CURRENT MISSION

To love and live while traveling, to be happy and beautiful, to have a new set of eyes and to always keep going no matter where; to constantly move along without ever looking back. ♥

ABOUT ME

Thoughts is an international community, but some areas have much higher representation than others. deeissoulless lives in the Philippines and that alone makes her a bit of a rare gem on this site, but it's not the only thing. Her photographs of her home and from her adventures, her writing, and her outlook on life makes her blog rank somewhere in the top three percentile of must reads. The bloggosphere is filled with young adults who use the opportunity to just vent, and while DiS does that, she balances the personal experience with some fascinating insights to her life, the world around her, and the way she sees things. I wasn't expecting to learn so much about the islands she lives on or the wisdom in some of her suggestions , but as always i have come away with far more questions than answers.

'V


What bothers you the most when you are online?

The thing that bothers me the most when I am online is not being able to go offline anymore. I could spend long hours sitting here and forget the world even though I don't like being online for a long time because I believe there is so much to see and do outside. When I go online, though, I make sure I budget my time seriously. I have the tendency to leave everything behind and explore the World Wide Web. I'd rather not, really.

Your blogs go from the abstract to the very personal, how do you find balance when you are deciding what to post ?

It depends on how heavy the contents of my heart are. There are times when I just log in and rant and don't care how my post will look like. There are also times when I carefully think about what I'm going to write. I really, really wish I could write as often as my heart wants. But writing is just so hard! Your ideas disappear before they could reach your fingertips. Writer's block, that's what it is called. Anyway, I see and feel everyday a lot of things that I want to share to the world. No matter how small or big it is, I have this desire inside me of writing about it. That's what I am going to try doing, especially during my upcoming trip 4 days from now.

Tell us about the trip.

I'm going to travel through Mindanao with my friends. The first destination is to Siargao Island. That is the surfing capital of my country. We're going to catch some good waves there and ride on! The second is in Cebu City. We'll see some old friends and party even harder. The third is to Dumaguete City. Food is so cheap there but guaranteed delicious! There are a lot of beaches and historical icons, too, to go to in Dumaguete. Then finally to Dipolog City. We'll visit relatives there and maybe discover that tiny city! Of course, on top of it all, I'm going to take this trip to continue exploring the world. I'm out of school but education doesn't stop there. I prefer learning vicariously. I prefer learning by listening to people's stories and actually feeling them. The road and I are married to each other and we're inseparable.

When not in front of the computer what do you find yourself doing?

When I am not in front of the computer, I find myself doing some crazy, fun-filled adventures outdoor. It's either I go for a photo walk or I trek waterfalls in my city. Sometimes, I stay at home and practice singing.

You mentioned singing, what are some of your favourites?

I only discovered my ability to sing when I started singing the Carpenters. It suits my voice quality and I can sing it almost perfectly. Hehe. I don't really have favorite songs. I jump from one genre to another. Well, when I open Youtube, the first few songs that enter my mind are: Behind the Drapes by Mew; Eliza by Anna Calvi; Passing Afternoons by Iron and Wine, Bloom by The Paper Kites, The Heart of Life by John Mayer and Dice by Finley Quaye. Oh I listen to a lot of songs!I can't mention all of them here.

You don't see many people in the Philippines blogging on thoughts, what can you tell us about the city you live in, waterfalls in a city?

Yes, I noticed too that there aren't so many asians on Thoughts. I bump into Filipino bloggers every now and then but I can only count them with one hand. My country is culturally and agriculturally rich. Most of the income of the Philippines comes from Mindanao. It's the southern part of the country where I happen to be in. I live in a small city in Mindanao called Iligan. The total land area is 81,337 hectares. It's the kind of place where almost everybody knows everybody. It only needs a bit of tracing up to discover that A knows B and B knows C and A is a friend of C and C is the ex of B and so on. It's pretty much like that here. You take a jeepney and see a familiar face and you think he/she knows you (even though you don't know him/her). There are 23 waterfalls here. Some are accessible while others are for-your-eyes-only. All of these are totally magnificent. I bring foreign friends to the waterfalls and they all say WOW upon seeing these earthporns.

You capture some of that WOW and a lot more with your rather impressive online gallery, what do you hope to show with it?

I take photographs and keep them to preserve the beauty of something or someone. I mostly love taking pictures of things that often go unnoticed. Photography is all about making history. You see, the world nowadays is really full of ugly things. People have become discontented and unhappy. Our lives are tangled and we are like stuck in a time vortex. Through photography, I am able to remind people of the remaining beauty of this world and of people.

Your online gallery is on flickr, why there and not here?

I actually feel sorry that Thoughts doesn't let me upload pictures. I could have shared a lot more! Whenever I attempt to upload pictures here, it always says, "We're sorry something went wrong.." but yeah, I was not able to make a mini-gallery of pictures on Thoughts. I'm going to take this chance to advertise my Flickr account where you can visit my gallery. Follow me guys on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/84062035@N08/! :)

What sort of things do you find most beautiful?

The things I find most beautiful are people's personalities, people's ability to/to be (insert desired word here), the mysteries in life, spontaneity, hopefulness, geography, flaws, differences, long conversations, childhood and imaginations.

According to your archive, you are coming up on your 2 year anniversary here on thoughts, what brought you to this site?

