed of this day years ago. It's a promise we made.. We promised that we'd walk this journey together when we reach the perfect time. *But you are not the kind of boy* *Who should be marrying the wrong girl* Do you think I'm not good enough? Did you get tired of waiting for me? I probably judged you wrong. I never thought that you'll choose a girl like her. But who am I to judge, right? I cannot even tell your heart what to feel. So here you are, getting married to the 'wrong girl'. Well, at least that's what I believe. *I sneak in and see your friends* *And her snotty little family all dressed in pastel* *And she is yelling at a bridesmaid* *Somewhere back inside a room* *Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry* I was really shocked... literally when I learned about it. This is not what I expected to happen. Finding out about it on social media is the amusing part. Despite the fact that I didn't directly know the girl, I was capable of identifying her thanks to my remarkable "stalking" skills. I looked at her account and could see how joyful she is. Even a bridal shower was organized for her by her family. She and her family all appear to be very happy. *This is surely not what you thought it would be..* Who would have imagined that this would be our final chapter? I assumed you'd keep your end of the bargain. But you're not, are you? *I lose myself in a daydream* *Where I stand and say* *Don't say yes, run away now* *I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door* *Don't wait, or say a single vow* *You need to hear me out* *And they said, "Speak now"* Daydreaming.. I suppose that's all I can do at this point. I used to have a dream where I was in her shoes. That when our eyes met as I walked down the aisle and beamed brightly, I would be the happiest girl there. But I am aware that this is improper and I must stop daydreaming. Because your heart is now owned by someone else, it is wrong. And I understand that it's improper to harbor romantic thoughts for a married man. *Fond gestures are exchanged* *And the organ starts to play* *A song that sounds like a death march* *And I am hiding in the curtains* *It seems that I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be* *She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen* Finally, you exchanged vows and rings, which means that you would always be together eternally. Even though I wasn't there, I know that this is what undoubtedly occurred and that it marks the end for us. Farewell, my love. It may not be possible for you and I to have a happy ending, but I'm hoping you'll always be happy with her. Remember that even though you may have kept your commitment to me by being with someone else rather than with me, I am still here, wishing for your happiness. Always.

@thepandagirl 30 December 2021

Hatred I hate you. I hate you for bringing me into this word. No matter what they say, What you all say. I still blame you for all these. I didn’t ask to be given this life. Nor am I not thankful for this life. I am tired of living, I am tired of being your daughter. I am tired of being your family. I am tired. I am tired of everything.   I detest you. I hate you for making a family, A family that you can’t properly take care of. I hate you for being my father, I hate you for being my mother. My heart is full of animosity, resentment, and bitterness, Resentment for the people responsible for my existence. I used to love you. You used to be the people I think of first when I’m hurt, When I’m lonely, When I’m in trouble. But you all have changed. You’re no longer the people you used to be. And now all I have left for you is bad blood.   They say family is everything, And no matter what happens, Even if you turn the world upside down, Even if the earth rotates and revolves faster than normal, Until the end of the world, They’re still your parents. They’re still your family. And there is no way to change that fact. How I wish I could change that though. But I must be a fool, I must be a fool for wishing for the impossible, I must really be a fool.   What's the matter with you? You said you don’t give a d**n, You don’t give a d**n about whatever that happens to us. Cause you care about your friends more. You care about pleasing your friends more. You care about what they’ll say, but not what we’ll. Why would you prioritize the people who shouldn’t matter more? Why would you abandon your family? I thought time will change you. I thought saying a few words, will make you change, I hoped that it will add some sense in you, That you’ll be somehow moved to change, But no. It was all a hopeless thought.   I’m a changed person now, I won’t be affected by these circumstances that I can’t change, There’s no good in crying over spilled milk. You won’t change, but I can, I can’t change the situation, but I can change myself. I won’t tire myself now thinking about things and situations I don’t have control over, I won’t waste my life resenting you, I'm not going to waste my time stifling my disdain. This is a God-given life I have to treasure, You could be the reason I was conceived and born into this world. But my life was not from you. I decided to tressure it, I'm no longer the kind of person who'd rather take my own life than confront the challenges. I’m not the immature young girl who’d kill herself because of problems. I’ve changed and I know I could be a better person. I’d tressure my life, I detest you, but I don’t detest my life. I’ll hang in there. Even if there’s no reason to. And maybe one day.. Just maybe.. Maybe there will be a change. I’m not sure what it is yet, But I’ll hope for a better situation. Maybe I’ll be in a different circumstance.

@thepandagirl 22 December 2021

Mental Health Awareness I was in 8th grade when I experienced depression. I didn’t expect that I’d feel that way. As a teenager, I thought that no one would be able to help me. I couldn’t talk about it to other people and I was afraid to tell my parents about it. It was one of the hardest parts of growing up. I couldn’t tell which exactly is the reason why I was depressed. All I know is that I am sad and I no longer want to continue living. Going to school no longer excites me and I don’t like the school activities. I just want to quit and stay in my room. Maybe it was the stress because of school works, maybe it was because I was undergoing puberty that time and I had lots of pimples which made lowered my self-esteem, maybe it was because I don’t have friends like most of my peers, or maybe because was always being scolded at home. Maybe one of those reasons. All I know is that it didn’t feel good. There’s an instance when I almost hang myself using a rope but I hesitated. There’s a time when I almost hurt myself with a blade. And there were times when I couldn’t help but hit my head against the hard wall. I was reminded of these painful memories again. But I’m also happy that I was already over that period in life. I’m happy that I didn’t give up on my life and endured the hardships. I was reminded of those days when one of my friends on Facebook keeps posting stuff about depression. I ignored it at first thinking that she’s just an attention seeker or something. But then I was bothered when once again I came across her post that gives clues about depression and suicide. It’s like she’s indicating that her life is useless. Since I am not close with that girl, I ignored it once again. But two days ago, I encountered her post again. It was on her daily status. Her first story goes like this: *The world is in chaos, it is too noisy. Good thing I always have a blade with me.* At first, I didn’t think that it was about suicide because what I saw in the photo are pieces of jewelry. So I clicked the next button again and saw her next story and it goes like this: *Oh,  they’re actually fascinated when I tell them I can survive a day without food and water.* And at the lower part of the screen, it says like this: *Tired of living. Tired of being unimportant*. That’s when I realized that it was the same girl who has cryptic posts before. And when I clicked the screen once again, It was a black and white photo of an arm with cuts and looks like it was cut using a blade. That’s when I panicked and immediately went to check her account. Sad to say, all her posts and shared memes are all about anxiety, depression, and suicide. But the odd thing is that it seems like the people around her are ignoring it. I’ve been in that period, so I know she’s not kidding. Those are not just memes but she’s actually depressed and needs some help. When I checked the reactions and comments on her posts, the majority are not taking it seriously, like she’s just kidding or something. The thing about mental health and problems is that it can’t be seen. So people would not always believe it when someone has mental problems unless they saw the serious effects. We should normalize taking mental problems seriously. When someone shares with us something that may be related to a mental issue, we should take the time to listen and help that person in any way possible. Sometimes, it is enough when there is someone who is willing to listen to us. And when talking about mental health and issue, don’t always jump to conclusion that the person is going bonkers. Mental health problem doesn’t always mean being crazy.

@thepandagirl 15 December 2021

I'm no longer happy, what should I do? I chose to write about it because I've been stressed up lately due to work problems. I haven't written about my feelings in a long time, and I can't think of anyone with whom to express my feelings. It's been almost two years since I got this job, and I've enjoyed the first few months here. I was motivated, and every day was a challenge, but I felt like I was exploring, and I was learning and growing as a result of those experiences. I became a top performer, and I could tell that my superiors, particularly my direct supervisor, were quite proud of me. Our group is unrivaled. We could beat other teams and receive a lot of incentives at the end of the week and each month, which I must say has inspired myself and the rest of the team to do well. We all work together in harmony and treat each other as if we were a big family rather than coworkers. My direct supervisor is very considerate. Our request would be easily granted as long as we accomplish a good job. For example, there was a time when I requested that my two weeks of days off be continuous, so I got four days off in a row since I needed to run some important errands. I was apprehensive at first to ask, but I did so anyway, and he agreed, much to my relief. He's the best boss we've ever had! Our team also has support that is as good as our immediate supervisor. So far, my first twelve months have been fantastic. I was happy no matter how often my schedule was modified and my body clock had to adjust due of the setting we had at work. However, our team has advanced to the point that we are becoming unbeatable. It appeared that some people were envious of us. Instead of doing their jobs properly so that they might match our successes, they would gossip and spread false information about a few of us. It had an impact on a few of us on the team. Some employees began to disappear without taking official leave or even telling our supervisor or support staff. Few have resigned, and some are constantly late for work. It had an impact on team performance, thus management decided to restructure the teams. The majority of us were assigned to different supervisors, and I was unfortunately assigned to someone with whom I was unfamiliar. But that's fine with me; I understand that things don't stay the same forever, and that change is inevitable. And the good thing is that I could still see my friends now and then, but our schedules are already different, and we're assigned to various stations and areas, so we don't see each other very often. I'm not sure how to approach my new teammates, so I normally spend my lunch and break times alone. My new manager isn't very friendly, and he's only interested in the numbers, therefore he'll frequently chastise the entire team for the fault of a particular team member. Although we have good support, most of my teammates are not very driven to work. I was under a lot of pressure because I felt that my immediate supervisor had great expectations of me. He assumes I will never make a mistake, and even worse, he believes I no longer require assistance. As a result, he altered my schedule to set it out from the others. I was given the responsibility of arriving at work three to four hours earlier than they did. As a result, it was quite difficult for me because some of the supports would usually prioritize assisting those on their team first. I told my manager if he could change my schedule to something a little later. I'd accept it if it was an hour earlier and something I could manage. It was, however, not even considered. I just accepted it and put up with it because I know how important this job is to me. And my goal is to work my way up the ladder and, perhaps, earn a promotion after a year. I persevered, and months have passed. Every day, I could only sleep for 3-4 hours. It's fine if I spend the most of the day at work.I endured eating only foods that I can buy at the cafeteria since I can barely go home. I requested a month ago that my supervisor allow me to take at least three consecutive days off between the first and second weeks of the month since my cousin is getting married, and I need to travel to my hometown to attend. He agreed and said that all he had to do was change my schedule because it had already been planned in the system. But you know what happened? Instead, I was marked absent, and he asked me to sign some paperwork coming from the Human Resources department  the next day to explain why I was away. I was okay every time he asks me to stay longer and render overtime. Unlike the rest of the team, I work over 13 hours each day without complaining once. I never caused any problems for the team. This is already overwhelming and out of control. Should I just quit and start looking for a new job? Should I endure a bit longer? I'm not sure; I'll have to think about it some more. `Hello. I was too busy making ends meet that I forgot about writing. Here I am, writing herw after 5 months.`

@thepandagirl 18 June 2021

What Does It Mean to Be Successful What is the basis of success in life? What does it mean to be successful? People have different answers when these questions are asked. There are people who say that having a good profession, a high-paying job, advancing with their education and gaining a lot of money is the basis of true success. Some says when someone is famous, that person is successful. While there are also those who says that being able to get along well with their loved ones such as their family and friends as well as the other people around them is considered a success in life. Just a few months ago I read the news online about the Korean actress and singer who committed suicide. I was just a teenager when I watched her drama. I also listened to some of her songs. A few years ago, she can also be identified to be one of the famous personalities in her country. And as an ordinary youth, I used to think she was successful. But it is sad to hear that despite the success she has achieved in life, she has decided to take her own life. Sad to say that her story is just one of the unfortunate stories about the tragedies that famous people experiences. We can often hear news about famous personalities becoming depressed despite the success they achieved in life. Unfortunately, there are even those who resorts to drinking and using of prohibited drugs. It is said that even in the world of business, some personalities who are successful can have a chaotic life that is just concealed to the eyes of the people. *“The pressure to make money destroys professions, destroys families, and makes drug dealers happy. . . Some Wall Street bankers feel very good because of the bonus they received, while others are discouraged because nothing is happening despite their efforts to show off, and some are overwhelmed and helpless.”* This is stated in one of the newspapers published in New York City several years ago. Are those problems stated above is actually caused by seeking success and happiness in a wrong way? It is a matter of fact that money is an essential thing we need to survive in this world. Others say that if you have accumulated a lot of money and wealth, you are considered successful. But is it really true that accumulating wealth is the basis of true success? Is real success based on wealth and material things? A lot of evidences shows that it’s not. Like the stated example earlier, there are a lot of people who have all the material things, the money, the wealth that they need in life, but still dissatisfied in life, they are not happy at all. They feel like something is missing in their life, and they try to seek or that missing something. This only shows that being true successful and true success is associated not just with money and material things such as expensive cars, dresses or clothes, shoes or watches, extravagant house nor a high-paying profession. Isn’t it better to measure how successful a person is based o their purpose and principles in life, as well as their personality and views in life? Let’s say that a person who is famous, influential and has a lot of money, but despite that, that person has low morals, he lacks true friends, and he also does not know how to love or show love and compassion. There are also famous people who are already wealthy but still asks or wonder about their purpose in life and what is the meaning of their life. How about you who’s currently reading this article, for you what is the basis of success?  @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 12 June 2021

