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..

The Capitol

What I Wore: Only U parka, New Look boots, Capezio stockings, Forever 21 shorts and bag, shirt from Hollywood.

Finally in Washington. My favorite place out of all the cities we visited!! The weather was perfect.. the architecture was impeccable.. every single thing there seemed to be in their right spot. It was so peaceful. It didnt have as much people as in New York. It was calm and quiet. Definitely my cup of tea.

So on me is the parka I got from Century 21 for like what, 80-90% off? The original price on this was $295 and I got it for only $60. Cool huh! This was supposedly the jacket that I was going to buy for the extremely cold weather in New York. Unfortunately, I bought it on our last day in NY so it didnt serve its purpose much. It's been quite handy for the Philippine weather these days though. Been raining non-stop and I've been running to it for water-proof-lazy-outfit-days. Just this parka and some boots and I'm good to go!

Really loved Washington. We basically went around The Mall which includes monuments such as the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, The Capitol, The Smithsonian Museums (which featured the HOPE diamond --the biggest diamond in the world-- among other things), and of course, The White House. Although there arent much places to visit, (it can be toured in just a day or two) I still love it simply for its ambiance. I dont know, I guess I'm not really drawn to the upbeat cities and the like. Although I love a little party once in a while, I'm still a laid back type of person (which is why LA will alwaaaaaayyss be my favorite!). This post will be the last from the bunch since I barely wore anything nice in Orlando anyway. The theme parks were great though! Maybe one day when I'm bored and I have nothing more to post I will do an update on our Orlando trip but for now, I shall leave you with this. Till then!

Central Park

The day my feet hurt like a bitch. Wish I could turn back time and chose to wear something more comfortable.. but I already had this outfit planned waaaayy long ago and not wearing those shoes would just ruin everything! The shoes were too gorgeous to pass but who knew they could hurt this bad?

What I Wore: Vise Versa coat, Capezio stockings, Mango bag, Forever21 shorts, top, and flats.

I swore off flat shoes after my experience on this day. I realized that the PAIN I get from wearing cheap flat shoes is worse than when I'm wearing cheap high heels. So whatever situation, I think I will just always go for the heels instead. For me, its either heels or rubbershoes. No other option. Haha!

Soo I didnt take much pictures on our last day so I will cram both days on this post instead. We visited Central Park (which was really painful for me to walk :'(), The American Museum of Natural History, and The MET. We also watched Lion King on broadway on the first night (which was SUPERB, btw!!!), and went shopping on the second.

We visited numerous museums on this trip that by the time we got to the MET, we were already tired out of wits thus having not much pictures taken there. I also really wanted to get my picture taken in front of the MET but it unfortunately rained that day. I wish I could have stayed longer in the MET but I was really just too tired already (plus I wanted to go shop) The art works in the museums we visited were amazing but next time I think I'd set a big gap between going to the museums since it gets boring easily.