One Year Since Graduation: Then and Now

Exactly one year ago, June 7, was the day I graduated from college. Since I consider that day as an important milestone in my life, I would like to ponder over the changes I've experienced since that day. 

June 7, 2014 - It was the day I felt this huge relief, excitement, and a tinge of nervousness. I was excited because finally, I was about to enter the real world. I remember telling myself that day that I would start looking for a job right away, since I didn't want to waste time bumming around. But there's this tiny feeling of doubt and nervousness. A small voice was asking me, "What if you couldn't find a job? Let alone soon?" But since it was a happy day, I just shrugged it off.

The graduation photo I chose for our yearbook

Unfortunately, I did have a hard time landing a job. At the first few rejections, I was still fine. I was still feeling kind of optimistic and just convinced myself to just push, push, and push. But around mid-November, I finally broke down. I was already getting seriously frustrated and scared to the point that I actually wanted to give up and take a break from job hunting. But honestly, I felt that the cry I had at that moment was a huge help. After crying my frustrations out, I felt a LOT better and  had a new perspective of my situation. I was like, "Okay, I'm having a hard time right now, but if I stop looking for a job and give up, then I really won't find a job at all. There's no other way but forward." Having that short pep talk with myself really pumped me up! It's like I gained back all the excitement, optimism, and determination I had during my graduation day. 

After that, I was called for a couple more interviews. I got accepted at both but I chose the second interview I attended. And now, I'm working for the first bank in the Philippines and one of the leaders in our banking industry: Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) as a Client Service Associate under the Corporate Banking Department. It really feels good earning and using your own money! I also give a portion of my salary to my mom to help with the family/house expenses, which is a big fulfillment for me. In the workplace, I'm also moved and inspired by how my superiors believe in me. They've said it several times and it's a huge boost to my confidence.

My first ever company ID!♥

Besides getting hired, another change I've seen in the 'me' now compared to the 'me' last year is in my maturity level. I'm the type of person who reflects every single day about what happened on that day and about myself as a whole. It's actually hard to put into words why but I honestly feel that I've become more mature. Maybe the whole happening helped: graduating, looking for a job, landing a job, dealing with work and colleagues. But besides those things, I would like to add one more event that happened to me (and my family) in the past year that helped me gain a higher level of maturity: dealing with my grandma's death. She died weeks before my graduation and I've been trying to move on since.

It was difficult getting over a loved one's death, finding a job, and getting rejected all at the same time. But it made me stronger. And here I am: a 22-year-old girl having her first job ever and just trying to lead the best life she could have. 

I think that gratitude played a huge part in this period in my life. I had my ups and downs but even in the downs, I was still grateful. And when one is grateful, the emotional baggage lessens and a new and better perspective is gained.

The #1 Benefit of Deactivating your Facebook account. And it’s more than just having less hours on your devices.

Around October last year, I decided to deactivate my Facebook account. I wanted to take a break. A break from the news feed I kept seeing whenever I log on to Facebook. I wasn’t really sure why but it felt like everything was too much. It was noisy and everything looked cluttered. Friends posting every minute, showing off, ranting, etc.

I needed a break.

I started to feel better the moment I clicked “Deactivate”. I swear, it was one of the right choices I’ve ever made. And the #1 benefit I was talking about in the title is this: deactivating your Facebook account actually helps you focus on yourself. Below are a couple of observations I got from my deactivation experience.

Firstly, deactivating your FB account eliminates the need or desire to log on it every time. No distractions. I observed that after leaving Facebook, I was able to do the things I needed and wanted to do. I was more productive.

Another observation is that my tendencies to compare myself and my situation with that of my friends greatly lessened. I’m not an envious person but when 90% of what you see on your news feed are posts and photos of your friends showing off the places they've been or the food they've tried, then sometimes it’s really inevitable to compare and get a little envious.

Now, I’m active on Facebook again. But I still deactivate from time to time. I noticed that I no longer feel the tendency to get a bit envious or irritated when my friends show off. Maybe it's just really nice to take some time off social media. For me, it gave me time to breathe and re-focus.

Family Trip to a Waterfall ♥

It's been so long since my previous post!!! I am so sorry. In order to make up for it, I'll make this post as special as I could :D

Here in the Philippines, March signifies the beginning of Summer. So last April 1, my family and I went to an out-of-town trip to a waterfall. We went to Ambon-Ambon Falls, or in English, Drizzle-Drizzle Falls. It was located inside a huge ecopark in the province of Laguna.