When Love in Marriage Fades For a some people, life’s happiness can emanate from one’s marriage. Others consider their wedding day as the happiest moment of their life, however, marriage also has the potential to bring in misery to a person. It is true that there are a lot of things in life that can bring both happiness and anguish to someone. But when it comes to marriage, it is said that a lot of couple gets more share of misery or anguish instead of happiness. According to statistics, there are marriages that seem to sink and end in divorce but in conjunction with that, there are marriages that remain afloat but seem to be stuck in a lake or stagnant water. There are couples who last for many years but despite that, they are not happy and to others, their experience is the worst ever. Why is it? According to someone I spoke to the other day, who inspired me to write this article, she can no longer see that her husband is even interested in how she feels. They have been married for more than 20 years, but her husband is her worst emotional enemy. He even told her once that he no longer love her. That he was only living with her for the sake of their two children, and if at all possible,he would not even want to share the same room. They are often together but they don’t pay attention to each other. They no longer do fun stuffs together and when they talk, they always end up in a fight. They just put up with the situation. If these couple choose to stay together even when they are no longer happy, there are others who prefer to separate or divorce rather than endure emotional hardship. So I thought, if a couple's relationship is already this cold, is it right for them to let go of a life full of unhappiness? Or is it really better for the two to live together even though there is no love left for each other? Or can a marriage be saved, not just from the possibility of divorce but from a loveless union? It is not surprising to know that many marriages today are loveless. Television shows, videos that surfaces on that internet and becomes trending topics, and even memes or quotes that can be read online illustrate this bitter truth. Many people enter this complex situation without even thinking about the advantages and disadvantages and what they can do in case problem arise. Yes, many marriages dwell in happiness, but many do not. Probably because they entered into a relationship and their expectations were very high. Too idealistic it seems, but when reality strikes them, they no longer know how to deal with it. Many couples say that you can only get to know your partner fully when you are living together under the same roof, so often, when they are together, they only come to realize that they cannot deal with and tolerate the person with whom they are living with. Many also cannot afford long-term relationships and only want temporary happiness. Yes marriage is a serious matter and needs to be prepared well but some enters it without being fully prepared. According to my research and interview with some married couple, here are some reasons why love can fade in a marriage: **Expectation versus reality**. Like what I previously mentioned, some are slapped by reality once they are already married and they find it hard to deal with. Some expects that their married life will end in happily ever after during their wedding, that they’ll live like what it is portrayed in fairy tales and romance books. But that is not the case in reality. A lot of romantic movies, books and even songs shows how beautiful love is, but those are usually very unrealistic. **Incompatibility**. In marriage, disagreements are always inevitable, sometimes, problems are hard to solve when a couple can’t come into agreement because they have different mindset and they may feel incompatible. @thepandagirl🐼

@thepandagirl 25 May 2021

How do you use your ability to Speak? Have you ever tried to give a gift to someone? Perhaps you gave a gift to your close friend, to your family member or even to you colleague. When we give someone a gift and we saw that the recipient used the gift correctly, we are definitely pleased and happy with that as the giver. But what if you saw the recipient using your precious gift in a wrong way. Say for example you gave someone a luxurious car and the recipient drives it recklessly resulting to a lot of scratches on the car? How will you feel about it? I’m sure that you will be disappointed and sad. God has given us humans the gift of “ability to speak”. Everyone received that gift which makes humans different from animals. The ability to speak helps us to communicate our thoughts and feelings to others. But like the luxurious car that I gave as an example, the gift of speech can also be used recklessly and in the wrong way and when that happens it can hurt others and even cause an injury. So how would the God who gave that precious gift feel? He will definitely feel sad and disappointed. That is why we need to make sure that we are using the gift correctly. That is in a way of “guarding” our tongue so that it does not hurt others. The way we speak and the words we utter have a big impact to others, it can be uplifting but on the other hand, it can also cause sadness and worst, depression. There is a saying that goes like this: “a crooked speech can cause grief while a calm tongue is a tree of life.” This indicates that when we speak calmly and kindly, it also has an effect of calming the person we are talking to and even be refreshed. But if we don’t choose the words wisely, it can have bad effects on others. Sometimes even with simple jokes, we must still be careful with what we say. Because jokes that are also not told at the right time can have disastrous results. For example, a mother almost had a heart attack when her son’s friends teased and jokingly told her that her son had an accident. So thoughtless jokes and words can be detrimental to others. Before you open your mouth to speak, make sure that you carefully thought about what you are going to say. Our ability to speak is so powerful that even unintentional words can be like a sword that stabs a person, it is very painful and it can leave a wound and lasting scar, and not only that, it can also ruin relationships, and worst of all, it can take the lives of others. **Negative Use Of Words and Speech** Language and speech are normal parts of our lives. But there are people who uses bad language in their daily lives too and that includes swearing, profanity and obscene words. Others use those expressions for personal pleasure or to amuse themselves and make others laugh. We can sometimes see this on television when comedians uses obscene words just to make their audience laugh, sometimes they even insult innocent people just so they may seem funny. **Here are other ways of using speech negatively:** **Gossips**. *Gossip is also common among people. Yes, it is not wrong to talk to others about others especially if we are just proud of them. There are people who talks to others about the accomplishment of their loved ones or sometimes they talk about how someone helped them. We can also tell a story from person to another to give good news. Isn’t it that sometimes we found out that someone we know is getting married, having a new baby or migrating through gossip? Through gossip sometimes we can found out about the assistance that the government will provide. If the goal of the conversation is to deliver a positive message or an uplifting story, this is a good gossip. But nowadays, most people are fond of gossiping and slandering others. They often criticize others and pull them down through gossips and this usually leads to chaos.* **Abusive remarks and speeches**. *As I mentioned earlier, speech can hurt the emotions of others when not used correctly. Abusive speech is often harsh and vicious, especially when the goal is to criticize, humiliate, insult or worse, ruin the dignity and character of others.* Yes, words alone can ruin a person, but when used properly, speech can build up. That is why I hope that all of us use our ability to speak correctly. How do you use your ability to speak? @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 23 May 2021

Sadness: Have you ever felt being sad? Have you noticed that a lot of people nowadays are lonely? When you check on social media, you’ll see a lot of post about depression and loneliness. Loneliness affects people of all ages, regardless of a person’s race or ethnicity, social level, or religious beliefs, anyone can be lonely. Have you ever felt being lonely? If I ask you now, are lonely right now? The truth is that all of us can experience loneliness. As the saying goes “*no man is an island’,* yes we all need to have someone who can listen to our rants in life, someone who is willing to lend an ear when we feel discouraged, someone who will try to understand what we are thinking of, what we feel and someone who can understand us as a person. Yes, we need to feel that someone cares for us. But it doesn’t always mean that when a person is alone, he or she is lonely. A person may live alone for a long period of time and enjoy doing things without feeling lonely at all. But on the other hand, there are people who can’t stand alone and can’t bear to be alone. My cousin once told me that shes never wants to be alone in life forever. She wants to get married and have a companion until she grows old. This is what the The American Heritage Dictionary states: “***Loneliness emphasizes isolation but does not always imply unhappiness. . . . Sadness usually implies dealing with the painful reality of being alone. . . Grief, on the other hand, emphasizes the depressing longing for companionship, ” that is, a state of mourning, grief, or sadness.”*** Yes, a person’s heart needs comforting. It needs to receive a sincere empathy to survive. **What is sadness?** Sadness is an intense emotion and it can even bring an excruciating pain to someone - emotional pain to be specific. Sadness is the feeling of longing, the feeling of being alienated and alone. Sadness can cause frighten and can weaken a person. Have you ever experienced these feelings? Then what caused you to feel that way? The Causes Of Sadness Sadness can be caused by a lot of things or reasons. Every situations and personal circumstances and problems has a different effect on each person. We have different reactions too because all of us are unique individuals. On social media, you’ll see a lot of things that may cause someone to feel sad and lonely. Seeing a person’s peers become successful while he is still the same can cause him to pity himself and it might lead to sadness. Being an outcast because of the way look, the way you talk and because of your culture, being different because of religion and race can become reasons of a person’s sadness too. Being in a new environment, missing the old way of living and even moving to a new country can also cause sadness. And as we grow old, our circle of friends may change because things will not remain as it is forever. Moreover, when a person gets married, his or her circumstances changes too. Some people gets married thinking that they live “happily ever after” once the wedding ceremony is over. But getting married doesn’t mean you’ll always be free from being unhappy due to being single. Disagreements and misunderstandings can create a tension between couples and it can also breed suspicion and can even lead to isolation between the spouses, and worst between their children. These are the things that can cause sadness. Fight Off Sadness It is not always easy to overcome sadness. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort and patience. It also involves intense emotions. But a person’s grief can surely be coped. The intense emotion of sadness can be overcomed. ◼ Remember that our situation can change, that it is not a permanent situation but a common one experienced by others. ◼ Be content with yourself as a whole. ◼ Have good eating and exercise habits, and get enough sleep. ◼ Be careful not to judge people you meet based on your past experiences. ◼ Use solitude time to create self-created objects and learn new skills. ◼ Appreciate your friends and their unique qualities. ◼ Do good to others — smile at them, speak kindly. @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 19 May 2021

How Do You View Constructive Criticisms? Have you ever done something and someone corrected you for that? How do you view criticisms? Do you accept it and ponder on it, so you’ll be better the next time? Or do you feel hurt when someone corrects you and take it against that person? Constructive criticisms are meaningful advice that can help us to improve something, be it our performance, our quality of work or simply our attitude. All of us needs constructive criticisms at times. Because sometimes, we do not realize that something is wrong until someone points it out to us. Here are sample constructive criticisms: A teacher tells her student that the project he submitted seemed to be rushed and advised him to exert more effort in making his project next time since there was enough time given before the deadline. A student has two options as to how to react to that constructive criticism, either he rejects it thinking that the teacher is scolding him because she doesn’t like him. The student can also view the criticism positively and do better in his next activity or project. An employee submitted a project proposal to her manager, but the manager declined it and told her that similar proposals was already submitted before and that she must think of a more creative proposal and also gave suggestions how to write a better one. The employee can either reject the suggestion and take it against her manager, she can even think that her efforts are just wasted and might no longer do better. Or she can listen attentively to what the manager said and apply the key points to her next proposal. Learning to accept constructive criticisms is an important skill that we need to learn. All of us are not perfect, so we all make mistakes at times and fall short. And because of that, we need to receive constructive feedback from others. When we keep in mind and always remember that we are not perfect and mistakes are normal part of our lives, we become more receptive to the advice, correction and constructive feed backs from others. If we accept constructive feed backs, it can help us to improve whatever we do. Yes it is good if we accept constructive feed backs and criticisms, but it is a different story when criticisms are given at the wrong time and place, because it can be really discouraging. What can help us to accept constructive feed backs and criticisms? **First, don't focus on who is giving the message or criticism but focus on the message he or she wants to convey.** Sometimes it is even harder to accept criticism when the one giving it is younger than us, or we think we are more capable, more talented or more skilled than that person so he or she has no right to correct us. That is why sometimes we may also try to find fault with the person who criticizes us. Sometimes, even though it is difficult to accept feedback from someone we do not want to get feedback from, there are also facts and lessons that we can get from it, we just really need to analyze and think about it. **The second is to maintain a balanced view of ourselves**. Just because we have received criticism does not mean we are a failure, no. Honestly, that's how I felt when I was young. I don’t like it when others correct me, I get hurt when others give me criticism. It makes me feel like I haven’t done anything right. But I realized that it would be better if others correct me because that means I have flaws and I can remove them if I accept the feedback of others. @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 4 May 2021

