1.) Always tell a girl if something is going wrong in her outfit.

Whether you personally like her style or not, you've got to admit that Taylor Swift's songs are incredibly catchy and that they're almost instantly chart topping hits. I adored her when I was younger. Of course, that was the time when I could relate to her song lyrics because I cared about crushes, unrequited love and boys like they're the most important things in the world. Seeing that I was a young girl, that was normal.

We all know that Drew is the reason for the teardrops on her guitar. Every girl probably had a 'Drew' at one point in their lives. We all cried about seeing someone we had a huge crush on be with someone else. The heartache, the pain, the fake smiles, everyone has been there. So when 'Teardrops on my Guitar' first came out, it was the theme song of young girls everywhere, me included. Her songs are relatable, genuine and raw. That, I believe is the reason behind the Swift Magic. Taylor has grown older since her 'princess' days and her musical style also grew as she did. Although I still prefer her older songs, she is doing very well with the style that she has evolved into. 
     
My favorite Taylor Swift song will always be the song 'Fifteen'. It starts by narrating the beginning of the freshman year in high school. Then it goes on to describe a compressed version of your highschool life:  how naive you are, how you want to date guys from the football team, how you danced around your room after your very first date, how you think you've got it all figured out and how you believed that some loser loved you because he said he did.

I didn't think much of the song when it came out (it came out when I was 15!). I was too young to ponder upon it. However, as I listened to it when I was in college, I grew a deeper appreciation for it. It might have even made me cry because it struck a very sensitive bone. Once again, this is something I think every girl can relate to. As you grow older, you look back and you realize how stupid you were to get all messed up about things that actually didn't matter. You were young, you thought you knew everything there is to know about yourself, about life. Yet, in fact, you absolutely know nothing about where you're headed and how hard life's gonna be. You were too young to know about love and how it's more than just him having a car. You thought you were in love with every guy you had a crush on, but if you compare what you felt then to how you feel about your long-term special someone now, it wouldn't even compare. You have bigger problems now and unfortunately, Crush#5 dating that girl you hate is just not one of those anymore.

'Fifteen' is great reminder for teenage girls to not make any rushed major decisions at that stage in their lives. Just take it easy because you still have your whole life ahead of you to figure things out. As the chorus of the song goes "Count to ten, take it in, this is life before you know who you're gonna be. I didn't know who I was supposed to be at Fifteen." :)

How about you? Which Taylor Swift song resonates to you the most?

Hello. I've been away for far too long. Seriously though, school. But now that I'm totally free for summer vacation, I'll get back and catch up with the tons of things that I have to blog about. First things first. The PAGEANT.

The last blog post I did was about the pageant I got forced to join. I didn't have much time to prepare since I was super busy. Didn't even go on a strict diet. This was because I wasn't getting any sleep and therefore compensated with eating. If I didn't, I would probably be terribly ill right now.

So here's how it went.
The Pictorial
 I honestly didn't like my picture. Haha. The pictorial was fun. I was an hour late for it since I still came from Davao City during that day. Didn't even shower. I know. EWWWW.




Store Exposures
We did do store exposures to promote restaurants all over the city. We got free food and it was a great bonding opportunity for the contestants as well. Enjoyed these. Although smiling while eating and being all conscious about the way you eat because of all the cameras is not really my thing, it was an experience.







Closed Door Interview
By far the hardest and most intimidating part of the competition. It was also 25% of our whole score. This is what we truly prepared for. We spent nights conversing with a few of the interview experts in our school who were willing to help us. They went over some dos and donts during the interview. We even practiced as if it was the real thing. We were also asked some possible questions so that we'd be prepared if ever it was asked during the interview.

So we had to come in a closed room. There was a panel there. A psychologist, two nuns, a sociologist and a doctor of philosophy. It was intimidating. All aspects of your personality was questioned and it felt somewhat like I was in a thesis defense, except that I was defending my identity. A true test of individuality, intelligence and character. Some of the contestants broke down and cried. So proud I got it over with. I will do a separate blog post about this. Probably.

Introduction
This was done the night before the talent show. We were introduced for the first time as Official Hiyas 2014 candidates. We wore our college shirts to represent our college and just walked. My walk made headlines though. I stood out. I was the only one without any experience. Compared to them, I was such a pageant noob. Needless to say, when it comes to the catwalk, I sucked. I love how my dress only cost Php50.00. Ukay queen is still present for the pageant.






Talent Show
The talent portion of the pageant composed another 25% of our total score. It was something you had to prepare for. I didn't prepare much though. Just took my violin and played the song "I Believe I Can Fly". Not even a very hard song to play on the violin but it was a choice that I made to have a 'relevance to the theme'. The theme was about success so I found the song appropriate. I am a very rusty violinist. Haven't played for the longest time. It was just right that I took on an easy piece. I just kept the performance simple, no gimmicks to entertain the public. Everyone sang along and it was beautiful. I left the stage happy and completely satisfied with my performance.


Pageant Night

This was the pageant proper. It had three parts, festival attire, sports attire and finally the Filipiniana attire. It was all walk and then talk. I was not excited at all. It was all going to be over soon.

2013 was a great year. A lot of things happened, some changed for the better, some, not so much. I got close to many new people but I also 'lost' some friends. Not really lost but I just don't talk to them as often.
I love new years. They symbolize a new beginning. It always brings me hope that no matter how sad or great the past year was, it will only get better.

Before we welcome 2014, I would like to take this chance to celebrate 2013, the year that it was, by recounting all the major happenings during my past 12 months. So here's my 2013, in a nutshell.
My year started well. It was celebrated with family, as usual. This year was more fun than ever since the kids(me, my sister, my two cousins and my sister's boyfriend) were in-charge of the cooking. We decided what food to prepare.

 We had this event every December that we call 'Pastoral Day'. It's when we feed scholars and give them gifts. This year we decided to just order from Jollibee, atleast we had a mascot. I mostly led since our president was away. Sooo stressful. Look at me in the photo. Haggard much? In the end though, it was truly fulfilling. I'm excited for next year.
Before we had our final exams, we opted to have a sort of 'mini christmas party'. For the five of us and our teacher. We had exchange gifts, I cooked spaghetti and then we ordered Jollibee meals for lunch. I received a Beatles Tshirt which I greatly appreciate. So now, moving on to the exams. One word: BOOOO! They were freaking hard. But I still don't know what the results are so let's wait until 2014 to find out.

Well, there you have it. I haven't realized this was turning out to be such a lengthy post. I don't mind if you don't really read through it, but I hope you do!

How about you? How did 2013 treat you?