I think I have been suffering from major depression for a number of years now. So much has happened in my life at a very young age (I'm turning 21 this year) and for a while I thought I could no longer take things. I quit school and deliberately did nothing. I stayed at home and almost never went out. I stopped seeing my friends and stopped talking to them. I even cut all my connections on Facebook. During those "empty" times, an idea of blogging came to mind. At least when I write online, no one would "know" me. I would be surrounded with strangers from all over the world and that for me is so great. So I searched for a good blog site on the internet and actually found several sites where I can write my blog. Some of them, unfortunately, cannot really cater my needs. I clicked on the link that directs to Thoughts. I signed up and in no time found this site a consolation for all those weary hearts.

What was the biggest lesson you learned when you cut ties with the outside world?

The biggest lesson I learned when I cut ties with the outside world is that this world is extremely small and that people are just too scared. That's what I've realized through time. This world is full of fears. Everyone is scared. I learned that our lives are governed by our choices.

Do you have advice to escape the cycle of living in fear?

I live by the principle: "Just believe." Judgement of others causes people to be scared and not be the person they want to be. One is too scared to dress up this way because he is subject to people's judgement and approval. That woman next door is too scared to love this man because people say it's not right, because this man cannot sustain her needs, because this man is an ex-convict, because he belongs to a middle class family. We are too scared to say what we feel because we don't think others understand us completely. We are too scared to try, to love, to let go, to dream, to hope, to be free, to decide, to choose, to close doors and open new ones. I probably won't advise anybody to do what I do, but I am certain that no matter the kind of life you live today, no matter what you have and what you don't have, no matter you're the judge or the one being judged, just always believe. Believe that it's okay. Believe that you are doing this to make you happy. Believe that it's all about you and not others. Believe that you are beautiful. Believe that you aren't like them.

What do you think are some of the biggest stumbling blocks in relationships in today's society?

I think some of the biggest stumbling blocks in relationships in today's society are one's socio-economic status, the influence of technology in people's lives, social media sites such as Facebook and the rapid universal change.

In what way do you feel that tech and social media are detrimental to relationships?

I quit Facebook a long time ago. Although it wasn't because Facebook was destroying my relationship but because it became a source of all my sadness. There was too much information on it that I could no longer bear it. It works the same way for others and other's relationships. Generally, technology and social media fuel temptations to couples. Nowadays, we no longer write real letters because emails are available. We no longer visit our loved ones who live miles away because seeing them is made easier online. We no longer spend time to sit and talk over coffee because we have high-end, multi-purpose phones. Because of these, people have become lonelier. These things are what separate us from love, beauty and happiness. I know that these things, on the other hand, have made our lives really convenient but I am saddened by the fact that they have overruled our lives. that people overuse and misuse them. Progress is good, but not up to this point. I can't remember wishing for something this 'great', you know? I want to go back to the time when life was much simpler, when people were still respectful, united and happy.

What's the best advice you could give someone?

This is something I wrote some time ago, but I want to say this again. This is my advice for everybody:

"Don’t be afraid to chart new courses. Don’t grow old, because you don’t necessarily have to. Don’t just date because you feel desperate. Don’t just marry because you feel timeworn and left out. Don’t hurt your kids or your parents even in jest. Don’t sell your family or your ideals. Don’t stop because you’re tired. Stop when you’re finished. Don’t lie. Don’t cheat. Don’t pretend. Don’t compromise. Giving up doesn’t always mean losing. In order for us to regain something, we have to let something else go. Remember that life is a circle. We are and should be in constant motion. Go ahead and take that trip. Don’t postpone it. Look at the stars once in a while. Write letters. Walk barefoot. Run free. Hold hands. Love truly. Learn something new. Help a stranger. Forgive. But never forget. Don’t just exist. Live. Live fully. It doesn't matter where one finds oneself. The magic follow an open heart." ♥

PHILOSOPHY

There is always magic in meeting people. ♥

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I never really knew this travel site exists. Today is the 1st of May and I only happened to know all about this over an hour ago, maybe. Something brought me to Davao City some days ago and I met someone who is an active member of Couchsurfing. We came to talk about traveling, shared our insights on why people travel, talked about experiences as travelers, must-see places in the Philippines and the likes. Until he mentioned to me that there is a site where I can find real nice people and even travel with them. It sounded very interesting to me. So I signed up in no time, hoping to find someone who is also looking for someone like me. I believe there are lonely souls out there waiting to find someone, too. I think this answers the question what my mission here is. ♥

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfing
Meetups
Traveling
Motorbiking
Camping
Boating
Barhopping

Interests

Underwater swimming
Ultimate Frisbee
Blogging
Reading
Poetry
Traveling
Coffee
Gender
Film making
Personal stories
Socio-cultural diversities
Outdoor activities

• writing
• poetry
• singing
• photography
• film making
• beauty
• causes
• education
• dining
• wine
• coffee
• running
• partying
• boating
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• magic
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• swimming
• communications
• teaching
• geography
• history
• beaches

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

All the things I do are amazing. All the things I see depend on what I am looking for. ♥

Teach, Learn, Share

Look forward to the beautiful days that still may come. The road is too long but the journey is too short. Value all the good days and the people you consider most important in your life for they are your priceless possession in this world. Keep going. Everything shall bloom again. It will be more beautiful than the first time you saw it. ♥

Countries I’ve Visited

Singapore, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Maldives

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