The Top Korean Dramas On My List Korea has probably invaded the world when it comes to entertainment - from Korean pop music or K-pop to Korean dramas or K-dramas. K-dramas are not only popular to young women but people from various ages watches it and many are even addicted to it. I even saw a circulating post on social media where a man posted a photo of his wife gushing over Hyun Bin while watching his hit drama "Crash Landing On You". His caption says that in their more than 30 years of marriage, he never saw his wife smile as sweetly as she does when she's watching the said actor. This only shows how enticing it is to watch kdramas. I am also a fan of kdramas and I made a list of my top kdramas. These are the dramas that I will never get tired of watching over and over again. **1. Dream High 1.** *Dream High 1 is a drama that shows talented young men and women. But despite being talented, they face different conflicts so at first they are unable to utilize their skills. They all went to Kirin School of Arts where they are trained, and they learned about friendship and camaraderie. It is a fun drama where you'll experience a roller coaster of emotions. I watched this drama thrice, and I am planning to rewatch it when I have a free time soon.* **2. Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo.** *This is the first kdrama that made me cry so hard. At the first few episodes of the drama, there are funny moments when Hye Soo was just transported from the present to the past. It's fun to see her act the way she does in the present time and the prince's from the past find it weird. Then there's her fight scene with one of the princes which was really hilarious. It also has a touch of romance where the female lead Hye Soo became a love interest of few of the princes. And because it is a historical drama, it also has a touch of action and thriller. Not just a couple of scenes will make you cry because the latter part of the drama will make you cry so hard even if you have a heart of stone. The ending is not satisfying as well but over all this drama is still good. It has awesome music that will make you absorbed on the drama while it plays on the background, it is a star-studded drama and the actors' acting was superb! I watched this drama twice.* **3. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.** *If you are looking for a hilarious and cute drama, this one is for you. This kdrama is on top of my list when it comes to comedy. It revolves around a girl named Do Bong Soon. At the start of the drama she is portrayed as a jobless girl, then later on was hired by a rich young CEO of a gaming company who happen to witness how strong Bong Soon is. Their love story is so cute and Park Min Hyuk is probably the cutest yet handsome male lead there is in the kdrama land. But it is not just their story which will make you engrossed in the drama, you will also look forward to how the main characters will solve the crime where young women are being abducted by an unknown person. This drama is so good that I watched it four times.* **4. My Love From Another Star.** *This is another romantic-comedy drama. The drama revolves around the life of Cheon Song Yi, a top celebrity whose career became messed-up after being caught into several scandals. When she transferred to a new house, she became neighbors with an alien named Do Min Joon who was stranded on earth for about 400 years. He is already bounded to go back to his own planet, but he fell in love with Cheon Song Yi.* **5. Legend Of The Blue Sea.** *This is a love story of a mermaid and a human. Heo Joon Jae is a con-artist, during his vacation in Spain, he met Shim Cheong who'm he found on his hotel room. He finds her weird but later on they were on some adventures together. Before going back to Seoul, Shim Cheong erased his memory but later on she had to swim thousands of kilometers to find Heo Joon Jae. But their love story did not actually start in the modern era, but it is dated back during the Joseon dynasty. The ending is good, so I rate this drama 9.5/10.* **6. Descendants of The Sun**. *A beautiful love story between a doctor and a soldier. They were sent to a far away place and they underwent several trials together. I rate this drama 10/10.* **7. Crash Landing On You**. *This is the drama that saved me from boredom during the community quarantine. I watched this thrice and I will never get tired of watching it over and over again. Ut is a story where the female lead, a rich sassy cOmpany CEO from South Korea accidentally landed in North Korea when she met a turbulence during paragliding. There she met the a North Korean soldier who happened to be a captain. They fell in love and faced problems because of their differences. Later on they found out that they already met way before they met in North Korea.* **8. Start Up**. *This is the kdrama that gave me an ultimate second lead syndrome. I initially watched the drama because it's a drama where the leas is Nam Joo Hyuk. Most of his dramas I watched is really good so I know that this one is good as well. But while watching the drama, I fell in love with the second male character which is portrayed by Kim Seon Ho. His character made my heart ache because of the unfortunate events in his life. He also posses the characters, male leads usually possesses - he is handsome, smart, rich and very nice. But in the end, he was not chosen by the female lead. But this drama does not only revolve around the love story of the characters. It also shows the struggles of young men and women who are just starting with their businesses. They came into conflicts but in the end they all became successful. It also shows a beautiful story about friendship and the reality that broken families face.* **9. Mr. Queen.** *This is the most hilarious historical drama I have ever watched. It is a story about a casanova from the modern era who was transported to the Joseon era, and what's worse is that he went into a woman's body - the Queen of Joseon. There was never a boring episode on this drama amd you'll always look forward to the next scenes every after the end of each episode. You'll laugh so hard but at the same time, there are also scenes where you'll feel giddy over the love story of the king and the queen. And there are also scenes where you will get mad at some characters. The side characters are also good and has hilarious scenes.* These are just few of the top kdramas on my list and other good kdrama I can recommend that are worth-watching are: ***• Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo*** ***• The Good Doctor*** ***• The Healer*** ***• What's Wrong With Secretary Kim*** ***• The K2*** ***• It's Okay to Not Be Okay*** ***• Vincenzo*** ***• Rooftop Prince*** ***• She Was Pretty*** ***• Kill Me Heal Me*** ***• School 2013*** ***• School 2015*** @thepandagirl 🐼

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@thepandagirl 29 April 2021

Migraine Attacks I was standing at the side of the road, waiting for a ride. I looked at the **beautiful blue sky**, it was mesmerizing. I saw a **group of birds flying in the shape of the letter V.** I took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. **Aaaah**! This is what I love about province life, the smell of fresh air and the wonderful views around. But amid this situation where I am enjoying the serenity of life while silently and patiently waiting for a ride, I suddenly felt like I’m staring into blank space, then flashes of lights started to block my vision, my head ached like it’s beating or throbbing. This is not a new feeling, and I am already used to this scenario. I usually have to deal with this, so I am used to it. This is the reason why I always have a container of capsules with me. So, when I always have to deal with the same situation, I just have to get a capsule out of the container and everything will be fine a few moments later. **Migraine**. ***What is migraine***? Is it similar to a headache? No, **migraine is different from a simple headache.** Like what happens to me, a person with migraine will be attacked by it from time to time. It is a terrible headache that when you have it, you may not able to continue what you’re doing. **Symptoms of Migraine** If you have a migraine, once it attacks, you will feel a **throbbing headache** on one side or part of your head. You’ll be **dazzled by the light** and may feel like vomiting or **nauseous**. These two symptoms may continue for a few hours and worse, it can even take a few days before it goes away. Before it attacks, a person may experience **hunger**, **fatigue**, may get **cold hands** and even becomes **moody**. Before getting a throbbing headache, you may feel **dizzy**, you’ll get **double vision, muscle weakness**, and you may feel like you are **being pricked by a needle**. Others even have a difficulty in speaking or **speech difficulty.** According to some studies, there are only one out of ten people who suffers from migraine although having occasional tension headaches are actually common to people. However, migraine affects women more than men. Although it is not yet fully understood what he causes of migraine are, but it is said to be a disorder in the nervous system, and it affects the nerves in the head that carry blood. And that is the reason why there is a throbbing headache when migraine surfaces. When blood passes through the affected vessel, it results to a throbbing headache. **How to Avoid Getting a Migraine** Since getting a migraine has something to do with our nervous system, there is no way for us to change that. We cannot change our inherited nervous system. But there is a way to avoid migraine attacks, and here’s how: Avoid eating or consuming foods that can cause migraine attacks. This can be done through monitoring yourself. Writing a journal to keep a record of what happened to you might help for you to determine the causes of your migraine. In my case, I usually experience migraine attacks a few days before my menstruation period. There are also instances that it attacks when I am both physically and mentally exhausted, when I ate something spicy, or when the weather is too hot. Since I love writing, it is easy for me to write a journal to keep a tract of my experiences and that’s how I was able to determine the reasons why I get a migraine. Though to be honest, there are still instances that it attacks without the reasons I stated above. It was on random instances. I was also advised by my physician before to sleep on and early and be consistent of my time of sleeping, eat my meals on time and to have a time to relax. I found out that following these advices was beneficial, nowadays, I still get migraine attacks, but it was seldom. `I hope you learned something new from this article today. Thanks for reading!` `@thepandagirl 🐼`

@thepandagirl 25 April 2021

Why I had To Quit Playing the mobile Game Mobile Legends ***"Welcome to mobile legends. Five seconds till' the enemy reaches the battlefield. All troops deployed."*** ***"Smash them!"*** ***"You have slain an enemy."*** ***"An enemy has slain."*** ***"Legendary."*** ***"Double kill!"*** ***"Triple kill!"*** ***"Maniac!"*** ***"Savage!"*** ***"Victory!"*** *Does these phrases sounds familiar?* If you or the people around you such as your family or friends plays the mobile game called Mobile Legends, I'm sure that you are familiar with the phrases above. If not, then let me tell you about this game first. It was released by Moonton back in 2016. Since then, gamers from all over the world started to play the game be it to ease their boredom or just to kill time, to bond with their family and friends and for others it became their bread and butter through streaming their games, and they earn a lot from those streams. It became an addictive game for a lot of people and even the people around me became addicted to it. And I am not exempted to that! I started playing the game in 2019. I was just curious why few of my friends loves playing the game, even my girl friends! Likewise, I started playing the game too, and I started to lose some sleep because of that. There are times that I stay up all night, sleeps at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. and wakes up at 6:00 a.m. and starts playing again. That time, I was still living with my parents and my mom is always annoyed because it's not just me, but my siblings also plays the game as well as soon as the day breaks. Months have passed, and I finally understood why the people around me loves playing the game a lot. It could be very addicting indeed! It came to a point that all I could think of is to play and play and play. And one day, a realization hit me. I realized that I have to quit playing the game. **And these are the reasons why I have to stop:** *It consumes my valuable time.* '***Time is gold'*** as the saying goes. And I know that I am losing all my precious time due to excessive playing. I am too focused on the game that I tend to neglect all the important things that I need to do and focused on the game instead. *I am unable focus on my task at hand.* Like I said, I have the game in mind at all times. I have the game in mind when I'm eating, when I'm doing some household chores, when I'm at school, when I'm doing school activities and even when I'm at the comfort room! I can even imagine what's happening on the game and I try to formulate combos how to slay my enemy. It was getting worse every day because I was always in a hurry to finish what I'm doing so that I can go back to playing. The result? I always end messing up the task that I'm doing. *I get easily mad and aggressed.* The game is focused on slaying or killing your enemy hero. So as a player you'll have to do your best to get your enemy killed and try not to get killed also because if you're not careful, you will bring your teammates down, and you might end up losing during the game. Once this happens, your teammates will surely get mad and some will even curse at you. I ended up becoming easily triggered and mad because I was always associating myself to people with bad manners virtually. Although I didn't reach the point where I have to curse others, but I can easily get mad at others and even hurt my family members. Sometimes, I even say hurtful words such as calling my siblings 'fool', and that word is strictly prohibited at home. *Less time for my family and friends.* Because I was always playing, I get lesser time talking to my family and friends. I was always in a hurry even when I'm eating, so I end up not having any conversation with my family members whenever we're eating together. I also don't talk to my friends when we're together, sometimes they get mad at me for not paying attention and I simply tell them that what's important is my presence not realizing that I'm starting to have a toxic attitude and that I might lose my friends and loved ones if I continue to do so. When I finally realized the **negative effects of this mobile game on me**, I knew then that I need to get a hold of myself, focus on the more important things and little by little try to quit playing. It was **not easy at first** because I was super addicted and been playing for months. So what I did is every single day, I started to limit the time I use for playing. I started with playing only in the afternoon and evening, then after a week, I only play during the evening, and it came to a point that I only play 1-3 rank games per day. It continues for weeks and I just found myself not playing the game anymore. It was a rough decision to make, but I'm proud to say that after all my efforts, I managed to totally quit playing this addictive game. @thepandagirl🐼

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@thepandagirl 22 April 2021

Not The Bot's Favorite It's been months since I made an account here. I was so happy the first time that I joined here because I can read a lot of interesting articles and I also received a warm welcome from other users both old and newbies. I'm happier when the first article that I wrote received praises and upvotes from other users and from the robot as well. I usually stay at the home page to find interesting articles and at times I encounter articles who received a generous tip from the bot, and I just tell myself 'Wow! It's the bot's favorite!'. Truth be told, I'm kinda jealous at times. I can't help but wish to receive it too. But I know that I won't because I admit that I'm not doing my best. My articles are not as good as theirs. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for those writers. They actually inspire me. I'm inspired to do better. And I'm still happy because I may not be the bot's favorite but at least he doesn't forget me. How nice is that right? It's just like at home, I'm not my parent's favorite, but they never forget me. It's just that they love the other siblings more. Going back to the topic, I'm fascinated every time I receive upvotes from the bot. I'm happy because I can add more to my holdings. To be honest, I didn't know the value of holding on to crypto when I first joined here. I just accumulate BCH let it stay on my wallet for quite some time and wait until the price gets higher, then sell it. But I read a lot of articles here about holdings and how good it is when there's a pump in the price. So after some time, I decided to just keep my BCH and not to sell it. I'm reaping the good results now. Yes, I may not be the bot's favorite compared to others, but I still write and publish here because the small earnings that I get here will surely become big in the future if I keep holding on to it. To be honest I don't know what to write again tonight and I am just trying to freewrite because I can't sleep tonight. I think my insomnia is on duty again and I find writing as a very effective way to feel sleepy. So I just decided to write to practice my english because like I mentioned before, I am not a native english speaker. There's a lot of typos, misspellings and grammar lapses on my articles but I am trying my best to improve it. I was once a writer on our school paper but I already forgot how to write formally as I've done it long ago. Read.cash helped me to rekindle the burning flame on my heart for writing. It's a good way to practice english and make friends! I'm just happy that although I'm not an active user of read.cash and seldom interacts with others, there are still few people who are reading my contents. And it makes me happy conveying my thoughts to others through writing. Now that it is close to midnight I should try my best to get a sleep so I must end this rambling here. I promise to write an interesting article next time!

