Strawberry Fields Forever

What I Wore: Topshop dress, Alice+Olivia for Payless shoes, Mango cardigan, From Rockwell bag.

I felt like a strawberry in my outfit today.

I was inspired to make an outfit post since its been forever since I last dressed up and I felt like my clothes needed some loving soo here! This is what I wore to the mall to get new glasses and to get my sim card fixed. I changed to my mother's Gucci wedges for the mall though, since the heels I had on in the picture are too high. Just wore them for the pic cause I dont really have a decent picture in them yet. I actually wore them out to Fashion Week but I didn't have the chance to document my outfit that day. I super love these shoes!! Its my favorite find from NY I think. They are just so gorgeous!

Uniform

(L-R) First two from Forever21, Other three from Victoria's Secret


(L-R) First three from Victoria's Secret, last one from Topshop

My school uniform. They interchange every other week --one week in V-necks, and the next in plaid. I figured since I'm dorming, it'll be hard to pick out clothes every other week so having a uniform is the best remedy. Not so bad actually since it has lessened my "things to worry about" when packing.

So my plates have been accumulating this past week. I have three plates to make for Mechanical Drawing, and two for Free-hand. I've been so busy which is why I can really reassure you that my updates will just keep getting less until I get buried in all the plates I have to do. It was just that I was inspired to make a blog post that I decided to update. There's just too much happening in fashion right now that I couldnt just NOT blog about. For one thing, Mango has started their end of season sale last week (which I havent been to yet because of my hectic schedule !!!) while Topshop is having their sale on July 1 and 2 and Zara is having theirs on the first week of July although there is no exact date yet. Also, FOREVER 21 is opening in Manila on July 2 in SM Megamall. It's a big thing because its FOREVER 21 we're talking about. I dont know what to feel about it though. A part of me is disheartened because now everyone's going to be able to have the same thing and having something from F21 wont make you unique anymore (hahaha how seelfishh!). Although another part of me is ecstatic because that means we dont need to go abroad for our dose of Forever21! Also, having Forever21 here just makes us ALMOST as good a shopping mecca as Hongkong or Singapore! In my opinion, having F21 in Manila will increase tourism somehow especially since shopping at F21 Philippines will DEFINITELY be cheaper than in other countries considering the dollar conversions.

I still dont know if I will be attending the opening because one things for sure, there will be a LOT of people on that day hence I doubt I will be able to shop properly. I'm actually going through a shopping withdrawal right now -- I dont know if I should shop or not, because in all honesty, I still have a bunch of unused stuff here in my closet and I'd feel guilty if I buy another set of clothes, dump them all in, and wait for decades till I'm able to wear them. I even have shoes that I havent worn yet!! And it sucks because right now I'm eyeing this pair from the Forever21 site and I'd probably freak if I found it laying there on July 2. If I get the shoe, I KNOW that I wont be wearing it anytime soon since I still have two others waiting to be worn.

On the other hand, I WANT to go on the first day though because I just KNOW that there will be a lot on stake. I feel like theres this item that will be gone by the first day and I'm just too scared to let that happen. Hahaha! I just have this urge to go there and grab everything I love!

It's still on Friday though so I have time to think. There's lots of pros and cons to going there so I'm definitely taking that into consideration (class starts at 1pm, i have to take a trike, an LRT, and an MRT to get there, etc.). If all else fails, maybe I'll just wait for the fad to die down --and for my workload to lessen-- till I finally visit there. Buutt, I will let you know what happens for sure (even if it takes a lifetime before I get to update!). Till then!!

College

So this will probably be my last post in a long time since I'm already in college and I believe that I will have to devote my time to it. I'm a freshman in the University of the Philippines and I think that it will take me time to get used to everything especially since I am already dorming. School's been great so far and I am LOVING it. Of course, there are a number of (very minor) downsides to the school like unbearable heat, very long distances from building to building, not very clean washrooms, no aircon, and did I mention unbearable heat? But even so, it seems like this is what characterizes my university to be what it is. Without these, my experience in U.P would be far from what I am experiencing now. I wouldn't have a sense of fulfillment after finally reaching a certain building, I wouldn't have the senseless conversations with my friends about the heat (and pretending that it was actually cold), I wouldn't appreciate airconditioning, and I wouldn't have been able to acquire "simple joys" or what we call in Filipino "mababaw na kaligayahan."

I guess being in U.P even for just a week has already taught me many things. Everything in U.P is simple. From the food, to the utilities, to the people. It's really very humbling actually. It teaches you how to get along with all types of people and it teaches you to appreciate even the littlest things in life. It opens you up to a world where you realize what really IS important. It's funny cause when I was in highschool it was all about the trends. As students, we didnt really have much to worry about cause everything was given to us. We all had drivers who'd pick us up and drop us off. But now, its like every man for himself. Well, for me atleast. It was here where I realized that wow, I dont need a driver.. or a helper.. or parents and teachers watching over me. I can do this all by myself and I can survive because actually, it IS how the real world goes. This is what most people go through and maybe I was just one of those more privileged ones who was able to experience a lifestyle where I had a lot of help behind me.

Basically, my school inspired me.

To become a better person. To be a hard worker. To become independent. To be responsible. To be more down to earth. To be helpful. To be kind.

To appreciate others.

Appreciating others is one lesson that I have really learned from this school. Everyone here seems so nice and humble. Despite the label of "ISKOLARS NG BAYAN", you wont see an inch of pride in them. These people.. they dont go around bragging their achievements. And this is someone I want to be. That's why I went to this school in the first place. Because I wanted to be grounded. I wanted to be more simple. Honestly, I am probably very far from simple right now (I mean, I have a FASHION blog.. wheres the simple in that?) but I guess everything has to start somewhere. And I am starting here. In a little blog filled with dreams and inspirations.

All in all, U.P has been great to me and I wish that it will continue to treat me well. There arent much specific experiences that I've cited here but I hope that somehow you guys were able to get an idea of what it's been like through my words. For me, choosing this school was a good choice for myself. As I've told other friends before, "I wouldnt have experienced this anywhere else." :)

Sunshine

What I Wore: Thrifted denim jacket, Thrifted gray top, Converse shoes, Coach sling bag, People are People skirt.

Went for a little Jenny Humphrey inspired look today. The hairstyle was taken from Jenny's appearance in the season finale of Gossip Girl. I found it cute so I tried it out! This outfit is actually two weeks old already but I havent found the time to post so I'm only updating now. I've been busy with college since it had already started last week. More on that later..