We were welcomed by kind and hospitable people. A father-and-son tandem helped us carry our bags all the way to our cottage. There were several cute kids who also tagged along to help us settle down. It was so nice to hear them say that they would stay around so we could call them whenever we needed something.

There were simple cottages by the side of the river, and we stayed in one of them. Among all of us, I was the first one to swim. I was excited because it's been so long since I swam in a natural body of water, I usually swim in pools. The water was clear and super cold!!! It felt totally refreshing. 

There were stones on the riverbed so for safety purposes, we wore our slippers while swimming. It was a little hassle but it was a big help to avoid getting wounds. Or so I thought. I was walking against the current of the river when one of my slippers got carried away. I was chasing it and was actually close to it already when I suddenly slipped. The result was a huge wound on my left knee and some scratches on my left foot. Horrible. This happened only a little over an hour since we arrived. UGH.

Right after the incident, we had our homemade lunch that consisted of: beef steak, coleslaw, Cream Dory fish fillets, and rice. After eating, my family all went to the river. As for me, I poured alcohol on my wound and rested for a few minutes. Then I eventually joined them. 

After resting for a few hours, we left our cottage and some of our belongings to one of the caretakers of the place. Why? Because we were about to go trekking!!! In order to get to the waterfalls, which was the highlight of the trip and of the place, we had to trek all the way up! We had a tourist guide/lifeguard with us, without one, tourists wouldn't be allowed to go to the waterfalls. 

We used several bamboo boats to cross rivers.

It took us almost an hour going there. Tiring but super fun because of the picturesque landscapes around us! Mother Nature is indeed beautiful♥ 

The whole trip and everything about it was memorable for me. It's really fun going out and doing extraordinary things with my family. Everyone should really try it! It strengthens your bond and at the same time helps you gain new experiences as an individual. 

Latest Book Purchase: Thrive by Arianna Huffington

Bought a new book yesterday! Thrive, written by the president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington. I've been eyeing this book since a few months ago and now that I'm done with Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, I decided to finally grab a copy.

There are 3 main reasons why the book piqued my interest:

• It was written by one of the most successful and influential women of this age: Arianna Huffington. I'm very fascinated by successful women. I want to know more about their lives and this book is a great way to get to know Arianna Huffington.
• I'm very much into the self-help/memoir genre right now. I really loved The Happiness Project, a book under that genre, and it inspired me to look for similar books.
• I want to learn more about life, success, and work-life balance. As a fresh graduate currently having her first job, I want to find ways on how I could become successful in a healthy manner and avoid unrecommended habits.

 

But before I bought the book, I did a little research about it in order to have a better understanding of its topic. I watched a few of Arianna's TV guestings (Ellen De Generes, Wendy Williams, Katie Couric) which were all part of her book promotions campaign. I loved listening to Arianna because I agreed with most of what she said and she was able to clearly explain the subject of the book. I also read the preview available on Amazon and I really liked the Introduction. After all the mini-research, I considered myself convinced and I am now very excited to start reading it!

Kimchi Fried Rice with Chicken Pieces

Kimchi fried rice is one of my favorite comfort foods. It's flavorful and really easy to make since it just simply involves combining ingredients. And it's highly personalized as well because you can throw any ingredients you want while making it! As for me, I usually add egg, any meat of my choice, or tuna. I sometimes add Hoisin sauce too if I'm in the mood for something sweet and spicy. But for this afternoon, I decided to include more vegetables.

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 1/2 cup cooked rice

1/2 cup minced carrots

1/2 cup green peas

1/3 cup onion, minced

1 cup kimchi (I'll be honest and say that I don't know how to make this yet, my mom is the one who provides it)

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1. Put oil on a hot pan.

2. Sauté kimchi and chicken pieces for 5 minutes on high heat.

NOTE: Kimchi undergoes fermentation and eventually gets refrigerated, so it's recommended to place it on the pan before the other ingredients to make sure that it's cooked very thoroughly.

3. Add the vegetables all at once. Let them stay for 10 minutes on low heat.

4. Add cooked rice. Let everything stay for another 5 minutes on low heat.

5. Done! 

As I mentioned before, Kimchi fried rice is a flexible meal. You can add literally any ingredient you want, as long as the Kimchi and rice are there!