@thepandagirl 20 April 2021

Things I can Do Things I can Do In my more than two decades of existence, I met a lot of people. I met a lot of talented people - those who have the voice of a nightingale, those who can dance as graceful as the cockatoo. I met awesome artists too which can draw really cool works of arts! And it makes me wonder: what about me? What can I do? Do I have at least one talent that I can be proud of? I find these questions really depressing. Because no matter how hard I think, I can seem to think of any talent I have. I don't think there's something I'm good at. I'm a bad singer, to the point that you have to omit the word 'singer'. Not only that, I love music a lot, but the feeling is not mutual. I have the worst voice that I was always made fun of whenever I sing on a karaoke. But I'm still courageous enough to sing in front of people and I think that something I'm good at! I am good at embarrassing myself in front of people without being really embarrassed about it. Not anyone can do that. I'm a terrible dancer. I feel like my body is made of steel whenever I dance. Back in school, my classmates would always tease me whenever we have a performance coming. My teachers find it really hard to teach me the dance steps. There's even an instance that I accidentally hurt my teacher while she's teaching me the correct dance steps and I feel really awful because of that. I can draw, but I can only draw stick drawings. The drawing that even a preschool kid can do. Looking back, I never experience getting an A+ on my arts classes before. It's probably because my drawings and artworks are just mediocre. Now this makes me think. **I really don't have any talent that I can be proud of.** But I read somewhere before that we all have innate talents in us. We just have to discover and appreciate it. So I thought long and hard about the things I can do, and I came up with these: I can cook well. This is probably something I can be very proud of. As a first-born child I was taught that being good at doing household chores is a must and one of those is being able to cook well. At a young age I was taught how to do that. My parents are both good when it comes to cooking, and I got that from them. I can make experiments, and it always turns out great! With just getting a spoon of food on my mouth, I have the ability to distinguish the ingredients used in a dish and that is something that my sister envy. Not everyone can be good at cooking, so I think that this is actually a talent. And yes, I am just realizing it now. I am good at expressing my thoughts through writing. If you're one of the few people who follows and reads what I write here, you may say that I am not an excellent writer or blogger. Well, I accept that. I am bot as good as the native English speakers, which I'm trying so hard to achieve, but at least I know how to express myself in a language that I don't usually speak. Not everyone can write, and I think writing and showing what you wrote to the world is something that you need courage to do so. And thinking about it, I think that's a talent too! I'm not a hundred percent sure about this though! I have an artistic side. I may not be good at singing nor in dancing, but somehow I have this artistic side in me. I can get to be really creative when it comes to different stuffs, I have a pretty and neat handwriting and I can make beautiful things even out of garbage. These may not be as special as what others can do, but I am happy because these are the things that I can do and I can be happy whenever I do it. How about you? What's something you can do nd you are really proud of? `@thepandagirl 🐼`

@thepandagirl 3 April 2021

What to do with Leisure In this fast-paced world where people are too busy and more focused on work, everyone would agree that getting a leisure time is still important. Words that are usually associated with resting, doing something that we have been putting off, or spending our time in an amusing or entertaining way. In this busy world we live in, each of us indeed need to have a change of pace from time to time. We all need a breath of fresh air from all the stress caused by work and any other day-to-day activities. Leisure time will help us all to get a rest from all the stress either at school, at work or simply the household chores. We often associate leisure to resting and spending time on something that us entertaining and amusing. Yes, no matter how busy we are in with our daily activities, we need some leisure time to achieve a balanced and happy life. But there are some who makes pleasure and relaxation as the principal pursuit in their life. Relaxation and leisure tends to be excessive, so instead of enjoyment and refreshment, it can cause harm to oneself and even to the people around. ***Leisure's Consequences to Oneself***. Most people nowadays have a day or two to take a rest from their works. But aside from that we all have the latter part of the day or the evening to take a rest. Others fill up their evenings by doing another work or job, but others use it for leisure. Many people spend it on partying and excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. However, the harmful effects of excessive drinking and abuse of alcohol is not only limited to poor performance at work, others gets into accidents and acquire physical injuries while some gets in troubles. Surprisingly, studies show that leisure time can also cause psychological problems. Many vacationers, instead of relaxing and enjoying their vacations feels bored and lonely, adjusting to their new environment is a challenge and the period of preparation for the vacation is also stressful. ***Leisure's Consequences to Others***. Aside from harming one's own self, leisure time can also inflict consequences on others. Some employees perform poorly on their job after their leisure time, and it affects other employees too. To set an example, let us consider the results of having many tourists in one place. Just like what happened in Boracay Island in the Philippines, tourism caused the natural ecology on that island to become polluted and the damage is not limited to the ecology, the economy in that particular place was also affected and a lot of local residents lost their source of income when the island underwent a rehabilitation, probably two years ago. The result is indeed lamentable due to the negligence of both the pleasure seekers and some business owners. All of us undeniably wants to enjoy our life. And most people try to fulfill such desire through different forms of recreation during their leisure hours. Recreation has various benefits to our mental and physical health, only if we keep it in its proper place. What can we do to have a balanced view of leisure? **Set Priorities**. It is only imperative for us to do the more important things. How much time are you going to spend for leisure and recreation, and when are you going to engage in such activity? The answer to this will reflect or show what are your priorities in life — the things you find as more important and which are unimportant. **Set limits**. We should have self-control and moderation to limit our leisure time to what is really important. Think about how you use your leisure time. Do you excessively use it purely for pleasure and unimportant things? Recreation should not make you feel that you have wasted out your time on unnecessary things. If you are left feeling exhausted and empty after a recreational activity, it should be an indication for you to make some adjustments in the use of your leisure time. **Be reasonable**. When it comes to relaxation and recreation, you should also take into consideration the cost — how much are you going to spend on a certain recreation activity. If your pursuit of a certain leisure activity will mean neglecting your family, work and other more important things, then it's not worth the price. You might want to look for alternatives or change your plan. Happiness isn't caused by having available free time. We can gain happiness only if we have a balanced view of leisure and relaxation.

@thepandagirl 31 March 2021

Loneliness Loneliness Nowadays, many people experiences being lonely. I was browsing on social media and I saw several posts about loneliness and depression. Most of the people who shared such posts are teenagers and young adults. But the truth is, loneliness is not just common to young adults. It can affect people of all sort. It doesn't matter what race came from and what your social status is. Loneliness hits people of all ages. There are many reasons why people become lonely. To be honest, several months ago, I have to detoxify myself from the internet and I even took a hiatus from writing and publishing articles here. Why? Because I was lonely? The feeling of not knowing my self-worth, hopelessness and simply not being able to do the things I can do previously. Seeing how happy the people I connect with on social media made me jealous, and I pitied myself and loneliness is killing me inside. Add the fact that my friends are also pressuring me about not having a boyfriend while all of them have made me mad and lonely as well. Felt like they just want me to go along with the crowd which is against my will. How about you? You, who's reading this right now. Have you ever felt being lonely? Perhaps at this moment you are lonely? All of us felt being lonely at some point in our lives, and we had the need to have a companion, someone who can lend an ear to listen to our worries, rants, to reassure us that someone understands or to simply make us feel that someone wants to listen. Someone who is sensitive enough to the emotions that we feel. *But does being alone means being lonely?* Not necessarily. We can be alone for a specific period of time without being lonely. Personally, I prefer being alone to enjoy the things I love. I love being alone when going to the movies, when visiting a beautiful and refreshing place and alone at home. But it doesn't mean I'm lonely. I just love doing things alone. This is what The American Heritage Dictionary says: ***“Alone emphasizes being apart from others but does not necessarily imply unhappiness. . . . Lonely often connotes painful awareness of being alone . . . Lonesome emphasizes a plaintive desire for companionship,” that is, a condition of grief, woe, or melancholy. The person’s heart needs to be comforted with sincere and loving fellowship for it to be cheerful once again. Finally, solitary is defined as a condition that “often shares the connotations of lonely and lonesome . . . Frequently, however, it stresses physical isolation that is self-imposed.”*** Just like me, there are also people who enjoy solitude on their own. But there is a saying that *'no man is an island*', a person needs to communicate his or her own feelings to others, but when the desire to share those feelings and concerns are not met, it results in being lonely. For example, when we are in a crowd or a group of friends or even acquaintances, and there is no response from others we could feel being out of place. It can be frustrating and may result to loneliness, unless you are already used to being ignored. Loneliness can be very powerful. It can be the cause of someone's pain, and the feeling of being empty. When you are lonely, you feel isolated and being cut off from others. You are at your vulnerable state, and you feel being frightened. What causes loneliness then? Like I mentioned earlier, there are various reasons why people feel being lonely? The circumstances in life, the problems, and the situation we are in can make us lonely. Being rejected by others and by peers because of racial discrimination, the way we look physically or just because of religion. We can also become lonely because of the sudden changes in life such as new environment because of transferring to a different school or because of a new job and moving to a different house. Losing a loved one can also make us feel lonely. There may be more reasons aside from these depending on a person's circumstance.

@thepandagirl 21 March 2021

Home and Online Schooling Homeschooling and online learning goes hand in hand nowadays.  A lot of students be it an elementary school kid, a high school and college student, and even those who enrolled on graduate schools and taking their Masters or doctorate degrees - all these students from various ages are doing all the school activities at home. But there are various challenges to learning at home which is a hindrance to conducive learning. One time I went to my friend's house, four of her siblings are homeschooling. Three of them were answering their activity sheets and one is listening to his professor's discussion through the  Google meet platform. One thing I noticed is that, most of them are not focused in studying, the college student is listening to a talk about business management but at the same time, he is talking to his family members. And the rest can't really focus on what they are doing because the other family members are very noisy, there are three more children at their home who are not enrolled yet, and they are bothering the older siblings while noisily playing at the same time. So I realized that studying at home is very challenging. That's why there are news about several students committing suicide because they find it very hard to answer the activities. And for others, it is hard to connect to the internet just to listen to the discussion of their teachers. Here are few ways to be successful with studies even at home. **Planning is essential**. At home, there are times that when a student is answering their modules, their parents or other family members are also sending them on errands, thus they lose their focus on the school activity. So for a student, it is important to plan ahead of time about his or her schedule for the following day. How much time are you going to commit to house chores delegated to you? What time are you going to start doing your school activities?  **Talk to your housemates**. Like what I observed from my friend's house, her siblings can't totally focus on their studies because of the noisy housemates. So before starting with the school papers and activities or before joining the online class, tell your housemates how important it is for you and ask them if they could just talk somewhere in the other parts of the house. Tell the kids not to play around and ask the older housemates if they could just send you on errands later, if not they could do it themselves instead. **Make a schedule**. Do things like what you do in school. Just because you are studying at home doesn't mean you no longer have to stick to your schedule. Try to write a schedule of your activities for the week and make sure to finish the activities assigned to you at the given time. This will also help you to meet the deadlines. **Discipline yourself**. In school, it is easier to do things because students know that they will be scolded by the teacher if they don't do the activities, or probably be laughed at if they get a low score during exams. But this is not the case at home, students are relaxed that no one monitors them, so they tend that to do things as soon as possible and procrastinates instead. So it is important to discipline yourself and do the school-related activities even if no one is watching over you. **Allocate a time for relaxation.** A lot of students say that online school is stressful. So it is also important to allocate a time for yourself to relax. Walk around, do your hobby or simply exercise. Yes, online and homeschooling is a challenge but whether you are a student or a parent who's monitoring your student (child), hang in there because better days are coming! Homeschooling and online learning goes hand in hand nowadays.

@thepandagirl 12 March 2021

Weight Loss When the quarantine was imposed by the government last year, my sister and I know that we will be stuck at home to do the same thing over and over again. We enjoyed the first week because all we did is the sleep-eat-repeat cycle. By the end of the week I realized that we're going to become totally fat if we continue that way, and I don't want that to happen. It's not that I don't want to be very thin, but because whenever I gain some fats, I find it hard to breath and I easily feel tired when doing physical activities. So I decided to exercise and lose weight. And because I'm a lazy-ass when it comes to exercising, I searched on YouTube some weight-loss strategies that I can do daily and in just a few minutes. I saw this 7-minute workout routine that is super easy to do… or so I thought. At first, it was super easy but from 3 minutes onwards it's very tiring, and I almost gave up. But I survived and felt the body ache the next day.  Aside from the workout routine I learned on YouTube, I also did all sorts of strenuous activities at home, I did the chopping of woods, I fetch water and in the afternoon, my sister and I did Zumba. And it was really effective. When the quarantine is over, I went out and met a few of my friends, and they told me that I lost so much weight - though I look better with a little fat on. Truth be told, I am not obese nor fat. I have a slim body, but I also have a few baby fats. So why am I so determined to work out and lose weight? Because most of the overweight stories started out by slowly gaining some weight. It started with gaining a few pounds first, and they don't realize how much weight they already gained, not until they look at the weighing scale. Then they would try to go on a diet to lose some pounds and after some time, they'll gain what they lose again and much more than what they lost! How did I say so? I have this friend who is older than mine and that's what she experienced, and I'm sure that it's the same with others. Then it results in getting a feeling of helplessness - that everything they do will not help them lose weight. Because this concerns me so much, I tried to research and read more about this topic before, since I have a lot of time in my hands. I found out that the way to avoid such a feeling of helplessness is to start with my diet. Don't think about how much I weight and not even my waistline. What matters is the way I think about my food. If we do not track the food we eat and just eat anything we want, whenever we want to, then at the very start, our diet is already doomed. Some became successful in their weight loss journey by keeping track of what they eat. Self-control is the key to success. It always feels good to have midnight snacks loaded with sweets and even soda, but it's not good for the health and even for the weight. Alcoholic beverages also play a role in getting so much weight. In my friend's case, aside from being fond of sweet foods, soda and foods high in carbohydrates and calories, she's also fond of drinking alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is high in calories so a glass of wine or a bottle of beer can turn into fats, how much more if you drink it often? **Here are few steps for a successful weight-loss journey** **Know what foods ruin your diet**. Have you ever been in a situation where you are not feeling hungry at all but when your favorite food is served in front of you, you suddenly hear rumbling sounds coming from your stomach? You feel famished and in just a few snaps, you already devoured all the food. When our favorite food is in front of us, it is usually hard to control ourselves to eat, even though we just ate moments ago, our stomach can take more foods and this could ruin our diet. But if you know first hand about this, you can have a sense of self-control around such foods. **Ask for help**. It's good to do things alone, but it's better when you  have someone to do things with you. Same with getting a proper diet, if someone knows your dieting, they could give some reminders when you seem to have reached more than your limit. I saw this from a movie before where a girl is dieting and whenever they eat fried chicken, it's her favorite by the way, her boyfriend would get some skins because it contains fats. We can ask for help from a trusted individual such as a family member or a close friend, if it is not too much to help us have a better self-control when eeating. **Drink lots of water**. This is probably one of the secrets to a successful weight-loss. Drinking lots of water is better than bot eating at all. There are people who say they are on a diet, and all they do is not eat anything, and thus they looked like a walking dead in the end. Diet means you keep track of what you eat, it doesn't mean not eating anything. Drinking water from time to time can help replenish the toxins in our body and once our body is used to water as a response to stomach fangs, it can serve as an alternative to sweets or chocolates. What I did before is drinking a full glass of water before every meal because it makes some feel full and as a result I only eat a half of what I'm supposed to eat without drinking the glass of water firsthand. **Exercise**. Diet and exercising goes hand in hand for a successful weight loss. It helps our body to have toned muscles, unlike when we starve ourselves where we only became thin instead of getting a toned body. @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 9 March 2021

Learning a Language ***"Easy to say but hard to do."*** That's what people who try to learn a new language says, especially when they already try to use the language in a conversation. Learning a new language is challenging but when you succeeded, it is truly rewarding. There's a lot of reason why a person wants to learn a new language or a foreign language. There are some who tries to learn the language of the place or country they want to spend vacation. Knowing at least the basic words of a foreign place can make it easier for someone on vacation to converse to the natives and can open opportunities to widen out and meet new people. There are also those who study to learn the native language of one of their parents. It helps them to be able to communicate with their relatives who speak that language, and it can also help them to embrace the culture where their parent came from. There are also those who study to learn the language spoken by their spouse to communicate better. Whatever the reason for learning a new language or a foreign language may be, someone can gain good benefits from it. It can make the person to be more emphatic. There are those who said that learning a new language helped them understand the feelings of foreigners who comes to a country where the spoken language is different from his or her native language. It can bring families closer. For others, especially those who grew up in a family where the parents speak two different languages, sometimes, one language is more dominant than the other when used at home and children only learns that language, as a result they may become distant to the other parent who speak the language they didn't learn. But studying it can bring them closer. But learning  new language is indeed easier than done. There are a lot of challenges. Here are some points that can help to be successful: **Motivation**. Somewhere along the way of learning, there may come a time that someone will just suddenly lose the will to continue. So it is important to get something that can motivate you.  Setting a goal can help. When we have a goal we usually tend to do better. **Humility**. We need humility to accept the correction when a native speaker corrects us or even those who are also learning the language. Accept the fact that perfection in that language can never be reached in a short span of time. And if someone corrects you, accept the fact that it is part of learning. **Practice**. Practice makes perfect. This line may be cliché, but it is still very true and effective. Practicing not just on your head but speaking with someone who knows the language, much better if it's a native speaker, can help you improve. Language fluency can never be achieved through reading and writing only. Speaking is the most important factor. Learning a new language is challenging but some says that they will never regret their decision of learning a new language as well as the happiness of learning it. Worldwide, more and more people are trying to learn a new language for various reasons. If you are one of those people, becoming successful and finally being able to speak the language they studied is one of the most rewarding things in life. I can say that because I myself have experienced the joy of being able to learn a new language. The suggestions above are what I followed, so I could learn and become more fluent in English. I was born in a family who speaks Mandarin, so it is not that easy to learn English. At first, I think it is very complicated, and I was even stubborn about learning it. But when I reached high school, I finally realized that it would be better if I can learn the language because it can help me to understand my mother better as well as the other relatives. I'm glad that I didn't give up even with all the challenges I faced. And one more positive effect of learning a new language is being able to write bligs using that language. @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 2 March 2021

Making work interesting I'm sure that like many people out there, you who's reading this might also be working at least 8 hours each day. Maybe you only have 1 or 2 days as your rest day, but for others they are working seven days a week and 8-9 hours a day! And if this is what you experience, Surely, this big amount of time that you consume for working makes you feel bored. Plus the fact that a lot of work and jobs today are repetitive which is not something that can be proud of. But in this time of pandemic, no one can afford to lose a job, in this time when a lot of people wants to get at least a simple job. So instead of thinking about resigning or leaving work, the most important thing to do is to find ways to make your work enjoyable or how to make it fun. There are benefits when you try to make your work fun. You'll appreciate your work more, and you will also tressure it and know its importance. But can we find enjoyment in our work? Let's discuss that in this article. ***Be enthusiastic about your work***. Sometimes, the best way to enjoy work is to act like you enjoy it, because our mind can control what we feel. But you may say that the nature of your work will never allow you to be that active. And that your work is just a routine of daily activities and there's no way for you to change that. Maybe you are doing that job for so many years already, and you feel that it is already impossible for you to look at it from a different perspective and find it interesting. But some simple tactics can help you to feel more energized, standing upright and smiling can help! Focusing on what you are doing can also help. Don't work like you are some kind of machine and do not think of break time, lunchtime, the weekend, your rest day or other things you need to accomplish while you're working. It is better to focus your mind on your current work because the possible result is that you will not notice that the time has passed already, and it is also possible that you'll enjoy your work when you focus your mind on it. This happens naturally when you find yourself overwhelmed with a task you really want. You can achieve the same satisfaction by forcing yourself to pay full attention to the work you normally do without being satisfied. ***Do Your Best***. If we try to do our best on our work, we are more likely to enjoy it. But of course, this goes against the popular notion that when you find your work uninteresting or boring, you should try to do it with a little effort. But partial effort and negligent are more likely the reason to increase fatigue and anxiety, and it can even sap our strength. There are cases that a person who comes home from work as exhausted, anxious and stressed is more likely to suffer because he did not work hard. So it is very important to do the best that you can at work. If you do more than just a little, you will feel more satisfied and pleased of yourself and as a result, you will be happier. Also keep in mind that if you do the important things at work first, you will enjoy your short breaks and lunch break more as well as the weekend or rest day because you will not be anxious about being scolded by your boss or higher ups because you didn't do your work properly. Competition is inevitable at work sometimes, but instead competing with others at work, try to compete with yourself and outdo yourself. It can be done through setting new goals and setting new standards for yourself. Move forward! And lastly, ***remove any negative thinking that working days is boring.*** I always see posts on my friend's social media about "**TGIF**" and "**Ugh it's monday again**!" This implies that they like the weekends more than the working days, if this is your way of thinking or mindset then you are more likely not to enjoy our work and find it boring and uninteresting. Look at the work that is in front of you, focus on it like it is one of your hobbies! This way you will work effectively and you will find your work more interesting. @thepandagirl🐼 `All images are from 123rf.com`

@thepandagirl 27 February 2021

Internet Vigilance Imagine yourself standing or sitting inside the biggest library in the world. All sorts of books, catalogs, newspapers, booklets, pictures and even recordings - all these that contains all the topics you can ever think of surrounds you. All the new information as well as the literature and history are at the tip of your finger. In just a snap of your finger you'll get access to all the information you are looking for. Well, the internet world has this capacity. All the information - old and from the newest and latest news, you can have access to that in just a few clicks of your fingers. Internet has the capacity to make a person sit in front of his or her computer and exchange (send and resend) information with other computers from all around the world. Through the internet, people can have the capacity to buy and sell different products, make banking transactions, listen to the newly-released music and music videos and communicate with anyone from anywhere. All these can be done even at the comfort of people's houses. When used correctly, internet can be the source of useful information such as the daily weather. It can also be a good source when researching about where to travel next, where's the new cozy restaurant everyone's talking about lately, where to find the book that is already sold out t the nearby bookstores, where to buy a specific car parts and many other things. The internet is also a useful tool when researching about school assignments and projects. Indeed, internet has a huge potential for educational purposes as well as for daily communication.  But if the internet is not used properly, it can also be dangerous.  Indeed, internet has a huge potential for educational purposes as well as for daily communication. It can be very useful, but it can also be likened to a library without a librarian or anyone who watches over it. Anyone can access the information that he or she wants even without a supervision. And this can be one of the danger in using the internet. Why is that? The reason is that there are a lot of websites that also contains things or information that can ruin the morality of a person. The internet can also be a snare that could give temptation to people either by committing cyber crime or by accessing sites that can be a bad influence such as the pornographic sites. This is because curiosity is innate to people, we have the tendency to become curious and looks for something new and fun. Studies and reports shows that pornographic contents can be easily accessed and downloaded on a lot of websites. In just a few clicks of the finger, someone can already find erotic materials that contains photos, audio clips and video clips. Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, lessons are being held online. Recently there are reports that some pedophiles are hacking those online classes and are joining random classes and shows themselves nude on camera which young kids as well as teenagers have seen.  Moreover, there are also those who joins the online interactive chat rooms to chat and talk with teenagers. They pretend to be the same age to befriend those innocent teens, then they could get their real names and even addresses, eventually they could rob or do other heinous crimes against them. So it is very important to be vigilant and careful when using the internet. Consider the following points to consider when using the internet: ***Do not give your personal information such as your complete home address, your phone number and your family member's phone number and where your school or workplace is located***. ***Do not send photos to people you personally don't know***. Nowadays edited photos are rampant online where some psychos are editing the photos of girls and attaches it on a nude body, they will then send it to a lot of internet users and post on different website which could ruin the image and reputation of a person, especially girls or women. ***Don't respond to aggressive messages***. ***Don't open messages and emails that looks like a spam or was sent by someone suspicious.*** Always remember that being vigilant is applicable to people of all ages. Just because you are already an adult doesn't mean you no longer have to take care of yourself when using the internet. There are a lot of adults who were victimized and even scammed by evil internet users.

@thepandagirl 24 February 2021

Mathematics in everyday Life Did you love the subject mathematics when you are still in school? As a student, did you like solving both simple and complex mathematical problems than to pay attention to the grammar rules in your language class or learning about the kings who died in battles during history classes? Did you enjoy solving equations during chemistry and physics classes? There's this belief that when you are good at math you can be an engineer or a scientist. But mathematics is not just for those people who have professions that needs great mathematical ability, all of us use math in a lot of aspects of life. When you go to the grocery to shop for supplies, you use your mathematical ability to compute how much you're going to pay the cashier, and you also compute how much change you got if there is any. When you check your temperature you use math. And even when checking your vitals or body statistics, you also benefit from certain mathematical principles! **Math is everywhere!** But there are also some people who don't like math. They think it's too complicated. I have a classmate back in high school who asked me whether I know a course that doesn't have a math subject, but I couldn't answer any. I told her that all the courses I know has math. Then she told me: 'curse the person who discovered mathematics!' That's how a person could hate mathematics so much. In addition to that, there are also people who find the subject mathematics as a boring subject, and they never thought that it is actually related to their daily lives. So are you the person who loves math or are you the person who find it complex and uninteresting? In this article let's take a closer look at how fascinating, how accessible and how useful mathematics is. **Use of Math at Home** You want to make your living room look more cozy and pleasant, so you decided to replace some furniture and the flooring as well. You tried to work on your budget, because you have a limited or tight budget for the renovation. So you tried to list down what you need and is trying to figure out how much will you spend on those. Then you ask yourself how much do I need to spend for the new furniture? How many flooring materials should I buy? So you searched online and looked for the price of the furniture that you intend to buy, you computed your money and checked if the one you want to buy is suited to your budget. Then you stand up and went to where your supplies are kept and got a measuring device. You measured how big your place is. You even drew some diagrams as a representation of your place. On the above scenario, a person only wants to make some changes on his house, but mathematics is involved. He used simple math as well as geometry.  Geometry came from a Greek word which when translated means "measurement of land." Like it the above scenario, it could involve studying the distance, the area, the volume of different shapes and the lines included. **Mathematics in Everyday Life** Calculus and algebra are the two other branches of mathematics and there's a lot more. Regardless of someone's gender, culture or religion, each of us uses mathematical formulas and principles. And this is continuing for many years, even centuries! Business, different industries, in science and in everyday life of people, mathematics plays an important role in solving some problems and even the hardest riddles in life. You check the time, you use math. You check the weather, math is involved again! You want to bake a cake, you use math again. Be it a simple planning on how to manage your money effectively, balancing your budget, buying supplies, and even when measuring the ingredients when cooking, we all use the language of numbers, and it is very important to use numbers to have an accurate answer! So even if you hated the subject of mathematics in school or even find it boring, why not have a different perspective? Appreciate its use in our everyday lives, and you'll eventually find it more fun, and you'll see it's importance. Then you might slowly love mathematics.. Don't hate mathematics and try to appreciate it instead! - @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 22 February 2021

Allergies Every time my cousin Angel eats sweet potatoes she gets big red rashes all over her body that is too itchy, she feels nauseous, and it takes almost two days before it disappears. One time she nearly fainted after eating lumpia which she didn't know has a sweet potato in it, good thing the people she's with during that time were alert and one lady immediately given her allergy meds. Not only that, she also doesn't eat spinach because every time she eats it, she gets diarrhea and rashes. My grandmother always brings cetirizine with her. It's always on her bag wherever she goes. She can't eat chicken and seafoods because she vomits, feel nauseous and gets rashes every time she eats those. A friend keeps on sneezing endlessly every time there is a dog, a cat or even stuffed animals nearby. And someone I know almost died after eating a jack fruit. Allergies is a common ailment. A lot of people experience it, and it varies from one person to another, including the symptoms. According to statistics, in the United States only, seventeen percent (17%) of its population suffers from allergies and most of them are associated with chronic disease. And as the environment gets worse due to pollution, the ailments associated with allergies are getting higher. The fact considering that a lot of people are hypersensitive to the things in their specific environment was discovered not too long ago. But centuries before such discovery, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician have already described an illness that is widely known today as asthma. It is estimated that the earliest fatal allergic reaction ever recorded is the one discovered at the tomb of an Egyptian king, King Menes. He was stung by a hornet and died. It is believed that the first person to use the term 'hay fever' is Dr. John Boston who lived in England in the early 1800s, he used that term when he noticed that he had a regular summer '**cold**'. In 1906, an Austrian pediatrician suggested using the word '**allergy**' which came from two Greek words translated as '*altered responses'.* **What are Allergens?** The substances that causes allergic reactions are called **allergen**. These *'altered responses'* is the cause of problems of people with allergies. From birth, people swallow, inhales and touches a lot of things that are considered foreign by our bodies. For a lot of people, these contacts are not considered harmful, they are harmless. But if an allergic individual touches, breathes in or even swallows just a minute amount of a substance which he is sensitive to, he will manifest certain allergic symptoms. **The following is a list of the most common allergens:** ***Inhalants***. These are the things that causes allergy when inhaled, and it could be dust particles, pollen, molds and the furs of cats and dogs or even stuffed toys. ***Injectants***. The example of this are sting of wasps and bees. ***Ingestants***. These are the foods people ingest such as chocolate, nuts, shellfishes, egg, antibiotics and milk. It may also include aspirin and antibiotics. ***Concactant***. These are the things that comes in contact with our skin such as cosmetics, metals, poison ivy, dyes and wool. This list does not include all the allergens. The number of allergens is long listed and may even seem limitless. What are Antibodies? We already discussed allergens, so what causes allergic reactions? Normally, our body produces or creates substances that we call antibodies. Antibodies fight the germs and microbes. If a person has an allergy, his body's defense mechanism overly reacts and attacks the foreign substances. The foreign substances may be one of the allergens on the list. One specific antibody that the immune system produces is the Immunoglobulin (IgE), the body overly produce this as a response to an allergen. Such a reaction is caused by the release of chemicals like histamine. Histamine is the cause of the itchiness of the eyes and swelling of the nose. **Endless Why Questions** A lot of people who suffers from allergy would often ask "*why me*?", "*why do I have to be allergic to this*?", "*why does the rest of my family doesn't have it but just me?*". It seems to be endless why's, but the truth is, the answer to these questions are still unknown. But one known factor is that heredity plays an important role here. Like me, my grandmother gets rashes when there's a lot of dust particles in the wind and I also have that. My dad is allergic to penicillin and so does my brother. Generally, it is agreed that extreme anger, fright, emotional stress such as fatigue, overwork and tension may prompt allergies. One more factor to consider is the changes in the complex environment we are in. **Allergies** ***Allergies***. This term encompasses a lot of known diseases. Bow let's have a closer look at two of these conditions and see what can be done about them. I don't own the ideas presented here, instead, this is a result of thorough research from various sources. **Food Allergy.** Like my cousin Angel, a lot of people also suffers from food allergy. Last night, I was scrolling on my social media page when I came across a new page and one of the news that I've read is about a family who ate a certain specie of crab. The father and two sons ate first after the mother cooked it. Several minutes later the mom, noticed that her boys are kind of choking and looks like they want to vomit. They were rushed to a hospital and the father was in a state of comatose for several days, unfortunately, the two children died. I read the comments of the netizens and some says that the crab they ate is the deadly specie while some associated it with allergy. Indeed, food allergy is a controversial disease because it is hard to distinguish and pinpoint. My cousin is not allergic to sweet potato and spinach before but when she became 18 years old, the symptoms emerged. Foods can bother people in various ways but sometimes, the cause is not a food allergy. There are experts who believe that the real food allergy is rare and almost every food can be considered as an allergen to a person. And the most effective way to treat food allergy is not to eat the offending food again. **Drug Allergy.** I'm not pertaining to dangerous drugs here but the drugs that is used for medication. My dad is allergic to penicillin and amoxicillin, what makes it really worse is when he is sick and needs to intake the drug, but since he is allergic to that, he can't take his meds. Instead, he looks for alternatives such as herbal medicines and other drugs that may replace. Others may also be allergic to some drugs aside from these two. Allergic reactions to medications is a puzzle because the reactions are not the same and varies each person, for some, it is not that serious but for others it can even be fatal. So it is important to discuss with a doctor if symptoms arises or allergy is suspected. @thepandagirl🐼

@thepandagirl 20 February 2021

Are you open-minded? Open-mindedness ***"Are you open-minded?"*** Words that are usually associated with networking. It is because networking usually needs an open-minded person who is willing to invest not just money but his or her time and dedication as well. Though some of us may say or claim that we are open-minded, sometimes it is still a challenge to deal with others. But ask yourself 'is the problem really 'them' who are fanatic to their own belief and narrow-minded? The truth is, you may have a bigoted and unreasonable mind more than what you think of yourself. Do you sometimes say this: "Religion and politics  are the two topics I'll never talk to others!"? Or do you scoff at the sight of a certain food you normally don't eat? Perhaps you will even say: "NEVER!" in all capitals to emphasize that you don't like it. What do you think about a certain treatment? Have you ever said: "What? An acupuncture? With a quack doctor? No way!" Or have you ever been biased and thought that all people who have a tattoo is a criminal? Or all those children asking for alms on the street are bad and are trained and being controlled by criminals? Then it's probably time to think about it - if you are being too closed-minded and biased more than what you think of. **What It Means to be Open Minded** A person who is open-minded is someone whose beliefs are not tied to discrimination and prejudice. A dictionary defined it this way: *“A judgment or opinion, whether agreeable or not, made in advance or without due process; a mental decision based on other grounds and not on justice or fairness; especially, a non-parenting or conflicting opinion with prejudice."* Judgment and decision-making are two of the important aspect of our life. But a decision made without any thorough review and consideration and judgment made based on assumptions is a sign of being close-minded and biased. *When you are open-minded, you are open to hear out even the suggestions of someone younger than you.* On the other hand, open-mindedness means you are willing to accept new information and ideas. It  is the willingness to review and thoroughly think and ponder on the information without a discrimination. If we accept what is right and refuse what is wrong, we will come up with the truth that has a strong basis and at the same time, it still makes us open-minded and willing to accept changes if the situation makes us to do so. Assuming that you know everything will hinder you to know more useful information. **Why Some Are Close-Minded** Close-mindedness is a sign of lack of information and knowledge. Someone probably lacks enough knowledge about something or probably, the information he has on hand is wrong, or maybe it is still an old knowledge that needs to be updated. Close-mindedness is manifested by lack of interest in the topic or refusing to further study something. The truth is, it also shows that you are not sure of your belief, or you have doubts about your belief. Say for example, there are some people who can't defend their religious belief so as a result what they do is attack other religions and worse, say nasty things about them, instead of defending his beliefs in a reasonable way. This shows prejudice and close-mindedness. Someone may also become close-minded because he does not want to lose some advantages that is the result of holding on to his belief.  Are you open-minded enough to consider these thoughts and think about yourself? Perhaps you are not like what is described here. Or maybe you are, will you be willing to change some of your belief? What are the benefits of being open-minded? Let's take a look in this article. **Benefits of Being Open Minded** ***It can help us to widen out***. As a child, can you still remember the time when you are craving for knowledge? And because your mind is like a tabula rasa, you are always open to something new and whenever there is an opportunity to learn, you are always willing to grab it and as a result, you grew up as a knowledgeable person. As a child you do not know what prejudice and discrimination is. But were you able to keep your open-mindedness until now? Or are you like a foreigner who decided to travel and went to a far away and foreign land but tries to look for the native foods he's become used to eating in his own home? Maybe the reason why you don't eat the foods in that foreign land is because you find it weird or even unsanitary. And maybe you even express your disgust for the food in front of those people which is so impolite. Well, it is indeed vital to be careful with what you drink and eat when travelling, some even decides to just drink a bottled water, juice or soda paired with biscuits. But if you don't try something just because of your prejudice, you can miss a whole new experience and the chance to get to know and maybe become friends with those people. Why would you deprive yourself of getting acquainted with other nationality and culture just because it is different from what you are used to? When you try to eliminate discrimination and open your mind to knowing others and knowing more about their culture you will get a whole new experience which can even lead to happiness. ***Being open-minded can help  person to become healthier***. All of us may have experienced being sick. And to find a cure for our sickness, even if it's just a simple fever or flu, there may be some medication or treatment that we may insist on using. But being open-minded will help us to take the suggestions of others in a negative way. Maybe someone will suggest using the natural way of treatment such us using herbals but since you are not used to using herbal medicines, you refuse to listen saying only quack doctors uses that or vice versa, we insist that it is better to use herbal medicines than seek for professional advice from a doctor. Keep in mind that medical treatment varies, a treatment that works perfectly on us may not work that way to others.  Open-mindedness will help us to be happy while prejudice and hatred is rooted in close-mindedness. A happy heart is a healthy heart and a healthy heart will lead to a longer life. ***Being open-minded helps to improve our way of thinking***. According to studies, our brain has the capacity to process and remember information that is ten thousand times more than the information stored in the Encyclopædia Britannica! So why would you stop your brain from processing such massive information because you are not open-minded? Being close-minded will hinder you to improve your thinking capacity because it prevents you from correcting your wrong way of thinking and belief. But being open-minded on the other hand will help you to have a matured thinking ability. ***It can help solve problems***. In order for us to solve our problems, we need to accept advices and counsel. Open-mindedness will help us accept the advice of others even though it may seem to be a not-so-wise advice. But if you are open-minded, you'll carefully ponder and think of the advices, and it may even help to solve your problems. Sometimes it is not that easy to change a certain belief but if we try to be more open-minded, we may be able to the benefits of being open-minded, so, are you open-minded? @thepandagirl🐼

@thepandagirl 17 February 2021

Cosmetics I was never hook in using makeup and cosmetics before. When I was still young, I had this thought that those ladies who are using makeups are flirt, well of course that is just the mentality of a young kid. When I got into high school, while most of my girl classmates are very interested in makeups, I never had even the slightest interest in it. During the promenade and senior's night, I barely wore a light lipstick and powder. The very first time that I experienced wearing a full makeup was when I joined a school beauty pageant, and I was really awkward that time, but at the same time I was also totally amazed at how my face can change. The ignorant me was in awe after my pair of brown eyes turned into blue when the makeup artist made me wear contact lenses. I felt like I was an ugly duckling who turned into a beautiful swan. But even that experience never encouraged me to use makeups. When I got into college, some of my professors told us that we should try to wear at least a light lipstick especially when we are reporting because it will make us look better, and it will also help us to conceive the paleness whenever we feel nervous during presentation of reports. So I started to wear lipstick that time, but I still don't use other cosmetics aside from the light lipstick. In the later years of my college days, I got broken-hearted because my crush was dating a pretty girl and I pitied myself for being ugly. One of my classmates who is older than me, told me to make myself beautiful by concealing my pimples with makeup, so that even though my crush won't like me back, at least I was looking better. That's when I started to wear concealer and foundation. I also tried to use eyeliner, and eyeshadows. I learned that it is okay to use makeup after all. Not only that, but I feel good whenever I look in a mirror and a beautiful image smiles back at me whenever I smiled at it. Though it was just a beautiful image created from the combination of castor oil, beeswax, chemicals, coloring and the corpses of insects. After I finish drawing on the upper part of my face to make my eyebrows look more defined, applied a concealer to hide the impurities and ugliness caused by pimples and pimple marks and finally applied a foundation and lipstick, I feel like I'm all set to meet the world. Before, I'm confident to go outside without any coloring on my face, without any touch of drawings, but after being used to wearing makeups I feel like I'm walking outside undressed without any touch of makeup on my face. Just like me, a lot of women also likes wearing makeups, be it due to the nature of their work, to enhance their beauty or simply to be more confident to face others. Others condemn those who loves to wear makeup saying that a real beautiful woman doesn't need to add any coloration on her face. Being natural is what matters. But we can't blame those who want to look better and more confident. It is okay and normal for a woman to want to improve her looks and there's definitely nothing wrong with that. What's wrong is when someone is already too focused on her physical looks, usually women who love cosmetics too much has the tendency to waste her money because of what the cosmetic advertisements offer. **The Power of Advertising** *The power of advertisements. They make people feel that one product is not enough to be effective. It will be more effective when purchased in a set*. Advertisements usually shows a beautiful woman on the large television screen showing a specific product that she used saying it's pricey or expensive, but she's worth it. A product works best when it is used day and night so instead of just buying one, you have to take two, such as a day cream and a night cream. The higher the price, doesn't usually mean that it's a higher quality. But that is in contrary to what the advertising field tells people, as a result people who want to be beautiful ends up spending more in the anticipation to look better and more beautiful. Each of us has a different perspective regarding wearing makeup and cosmetics. But whether someone wears it or not, it is his or her personal decision. We don't condemn those who want to wear it because that's probably what makes them feel better about themselves. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the article, I was also hooked in the use of makeups. I find it very interesting specially the fact that it can conceal my insecurities because of my face. But something happened several months ago which made me realize that makeup is not all that matters. I realized that not wearing makeup all the time is actually good. I want to be remembered as the girl with a pretty eyes and not as the girl looks like "*dead*" because her face is always covered with concealer and foundation. Furthermore, I still have a lot of impurities in my skin, but I learned to be more confident about it. But of course, I still use a light lipstick, a pinkish one and because I have very thin eyebrows, I still use an eyebrow pencil to make it more defined, but that's all. I'm confident about not wearing it at all, but I am also confident when I am wearing it because I try to wear it with dignity and I wear it just to enhance my natural features. **Safety Tips the Use of Cosmetics and Makeups** 1. Makeups can harbor harmful bacteria, so it is important to replenish it every four months. 2. After buying a new mascara, it is advisable to discard the old brush. 3. Before applying makeup, it is important to wash the hands first. 4. If the makeup calls for water, use water​—don't use saliva or other mediums. 5. Makeup tools and brushes should be cleaned once a week. 6. Sharpening the pencils such as the eye pencils removes bacteria lurking on it. Pencil sharpeners must be cleaned with cotton and alcohol 7. Containers must always be closed tightly to prevent contamination. 8. Sharing is caring, but do not share cosmetics with others as it can lead to contamination. 9. Do not use makeups or cosmetics on injured or irritated skin. 10. Keep makeups away from children. @thepandagirl 🐼

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@thepandagirl 14 February 2021

Dealing With Changes You just came home from your trip abroad last week. You've been doing this for years now, you travel from one country to another either due to your job's calling for vacation. Either way, you enjoy doing this. But never have it occurred to you that your recent trip will be your last trip abroad and what's worse is that for the next two years, you will be confined to your own house and will just work from home. You're a strong independent woman, so you live alone though a Siberian husky living with you. Who would have thought that the coronavirus pandemic will have such a huge impact in the lives of many people and who would've expected such a drastic change in our lives to happen overnight. *Change is the only constant thing in this world*. This may be an old passage, but where's the lie in it? Change can happen in the most unexpected time and unexpected way. But sometimes, we already anticipate for something to change ahead of time. Let's have some other examples of how changes can happen. A young lad named Eros is living a happy life with his parents. He thought that their family is perfect, his parents sends him to a well known and prestigious school. They can afford all the luxuries a lad could have. Eros could see how much his parents loves and treasure each other and they also never fail to express their love to him. Everything was going on smoothly in Eros' life. Until one day, he received a call from the police. He was trembling in fear, and he couldn't believe the news he just heard. His parents were in an accident, and they were both dead upon arrival at the hospital. Later on, he found out that his parent's business are not doing well, and they filled a bankruptcy a week before the accident. Eros had to deal with the sudden changes. Eros has to face the trauma of what happened to his parents, he can no longer focus on his studies and as a result he had to drop out of school. Everything feels like it just happened in the blink of an eye, but this young lad had to deal with the sudden changes. Thankfully, this is just a story that is a product of my imagination. Although the first two scenarios showed the bad side of changes, not all changes are bad. There may be something good when we face a change in life. It may be a transition from a lower position at work to rising to a higher one, a promotion. So we have to deal with changes. It may also be regarding relationship, from a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship to engaged and eventually to a married life. There may be some changes such as from living with your parents and siblings, you now have to live with your spouse. Before, as a single person, you depend on your family. Maybe you just wait for your mom or sibling to give food to you whenever you come home from work, but after getting married, instead of waiting for food to be served to you, you have to cook for you and your spouse first before you can even take a rest. Perhaps, the economic situation in your own country hinders you from getting a high paying job which force you to work abroad instead. When this happens, you have to deal with changes as well. You have to learn a new language and adapt to the weather, customs and culture of the country where you will be working. You have to deal with new people too. Yes, like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are some changes that we may have already anticipated before it happens but sometimes, there are also some changes that occur which we never have thought about and expected. Usually, such changes are too overwhelming and some people really find it hard to deal with such changes. But there are some ways to deal with the changes. It can help us not to be overwhelmed and eaten up by anxiety and stress. **Dealing With Changes** ***Acceptance***. Accepting the reality is really important. Don't live in imagination, imagining that you are still living your previous life. Always keep in mind that it is not possible to be able to totally control your situation and circumstances. Accept the fact that change do happen and things will never stay the same forever as it is now. Rather than letting your negative emotions and negative thoughts overwhelm you, accept the reality and face the truth. ***Eliminate the negative thoughts and focus on the positive***. Avoiding negative thoughts and looking at the brighter side of your situation will help you to and joy and delight in whatever situation you are in. You may feel really sad for leaving your colleagues who eventually became your friends in your previous work, but it may be better for you to work in another company or environment where your real skills will be utilized and will surely help you when it comes to your professional development. ***Stop living in the past***. Most of the time, people tend to compare what they can previously do to what they can no longer do in the present. They keep thinking about how good their previous life or the previous years are much better than what they are in the present. This way of thinking will only lead to disappointment and will hinder someone to be truly happy and enjoy the current situation. I also had to deal with changes several times before and who knows, in the following days I will have to deal with another change in my life and I can say that it is not always easy to deal with such changes. Sometimes, it took me months or even years to accept the reality and quit being overwhelmed by the situation, but one thing I can say, if we are able to cope up and deal with every change in our life, our anxiety and stress will be reduced, and it also gives us the opportunity to be happier in life. Thanks for being here! - @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 13 February 2021

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) One moment she's very nice and sweet, next moment she's shouting and sounds like she wants to get into an argument. Everything's good with her, but she keeps saying words that sounds like she's too hopeless. You comfort her and tell her encouraging words to comfort her but instead of appreciating it, she overreacts. She reacts on a small issue, and then it becomes like a raging fire on a dry grassland. It's just too hard to deal with her, she herself don't understand what's going on with her. But after several days, this 'woman' disappears, and she's back to her normal self again which will last for three to four weeks until the 'other woman' with an unpredictable and erratic behavior takes over her again. If you are a woman, and you experience this, you probably know what I was referring to. These dramatic mood changes happens to women prior to their menstruation. However, not all women undergo such mood swings. So what is the cause of those mood swings? Is it really affected by menstrual cycle? *Women experience PMS or premenstrual syndrome before their menstruation. There is a  “cyclic occurrence of symptoms that are of sufficient severity to interfere with some aspects of life” - The American Journal of Psychiatry* *Although there are no laboratory tests that can diagnose PMS, women with PMS must experience a symptom-​free phase of one or two weeks during each cycle.*  Based on this definition, there are only an estimation of ten percent of women who suffers from post menstrual syndrome according to doctors. There are other clinicians who have a different opinion of premenstrual syndrome. According to them, it is estimated that forty to ninety percent of women actually suffers from PMS and the symptoms is not only limited to unpredictable mood swings and erratic behavior, there are also complaints about abdominal cramps, fatigue, migraine, breast tenderness, irritability, weight gain, craving for foods and crying spells. There are actually more than 150 symptoms that are associated with premenstrual syndrome. PMS is distressing for a lot of women, but it is mostly manageable. According to Nancy Reame, a researcher at the University of Michigan, PMS is considered as “*a generic health problem*” in the United States, however, there is a difference in the severity and the type of symptoms in other countries. In other countries and culture, more emotional symptoms are actually reported. For example, in other cultures, they focus more on abdominal cramps, migraine and fatigue when asked about the menstrual problems they encounter. **How It Started** A *doctor from New York, Dr. Robert T. Frank is the first Doctor who discussed premenstrual syndrome in his paper  “The Hormonal Causes of Premenstrual Tension" written in 1931. There he wrote about his observation that women lacks concentration and suffers from fatigue and nervous tension prior to their menstruation.* Twenty-two years later, two English physicians, Raymond Greene and Katharina Dalton published a paper where they use the term "*premenstrual syndrome*". Premenstrual syndrome was referred to as the "*world's most common and probably the oldest disease."*  Menstrual Cycle Once every month, women's body experiences a very complex hormonal fluctuations cycle. This has been referred by a lot of people as the "*curse*", the "*red* *tide*" or "*monthly period*". The term "***menstruation***" was derived from the Latin word '***mensis***' which means "**month**". The cycle starts when the pituitary glands receive a message from the hypothalamus (a part of the human brain). After receiving the message, it then secretes a follicle stimulating hormone which then travels into the ovaries through the blood, then it triggers the production of a hormone called estrogen. When the estrogen increase, the pituitary glands sends out luteinizing hormones which lows down the secretion of the follicle-​stimulating hormone. After this process, an egg cell then becomes mature and goes to the womb. A hormone called progesterone is then secreted after an egg cell was released. The estrogen and progesterone level rapidly drops when the cell is not fertilized. Tissues, fluid and blood are discharged through the vagina when there is no estrogen and progesterone hormones to support the lining of the uterus. Usually, it takes 3-7 days for this cycle to complete. Once a cycle ends, the brain will start to release hormones again which is a sign of a new cycle. **Theories** There are arguments that says imbalance of the progesterone and estrogen hormones is the cause of premenstrual symptoms in women. They  confidently believe that in order to achieve a perfect balance, the hormones should work together but when one of the two is produced more than the other a conflict in the woman's body occurs. High estrogen count results to some women being irritable. And according to others, when there is more progesterone, it causes a woman to suffer from fatigue and depression. But there are also researchers who disagree with that theory. According to them, social factors and psychological factors are the factors that plays a big role in the occurrence of premenstrual syndrome in women.  For example, stress can intensify, delay or speed up the symptoms of PMS. Other factors such as financial and family problems as well as medical conditions can also make the symptoms either manageable or intense. Until now, there are still various theories that emerge with regard to the issue of premenstrual syndrome, the researchers in the medical field are still trying to find out what exactly is the cause of PMS and how to treat it.  Some doctors say that there are eighteen varieties of premenstrual syndrome and each variety has its own symptoms. There are also studies that says zinc also plays a role in triggering the symptoms. While another study shows that the deficiency in vitamin B6 is the root which causes mild depression in some women. Sleep manipulation, light therapy, taking antidepressant drugs and deep relaxation are tried by a lot of women to feel relieved from PMS, however, there is still no exact or specific treatment found for PMS. Those who have unmanageable symptoms should ask for professional advice from a doctor.  According to some people, it is not right to label the changes in a woman's emotional and physical changes as a "syndrome". But for some women, premenstrual syndrome is real. Personally, I can it's indeed real. Prior to my menstruation, I experience emotional changes that is uncontrollable which makes it hard for me to deal with some people. It is even harder when no one tries to understand. So it's really important to try to understand and be patient with a woman close to you when she's undergoing premenstrual syndrome. -@thepandagirl🐼

@thepandagirl 10 February 2021

Worries Worrying is normal for people. People who don't have a job and are looking for one are worrying where they can find one or where to apply, whether they can find one, so they can feed their family. Those who are suffering from an illness worries about the medical treatment that is best for them. They worry and are anxious whether they will still feel better or whether their sickness will still be cured. Students worry about getting high grades. Whether they can survive, pass each academic year and graduate. Parents worry about their children, specially those who have teenage children. They worry about them getting engaged and being friends with people or peers that might have a negative influence on their child such as getting involved with drugs and other vices. While others worries about being unable to understand their children and being unable to provide all their emotional needs. Indeed, young or old alike worries. They worry about various things.  Most of us also worries about the future. We worry about ourselves, what we will do in the future. For young adults, it is stressful  to think about whether to go to school and finish a degree or find a work instead. There are single people who worry about whether to get married or not. Most of the time, we have a lot of options, but it is hard to make our choice or decision. But in this article, I will mainly discuss about the young adults or the youths. Worrying is common to young adults and like previously mentioned, there's a variety of reasons for their worries. Statistics and studies show that the top most concern of the young adults nowadays is about getting a job. And since young adults are in a stage of life where they want to feel loved, the fear of losing someone dear or someone they love is also one of the top list of worries. While there are also some who worries about their parent's health, specially those who have parents that are getting old. A survey was also conducted among teenagers, they were asked what their top most concern is, and it was found that one of the major concerns of teenagers is the pressure about getting good grades. Furthermore, some youths also worries about their safety. But some also worries about their social life. As a young adult I could relate to this. When I was still on my teenage years, I also worry a lot about having a lot of friends more than getting high grades or getting a boyfriend.  But now that I'm mature enough, that is the least among my worries. Yet, a lot of teens want to fit in, feel accepted and loved by their peers. Some wants to look cool among their peers, so they worry about their style, the way they talk, the way they walk and the way they look. No one wants to look stupid and become the laughingstock among their peers and their peers. So it is really important to control our thinking and behavior. We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can control our worries. A lot of people when worrying about something are immobilized. But we can actually put our worries into actions! Is it really possible? Yes it is. Don't make things become too complicated by worrying too much. Minimize your anxiety by not thinking too much about things.  Like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, some students worries about whether they can pass all the requirements at school. Moreover, school works can really become a source of worries, maybe as a student you have a lot of homework or projects, and you worry whether finishing them in time. So make sure of the more important things. Make sure you know what our priorities are.  Sometimes, it is better to ask for an assistance from an experienced or mature individual. Try to talk about your worries with a trusted individual, perhaps your parents, a matured friend or an older sibling. If you feel like you are suffering from worries and anxieties, don't carry the burden alone and suffer in silence. Talk about it with others and get an encouragement.  But not all situations can be easily dealt with. Some problems ca't be easily resolved. In some situation, problems becomes out of control, and it is really hard to remain calm at times. And when this happens, what others do is they deprive themselves of proper nutrition by not eating properly. But this is not a wise thing to do. To face your problems you have to be healthy and well-nourished. When you refuse to eat, you deprive yourself of getting proper nutrition, and it will only make you weak, and thus it may even lead to being unable to think properly, it will make it hard for you to withstand stress, and it may even lead to breakdowns. At times like this, prayer works best. The bible says to throw our burden to God, and he will sustain us. This is an effective step. I've been there before, and I must say that it is an effective way to release tension and eliminate the stress and worries because you know that someone is there to listen to you and help you. So next time that you worry about something, try to find ways how to deal with the problems, seek advice from people you trust and most of all, seek help from God almighty through prayers. @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 8 February 2021

Time Management Do you also feel like time passes by so quickly that 24 hours doesn't seem enough for you to finish everything you need to do in a day? Perhaps you don't, but a lot of people nowadays are usually rushing their tasks, chasing after deadlines and racing from task after task. But most of the time, people also slows down and concludes that they don't have enough time and as a result their effectiveness are affected and sometimes this makes things stressful for others. But the truth is a lot of their time are also wasted for unnecessary things and activities. If we think about it, there is something we could do to save more time accomplish more task and reduce the stress we feel, but how? Effective time management. Our time management skills will surely help us to be the master of our own time. How can we manage our time wisely and effectively? Here are some ways or suggestions that can help. These are the steps I tried, so I can be the master of my own time. **Steps to Managing Time Effectively** ***Plan.*** Before, I used to do things spontaneously every day, but it usually results to a lot of important tasks being left undone. The start of my day seemed to  be full of endless tasks but at the end of the day, the more important ones are left out. Sometimes just thinking about doing tasks and duties makes me dread the day and as a result I end up procrastinating, specially when I don't really know where to start. So planning is really important. Before I go to sleep at night, I write notes about the next day's activities, a to-do list. Writing a list is really helpful specially if you have a lot of responsibilities. It will help you to stay on your schedule. List the things you need to do from least important to most important or vice versa and after completing each task, cross it out or put a check mark as an indicator that it is already accomplished or completed. After writing and listing everything, you might think that you can't do or finish everything on your list, so the second suggestion will surely help' ***Set your priorities.*** Previously, I mentioned that you can try listing your target tasks from least important to most  important and vice versa. But if you have a lot of things to do, try to put a number on each task on your list according to its importance. Try to follow everything that is on your list, but don't be too strict on yourself, there may be times that you need to make some exceptions depending on the circumstance. Don't hesitate to make adjustments if there is really a need to do it. Also remember that you don't have to rush doing things. Rushing will only lead to ineffectiveness. How about delegating some task to others if it is really urgent? When setting priorities you have to learn to distinguish which task is urgent and which task is important. Not all urgent matters are important. To be truly effective in managing your time, you have to select the most appropriate and important matters as your priority.  There is no specific rule on how each individual should organize their time. Try to discover which is the best step you should take to make sure you can effectively manage your time. If you have the control over your time, you are more likely to accomplish important things at the end of the day. Though there may be some task left for the next day to do, you will have more satisfaction if you know that you have made efforts to do the important things rather than the unimportant ones. ***Save Time.*** Have you ever experienced waking up early, but instead of doing some task after waking up, you end up staying in bed doing nothing, like some says, you end up 'counting the lizards on the ceiling'? Or did you ever sit on the coffee or breakfast table and just watched the coffee or the food become cold? It usually happens to some people. This may seem normal, but doing this, more time is wasted for nothing. How can we save our time? 1. Set your daily priorities. 2. Determine your goals. 3. Work first on the tasks that are most important. 4. Instead of writing a message, an email or chatting to a person, make a phone call. It is better to talk directly to the other person than to waste your time typing what you want to say or waiting for a reply. 5. If possible, delegate some tasks or works to others. 6. Do things one at a time. Trying to multitask sometimes only ends up ruining your concentration and as a result you may not finish the important task as soon as possible. 7. Eliminate procrastination. 8. Do not focus on playing mobile games. 9. Set a deadline. 10. Don't try to be a perfectionist. It will only delay you from finishing your tasks. @thepandagirl 🐼

@thepandagirl 6 February 2021

Just Another Freewrite **February 6, 2020** *Dear Diary,* *This afternoon, I saw her looking at me with evil eyes again, she had this look that she want to hurt me with her eyes. Good thing she doesn't have superpowers, so she can't do that. She can't hurt me with just those terrifying looks.* *It's been more than a year since I quit talking to her. I'm afraid of her. We are staying at the same house, but we act like we don't know each other. I act like I can't see her. She's just like a dust particle to me. I no longer want to treat her as a sister. I've long forgotten that she's my sister.* *It just hurts me so much every time I see her because what I want from her is just a little respect, if she can't respect me as her family member, then just respect me as a person, but she can't even do that. Eternity may pass, but I just can't find forgiveness. I can't forgive her for all the things she did to me. She ruined my childhood. I wasn't even able to enjoy my childhood because I spent it looking after her, taking care of her. I practically became her mom. Not only that, but I was in charge of taking care of her that I can't even do the things I want to do as a child because I have to look after her. I can't play with my peers at school because I have to go straight home after classes, because she will be crying her heart out if she can't see me, if I can't play with her.* *As a child, I don't understand why I have to do it, why I have to carry my parent's burden of taking care of her, of being in charge of looking after her. But I still loved her that time.* *But as she was growing up, she developed a nasty attitude. She can't even pay a respect to me who only spent my childhood and my teenage years looking after her. All I hear from her are awful words.* *It all started after my graduation. I had to work, and I can somehow help my family when it comes to financial aspects. I worked and gave them money every time I was paid from my job. But after a year, I was laid off from work. The company I was working for had to remove some employees to reduce their expenses and to save the company. I was one of the employees who were cut off from the company. I became jobless. Furthermore, I had to go back home and stay with my family with the little savings I have. From that time on, I can no longer support them financially because I was saving my money for my next job hunting endeavors. Since they no longer get any money from me, I lost their respect. No one respects me anymore.* *It's sad to think that people's respect, even your own family's is measured from how much money or material things you can give them.* *Every day, all I hear are unrespectful and awful words. And this fourteen-year-old kid who I took care all my life is not exempted from that. She's actually on top of the list when it comes to being unrespectful.* *I became afraid of her. I'm afraid of her because she doesn't show respect even to our parents. She called them names and says awful things behind their back but when you talk on her, she will just deny everything and will say that she's being wrongly accused. She's the best actress at home. Not only that, but she can manipulate everyone with all her dirty little tactics. I don't even know if we are really sharing the same blood.*  *It hurts so much. To know that she have the audacity to hurt me physically. Me who raised her up. She physically hurt me that I even got bruises and even after a week it is still not healed yet. She spanked me with a cloth hanger and a slipper. Furthermore, she did it in front of our mother.* *At that age, she can swear and say bad things. She gets stuffs that is not hers. When she can't have the stuffs of others she'll make sure the owner will not benefit from that stuff too. One time, my other sister got a present from our uncle, it was a smartwatch that costs quite a lot. The bad kid seemed to like it too, but unfortunately it wasn't given to her. We know she really liked it, one time it was left at the center table and after that we can no longer find the watch no matter how much we tried to look for it. Months later it was found along with her stuffs.* *That's how she is. She'd rather destroy something she wants than to have others benefit from it. She's too evil, but you won't even notice it.* *She would rather talk to animals than talk to humans. She's really frightening, and I'm afraid what will happen to her once she ages more.* *I don't know what to do anymore. For now, I'll just ignore her and see what happens. And I'm hoping to find a new job one of these days, so I can just work far away from home. Somewhere I won't see her.* *I have to say goodbye now because I have to do some other stuffs. I will give you an update about her some time this week again.* This is supposed to be a free writing article. I don't know what happened but while I was writing it, ideas just came flowing in my mind and I came up writing this article instead. This is purely a product of my imagination and has nothing to do with my real life. Maybe I can come up with a story out of this and hoping that you all will support it. I promise to write a better article next time since I was just writing whatever today for the sake of releasing stress and tension out of my body.- @thepandagirl 🐼